Paul Kitson
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Paul Kitson (born 9 January 1971) is an English 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 ...
who played as a striker. He notably played in the
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 Foo ...
for
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
and
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, as well as in 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 ...
with
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, 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 lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
,
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
,
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
,
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 * ...
,
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
,
Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The cl ...
, and
Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area i ...
. He was capped seven times by
England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...
, scoring 3 goals.


Career


Leicester City

Kitson began his career as a trainee at
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, 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 lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in 1988. In one season at Leicester, Kitson and
Ian Baraclough Ian Robert Baraclough (; born 4 December 1970) is an English football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of the Northern Ireland national team. He previously managed the Under-21 team. As a player, he was a defender fr ...
, his striking partner, scored 60 or so goals between them for the youth and reserve sides. Baraclough was sold to
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
, while Kitson scored 11 goals in 63 appearances for the Leicester first-team, and joined
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
for a club record of £1.3 million transfer fee in March 1992, made up of £800,000 with
Phil Gee Philip John Gee (born 19 December 1964) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward from 1984 to 1998. Playing career Gee played in the Premier League for Leicester City, scoring the goal to earn them their first ever ...
and Ian Ormondroyd moving to Leicester in part exchange. Derby manager Arthur Cox described him as having "...all the qualities to develop into an outstanding player". and Kitson went on to score 49 goals in 132 appearances in two-and-a half years at Derby.


Derby County

His arrival at the
Baseball Ground The Baseball Ground (sometimes referred to as the BBG) was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 19 ...
came in the final quarter of the 1991–92 season, the last season before the creation of the
FA 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 Foo ...
from the top flight of English football. Derby, bankrolled by wealthy new chairman
Lionel Pickering Lionel Victor Pickering (4 December 1931 – 2 September 2006) was an English businessman, best known as the owner of Derby County F.C. between 1991 and 2003. A self-made millionaire, he previously built up a free local newspaper business, m ...
, were spending heavily as they looked to win
promotion 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 ...
from the
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 ...
to the new super league, and ironically one of their biggest promotion rivals were Kitson's former club and arguably Derby's biggest rivals – Leicester City. Kitson scored four times in 12 appearances as the 1991–92 season drew to a close, but defeat to
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
in the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
semifinals meant that third placed Derby would be denied a
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
playoff final meeting with Kitson's former club and most crucially the chance of a place in the new Premier League. Further heavy spending followed this disappointment, but Derby failed to make a serious challenge for promotion from the new Division One (which they had been widely expected to dominate) in 1992–93 but it was still a good personal season for Kitson, who scored 17 times in 44 league games. He added 13 goals to his league tally in 1993–94, and Derby reached the playoff final, where they were beaten 2–1 by Kitson's old club, Leicester City. He began the 1994–95 season still a Derby player, but after scoring two goals in eight games that season he was on his way out of the club after two and a half years and 36 goals from 105 league games.


Newcastle United

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
made an offer of £2,250,000 for Kitson in September 1994, which was initially turned down by Derby chairman and majority shareholder
Lionel Pickering Lionel Victor Pickering (4 December 1931 – 2 September 2006) was an English businessman, best known as the owner of Derby County F.C. between 1991 and 2003. A self-made millionaire, he previously built up a free local newspaper business, m ...
who felt that Kitson was worth between £3 to £4 million. However, Pickering was outvoted 4–1 by the club's directors and reluctantly agreed to the transfer, which went ahead on 24 September. The deal almost collapsed when Newcastle refused to adjust their pay structure and accommodate Kitson's personal demands and a bid was made by Everton, but the deal went through less than 24 hours after Pickering said that ''"God must be a Derby fan"'' and Freddie Fletcher, chief executive of Newcastle, had said the deal was ''"dead and buried"'', with Kitson signing a three-year contract at £3,500 a week. He scored his first goal for Newcastle in the 2–0 win over
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in the third round of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
in October 1994, though he was still very much the club's "backup" striker behind Andy Cole and
Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his coun ...
. However, when Cole was sold to Manchester United in January 1995, found himself at centre-forward for the second half of the 1994–95 season. He had a decent campaign, scoring eight goals in 26 games, though 1994–95 is generally remembered as a disappointing season for Newcastle, who began it as many people's title favourites with six successive wins but ended up finishing sixth – not even enough for a
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
place. However, the arrival of
Les Ferdinand Leslie Ferdinand MBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit, who is currently the director of football at Queens Park Rangers. A striker, his playing career included notable sp ...
during the 1995 close season meant that Kitson was once again a squad player as the 1995–96 season got underway, and the arrival of
Faustino Asprilla Faustino Hernán Asprilla Hinestroza (born 10 November 1969) is a Colombian former professional footballer who most notably played for Parma, Newcastle United and the Colombia national team as a forward. Club career Early years After starting ...
in mid season further reduced his first team chances. Newcastle finished second that season after being overhauled in the second half campaign by a
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
side who sealed the title by a five-point margin barely four months after Newcastle had led by 10 points, but Kitson's part in Newcastle's exciting though ultimately disappointing campaign had been minimal as he had played just seven league games and scored twice. But he remained loyal to the Magpies even after another blow at the end of July 1996: the arrival of £15 million world record signing
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
. He managed three Premier League appearances as Newcastle were once again under the title challengers, before finally leaving on 10 February 1997 in a £2.3 million switch to Premier League strugglers West Ham United. His departure from Tyneside was relatively quiet, coming just weeks after one of the most momentous events in the club's history: the resignation of manager
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
.


West Ham United

West Ham were fighting against relegation from the Premier League when Kitson joined them. West Ham's assistant manager
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
said, ''"The last man we signed from Newcastle was Bryan 'Pop' Robson in the 1970s and Paul has the same qualities. He is quick, sharp and has good physical attributes."'' He made his home debut, against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
on 22 February 1997, which West Ham won 4–3. Kitson scored West Ham's second goal, with other new signing
John Hartson John Hartson (born 5 April 1975) is a Welsh former professional footballer, coach and sports television pundit for S4C, Sky Sports, Premier Sports TV and BT Sport. As a player he was a striker, notably for Scottish club Celtic where his time ...
getting the third goal to also score on his debut. This marked the beginning of what is still arguably West Ham's finest strikeforce since the
Tony Cottee Antony Richard Cottee (born 11 July 1965) is an English former professional footballer and manager who now works as a television football commentator. As a player, he was a striker from 1982 until 2001, notably playing in the top flight of En ...
/
Frank McAvennie Francis McAvennie (born 22 November 1959) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a striker for St Mirren, West Ham United and Celtic, having had two spells with each of these clubs. With Celtic he won the Scottish Premier Division in ...
partnership of the 1980s, and a contrast following the disappointing spells of strikers like
Florin Raducioiu The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
and
Paulo Futre Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (; born 28 February 1966) is a Portuguese former footballer who played mostly as a left winger. He is one of the greatest natural talents of the Portugal. After starting playing for Sporting, he moved to Porto – ...
. Kitson bagged two against
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in a 3–2 win, two against Everton in a 2–2 draw, and bagged a hat-trick against
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 of ...
in a 5–1 win. West Ham survived relegation despite a tough season and finished 14th, with Kitson's eight goals in 14 league games being priceless to their survival. Subsequent seasons at Upton Park were not quite so successful, with the 1997–98 seeing Kitson restricted to 13 games and 4 goals in the Premier League (though the Hammers improved to eighth in the league and just missed out on a
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
place in their best season for over a decade), and a year later he contributed 17 games and 3 goals to a side which finished fifth to secure UEFA Cup football and their first European campaign in almost 20 years. However, Kitson's first team opportunities were becoming even more limited, as he made 10 goalless league appearances in 1999–2000 and just two in 2000–01. After a long period without scoring he surprisingly scored a hat-trick in the 4–4 draw with
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
on 19 November 2001 for West Ham, a match that he considers to be the highlight of a career in which he failed to live up to his vast potential. The first of these goals was a blistering right foot volley after a through ball from Paolo Di Canio - it was voted number three by the West Ham supporters' association poll of their top 10 goals of the decade. These were the only goals he scored in the 2001–02 season – his last at the club.


Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace

During his final three seasons at West Ham, Kitson was loaned out to Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace, but neither of these spells was particularly productive. He scored once for Charlton, with his goal coincidentally coming against the club he would soon join on loan: Crystal Palace.


Personal life

On 21 April 2018, Kitson was accused of gambling £25,000 that he was meant to putting towards paying off his debts, after he was declared bankrupt the previous year.


Honours

;West Ham *
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...
:
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitson, Paul 1971 births Living people People from Murton, County Durham Footballers from County Durham Association football forwards English footballers England under-21 international footballers Leicester City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players National League (English football) players People educated at Easington Community Science College