Paul Wheeler (born 3 January 1965) is a Welsh 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 le ...

Career

Born in

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...

, Wheeler began his career at

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

, signing as an apprentice after being spotted by one of the clubs' scouts

Stan Montgomery Stanley William Montgomery (7 July 1920 – 5 October 2000) was an English professional footballer and first-class cricketer. He was the son-in-law of 1927 FA Cup winner Jimmy Nelson, who also played over 200 times for Cardiff City. Football ...

who scouting the South Wales area. He was released after two years, having never made a league appearance for the club, and returned to Wales where he worked as a caretaker at Cyncoed College while playing Welsh league football with

Taffs Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, community and electoral ward located at the south easterly tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, to the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the Valleys', it is separated from Gwa ...

and

Aberaman Aberaman is a village near Aberdare in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. It was heavily dependent on the coal industry and the population, as a result, grew rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Most of the industry has now ...

which he scored 31 goals. He went on to join

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 ...

after impressing enough in a trial match for manager

Alan Durban William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager of ...

to offer him a full contract. He quickly became a regular in the side and made his first league appearance against derby county in Division 2 suffering relegation in his first year before helping them to promotion during the 1987–88 season and winning the Welsh Cup. He was released by the club in 1989 and joined

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

on non-contract terms before having spells at

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 'The ...

and

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

where he played at Wembley twice in the Autoglass final and the Division 3 playoffs. before ending his league career with Chester City. They were relegated in 1992–93 but their promotion season from

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...

the following year included a hat–trick in a 4–0 win at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. He left the club at the end of the season. He then moved into non-league football with

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 ...

Leigh RMI Leigh Genesis Football Club, formerly known as Horwich Railway Mechanics Institute F.C. (Horwich RMI) and Leigh Railway Mechanics Institute F.C. (Leigh RMI), is an English amateur association football club that currently plays in the South Lancas ...

and

Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Paul 1965 births Welsh men's footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players Winsford United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Living people Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Taff's Well A.F.C. players Aberdare Town F.C. players