| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Futcher[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1956-09-25)25 September 1956[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Chester,[1] England | ||
| Date of death | 23 November 2016(2016-11-23) (aged 60)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Sheffield,[1] England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1973 | Chester City | 20 | (0) |
| 1974–1977 | Luton Town | 131 | (1) |
| 1978–1979 | Manchester City | 37 | (0) |
| 1980–1982 | Oldham Athletic | 98 | (1) |
| 1982–1983 | Derby County | 35 | (0) |
| 1984–1990 | Barnsley | 230 | (0) |
| 1990 | Halifax Town | 15 | (0) |
| 1991–1994 | Grimsby Town | 132 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Dundalk | ||
| 1995 | Droylsden | ||
| 1995–1997 | Gresley Rovers | ||
| 1997–2000 | Southport | 65 | (0) |
| Total | 763 | (2) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976–1978 | England Under-21s | 11 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1995 | Darlington | ||
| 1995–1997 | Gresley Rovers (player) | ||
| 1997–2000 | Southport (player) | ||
| 2001–2002 | Stalybridge Celtic | ||
| 2005 | Ashton United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paul Futcher (25 September 1956 – 23 November 2016) was an English professionalfootballer who had a distinguished career as adefender in theEnglish Football League, forEngland under 21s and asmanager of several non-league clubs.
He is regarded as a club legend byGrimsby Town who signed him at the age of 35 when he was apparently past his best. He went on to be described as one of the club's greatest ever players.[3] Prior to his time with Grimsby he had enjoyed lengthy spells withLuton Town,Oldham Athletic andBarnsley as well as playing forChester,Manchester City,Derby County andHalifax Town. After leaving Grimsby in 1994 he played forDundalk before moving into management.
Futcher was the defensive half of twin brothers. His brother was centre-forwardRon.
Futcher began his career with hometown clubChester, who he made his debut for as a 16-year-old againstCambridge United in March 1973. This came just a fortnight after his older brotherGraham had played his final game for the club and seven months before Ron made his debut for the Blues. Futcher quickly turned professional and had made 20Football League appearances whenLuton Town snapped him up for £100,000 in the summer of 1974. Ron joined him on the journey south, where Paul was to play more than 140 games and won ten England under 21 caps.
Futcher was the most expensive defender in England when he becameManchester City's record signing for £350,000 on 1 June 1978.[4] He replaced club stalwartTommy Booth in the side which failed to live up to expectations and as the major new signing he attracted criticism. Booth won his place back, and on 1 July 1979 Futcher leftMaine Road for a fee of £150,000 and joinedSecond DivisionOldham Athletic.
Futcher had twice been chosen for the England squad and each time a road accident had put paid to him fulfilling the invitation.[5]Futcher signed for Barnsley in a double deal with Calvin Plummer from Derby County, and the following Saturday both made their debuts against there former side in a 5- 1 victory for Barnsley.Futcher is regarded as one of Barnsley greatest ever centre halves.Futcher was signed byGrimsby Town fromHalifax Town reserves, aged 34, byAlan Buckley for £10,000 as a short-term replacement forAndy Tillson. He went on to be a fans' favourite for five seasons, winning the Supporters Player of the Year twice in that time. Then his sonBen Futcher joined the club for their League Two play-off final season of2005–06 before he left forPeterborough United.
During his time at Grimsby, Futcher was held in high esteem by the club's supporters. Following the arrival ofBrian Laws as manager and a poor performance in a match against Oldham Athletic, he departed in 1994, but remains thought of as one of the club's best-ever players.
He later played forDundalk where he played inUEFA Cup Qualifying Round againstMalmo.
Futcher led Rovers to the Dr. Martens Premier Division championship in 1997; they were not promoted to the Conference because their ground failed to meet Conference standards. During this time, they regularly played against now EFL League One club, Burton Albion, often beating them.
The highlight of his two-and-a-half-year stint withSouthport was the club'sFA Trophy final outing in 1998, where at 41; Futcher became the oldest player to appear in a competitiveWembley final.
The Sandgrounders narrowly lost toCheltenham Town, and the remainder of the former Manchester City man's Haig Avenue tenure was blemished by successful relegation scraps.
Futcher was unable to save the Robins from relegation to theNorthern Premier League. He subsequently failed to motivate the squad (using nearly 50 players in 10 months) and left in December 2005.
Futcher's twin brotherRon played in theFootball League as well as being a top scorer in theNorth American Soccer League; and their older brotherGraham also played professionally atChester City. Paul's sonBen has extensive Football League experience. He is also the uncle of formerPremier League midfielderDanny Murphy.[6]
On 23 November 2016, Futcher died of cancer.[7][8] Gary Sweet, the Chief Executive of his former club Luton Town, described him as "up there with the very best I've ever seen play for the Club", adding that Futcher would "live long in the memory of anyone who saw him play."[9]
A minute's silence was observed at Grimsby's next fixture a 3–2 away defeat atCrawley Town.[10] Whilst Grimsby also announced they would hold a minutes applause for him in their next home game againstPortsmouth.[11]
Grimsby Town
Individual
Gresley Rovers
Southport
