Paul Martyn Cheesley (born 20 October 1953 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

) 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 le ...

Career

A striker, Cheesley began his career with

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 ...

, for whom he made his debut as a substitute on 17 November 1971 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 ...

in a

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 ...

tie at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. N ...

. His league debut did not come until 2 December 1972, a game which his side lost 2-0 at home to

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Cheesley went on to make 24 appearances for Norwich, scoring one goal on 15 December 1973 in a 1-1 draw against

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 ...

at Carrow Road.

Bristol City

In December 1973, as Norwich fought to avoid relegation, Cheesley was sold to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

for a fee of £30,000. Initially, Cheesley struggled at the clu

but during City's promotion season of 1975-76 in English football, 1975–76 he formed a formidable strike partnership with Tom Ritchie which saw them score a combined total of 33 goals, with Cheesley scoring 15. The opening fixture of the season back in the First Division was away to

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 ...

at Highbury. City won 1–0 with Cheesley scoring the only goal. Cheesley had already been selected to play for England Under 23s to play Hungary, but as the game coincided with a crucial promotion clash against rivals Sunderland, he had turned down the opportunity. Despite that, England boss

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...

was known to be a fan, and his brave approach, speed and two-footed skill suited England’s style. With Cheesley turning in another eye-catching performance at the highest level, many believed it was only a matter of time before he received a full international call-u

Injury

Just three days after the victory at Arsenal, City were playing again, at home to Stoke City F.C., Stoke City. A cross came into the box and Cheesley rose to challenge Stoke goalkeeper

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...

for the ball, getting there first and heading over. Cheesley landed awkwardly, ripping his cartilage, tearing ligaments and chipping a bone in his knee. Despite an attempted comeback in a home match against Birmingham City later that season he was forced to retire from League football. He went on to have spells with non-league clubs, including

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. Following his retirement he became the landlord of The Knowle Hotel in Bristol.

References

*''Canary Citizens'' by Mike Davage, John Eastwood, Kevin Platt, published by Jarrold Publishing, (2001), {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheesley, Paul 1953 births Norwich City F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Footballers from Bristol Living people Men's association football forwards English men's footballers