_044.jpg) Crichton with theOrlando Pride in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Andrew Crichton | ||
| Date of birth | (1968-10-03)3 October 1968 (age 57) | ||
| Place of birth | Pontefract, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Nottingham Forest | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1988 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | (0) |
| 1986 | →Notts County (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1987 | →Darlington (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1987 | →Peterborough United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1987 | →Darlington (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1987 | →Swindon Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1988 | →Rotherham United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 1988 | →Torquay United (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Peterborough United | 47 | (0) |
| 1990–1993 | Doncaster Rovers | 77 | (0) |
| 1993–1996 | Grimsby Town | 133 | (0) |
| 1996 | →West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | West Bromwich Albion | 27 | (0) |
| 1997 | →Aston Villa (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1998 | →Burnley (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1998 | →Burnley (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1998–2001 | Burnley | 83 | (0) |
| 2001–2004 | Norwich City | 6 | (0) |
| 2004 | York City | 4 | (0) |
| 2004 | Gainsborough Trinity | ? | (?) |
| 2004 | Stafford Rangers | 2 | (0) |
| 2004 | Leigh RMI | 4 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Accrington Stanley | 19 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Gillingham | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Cambridge United | 32 | (0) |
| 2007 | →King's Lynn (loan) | ? | (?) |
| 2007–2008 | King's Lynn | ? | (?) |
| 2008–2009 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Sheffield United | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 540 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019–2021 | Miami FC (assistant head coach) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paul Andrew Crichton (born 3 October 1968) is an English football coach and formerfootballer. He is the goalkeeper coach ofNational Women's Soccer League clubOrlando Pride.
Aa a player he was agoalkeeper from 1986 to 2011. During his playing career Crichton notably had lengthy spells withGrimsby Town,Doncaster Rovers,West Bromwich Albion andBurnley having also played as a professional forNottingham Forest,Notts County,Darlington,Peterborough United,Swindon Town,Rotherham United,Aston Villa andNorwich City. He then moved into the Non-League game where he turned out forYork City,Gainsborough Trinity,Stafford Rangers,Leigh RMI andAccrington Stanley.
Although never officially announcing his retirement, Crichton moved into coaching in 2005 and has since been the goalkeeping coach ofGillingham,Cambridge United,King's Lynn,Brighton & Hove Albion andSheffield United as well as being registered as a player with each club.
Crichton started his career as a trainee atNottingham Forest club, turning professional in May 1986. While atForest he was loaned out to six different clubs to gain experience, although he was never given an opportunity at Forest. The first of these loans, was with neighboursNotts County, which gave Crichton his league debut in September 1986. This was followed by further loans toDarlington in (January) andPeterborough United in (March). In September 1987 he rejoinedDarlington, with further loans atSwindon Town in December 1987, andRotherham United in March 1988. He joinedTorquay United on loan in August 1988, playing 13 games at the start of the season, keepingKen Veysey out of the side. He played well enough to attract attention from other clubs, and moved from Forest toPeterborough United in November on afree transfer.
He was released at the end of the following season and joinedDoncaster Rovers in August 1990. On 15 September that year in a game againstRochdale atSpotland, Crichton achieved a rare if not unique feat by saving the same penalty three times. The referee had insisted it be retaken twice. Rovers went on to win 3–0.[2] He appeared in 90 league and cup games for Doncaster.[3]
He moved toGrimsby Town on a free transfer in July 1993. He was an ever-present in his first season atBlundell Park, hardly missing a game for 3 years until September 1996, when he moved toWest Bromwich Albion for £250,000, playing under his former Grimsby managerAlan Buckley.
His spell atthe Hawthorns was frustrating for Crichton as he played only 33 games in two years with the club[3] and found himself playing second fiddle toAlan Miller, agoalkeeper signed for £400,000 shortly after Crichton's arrival. Crichton was again farmed out on loan, first for a week from 7 August 1997 toAston Villa, as a standby goalkeeper whileMark Bosnich was injured, but managerBrian Little selectedMichael Oakes in goal and Crichton never played a competitive game for Villa.[4]
He then joinedBurnley on loan in August 1998, playing just once, in the opening game of the season, before being recalled tothe Hawthorns after just 3 days.
He returned toBurnley in a permanent move on 19 November 1998, costing the Clarets £100,000 and quickly established himself in the Burnley side. He was an ever-present in the 1999–2000 season, as Burnley won promotion to Division One, but the following season lost his place to Greek international goalkeeperNikolaos Michopoulos. His spell at Burnley may be remembered for his part in one of Burnley's worst ever spells in football. In February 1999, Burnley playedGillingham atTurf Moor, Gillingham won 5–0 withRobert Taylor scoring all 5 goals (at the time it was a post-war record for number of goals scored by one person on an away ground). Things went from bad to worst in the following fixture, again at home, this time toManchester City as City won 6–0. Crichton was in goal for both games, and although the defence was perhaps more to blame than him, it was the most goals he had conceded in two games.
On 22 June 2001Norwich City paid £150,000 to sign him from Burnley. He was signed as a back-up goalkeeper, however, and spent his time playing understudy toRobert Green. After only 6 appearances in three seasons, Crichton joinedYork City on a free transfer in 2004, although he ended his final season at Norwich with a first division championship medal after the Canaries won promotion to the Premiership. However, he was sacked by York in September 2004 after an incident with a supporter,[5] and joinedGainsborough Trinity.[6] Later that month he joinedStafford Rangers, playing twice before leaving to seek a move to a club nearer hisNorwich home.[7] However, in early October 2004 he joinedLeigh RMI,[8] for whom he played five times before joiningAccrington Stanley in November 2004.[9]
It was from Accrington, and following almost twenty appearances, that Crichton returned to league football, joiningGillingham at the beginning of the2005–06 season. Crichton was signed as back up toJason Brown, but was also given his first official coaching role.[10] His one appearance that season came in the home game againstYeovil Town, where he kept aclean sheet in a 0–0 draw.
On 26 June it was announced that Crichton had left Priestfield and joinedCambridge United as a player-coach.[11] In January 2007 he was loaned toKing's Lynn until the end of the season,[12] but remained as goalkeeping coach at Cambridge United. However, after Cambridge lost 5–0 twice in succession, Crichton was recalled from his loan, and was present in goal during the club record victory on 31 March 2007 (7–0 v.Weymouth). He was released by Cambridge in May 2007 and returned to King's Lynn on a permanent contract for the 2007–08 season,[13] but was allowed to leave to joinBrighton & Hove Albion as goalkeeping coach, to further his career. On 9 February 2009, he moved to take over as goalkeeping coach atNorwich City replacingTommy Wright, afterBryan Gunn was appointed as manager. He left the club in February 2010,[14] moving toSheffield United to coach there, though was also registered as a player for emergencies for his first season.[3][15] In July 2012 took up the goalkeeper coaching job atChampionship clubHuddersfield Town.[16]
On 23 June 2014 he returned to former clubGrimsby Town as the club's new goalkeeping coach.[17] On 9 July, having only taken part in a week's worth of pre-season training, Crichton departed Grimsby and joinedBlackpool in a similar role.[18] On 7 August 2015 Crichton joinedQueens Park Rangers, again as goalkeeping coach,[19] and left the club on 28 January 2016.[20]
After emigrating to the United States to open a soccer school, Crichton was appointed assistant coach ofMiami FC, under managerPaul Dalglish.[21] In March 2021, he joined theWashington Spirit of theNational Women's Soccer League as a goalkeeping coach.[22]
On 15 February 2023, it was confirmed Crichton had been appointed goalkeeper coach atNational Women's Soccer League clubOrlando Pride.[23]
Crichton now lives inPort Orange,Florida and is a coach for PSA Soccer Academy and technical director for the Miami FC Academy.[24]
