 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Graham Charles Paddon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1950-08-24)24 August 1950[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England[2] | ||
| Date of death | 19 November 2007(2007-11-19) (aged 57) | ||
| Place of death | Scratby, England[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Coventry City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1969 | Coventry City | 5 | (1) |
| 1969–1973 | Norwich City | 162 | (19) |
| 1973–1976 | West Ham United | 115 | (11) |
| 1976–1981 | Norwich City | 128 | (6) |
| 1978 | →Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan) | 25 | (5) |
| 1981 | →Millwall (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1982–1984 | Eastern AA | ||
| 1984–1985 | Alfreton Town | 29 | (0) |
| Total | 469 | (43) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976 | England U23 | 1 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1991 | Stoke City (caretaker manager) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Graham Charles Paddon (24 August 1950 – 19 November 2007) was an Englishfootballer who played as a midfielder forCoventry City,Millwall,Norwich City andWest Ham United.
Paddon was born inManchester and began his career as an apprentice withCoventry City underNoel Cantwell. He made his senior debut in February 1969, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 victory overQueens Park Rangers. He made fiveFirst Division appearances for the Midlands club, scoring one goal, before signing forNorwich City, then of theSecond Division, in October 1969 for £25,000. He played in the Canaries'promotion-winning team of1971–72, his eight goals helping the team to the league title. The following season, he helped the club to reach the1973 League Cup Final. He scored all three goals in the quarter-final againstArsenal and saw victory in the two-legged semi-final againstChelsea, but was not able to stopTottenham Hotspur winning the Final by a single goal.[3][4]
After 198 appearances and 28 goals for the Canaries, Paddon joinedWest Ham United, also of the First Division, for £170,000 in December 1973 in a deal which sawTed MacDougall move the other way. The deal saw Paddon become West Ham's most expensive player.[5] Joining a team that includedBilly Bonds andTrevor Brooking and was managed byRon Greenwood, he made 26 appearances for the east London club during the1973–74 season.[3][6]
Paddon's first full season at West Ham, by that point managed byJohn Lyall, saw 54 appearances and 4 goals. He featured all of the games in the successful1974–75 FA Cup run, with the second goal of the 2–0 victory in theFinal againstFulham scored byAlan Taylor after 'keeperPeter Mellor failed to deal with a shot by Paddon.[5][3] The season also featured what Paddon described afterwards as "the best goal I've ever scored", a 40-yarder againstWolverhampton Wanderers that found the net with some help from the wind.[5] He managed 5 goals in 57 appearances during the1975–76 season, including every game of theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup campaign. He scored from 30 yards in the first leg of the semi-final againstEintracht Frankfurt, but the team were only able to pick up a runners-up medal in theFinal againstAnderlecht.[3] He made a total of 152 appearances, scoring 15 goals, in his three years at West Ham.[6] His exploits that season resulted in him being voted runner-up forHammer of the Year, behind Brooking.[5]
On 23 March 1976, Paddon made his only international appearance when he played for theEngland under-23 team as a permitted over-age player in a game against Hungary. He scored the final goal of a 3–1 victory.[3][7]
Paddon rejoined Norwich, who by that point had returned to the top tier, for £110,000 in November 1976, but suffered a broken leg in only his third game back with the Norfolk club. It would be a full year before his return to first-team football.[8] He went on tocaptain the club, who remained in the First Division until the1980–81 season.[3]
He spent time in the United States with theTampa Bay Rowdies in 1978,[9] and scored a goal against Norwich in anindoor friendly between the two sides on 3 May 1978 inSt. Petersburg, Florida.[10]
In all, Paddon made 290 League appearances and 25 scored goals over his two spells at Norwich. He spent some time on loan atMillwall during the 1981–82 season, where he made five League appearances and scored one goal.[4] He finished his career in Hong Kong withEastern AA and then withNorthern Counties East clubAlfreton Town, where he made 29 appearances.[5]
Paddon was known for his creativity on the left side of midfield, with surging runs and using his powerful left foot to cross the ball into the strikers or shoot from long range.[11] His captain at Norwich,Duncan Forbes, later remarked "He had the most fantastic left-foot. He didn't need to get very far over the halfway line before he looked up and unleashed a shot at goal. It was superb".[12] West Ham goalkeeperMervyn Day noted after his death that "I'll remember his dynamism, the balance he brought to the side but, above all else, the ferocity of his left foot in shooting practice".[13]
He was also skilled at the longthrow-in, Forbes commenting "he had a huge long throw. We used to practise moves at the old training pitch atTrowse. He would take the throw, I would flick it back with my head and there'd be someone coming in behind to score".[12]
In August 1985, Paddon joined the coaching staff atPortsmouth, working underAlan Ball. He moved toStoke City to become Ball's assistant in October 1989. After Ball had been sacked in February 1991 Paddon was given the role ascaretaker manager up until the end of the1990–91 season.[2] Stoke finished in 14th place in the Third Division which was unfortunately for Paddon Stoke's worst ever league finish.[2] He returned to Portsmouth to work asJim Smith's number two in the spring of 1991. In March 1995, the pair were sacked and Paddon later worked as ascout forDerby County, again under Jim Smith, as well as atLiverpool andLeicester City.[13]
In 2003, Paddon joinedDPMM FC inBrunei, taking charge of the team that competed in the2005–06 Brunei Premier League.[3]
Paddon died of aheart attack at his home inNorfolk on 19 November 2007.[14][15]
Source:[16]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Coventry City | 1968–69 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969–70 | First Division | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Norwich City | 1969–70 | Second Division | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| 1970–71 | Second Division | 40 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
| 1971–72 | Second Division | 40 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 10 | |
| 1972–73 | First Division | 38 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 54 | 12 | |
| 1973–74 | First Division | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 3 | |
| Total | 162 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 198 | 28 | ||
| West Ham United | 1973–74 | First Division | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
| 1974–75 | First Division | 40 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 4 | |
| 1975–76 | First Division | 39 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 57 | 5 | |
| 1976–77 | First Division | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |
| Total | 115 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 152 | 15 | ||
| Norwich City | 1976–77 | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1977–78 | First Division | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 1978–79 | First Division | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| 1979–80 | First Division | 40 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 5 | |
| 1980–81 | First Division | 42 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 3 | |
| 1981–82 | Second Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 128 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 146 | 9 | ||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan) | 1978 | NASL | 25 | 5 | – | – | – | 25 | 5 | |||
| Millwall (loan) | 1981–82 | Third Division | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Career Total | 440 | 43 | 23 | 1 | 39 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 531 | 59 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Stoke City[2] | 24 February 1991 | 18 June 1991 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 033.3 |
| Total | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 033.3 | ||
Norwich City[12]