Paul Warhurst

Football player infobox
playername= Paul Warhurst


fullname = Paul Warhurst
height =
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1969|9|26|df=y
cityofbirth = Stockport
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Free agent
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1987–1988
1988–1991
1991–1993
1993–1997
1997–1998
1998–2003
2003
2003
2003
2004
2004
2004
2005
2005
2006–2007
2007
clubs = Manchester City
Oldham Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday
Blackburn Rovers
Crystal Palace
Bolton Wanderers
→ Stoke City (loan)
Chesterfield
Barnsley
Carlisle United
Grimsby Town
Blackpool
Forest Green Rovers
Wrexham
Barnet
Northwich Victoria
Career
caps(goals) = 000 0(0)
067 0(2)
066 0(6)
057 0(4)
027 0(4)
091 0(0)
005 0(1)
004 0(0)
004 0(0)
001 0(0)
007 0(0)
004 0(0)
006 0(2)
011 0(1)
028 0(0)
001 0(0)
379 (20)
nationalyears = 1990–1991
nationalteam = England U21
nationalcaps(goals) = 008 0(0)
pcupdate = September 15, 2007

Paul Warhurst (born 26 September 1969, Stockport) is an English football player. He plays primarily as a defender, but has also played in midfield or as a striker at various points in his career. Having played for 16 different clubs through his career, Warhurst is regarded as one of the quintessential journeymen of English football.

He began his career as a trainee at Manchester City in 1988, before signing professional terms with Oldham. There he became a first team regular, featuring in the team's memorable run to the semi-finals of the 1990 FA Cup. After 86 appearances (scoring twice), he was signed by Sheffield Wednesday in the summer of 1991, for £750,000. He began his career at the club as a solid defender, but midway through his first season, injuries to David Hirst and Mark Bright saw Warhurst employed as an emergency striker.

In a phenomenal sequence, he scored 12 goals in as many games, and after four years as a defender, was called up to the England national side as a striker. Warhurst was injured, however, and missed an opportunity to win his first cap. His scoring ratio inevitably slowed down, and when Hirst returned to action, Warhurst fell out with manager Trevor Francis, who wanted the player to return to defensive duties. In the summer of 1993, Warhurst was transfer-listed, and signed for Blackburn for £2.7 million, having scored 18 goals in 88 games for Wednesday.

Ironically, he played primarily as a defender for Blackburn, but injuries ruined his spell there. He did, however, play occasionally as a forward, and picked up an FA Premier League winners' medal in the 1994-95 season. In the summer of 1997, after 74 games for Blackburn (yielding 4 goals, Warhurst switched to Crystal Palace for the 1997-98 season. He made 30 appearances, scoring four times, before being loaned to Bolton in November 1998. A successful spell there led to the Lancashire team signing him permanently for £800,000 in January 1999. In 2000-01 he helped Bolton gain promotion to the Premier League, but injuries were now mounting.

In August 2003 he left Bolton after 100 appearances, and has since moved between a number of clubs - Chesterfield, Barnsley, Carlisle, Grimsby, Blackpool, and non-league Forest Green Rovers.

In August 2005, he signed for Wrexham, where he added experience to their otherwise young side. After being released by Wrexham, he joined struggling Barnet in a bid to help them fight off relegation from the league. He was released at the end of the 2006-07 season, but aims to continue playing for one more year.

In September 2007 he joined Northwich Victoria and on 17 September took over as caretaker manager following Neil Redfearn's resignation. Despite initially being favourite to be permanent manager, he left the club before the appointment was decided.

Honours

*Premier League: 1995
*Football League Cup: Runner-up 1990, 1993
*FA Cup: Runner-up 1993
*Charity Shield: Runner-up 1995
*Division 1 (Level 2): Playoffs 2001

External links

*soccerbase|id=8296|name=Paul Warhurst