Paul Raynor (3 September 1957, in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

– 20 November 2010) was a professional footballer who played as a full back. He spent his entire professional career with hometown club Chester City, where he made 200

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 ...

appearances in two spells.

Playing career

Raynor was a product of Chester's youth set-up, signing professional forms in September 1975. Earlier in the year he had made his first-team debut for the club in a

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

tie against

Oswestry Town Oswestry Town Football Club was a football club from Shropshire, playing at Victoria Road. They joined the Birmingham League in 1924 and switched to the Cheshire County League in 1959. In 1975 they made the move to the Southern League before ...

, with his second appearance also coming in the same competition against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

in April 1976. His

debut arrived in a 2–1 win at Crystal Palace on 4 September 1976, one of 17 league appearances he made during the 1976–77 season. The following campaign, saw him become a regular by making 34 league appearances, a figure that rose to 37 in each of the next two campaigns. He scored his first goal away to

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in November 1978, the only one of his 10 first-team strikes (nine in the league) for the club that did not come from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

. He remained a regular before leaving the club after relegation to

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

in 1982, with the majority of his appearances having been in the number 2 shirt. Raynor played for non-league side

He was with them for only a couple of months in 1982 then joined Swindon town in 1983 for a spell then in 1984 he rejoined Chester on non-contract terms ahead of the 1983–84 season. He played three league matches and a League Cup tie at the start of the season but did not play again. He then joined the Cheshire Constabulary until he died suddenly on Saturday 20 November 2010 following a protracted illness.Paul Raynor 1957-2010
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raynor, Paul (Footballer Born 1957) 1957 births 2010 deaths Footballers from Chester Men's association football fullbacks English men's footballers English Football League players Chester City F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players