Paul George Barron (born 16 September 1953) is an English former professional

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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He is the head coach for the

Las Vegas Mobsters Las Vegas Mobsters is an American soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Founded in 2013, the team plays in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), the fifth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Nevada Division. Their inaugural season wa ...

Playing career

Born in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Barron qualified as a PE instructor before becoming a professional footballer. He played for non-league

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

and

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

, before turning professional with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in July 1976. He signed for

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 ...

in July 1978 for £70,000, as cover for

Pat Jennings Patrick Anthony Jennings (born 12 June 1945) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 119 international matches for Northern Ireland in an international career which lasted for over 22 years. D ...

. Barron made his Arsenal debut on 2 August 1978 against

Manchester City 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 tw ...

but was unable to oust Jennings from the first team; after only eight appearances in two seasons he moved on to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in 1980. He joined Palace along with

Clive Allen Clive Darren Allen (born 20 May 1961) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward for seven different London clubs. Allen was a prolific striker throughout his career ...

, while

Kenny Sansom Kenneth Graham Sansom (born 26 September 1958) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. An England international, he played for clubs such as Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers, ...

moved to Arsenal as part of the deal. At

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

Barron was favoured by manager

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...

over

John Burridge John Burridge (born 3 December 1951), nicknamed Budgie, is an English former goalkeeper who is now working with Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters as their goalkeeping consultant and senior goalkeeping coach for their goalkeeping academ ...

as Palace suffered a poor start to the 1980–81 season. However, Venables left in October 1980 to become

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

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 ...

, and Burridge followed in December. Barron made 33 league appearances that season, (in which Palace were relegated) but remained at Palace in 1981–82 and for the first half of 1982–83 as the Eagles finished 15th in consecutive seasons. Barron joined

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

in December 1982 and spent three seasons at

the Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F ...

making 63 First Division appearances. In 1984–85 he joined

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 ...

on loan, and played once keeping a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw away at

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 ...

. He joined Queens Park Rangers in August 1985 and he appeared in the 1986 Football League Cup Final for QPR, in their defeat by

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. Barron spent two seasons at

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

which included a short spell on loan at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and in the summer of 1988 he returned to his first club

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Barron became a goalkeeping coach, working at

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 ...

and

. He then moved to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, before joining

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in 2001. Barron was sent to the stands during Middlesbrough's away

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

match against

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 ...

on 26 September 2007, after protesting about

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

's opening goal. In November 2007 he left Boro to become goalkeeping coach at Newcastle United. Barron left Newcastle United in December 2010 following the departure of manager

Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...

. As of 2015 Barron is the head coach of the

a U.S soccer team in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

's Western Conference.

Career statistics

Honours

Queens Park Rangers *

Football League 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:

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Paul 1953 births Footballers from Woolwich Living people English footballers National League (English football) players Association football goalkeepers Welling United F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Reading F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Coventry City F.C. non-playing staff Crawley Town F.C. non-playing staff Queens Park Rangers F.C. non-playing staff West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff Newcastle United F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players Association football goalkeeping coaches