 Walsh in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Anthony Walsh[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1962-10-01)1 October 1962 (age 63) | ||
| Place of birth | Plumstead, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1979 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1982 | Charlton Athletic | 87 | (24) |
| 1982–1984 | Luton Town | 80 | (25) |
| 1984–1988 | Liverpool | 77 | (25) |
| 1988–1992 | Tottenham Hotspur | 128 | (19) |
| 1991 | →Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1992–1994 | Portsmouth | 73 | (14) |
| 1994–1995 | Manchester City | 53 | (16) |
| 1995–1996 | Portsmouth | 21 | (5) |
| Total | 521 | (128) | |
| International career | |||
| 1979–1981 | England Youth | 10 | (4) |
| 1982–1984 | England U21 | 7 | (4) |
| 1983–1984 | England | 5 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paul Anthony Walsh (born 1 October 1962) is an English former professionalfootballer who now works as a television pundit.
A pacey and skilfulforward, he scored a total of 127 goals in 521 league games in a 17-year career in theEnglish Football League andPremier League; he also won five senior caps for England in an eleven-month international career beginning in June 1983. He began his career atCharlton Athletic, making his first team debut aged 16 in September 1979. He helped Charlton to win promotion out of theThird Division in 1980–81 and then won a place on thePFA Team of the Year in 1981–82. He moved from theSecond Division into theFirst Division whenLuton Town paid £400,000 to acquire his services in July 1982. He continued to impress and was named asPFA Young Player of the Year in 1984. He moved toLiverpool for a £700,000 fee in May 1984 and was named in the PFA Team of the Year in his second season for the club as Liverpool won the league title and theFootball League Super Cup. He went on to struggle with injury atAnfield, though still managed to appear in losing finals of the1984 FA Charity Shield,1984 European Super Cup,1985 European Cup, and1987 Football League Cup, as well as help Liverpool to the league title and FA Cup double in 1985–86, and to finish as runners-up in the league in 1984–85 and 1986–87.
He was sold on toTottenham Hotspur for a £500,000 fee in February 1988 and played for Spurs in their1991 FA Cup Final victory overNottingham Forest. However, he was frozen out of the first team after punching acoach (Ray Clemence) at the club, and after a brief loan spell atQueens Park Rangers was moved on toPortsmouth for a £400,000 fee in June 1992. A popular player atFratton Park, supporters voted him Player of the Season in 1992–93, and he was named on the PFA Team of the Year in 1993–94. He returned to the top flight withManchester City after signing for £750,000 in March 1994. He returned to Portsmouth for a £600,000 fee in September 1995 but was forced to retire due to cruciate ligament damage in February 1996. After retiring as a player, he became a footballpundit and became a regular face onSky Sports'Soccer Saturday. He was capped five times byEngland, scoring one goal.
Paul Walsh was born to Don and June Walsh inPlumstead on 1 October 1962; his father was anelectrician and his mother worked atTate & Lyle.[3] He grew up supportingArsenal. However, his father was a season-ticket holder atWest Ham United.[3] Despite his natural skill, his small stature meant he was frequently overlooked in junior football.[4] He was spotted playing for local youth side Londinium byCharlton Athletic scout Jim Fibbins and signed schoolboy forms aged 14.[5] In a 1986 interview withShoot magazine, Walsh cited Londinium manager John O'Connor as the biggest influence on his career.[6] After leaving school he also began working part-time at a meat factory and later a fruit packing factory before he joined Charlton on a full-time basis.[7]
Walsh made his debut for theReserves in September 1978, playing right midfield againstPortsmouth atFratton Park.[8] He made his first team debut in theEnglish Football League at 16 years old, coming on as a half-time substitute forDick Tydeman in aSecond Division fixture withShrewsbury Town on 22 September 1979; he provided the assist forMartin Robinson's winning goal.[9] ManagerAndy Nelson handed him his first professional contract on his 17th birthday, a two-year contract paying £100 a week.[10] However, Nelson was sacked the following March, and the "Addicks" were relegated into theThird Division at the end of the1979–80 season.[11]
Following the sale ofMike Flanagan toCrystal Palace, new managerMike Bailey played Walsh in a strike partnership withDerek Hales in the1980–81 campaign.[12] Due to aLeague Cup draw, the season opened with three matches againstBrentford, and Walsh scored his first senior goal atGriffin Park in a 3–1 defeat before scoring a hat-trick in the return fixture atThe Valley, a 5–0 victory; this made him the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the club's history.[13] He ended the campaign with 18 goals in all competitions, whilst Hales was named in the division'sPFA Team of the Year.[14] Charlton were at the top of the table for most of the season, but a loss of form from February cost them the title, though promotion was still secured with a third-place finish.[15]
Bailey left Charlton to replaceAlan Mullery asBrighton & Hove Albion manager, and the Charlton board ironically decided to name Mullery as Bailey's successor.[16] Charlton finished the1981–82 season in 13th place, and Walsh scored 15 goals in total.[17] He performed well against divisional championsLuton Town, giving captainMal Donaghy a difficult afternoon, which was enough to win him a move to his next club.[18]
Walsh was signed byLuton Town managerDavid Pleat for £400,000 plusSteve White in July 1982.[18] Pleat had an attacking philosophy that allowed Walsh to express himself and score goals.[19] In only his second game for Luton atKenilworth Road, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–3 win overNotts County, the second goal of which was voted Goal of the Season as he beat numerous defenders before chipping the goalkeeper.[20] On the final day of the1982–83 season Luton needed to beatManchester City atMaine Road to remain in theFirst Division, and a lateRadomir Antić volley secured the "Hatters" a 1–0 win and a place in the top-flight.[21] After the game, Pleat celebrated by running down the touchline in a scene that became an iconic moment of 1980s football in England.[22]
Luton enjoyed an excellent start to the1983–84 season and were in third place on Boxing Day.[23] On 10 December, Walsh scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 win overStoke City at theVictoria Ground.[24] However, a run of just three wins in 24 games saw Luton go from title contenders to relegation candidates, as well as exit theFA Cup in a 4–3 defeat torivalsWatford atVicarage Road.[23] Luton ended the campaign in 16th place, and Walsh was voted asPFA Young Player of the Year, ahead of candidates such asIan Rush,Nigel Callaghan andJohn Barnes.[25]
Liverpool managerJoe Fagan bought Walsh for a £700,000 fee in May 1984.[26][27] Walsh turned down an approach from ItalianSerie A sideComo to join Liverpool.[28] He joined Liverpool in time to travel with the players toRome to see them win the1984 European Cup Final.[28] He made his debut as a substitute on 18 August 1984 in the 1–0Charity Shield defeat toderby rivalsEverton.[29] WithIan Rush injured at the start of the1984–85 season, Walsh partneredKenny Dalglish up front, and he scored just 14 seconds into hisAnfield debut on 27 August in a 3–0 win overWest Ham United.[30] However, he picked up a knee injury in October which caused him to miss six weeks and allowed Rush to re-establish himself as Dalglish's preferred strike partner.[31] He scored 13 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions throughout the 1984–85 campaign,[26] the most significant goal being the equaliser in the last minute of extra-time againstrivalsManchester United in theFA Cup semi-finals atGoodison Park.[32] However, Liverpool would lose the replay and also finished as runners-up in the league andEuropean Cup. Walsh started the1985 European Cup Final againstJuventus atHeysel Stadium but had to come off early in the second half after aggravating a stomach injury; Liverpool lost the game 1–0, though the day would be remembered for thedisaster which cost 39 lives.[33]
Fagan's retirement in May 1985 and Dalglish's subsequent promotion to player-manager meant that instead of gradually succeeding Dalglish as Liverpool's main striker, Walsh had to contend with a rival for his position as the club's manager.[34] He missed1985–86 pre-season after undergoing a hernia operation.[35] He returned to fitness againstOxford United on 14 September. He had a bitter argument with Dalglish at half-time, which initially seemed to spell the end of his Liverpool career as he was placed on the transfer list.[36] He returned to the first team, though, and was taken off the transfer list by his own request and soon entered a scoring streak. However, his form was ended after he ruptured his ankle ligaments in a collision with Manchester United'sKevin Moran on 9 February.[37] He returned to action six weeks later. Still, he continued to suffer from ankle trouble and was ruled out for the rest of the season, ending the campaign with 18 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions throughout the campaign.[26] His injury caused him to miss the1986 FA Cup Final, though he had played enough league games to secure a First Division winners medal as Liverpool won the league by a two-point margin over Everton.[38] His contribution to the club's success was not forgotten as he was named in the First Division'sPFA Team of the Year, alongside teammateMark Lawrenson.[39]
Writing in his 2015 autobiography, Walsh was highly critical of Liverpool'sBoot Room culture, particularly then-medical staffRonnie Moran andRoy Evans:
"I'd been havingultrasound for several months ... when a guy came in to test the equipment. After a simple procedure on the ultrasound machine, he informed us it wasn't even working! I'd been having treatment all that time and the fucking machine was broken."
— [40]
He again missed pre-season in the summer of 1986, as he underwent an operation to correct his ankle injury.[40] He recovered to earn a place on the bench for the second leg of theFootball League Super Cup final victory over Everton on 30 September, but though he only entered the game as a late substitute he broke his hand after falling awkwardly.[41] The day after the match, he had to drive himself to the hospital for anx-ray and to receive treatment.[42] Having recovered from this injury, he went on to score a hat-trick in a 6–2 home win overNorwich City.[42] He then went 12 games without a goal, andJohn Aldridge was signed to add competition to the forward roles.[43] Walsh started atWembley in the 2–1League Cup final defeat toArsenal, before being taken off for Dalglish after 73 minutes.[44] Liverpool finished second in the league, nine points behind Everton, and Walsh scored only six goals in 32 appearances throughout the campaign.[45]
The arrival of new forwards ofPeter Beardsley,John Aldridge andJohn Barnes left Walsh only making occasional appearances in the1987–88 campaign. He played just nine games without scoring a goal, though maintained fitness by playing games for thereserves.[46] He began drinking heavily, later admitting "the only thing I was interested in by that point was getting pissed and enjoying myself".[47]
Walsh was signed byTottenham Hotspur for £500,000 in February 1988, just after the appointment ofTerry Venables as manager.[27][48] He continued to drink heavily and admitted to being a "ring leader" of a drinking culture alongsideNeil Ruddock,Terry Fenwick andDavid Howells which was to the detriment of the club's on-field progress.[49] He ended the1987–88 season with one goal in 11 games for Spurs.[50] He later said he was "running at 70% capacity".[51]
Walsh was partnered with new-signingPaul Stewart for the1988–89 season, whilst fellow new arrivalPaul Gascoigne boosted both the club's attacking potential and drinking culture.[51] Spurs had a poor start to the season and were in a relegation battle during the first half of the season, and only Gascoigne andChris Waddle were creating and scoring goals.[52] Walsh felt that managerTerry Venables was too easy on the players and particularly too easy on Walsh himself who "needed someone on my case a bit more".[53] He later described the season as "just a blur" as Spurs turned their campaign around to finish in sixth place despite Walsh scoring just six goals from 32 starts and five substitute appearances.[54]
Venables broughtGary Lineker back fromBarcelona, and Stewart was selected to be Lineker's striker partner for the1989–90 season, leaving Walsh on the bench.[55] An injury to Stewart gave Walsh a chance to win back his first-team place, and he marked his return to the first team with the winning goal in a 2–1 victory overrivalsArsenal, though failed to capitalise on this performance and again was dropped.[56] Later in the season, he had to be taken off at half-time againstWimbledon as he had a long night of drinking withGeorge Best the previous night. Spurs finished third in the league that season.[57] He ended the campaign with three goals from 13 starts and 18 substitute appearances.[58]
He was on the bench for the first nine games of the1990–91 campaign, but in his first start scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win overSheffield United.[59] However, Venables dropped him to the bench for the following game, and Walsh became "cynical and pissed off" as he felt nothing he could do could displace either Stewart and Lineker, though he ended the season with 20 starts and 19 substitute appearances.[60] He did though make an appearance atWembley in the1991 FA Cup Final, coming on forVinny Samways 82 minutes into a 2–1 victory overNottingham Forest.[61][62]
Walsh missed two weeks of the1991–92 pre-season with a groin injury, and on his first game back for thereserves atWhite Hart Lane punched reserve team managerRay Clemence in the face after Clemence substituted him off after an hour.[63] Walsh was suspended for two weeks and upon his return was loaned out toQueens Park Rangers for a month.[64] QPR managerGerry Francis wanted to make the signing a permanent one, but the club were unable to afford the £800,000 fee Spurs had asked for.[64] After returning to Spurs, he again punched someone in the face, this time a supporter who had shouted abuse to Walsh on the pitch after a game againstNorwich City.[65] He ended the campaign with three goals in 22 starts and 15 substitute appearances.[66]
Walsh was signed byPortsmouth for a £400,000 fee in June 1992, as manager Jim Smith prepared for a promotion challenge from the new Division One in the 1992–93 season.[67] To tempt him out of the top-flight, "Pompey" managerJim Smith offered him a four-year contract on a higher wage than he had been on at Spurs, whilst the club also bought hisLondon home off him to facilitate his move to the south coast.[68] In his autobiography, he admitted that he was not keen on joining Portsmouth but stated that he decided to take a much more professional approach to his career in terms of training and eating healthier food to start the1992–93 pre-season in good physical condition; he credited his new approach to the birth of his first child.[69] Ironically though, avirus picked up on a family holiday toSaint Lucia caused him to miss a month early in the season and drained him of fitness.[70] He recovered to build a strike partnership withGuy Whittingham, whilst midfieldersAlan McLoughlin andMark Chamberlain made an effective four-pronged attack, and with two games to go Portsmouth were top of the table and needed only to beat relegation-threatenedSunderland to secure an automatic promotion place.[71] However, they lost the match 4–1, and Walsh was sent off; he wrecked theRoker Park dressing rooms in a fit of temper.[72] Portsmouth missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference, Walsh was suspended for the play-off games, and Portsmouth lost at the semi-final stage toLeicester City.[73] Despite Whittingham scoring 47 league goals in all competitions, it was Walsh who the fans voted as their Player of the Year.[74]
With Whittingham sold, Walsh failed to build an effective partnership with new signingGerry Creaney, and Portsmouth failed to put together a promotion push for the1993–94 season. However, Walsh scored both goals in a 2–2 draw withManchester United atOld Trafford in theLeague Cup, putting himself back on the radar for top-flight clubs in need of strikers.[75]
Manchester City managerBrian Horton, his former captain at Luton, paid Portsmouth £750,000 for Walsh's services in March 1994.[76] With star strikerNiall Quinn out injured, City were fourth from bottom with elevenPremier League games left to play and had also signed another new striker,Uwe Rosler – aGerman player who had yet to learnEnglish.[77] The pair soon built an understanding, however, and the arrival of wingersPeter Beagrie andNicky Summerbee gave City the attacking firepower to steer clear of the relegation zone as Walsh and Rösler scored nine goals between them in the final ten games.[78]
Horton tried to accommodateNiall Quinn, returning from a long-term injury, alongside Rösler and Walsh in the first team for the1994–95 season, and as a result, had a very strong attacking team.[79] City were in sixth place and pushing for European qualification for the first time since the 1970s by December, but then ten games without a win and three months without a goal for Walsh saw City fall down the table.[80] They ended the campaign in 17th place and Horton was sacked.[81] New managerAlan Ball tried to build a team around new signingGeorgi Kinkladze for the1995–96 campaign, and Walsh felt that the time had come to leaveMaine Road.[82][83]
Former Spurs teammateTerry Fenwick, now manager at Portsmouth, took Walsh back toFratton Park in exchange forGerry Creaney (valued at £600,000) in September 1995; Walsh signed a three-year contract with the club.[82] He scored five goals in 21 league games in the1995–96 season before suffering a micro-fracture of thefibula in a seemingly innocuous incident during a 1–1 draw withMillwall atThe Den on 27 January.[84] He played againstLeicester City on 10 February, but his knee collapsed. The resultingcruciate ligament damage meant that he never played professional football again, although he did not announce his retirement until the following year.[85] He became assistant first-team coach at the club upon his retirement.[86] He had a testimonial game at Fratton Park in May 1998.[87] He was a popular figure at the club, and in February 2005 he came second in theFootball Focus poll to find the club's "cult hero", behind teammateAlan Knight.[88]
Walsh was selected for the England youth team's summer trip to the Adria Cup atYugoslavia in 1979.[89] He was selected for the1980 UEFA European Under-18 Championship inEast Germany, which England won, though he made only two substitute appearances during the tournament.[90] Soon after signing for Luton Town in 1982, he became a regular in theEngland under-21 side during the1984 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[91] He played both legs againstGreece, and scored the winning goal againstHungary to take England into the knock-out stages.[92]
Walsh won his first seniorEngland cap underBobby Robson on 12 June 1983, in a 0–0 friendly draw withAustralia atSydney Cricket Ground during a two-week tour of the continent.[93] Three days later he scored the only goal of the game against Australia in the second match of the tour atBrisbane'sLang Park.[94] He then went on to secure his third cap within the space of seven days in a 1–1 draw with Australia at theOlympic Park Stadium.[94] He earned a fourth cap playing alongside club-mateBrian Stein in a 2–0 defeat toFrance atParc des Princes on 29 February 1984.[25] The last of his five senior appearances for England came on 2 May 1984 in a 1–0British Home Championship defeat toWales atWrexham'sRacecourse Ground.[95]
"If he can't motivate himself to play in a European Under-21 final, he's not for me."
— Bobby Robson was true to his word, and Walsh never played for England again after he turned down the opportunity to play in the final of the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in favour of going on an end-of-season tour with new club Liverpool.[96]
In 1986,Bob Paisley described Walsh as an "individualist" best suited for a lone striker role due to his selfish play, tremendous pace and dribbling ability.[97] He was able to shoot powerfully with both feet.[98] He had an aggressive temperament, which led to occasional bookings and red cards for ill-discipline.[99]
"Paul Walsh can play teams on his own some days. When he's buzzing and bubbling he whizzes around the field like a cartoon character with the ball tied to his boot. It's like watching a film that's running too fast. You want to slow it down in order to appreciate all the tricks he's getting up to. He might beat a defender on the outside, then turn back and go inside him and then beat him once again for luck."
— Bob Paisley on Walsh in the 1987 bookBob Paisley's personal view of the First Team Squad of 1986–87.[100]
Walsh became afootball agent for a short time and representedLee Bradbury during his move to Manchester City.[101] He also invested in property and other businesses, though he lost money by investing in Australian fraudsterPeter Foster.[102] Walsh began working in the media after retiring as a player and first began working as apundit onSky Sports in 2001, and since that time has appeared regularly onSoccer Saturday andFootball First.[103] In December 2007, he led a campaign againstspeeding fines inHampshire.[104]
He married Bev in 1990, and the couple had their first child, Jordan, on 12 January 1991.[105] They had another son, Mason, on 22 November 1995, who turned professional atAFC Bournemouth in April 2014.[106][107] Walsh published hisautobiography,Wouldn't It Be Good, in 2015.[108] His son, Mason, played forBognor Regis Town.[109]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other[a] | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Charlton Athletic | 1979–80 | Second Division | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 1980–81 | Third Division | 40 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 48 | 18 | |
| 1981–82 | Second Division | 38 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 13 | |
| Total | 87 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 100 | 31 | ||
| Luton Town | 1982–83 | First Division | 41 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 47 | 15 |
| 1983–84 | First Division | 39 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 14 | |
| Total | 80 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 92 | 29 | ||
| Liverpool | 1984–85 | First Division | 26 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 38 | 13 |
| 1985–86 | First Division | 20 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 34 | 18 | |
| 1986–87 | First Division | 23 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 6 | |
| 1987–88 | First Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 77 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 9 | 112 | 37 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1987–88 | First Division | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 1988–89 | First Division | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 6 | |
| 1989–90 | First Division | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 3 | |
| 1990–91 | First Division | 29 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 7 | |
| 1991–92 | First Division | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 38 | 4 | |
| Total | 128 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 156 | 21 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 1991–92 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Portsmouth | 1992–93 | First Division | 43 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 49 | 10 |
| 1993–94 | First Division | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 42 | 11 | |
| Total | 73 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 91 | 21 | ||
| Manchester City | 1993–94 | Premier League | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 39 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 48 | 15 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 62 | 19 | ||
| Portsmouth | 1995–96 | First Division | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 |
| Career total | 521 | 128 | 31 | 8 | 82 | 27 | 634 | 163 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1983 | 3 | 1 |
| 1984 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 1 | |
Individual
England U18
Charlton Athletic
Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur
Specific
General
