Paul Walsh
Paul Anthony Walsh is an English former professional footballer who now works as a television pundit.
A pacey and skilful forward, he scored a total of 127 goals in 521 league games in a 17-year career in the English Football League and Premier League; he also won five senior caps for England in an eleven-month international career beginning in June 1983. He began his career at Charlton Athletic, making his first team debut aged 16 in September 1979. He helped Charlton to win promotion out of the Third Division in 1980–81 and then won a place on the PFA Team of the Year in 1981–82. He moved from the Second Division into the First Division when Luton Town paid £400,000 to acquire his services in July 1982. He continued to impress and was named as PFA Young Player of the Year in 1984. He moved to Liverpool for a £700,000 fee in May 1984 and was named in the PFA Team of the Year in his second season for the club as Liverpool won the league title and the Football League Super Cup. He went on to struggle with injury at Anfield, though still managed to appear in losing finals of the 1984 FA Charity Shield, 1984 European Super Cup, 1985 European Cup, and 1987 Football League Cup, as well as help Liverpool to the league title and FA Cup double in 1985–86, and to finish as runners-up in the league in 1984–85 and 1986–87.
He was sold on to Tottenham Hotspur for a £500,000 fee in February 1988 and played for Spurs in their 1991 FA Cup Final victory over Nottingham Forest. However, he was frozen out of the first team after punching a coach at the club, and after a brief loan spell at Queens Park Rangers was moved on to Portsmouth for a £400,000 fee in June 1992. A popular player at Fratton Park, supporters voted him Player of the Season in 1992–93, and he was named on the PFA Team of the Year in 1993–94. He returned to the top flight with Manchester City after signing for £750,000 in March 1994. He returned to Portsmouth for a £600,000 fee in September 1995 but was forced to retire due to cruciate ligament damage in February 1996. After retiring as a player, he became a football pundit and became a regular face on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday. He was capped five times by England, scoring one goal.
Club career
Paul Walsh was born to Don and June Walsh in Plumstead on 1 October 1962; his father was an electrician and his mother worked at Tate & Lyle. He grew up supporting Arsenal. However, his father was a season-ticket holder at West Ham United. Despite his natural skill, his small stature meant he was frequently overlooked in junior football. He was spotted playing for local youth side Londinium by Charlton Athletic scout Jim Fibbins and signed schoolboy forms aged 14. In a 1986 interview with Shoot magazine, Walsh cited Londinium manager John O'Connor as the biggest influence on his career. After leaving school he also began working part-time at a meat factory and later a fruit packing factory before he joined Charlton on a full-time basis.Charlton Athletic
Walsh made his debut for the Reserves in September 1978, playing right midfield against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. He made his first team debut in the English Football League at 16 years old, coming on as a half-time substitute for Dick Tydeman in a Second Division fixture with Shrewsbury Town on 22 September 1979; he provided the assist for Martin Robinson's winning goal. Manager Andy Nelson handed him his first professional contract on his 17th birthday, a two-year contract paying £100 a week. However, Nelson was sacked the following March, and the "Addicks" were relegated into the Third Division at the end of the 1979–80 season.Following the sale of Mike Flanagan to Crystal Palace, new manager Mike Bailey played Walsh in a strike partnership with Derek Hales in the 1980–81 campaign. Due to a League Cup draw, the season opened with three matches against Brentford, and Walsh scored his first senior goal at Griffin Park in a 3–1 defeat before scoring a hat-trick in the return fixture at The Valley, a 5–0 victory; this made him the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the club's history. He ended the campaign with 18 goals in all competitions, whilst Hales was named in the division's PFA Team of the Year. Charlton were at the top of the table for most of the season, but a loss of form from February cost them the title, though promotion was still secured with a third-place finish.
Bailey left Charlton to replace Alan Mullery as Brighton & Hove Albion manager, and the Charlton board ironically decided to name Mullery as Bailey's successor. Charlton finished the 1981–82 season in 13th place, and Walsh scored 15 goals in total. He performed well against divisional champions Luton Town, giving captain Mal Donaghy a difficult afternoon, which was enough to win him a move to his next club.
Luton Town
Walsh was signed by Luton Town manager David Pleat for £400,000 plus Steve White in July 1982. Pleat had an attacking philosophy that allowed Walsh to express himself and score goals. In only his second game for Luton at Kenilworth Road, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–3 win over Notts County, the second goal of which was voted Goal of the Season as he beat numerous defenders before chipping the goalkeeper. On the final day of the 1982–83 season Luton needed to beat Manchester City at Maine Road to remain in the First Division, and a late Radomir Antić volley secured the "Hatters" a 1–0 win and a place in the top-flight. After the game, Pleat celebrated by running down the touchline in a scene that became an iconic moment of 1980s football in England.Luton enjoyed an excellent start to the 1983–84 season and were in third place on Boxing Day. On 10 December, Walsh scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 win over Stoke City at the Victoria Ground. However, a run of just three wins in 24 games saw Luton go from title contenders to relegation candidates, as well as exit the FA Cup in a 4–3 defeat to rivals Watford at Vicarage Road. Luton ended the campaign in 16th place, and Walsh was voted as PFA Young Player of the Year, ahead of candidates such as Ian Rush, Nigel Callaghan and John Barnes.
Liverpool
manager Joe Fagan bought Walsh for a £700,000 fee in May 1984. Walsh turned down an approach from Italian Serie A side Como to join Liverpool. He joined Liverpool in time to travel with the players to Rome to see them win the 1984 European Cup Final. He made his debut as a substitute on 18 August 1984 in the 1–0 Charity Shield defeat to derby rivals Everton. With Ian Rush injured at the start of the 1984–85 season, Walsh partnered Kenny Dalglish up front, and he scored just 14 seconds into his Anfield debut on 27 August in a 3–0 win over West Ham United. However, he picked up a knee injury in October which caused him to miss six weeks and allowed Rush to re-establish himself as Dalglish's preferred strike partner. He scored 13 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions throughout the 1984–85 campaign, the most significant goal being the equaliser in the last minute of extra-time against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Goodison Park. However, Liverpool would lose the replay and also finished as runners-up in the league and European Cup. Walsh started the 1985 European Cup Final against Juventus at Heysel Stadium but had to come off early in the second half after aggravating a stomach injury; Liverpool lost the game 1–0, though the day would be remembered for the disaster which cost 39 lives.Fagan's retirement in May 1985 and Dalglish's subsequent promotion to player-manager meant that instead of gradually succeeding Dalglish as Liverpool's main striker, Walsh had to contend with a rival for his position as the club's manager. He missed 1985–86 pre-season after undergoing a hernia operation. He returned to fitness against Oxford United on 14 September. He had a bitter argument with Dalglish at half-time, which initially seemed to spell the end of his Liverpool career as he was placed on the transfer list. He returned to the first team, though, and was taken off the transfer list by his own request and soon entered a scoring streak. However, his form was ended after he ruptured his ankle ligaments in a collision with Manchester United's Kevin Moran on 9 February. He returned to action six weeks later. Still, he continued to suffer from ankle trouble and was ruled out for the rest of the season, ending the campaign with 18 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions throughout the campaign. His injury caused him to miss the 1986 FA Cup Final, though he had played enough league games to secure a First Division winners medal as Liverpool won the league by a two-point margin over Everton. His contribution to the club's success was not forgotten as he was named in the First Division's PFA Team of the Year, alongside teammate Mark Lawrenson.
Writing in his 2015 autobiography, Walsh was highly critical of Liverpool's Boot Room culture, particularly then-medical staff Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans:
He again missed pre-season in the summer of 1986, as he underwent an operation to correct his ankle injury. He recovered to earn a place on the bench for the second leg of the Football League Super Cup final victory over Everton on 30 September, but though he only entered the game as a late substitute he broke his hand after falling awkwardly. The day after the match, he had to drive himself to the hospital for an x-ray and to receive treatment. Having recovered from this injury, he went on to score a hat-trick in a 6–2 home win over Norwich City. He then went 12 games without a goal, and John Aldridge was signed to add competition to the forward roles. Walsh started at Wembley in the 2–1 League Cup final defeat to Arsenal, before being taken off for Dalglish after 73 minutes. Liverpool finished second in the league, nine points behind Everton, and Walsh scored only six goals in 32 appearances throughout the campaign.
The arrival of new forwards of Peter Beardsley, John Aldridge and John Barnes left Walsh only making occasional appearances in the 1987–88 campaign. He played just nine games without scoring a goal, though maintained fitness by playing games for the reserves. He began drinking heavily, later admitting "the only thing I was interested in by that point was getting pissed and enjoying myself".