Paul David Compton (born 6 June 1961) 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 ...
and football club manager. He most notably managed
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
during the
1992–93 season, and was assistant manager at
Dorchester Town prior to rejoining
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
in the summer of 2008 as joint manager of their new youth set-up. He was born in
Stroud.
Career
Playing career
After ending an apprenticeship with
Cardiff City, Compton joined
Trowbridge Town in 1978, moving to
AFC Bournemouth in October 1980 for a fee of £10,000. He played 64 times for the Cherries before a free transfer took him to
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
in December 1983. This was swiftly followed by another free transfer move to
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
in February 1984 where he quickly established himself as an aerial presence in Torquay's defence, though lacking the pace that could have taken him to a higher level.
After his debut away to
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
on 25 February, he played every game until the end of the season and played fairly regularly for the Gulls before leaving to join
Newport County in December 1986. He left Newport, prior to their eventual demise, shortly after playing in the Welsh Cup final defeat against
Merthyr Tydfil, in the summer of 1987, joining
Weymouth, taking over as player-manager in 1990 and leaving in February 1991 to join
Bashley with Weymouth bottom of the
Southern League Premier Division
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...
.
Coaching career
Compton rejoined
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
in August 1991 as youth coach, although he also restarted his professional playing career. On 8 May 1992, Compton was appointed as manager of Torquay, shortly after their relegation back to the bottom flight of
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
. The expected push for promotion did not materialise and Torquay found themselves in a relegation battle, which, only after
Neil Warnock was brought in and Compton had reverted to his old youth coach role, they survived. He later became assistant manager under
Eddie May
Edwin Charles May (19 May 1943 – 14 April 2012) was an English football player and manager. May was born in Epping, and played for Dagenham, Southend United, Wrexham and Swansea City.
The burly, affable May loomed large in the modern hist ...
in 1995, but left the club altogether the following summer when May was replaced by
Kevin Hodges
Kevin Hodges (born 12 June 1960) is an English retired football player and manager who played as a midfielder, and now works as assistant manager at Dorchester Town. He spent the majority of his playing career with Plymouth Argyle of the Footb ...
, who opted to dispense with Compton's services.
Between 1996 and 1997 he was the youth coach at
Preston North End, but returned to the south-west, joining
Bideford
Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
Toponymy
In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...
as player, playing in the centre of defence alongside former Torquay player
Phil Lloyd. In the 1998 close season, Compton returned to
Plainmoor
Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...
as Torquay United's youth coach, bringing through many of the players that later brought money into Plainmoor on their sale.
In September 2000, shortly after making the shortlist for the youth development job at
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Compton moved to
Swansea City as director of youth development at the Vetch Field. With Swansea in the midst of a serious financial crisis, Compton, along with the Swans management team of
Colin Addison
Colin Addison (born 18 May 1940) is an English former professional footballer and manager.
Born in Taunton, Somerset, Addison started his playing career with York City before moving to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield United. His man ...
and
Peter Nicholas, was made redundant, the Welsh side no longer able to pay his wages.
He subsequently 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 pl ...
as youth coach, before joining
Cardiff City as Head of player recruitment. He left this post in August 2007, and became assistant manager at
Dorchester Town in December 2007. Immediately upon appointment, however, he took control of first team affairs whilst Director of Football Shaun Brooks took time off due to ill health.
In June 2008 he became joint manager of
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
's youth set-up alongside Matt Williams.
In 2017 Compton joined Southampton FC as their head of academy recruitment for the South West. Compton also travels into Europe looking to recruit talented young players.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Paul
1961 births
Living people
People from Stroud
English footballers
Trowbridge Town F.C. players
AFC Bournemouth players
Aldershot F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
Newport County A.F.C. players
Weymouth F.C. players
Bashley F.C. players
English football managers
Torquay United F.C. managers
Weymouth F.C. managers
Bideford A.F.C. players
Sportspeople from Gloucestershire
Preston North End F.C. non-playing staff
Association football central defenders