Graham Charles Paddon (24 August 1950 – 19 November 2007) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a midfielder for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Playing career

Paddon was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and began his career as an apprentice with

under

Noel Cantwell Noel Euchuria Cornelius Cantwell (28 February 1932 – 8 September 2005) was an Irish footballer player and sometime cricketer. Club career Cantwell was born in Cork, Ireland, and was educated at the Roman Catholic Presentation Brothers College ...

. He made his senior debut in February 1969, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 victory over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. He made five First Division appearances for the Midlands club, scoring one goal, before signing for

, then of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, in October 1969 for £25,000. He played in the Canaries'

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

-winning team of 1971–72, his eight goals helping the team to the league title. The following season, he helped the club to reach the 1973 League Cup Final. He scored all three goals in the quarter-final against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and saw victory in the two-legged semi-final against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, but was not able to stop

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

winning the Final by a single goal. After 198 appearances and 28 goals for the Canaries, Paddon joined

, also of the First Division, for £170,000 in December 1973 in a deal which saw

Ted MacDougall Edward John MacDougall (born 8 January 1947 in Inverness) is a Scottish former footballer. MacDougall was a prolific goalscorer who played for eight teams, scoring 256 goals in 535 League appearances and winning seven full international caps fo ...

move the other way. The deal saw Paddon become West Ham's most expensive player. Joining a team that included

Billy Bonds William Arthur Bonds (born 17 September 1946) is a former professional footballer and manager, who is most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager. He played 799 first-team games for West Ham in a ...

and

Trevor Brooking Sir Trevor David Brooking, (born 2 October 1948) is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England. He spent almost his entire career at West Ha ...

and was managed by

Ron Greenwood Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...

, he made 26 appearances for the east London club during the 1973–74 season. Paddon's first full season at West Ham, by that point managed by

John Lyall John Angus Lyall (24 February 1940 – 18 April 2006) was an English footballer and manager primarily known for his 34 years at West Ham United. He played for the club as a youth, then as a first-team player before injury cut short his career. ...

, saw 54 appearances and 4 goals. He featured all of the games in the successful

1974–75 FA Cup The 1974–75 FA Cup was the 94th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. West Ham United won the competition, beating Second Division side Fulham 2–0 in the ...

run, with the second goal of the 2–0 victory in the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

scored by Alan Taylor after 'keeper

Peter Mellor Peter Mellor (born 20 November 1947) is an American former professional footballer whose playing career as a goalkeeper spanned three decades. He played 17 years in the top three tiers of English professional football with Burnley, Fulham, Here ...

failed to deal with a shot by Paddon. The season also featured what Paddon described afterwards as "the best goal I've ever scored", a 40-yarder against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

that found the net with some help from the wind. He managed 5 goals in 57 appearances during the 1975–76 season, including every game of the European Cup Winners' Cup campaign. He scored from 30 yards in the first leg of the semi-final against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

, but the team were only able to pick up a runners-up medal in the

against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

. He made a total of 152 appearances, scoring 15 goals, in his three years at West Ham. His exploits that season resulted in him being voted runner-up for

Hammer of the Year West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, behind Brooking. On 23 March 1976, Paddon made his only international appearance when he played for the England under-23 team as a permitted over-age player in a game against Hungary. He scored the final goal of a 3–1 victory. 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. He went on to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

the club, who remained in the First Division until the 1980–81 season. He spent time in the United States with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

in 1978, and scored a goal against Norwich in an

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

friendly between the two sides on 3 May 1978 in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. In all, Paddon made 290 League appearances and 25 scored goals over his two spells at Norwich. He spent some time on loan at

during the 1981–82 season, where he made five League appearances and scored one goal. He finished his career in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

with

Eastern AA Eastern Athletic Association Football Team Limited, also known as Eastern Sports Club (), is a Hong Kong professional sports club whose association football, football section competes in the Hong Kong Premier League, the top flight of Footbal ...

and then with Northern Counties East club

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...

, where he made 29 appearances.

Style of play

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. 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". West Ham goalkeeper

Mervyn Day Mervyn Richard Day (born 26 June 1955) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a goalkeeper for West Ham United, Orient, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Luton Town, Sheffield United and Carlisle United. He la ...

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". He was also skilled at the long

throw-in A throw-in is a method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball has exited the side of the field of play. It is governed by Law 15 of The Laws of the Game. Award When the ball goes out of play past the touch-line ...

, Forbes commenting "he had a huge long throw. We used to practise moves at the old training pitch at

Trowse Trowse (pronounced by those from Norwich and by elderly residents of the village), also called Trowse with Newton, is a village in South Norfolk which lies about south-east of Norwich city centre on the banks of the River Yare. It covers an ...

. He would take the throw, I would flick it back with my head and there'd be someone coming in behind to score".

Coaching career

In August 1985, Paddon joined the coaching staff at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, working under Alan Ball. He moved to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

to become Ball's assistant in October 1989. After Ball had been sacked in February 1991 Paddon was given the role as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

up until the end of the 1990–91 season. Stoke finished in 14th place in the Third Division which was unfortunately for Paddon Stoke's worst ever league finish. He returned to Portsmouth to work as Jim Smith's number two in the spring of 1991. In March 1995, the pair were sacked and Paddon later worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

, again under Jim Smith, as well as at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. In 2003, Paddon joined

DPMM FC Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota Football Club (His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club in English, commonly known as DPMM FC) is a professional football club based in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The club played in the Brunei Pr ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

, taking charge of the team that competed in the 2005–06 Brunei Premier League.

Death

Paddon died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at his home in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

on 19 November 2007.

Career statistics

As a player

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the

Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

Football League Group Cup The Football League Group Cup was a short-lived football competition which first took place during the 1981–82 season. For English clubs it was a replacement for the Anglo-Scottish Cup, which had been discontinued due to the withdrawal of Scott ...

Texaco Cup The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions. It wa ...

and

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

As a manager

Honours

Norwich City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

champions: 1971–72 *

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

runner-up:

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

West Ham United *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

winner:

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

runner-up:

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

References

External links

Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paddon, Graham 1950 births 2007 deaths Footballers from Manchester English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Coventry City F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Millwall F.C. players Eastern Sports Club footballers Alfreton Town F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Stoke City F.C. managers English expatriate men's footballers English Football League managers England men's under-23 international footballers Portsmouth F.C. non-playing staff Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff Derby County F.C. non-playing staff Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff Leicester City F.C. non-playing staff English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States DPMM FC managers English football managers