Paul Brooker (born 25 November 1976) is an English retired 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 winger in the Football League for Fulham,

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

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 ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and Brentford.

Career

Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion (1995–2003)

Able to play on either

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

, Brooker began his career as a schoolboy at

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 ...

, before joining the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

at West London rivals Fulham. He turned professional in 1995 and broke through into the first team during the 1996–97 season. He was a part of the team which secured promotion to 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 May 1997. Brooker was out of favour over the course of the following three seasons and made just one league appearance during the Cottagers' 1998–99 promotion season. He spent time away on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...

and

and joined the latter club on a three-year contract for a £25,000 fee in May 2000, a move which reunited him with his former Fulham manager

Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen-year professional career in the English ...

. After breaking into the starting lineup in February 2001, Brooker became an integral part of the Brighton & Hove Albion team which won consecutive promotions from the Third to the First Division in 2001 and 2002. He turned down a new two-year contract in August 2002 and departed the

Withdean Stadium Withdean Stadium is an athletics stadium in Withdean, a suburb of Brighton. It was constructed in 1930. It was the home track of Olympic athlete Steve Ovett. Between 1999 and 2011 it was the home ground of football team Brighton & Hove Albion ...

when his contract expired at the end of the 2002–03 season. He made 147 appearances and scored 16 goals during just over three seasons with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Leicester City, Reading and Brentford (2003–2007)

On 1 July 2003, Brooker reunited with Micky Adams for the third time at

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

and signed a two-year contract on a free transfer. He made just six appearances during the 2003–04 season and spent just over two months on loan at First Division club

, with whom he signed a two-year contract on a free transfer on 2 July 2004. Brooker made 34 appearances during the 2004–05 season, but was allowed to join

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club Brentford on a free transfer on 1 July 2005. Though Brentford were defeated in the 2006 League One play-off semi-finals, Brooker had a successful 2005–06 season, making 45 appearances and scoring four goals, one of which late in the season versus

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

was described as "a superb individual effort", in which he "ran from within his own half and beat three

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

before scoring". The strike was nominated for the Goal of the Year award at the 2007 Football League Awards. He was again a regular during a disastrous 2006–07 season, which finished with relegation to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

. The end to Brooker's season was doubly soured when he "stupidly gesticulated in the direction of the fans" after being substituted on the final day during a match versus

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

. Supporter taunts led him to react again during a

pre-season friendly An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

versus Harrow Borough in July 2007. Despite having been previously in negotiations to leave the club, Brooker received backing from new manager

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...

, but after two early- 2007–08 season appearances, his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 30 August 2007. He made 86 appearances and scored four goals during just over two seasons with Brentford.

Non-League football (2008–2010)

Aside from a spell training with former club Brighton & Hove Albion in September 2008, Brooker spent the remainder of his career in non-League football, playing for Chertsey Town,

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the ...

and Dorking Wanderers.

Personal life

After leaving professional football, Brooker set up a

carpet cleaning Carpet cleaning is performed to remove stains, dirt, and allergens from carpets. Common methods include hot water extraction, dry-cleaning, and vacuuming. Hot water extraction Hot water extraction, sometimes mistakenly called "steam cleaning ...

business.

Career statistics

Honours

Fulham *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

second-place promotion: 1996–97 Brighton & Hove Albion *

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 t ...

: 2001–02 * Football League Third Division: 2000–01

References

External links

*
Paul Brooker
at premierleague.com
Paul Brooker
at readingfc.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooker, Paul 1976 births Living people Footballers from Hammersmith English footballers Fulham F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Reading F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Chertsey Town F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Dorking Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players National League (English football) players Association football wingers