Paul Lodge (born 13 February 1961) is an English former

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 ...

and football manager. A

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he played in every division of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, as well as in the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

, and

League of Wales The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 200 ...

. He began his career at Everton in 1979 and had

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 d ...

spells at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

and Rotherham United, before joining

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in 1983. He moved on to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

the following year, who in turn loaned him out to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. After spending time with Stockport County, he headed into semi-professional football in 1986 with

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

. He moved on to Southport,

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...

(winning the

Premier Division title in 1990–91), and

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

, before returning to Southport in November 1993. After another 100 league appearances for the club, he ended his career following spells with

Lancaster City Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Footb ...

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

, and

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parish in West Lancashire in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located to the north of Ormskirk and northwest of Skelmersdale. The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin M ...

. He began

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ing with Southport in 1998 and also served as the club's

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

in 1999. He spent June 2001 to March 2002 as

Paul Futcher Paul Futcher (25 September 1956 – 23 November 2016) was an English professional footballer who had a distinguished career as a defender in the English Football League, for England under 21s and as manager of several non-league clubs. He is ...

's assistant at

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

. He took on the management reins at

St Helens Town St Helens Town Association Football Club is an English football club based in St. Helens. The club are members of the , and as from season 2016–17 play their home matches at Ruskin Drive Sports Ground, which they share with local rivals Pilk ...

in July 2003 but was sacked in January 2004. After coaching at Accrington Stanley, he spent two months in charge at

in late 2006. He then returned to his coaching role at Accrington Stanley.

Playing career

Tutored by

Colin Harvey James Colin Harvey (born 16 November 1944 in Liverpool, England) is an English former footballer who is best known for his time as a player, coach and manager with Everton. Playing career Harvey was born in Liverpool and joined Everton as ...

and

Ray Minshull Ray Minshull (15 July 19202005) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Liverpool in The Football League. Minshull signed for Liverpool in 1946 and made 6 appearances during the 1946–47 season. He was never able to cement hi ...

, he turned professional at Everton in 1979. The "Toffees" hovered above the First Division

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

zone in 1979–80 and 1980–81. Manager Gordon Lee was then sacked and was replaced by Howard Kendall, who took the club to just one place off European football in 1981–82. Lodge was

ed out to Larry Lloyd's

and Emlyn Hughes's Rotherham United in 1982–83. He scored one goal in five

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

games for the struggling "Latics". He played four

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 ...

for the soon-to-be relegated "Millers". His brief spells at Springfield Park and

Millmoor The Millmoor Ground, commonly known as Millmoor, is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was the home ground of Rotherham County F.C. between 1907 and 1925 and then its successor Rotherham United F.C. until 2008. The ...

failed to reignite his career. He was transferred to Third Division side

later in the season, in a move that reunited him with Gordon Lee. Lodge had made twenty starts and four substitute appearances in league games in his four years at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

. Lee left Deepdale in December 1983, and Alan Kelly went on to lead the "Lambs" to a mid-table finish in 1983–84. Lodge switched to league rivals

in the summer but featured just four times for John McGovern's "Trotters" after being sent off against Rotherham United early in the 1984–85 campaign. He was loaned to John Rudge's

in November 1984. He was only to play three

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

games at Vale Park, before heading back to Burnden Park in January 1985. Lodge moved on to

Les Chapman Leslie Chapman (born 27 September 1948), commonly known as Les and sometimes as Chappy, is an English former football player and manager. As a player, he made 747 appearances in the Football League in a career that spanned 22 seasons, playing ...

's Fourth Division Stockport County and scored twice in 15 games for the "Hatters" in 1985–86, in a brief stay at Edgeley Park. Lodge dropped out of the

and joined Alliance Premier League side

, before moving on to

side Southport in March 1986. He scored once in 13 games for the "Sandgrounders" in 1985–86. He made a massive 63 appearances in the 1986–87 season, scoring five goals. He played 26 games in 1987–88, before leaving Haig Avenue. Lodge played for

and then joined

. He debuted for Witton on 10 September 1988 and scored four goals from 57 appearances in the 1988–89 season. He scored two goals in 58 games in the 1989–90 season and four goals in 59 games in the 1990–91 Northern Premier League Premier Division title-winning season. He made a further six appearances in the 1991–92 season. He later played for

, before returning to Southport in November 1993. He scored once in 36 games in 1993–94, and then featured 46 times in the 1994–95 season under manager

Brian Kettle Brian Kettle (born 22 April 1956 in Prescot) is an English former footballer who played as a left-back. Kettle began his career with Liverpool, signing professional forms in 1973. He was to remain at Anfield for seven years, but could never ri ...

. Lodge then played 47 times in 1995–96, and was appointed

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

by new boss

Billy Ayre William Ayre (7 May 1952 – 16 April 2002) was an English footballer who played for three clubs in a sixteen-year professional career, making over three hundred League appearances in the process. After retiring from the playing side of the gam ...

. Lodge went on to play for

, and

Style of play

Lodge was a

with excellent passing and vocal skills.

Managerial career

Lodge returned to Southport as assistant manager to

in 1998. He became

the following year after Futcher was sacked, before he returned to his assistant role under new boss Mark Wright. Futcher appointed him as his assistant at

in June 2001, before the pair were sacked in March 2002. After working at St Helens College, he was appointed manager of

North West Counties The North West Counties A.R.L. were a series of rugby league regional leagues in the North West of England. Most clubs at open age level joined the North West Men's League in 2011 and 2012 but it carried on until folding part way through the 2014- ...

club

in July 2003. He was sacked in January 2004 after his team lost ten of their previous eleven games. Town went on to finish 19th out of the 22 team division in 2003–04. Lodge then went on to

at Accrington Stanley and was

promoted Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the post of

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

manager by John Coleman. Lodge was appointed manager of

side

in September 2006. He signed ten young players in an attempt to mould a newer and more cost-effective team, but resigned after less than two months in charge after telling the media "..the players forced my hand. There was no pride from them, no fight..." The "Magpies" finished the 2006–07 season second-from-bottom. He later went on to work as a first-team coach at Accrington Stanley, and also worked at Accrington and Rossendale College.

Career statistics

Honours

Witton Albion *

Premier Division: 1990–91

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodge, Paul 1961 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Everton F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Southport F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Lancaster City F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Chorley F.C. players Burscough F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Cymru Premier players English football managers Southport F.C. managers St Helens Town A.F.C. managers Chorley F.C. managers National League (English football) managers Northern Premier League managers Association football coaches Accrington Stanley F.C. non-playing staff