| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Graham Paul Jack Shaw[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1967-06-07)7 June 1967 (age 58)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle-under-Lyme, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1983–1985 | Stoke City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1989 | Stoke City | 99 | (18) |
| 1989–1992 | Preston North End | 121 | (29) |
| 1992–1995 | Stoke City | 36 | (5) |
| 1994 | →Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 1995–1996 | Rochdale | 22 | (0) |
| Total | 284 | (52) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Graham Paul Shaw (born 7 June 1967) is an English formerfootballer who made nearly 300 appearances inthe Football League playing forStoke City,Preston North End,Plymouth Argyle andRochdale between 1985 and 1996.[1][3]
Shaw was born inNewcastle-under-Lyme and signed on professional terms for local sideStoke City in June 1985 after progressing through the youth ranks at theVictoria Ground.[1] He had a decent debut season for Stoke in1985–86 scoring five goals in 22 appearances.[1] He played in 20 matches in1986–87 scoring twice, and was the top-scorer in1987–88 with ten goals.[1] During that season, Stoke playedLiverpool in theFA Cup and Shaw had the chance to win the match for Stoke after he was put through one on one with 'keeperMike Hooper but Shaw hesitated thinking he was offside, and the chance had gone.[4] Stoke went on to lose the replay 1–0. Shaw scored six goals in 33 games in the1988–89 season before being surprisingly sold byMick Mills to Third DivisionPreston North End for £70,000.[1]
Shaw's time atDeepdale was a mixed affair however with him brilliant one game and then extremely disappointing the next. Much of this can however, be put down to injuries and the fact that he never really had a regular or good enough strike partner. His first season with the club though started like a house on fire with him scoring six goals in his first four games including aLeague cuphat-trick againstTranmere Rovers. The rest of the season was a disappointment, though, with Shaw picking up an injury a few games later againstBristol Rovers and adding only five more goals to his early season burst.
His next two seasons with the club were more consistent, with Shaw missing only a few games and scoring 15 goals in 1990–91 and 17 in 1991–92. Surprisingly, Shaw was offered the chance to return to Stoke on the eve of the 1992–93 season. With North End bossLes Chapman given funds to strengthen his squad after 2 disappointing seasons in which the club only just avoided relegation Shaw was sold back to Stoke as part payment for bringingTony Ellis back toPreston. In all Shaw played 136(8) games for Preston scoring 42 goals.
Shaw's second spell at Stoke started well with Shaw scoring six goals in 38 appearances in1992–93 helping Stoke win theSecond Division title.[1] However, a persistent back injury limited his appearances and had a spell on loan atPlymouth Argyle at the beginning of the 1994–95 season also proved fruitless with Shaw failing to register a goal in six games.[5]
In March 1995,Rochdale signed Shaw on a free transfer. In little over a season, Shaw played 28 games for the club, scoring just two goals and was released in May 1996.
Shaw considered coaching[citation needed] but after much deliberation decided to go toStaffordshire University and studycriminal law. With the help of the PFA's education fund passed his final exams to become a fully qualified criminal lawyer. After working for a firm inStoke-on-Trent for five years he now practices inNewcastle-Under-Lyme as a commercial sports solicitor.[6] In August 2010 prospectivePort Vale investor Mike Newton revealed his plans to install Shaw as Chief Executive of the club.[7]
Source:[8]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke City | 1985–86 | Second Division | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 22 | 5 |
| 1986–87 | Second Division | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 1987–88 | Second Division | 33 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3[a] | 2 | 42 | 10 | |
| 1988–89 | Second Division | 28 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 33 | 6 | |
| Total | 99 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 117 | 23 | ||
| Preston North End | 1989–90 | Third Division | 31 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3[b] | 2 | 37 | 11 |
| 1990–91 | Third Division | 44 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7[b] | 4 | 53 | 15 | |
| 1991–92 | Third Division | 46 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3[b] | 0 | 54 | 16 | |
| Total | 121 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 144 | 42 | ||
| Stoke City | 1992–93 | Second Division | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4[b] | 0 | 38 | 6 |
| 1993–94 | First Division | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1994–95 | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 48 | 6 | ||
| Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 1994–95 | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Rochdale | 1994–95 | Third Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | Third Division | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Total | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 284 | 52 | 17 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 8 | 343 | 72 | ||