Paul Heald (born 20 September 1968 in Wath-on-Dearne) is a 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 ...

for

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

, Wimbledon,

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. He also had loan spells with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

Playing career

Leyton Orient

Heald started his career at

in 1987 and moved on to

where he made a total of 176 league appearances. Heald also had loan spells at

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

and newly promoted

. He was one of four goalkeepers used by Swindon during their

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 ...

season alongside Fraser Digby,

Jon Sheffield Jonathan Sheffield (born 1 February 1969) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who has subsequently worked as a coach. Playing career Born in Coventry, Sheffield came through the youth system at Norwich City, but made just on ...

and

Nick Hammond Nicholas David Hammond (born 7 September 1967 in Hornchurch, England) is an English former football goalkeeper. Playing career Hammond was an Arsenal apprentice, making his league début whilst on loan at Bristol Rovers in 1986, followed by ...

Wimbledon

In 1995 a £125,000 fee took him to the

side Wimbledon, where he acted mainly as backup for first

Hans Segers Johannes "Hans" Segers (born 30 October 1961) is a Dutch football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. As a player, he notably spent eight years with Wimbledon where he featured in the Premier League. He also played ...

and then

Neil Sullivan Neil Sullivan (born 24 February 1970) is a professional football player and coach. He played as a goalkeeper from 1988 until 2013, playing in the Premier League for Wimbledon, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and represented Scotland internat ...

. He played a total of 38 league games for the club. In his first season at Wimbledon he was the goalkeeper who was unable to stop

Tony Yeboah Anthony Yeboah (born 6 June 1966) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the most prominent and prolific goal scorers in Ghanaian and African football history and gained a reputation for sc ...

's famous strike in September 1995, the goal going on to win the

BBC Goal of the Season In English football, the Goal of the Season is an annual competition and award given on BBC's '' Match of the Day'', in honour of the most spectacular goal scored that season. It is typically contested between the winners of the preceding ten Go ...

. Heald had a brief spell on loan with

in 2002. He stayed with Wimbledon until the club's demise and replacement with a team based in Milton Keynes in 2003. He remained a player with the new

until his retirement in 2005.

Coaching career

Since retiring, Heald has continued as goalkeepers coach for Milton Keynes Dons until leaving in 2019.

References

External links

* 1968 births Living people English footballers Association football goalkeepers Premier League players Wimbledon F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield United F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players {{England-footy-goalkeeper-stub