Paul Went (12 October 1949 – 4 January 2017) was an English footballer who played professionally for five clubs over a fifteen-year period. He was one of that generation who bridged the gap between terminological eras, beginning his career as a centre-half and ending it as a central defender despite playing a similar role throughout.

Biography

Born in

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which li ...

on 12 October 1949 he played for both England schoolboys and the Under 18 youth side. After an apprenticeship he broke into the

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

first team in 1966, becoming the club's youngest ever player, and played 50 games for the club before being transferred to Charlton in June 1967. He spent five years at The Valley before moving to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in the summer of 1972. After only 18 months he was off to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, part of new chairman John Deacon's ambitious new rebuilding programme. Manager John Mortimore planned a rock-like central partnership between Went and

Malcolm Manley Malcolm Manley was a cultured Scottish footballer (soccer player) whose career was cruelly cut short by a crippling knee injury. Born in Johnstone on 1 December 1949 Manley gained Schoolboy international honours for Scotland before joining his ho ...

, but the former

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

defender injured his knee in only his 11th game for the

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

club and never played professionally again. Went, by contrast, was voted "Player of the Year" at the end of his first season. As financial crisis piled on crisis manager

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key mem ...

cut the wage bill by selling Went to

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 ...

, his last game being a 4–1 away defeat to

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

. Went's departure opened the door for future

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

defender Steve Foster, who was switched by St John from attack to defence. Went became a crowd favourite at Ninian Park, replacing Mike England in the Bluebirds' defence. A committed defender, he continued in the relegation decider against Carlisle United, despite a dislocated shoulder. The following season he played as a striker for the cash-strapped Bluebirds at times and netted a consolation goal against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in 1977. After two eventful years in Wales Went returned to his home town to rejoin his first club. As his playing career drew to an end Went was appointed Assistant Manager at

Brisbane Road Brisbane Road, originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F.C., w ...

, culminating in a twenty-one day reign as full manager.One day managerial career
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Went, Paul 1949 births 2017 deaths Footballers from Bromley-by-Bow England youth international footballers Leyton Orient F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. managers Association football midfielders English footballers English football managers Leyton Orient F.C. non-playing staff