Paul Wilkinson (soccer player)
| Paul Wilkinson | ||
 Paul Wilkinson in August 2010.
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| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Surname | Paul Wilkinson | |
| birthday | October 30, 1964 | |
| place of birth | Louth , England | |
| size | 185 cm | |
| position | striker | |
| Juniors | ||
| Years | station | |
| 1980-1982 | Grimsby Town | |
| Men's | ||
| Years | station | Games (goals) 1 |
| 1982-1985 | Grimsby Town | 71 (27) |
| 1985-1987 | Everton FC | 31 (7) |
| 1987-1988 | Nottingham Forest | 34 (5) |
| 1988-1991 | Watford FC | 134 (52) |
| 1991-1996 | Middlesbrough FC | 166 (49) |
| 1995 | → Oldham Athletic (loan) | 4 (1) |
| 1995 | → Watford FC (loan) | 4 (0) |
| 1996 | → Luton Town (loan) | 3 (0) |
| 1996-1997 | Barnsley FC | 49 (9) |
| 1997-1998 | Millwall FC | 30 (3) |
| 1998-2000 | Northampton Town | 15 (1) |
| National team | ||
| Years | selection | Games (goals) |
| 1985-1986 | England U-21 | 4 (1) |
| 1 Only league games are given. | ||
Paul Wilkinson (born October 30, 1964 in Louth ) is a former English football player . The athletic and headed striker won the English championship in 1987 with Everton FC , but only had his most consistent successes as a goal scorer with clubs such as Watford FC and Middlesbrough FC .
Athletic career
Grimsby Town (1982–1985)
Wilkinson made his first experience in organized club football in the central-eastern English port town of Grimsby, around 25 kilometers from his birthplace Louth in the county of Lincolnshire . As a student, he trained in the junior area of Grimsby Town from February 1980 and after receiving a training contract in July 1981 he was promoted to the professional squad for the 1982/83 season. On January 25, 1983, he gave his league debut against Blundell Park at home and the young striker scored his first goal for the second division team in a 1-1 draw against Charlton Athletic . At the side of his strike partner Kevin Drinkell Wilkinson conquered a regular place in the following season 1983/84 and like Drinkell he was the top scorer of his team in the then following season 1984/85 with 14 championship goals; in addition, he had achieved four goals in the cup competitions. These cup goals also included the surprising 1-0 winner in the league cup against first division club Everton , which was ultimately one of the decisive factors in Everton luring him to Merseyside at the end of March 1985 .
Everton, Nottingham & Watford (1985–1991)
The transfer fee of 250,000 pounds had coach Howard Kendall cost for the new signing from Grimsby and five days after his debut for the English U-21 team he was substituted on March 30, 1985 against Southampton FC for the first time for the "Toffees". In the remaining games of the 1984/85 championship season , however, Wilkinson received only rare probation opportunities and the total of five league appearances were too few for the official receipt of a medal. Little changed in his “fate” in the following year, as he was unable to displace Graeme Sharp and Gary Lineker, who were preferred in the storm . When Lineker then left the club for the 1986/87 season for FC Barcelona , he had the chance he had hoped for, but the yield of just three goals from 22 league games were not enough and so he moved to league rivals Nottingham Forest for £ 200,000 . In the remaining matches Everton again won the English league title and Wilkinson had now "qualified" for the medal due to his larger contribution.
Wilkinson waited in vain for the sporting breakthrough in the top division in Nottingham and in less than a year and a half he scored only five goals in 34 league games. When Steve Harrison, the coach of the second division club Watford, expressed interest and revealed to him a prospect in a team that should play for promotion, he did not hesitate and moved to the city north of London in August 1988 . In the following three years this goal remained unattainable and after a just missed promotion in the playoff against Blackburn Rovers in 1989, the team was mostly in the lower midfield, but Wilkinson himself developed into a reliable striker, who in each case the most hits for three consecutive years scored the "Hornets". Players like Dave Bamber , Garry Thompson , Dean Holdsworth and Iwan Roberts stormed by his side , but especially with Gary Penrice he harmonized well. In the summer of 1991 he was finally drawn to Middlesbrough FC in the second division for £ 550,000 .
Middlesbrough FC (1991-1996)
At "Boro" Wilkinson was an immediate regular player, played in all 59 competitive games of the 1991/92 season, was never substituted and scored 24 goals. The two sporting highlights were, on the one hand, reaching the semi-finals in the league cup , which was only just lost in extra time to Manchester United , and, via the runner-up, promotion to the newly created Premier League . With his goal for the 2-1 final against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the last day of the game, he had a significant share in second place. For the first time in his active career, he was now "set" in a first division team as a center forward, but even his 14 league goals did not prevent Middlesbrough FC from being penultimate back to the second division. There Wilkinson took another attempt and in the 1993/94 season he shot another 15 league goals. However, Boro narrowly missed the play-off places, but the following year managed to return to the Premier League via the second division championship. Wilkinson had played a large part, especially at the beginning of the season, before injuries and increasing competition ensured that his regular place came under pressure. Since he was no longer often used in Middlesbrough and he was also recovering from a knee injury, the club loaned him three times in the 1995/96 season. He helped the second division Oldham Athletic (from the end of October 1995), ex-club Watford FC (from the beginning of December 1995) and most recently Luton Town (from the end of March 1996), without, however, with the exception of two competitive goals for Oldham, a lasting impression to leave behind.
The last professional years (1996-2000)
In July 1996, Wilkinson moved to Barnsley FC, also playing in the second division, free of charge and together with his former Boro strike partner John Hendrie he was so successful in hunting for goals that he once again became a decisive factor in a promotion battle and his new employer the first participation in the highest English league in its history made possible. It wasn't just his qualities as a “push forward” that were in demand; He had also made a name for himself with his willingness to help out on the defensive. In the Premier League he then had to make way for the signings and in September 1997 he went to third division Millwall FC for £ 150,000 . In his short time there, he played alongside players such as Paul Shaw and Kim Grant , before league rivals Northampton Town secured his services in the summer of 1998 . Due to a broken jaw, his debut there was delayed until the end of September 1998 and a further ankle injury in December, which made an operation necessary, let Wilkinson come to his last professional appearances late in the 1998/99 season. Without being played again in the 1999/2000 season, Wilkinson's active career ended in June 2000.
He then switched to coaching, where he began to look after reserve or youth teams from professional clubs. After first experiences in this regard at Leeds United and Grimsby Town, he took over the second team from Cardiff City in 2003 .
Title / Awards
- English Championship (1): 1987
- Charity Shield (1): 1986
literature
- Hugman, Barry J .: Premier League: The Players - A Complete Guide to Every Player 1992-93 . Tony Williams Publishing, 1992, ISBN 1-869833-15-5 , pp. 354 .
Web links
- Profile at Watford Legends
- Paul Wilkinson in the soccerbase.com database
- Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database
Individual evidence
- ^ "England - U-21 International Results 1986–1995 - Details" (RSSSF)
- ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1995, ISBN 0-09-180854-5 , pp. 234 .
- ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1996-97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1996, ISBN 1-85291-571-4 , pp. 261 .
- ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 1-85291-581-1 , pp. 292 .
- ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-99 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85291-588-9 , pp. 327 .
- ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1999-2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85291-607-9 , pp. 320 .
- ↑ "Paul Wilkinson Interview" ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Cardiff City FC)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilkinson, Paul |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 30, 1964 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Louth |