Paul Dyson

Paul Ian Dyson (born 27 December 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender for Coventry City, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Darlington and Crewe Alexandra.[1]

Paul Dyson

Personal information
Full name	Paul Ian Dyson[1]
Date of birth	27 December 1959[1]
Place of birth	Birmingham, England[1]
Position(s)	Central defender
Youth career
1976–1978	Coventry City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1983	Coventry City	140	(5)
1983–1986	Stoke City	106	(5)
1986–1988	West Bromwich Albion	64	(5)
1988–1989	Darlington	12	(3)
1989–1990	Crewe Alexandra	31	(2)
	Telford United
	Solihull Borough
Total		353	(20)
National team
1980–1981	England U21	4	(0)
Teams managed
	Solihull Borough
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Dyson was born in Birmingham and began his career with Coventry City progressing through the youth team at Highfield Road he made his debut on 23 December 1978 at home to Everton in place of the injured Gary Gillespie.[2] He played once more match in the 1978–79 season and was prevented from remaining in the side due to the arrival of Bristol City's Gary Collier and Sunderland's Jim Holton.[2] However the new signings failed to impress and Dyson played against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup on 5 January 1980 and went on to miss just three matches in the next four years for Coventry and his performances earned him a call up to the England U21s where he won four caps.[2]

After a poor summer of 1983 for Coventry which saw a number of players refuse new contracts in protest at the sacking of Dave Sexton Dyson joined First Division rivals Stoke City.[1] In 1983–84 he played in 44 matches as Stoke avoided relegation by two points but Stoke then suffered an embarrassing relegation in 1984–85, going down with a record low points tally of 17.[1] He made 38 appearances in 1985–86 before he joined West Bromwich Albion in March 1986. He could help the Baggies avoid relegation Second Division and he spent the next two seasons at the Hawthorns and had sport spells with Darlington and Crewe Alexandra before deciding to retire at the age of 30.[2]

He then went on to play non-league football with Telford United and Solihull Borough was manager of Solihull for a time in the late 1990s.[3] He then worked as a prison officer and later ran his own sports shop in the Kings Heath area of Birmingham.[2]

Career statistics

Source:[4]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other^[A]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Coventry City	1978–79	First Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1979–80	First Division	18	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	20	2
	1980–81	First Division	41	2	4	0	9	0	0	0	54	2
	1981–82	First Division	40	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	45	0
	1982–83	First Division	39	1	3	0	3	0	0	0	45	1
	Total		140	5	12	0	14	0	0	0	166	5
Stoke City	1983–84	First Division	38	2	1	0	5	0	0	0	44	2
	1984–85	First Division	37	3	2	0	2	0	0	0	41	3
	1985–86	Second Division	31	0	1	0	3	0	3	0	38	0
	Total		106	5	4	0	10	0	3	0	123	5
West Bromwich Albion	1985–86	First Division	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	1986–87	Second Division	42	2	1	0	2	0	1	0	46	2
	1987–88	Second Division	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	2
	1988–89	Second Division	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	1
	Total		64	5	1	0	3	0	1	0	69	5
Darlington	1988–89	Fourth Division	12	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	3
Crewe Alexandra	1989–90	Third Division	31	2	5	0	4	1	2	0	42	3
Career Total			353	20	22	0	31	1	6	0	412	21

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup.

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. "Where are they now?: Paul Dyson". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
3. "Dyson is defiant as Boro' hell hits family". Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
4. Paul Dyson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Paul Dyson at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database