Paul Hall

By Phil Tooley

Summer recruit Paul Hall's been around a while, at the age of 33 the Manchester born winger has appeared in 613 first team games for League Clubs as well as winning 41 Full International caps for Jamaica, including being 'ever present' in their 1998 World Cup Finals campaign in France, a major memory for the ex Tranmere player, "The World Cup was definitely a highlight of my career, probably the highlight, when you line up against the likes of Batistuta, a few months earlier I'd played against Brazil but in the World Cup, it's a different matter and it was something I'll never forget. The atmosphere was brilliant, you can just imagine the Jamaican fans, they bring their music and food, rice and peas and chicken and they had a real good time." Croatia, Argentina and Japan were the Reggae Boyz opponents in that pinnacle of football.

But how did a Manchester born lad end up starting on the long footballing road at Torquay United? "I moved from Manchester to Birmingham when I was about ten and went down to Torquay United on trial, I'd been offered apprenticeships by all of the Birmingham clubs but my Mum thought it would be better for me if I went away and lived away to grow up to be a man in another Town, so I ended up plying my trade down there." Cyril Knowles was boss when he first went there, then Dave Smith, who selected him for his debut, "I have some good memories from Torquay, it's a long time ago and I've come a long way since then. I remember coming on for my debut against Gillingham, I was 17 and came on for about 14 minutes, my first start was away at Burnley, we lost 1-0 and my first goal was at Fulham, we lost but I scored, but I can't remember too much about the goal!" There was one character well known in these parts also at Plainmoor then, Dave Caldwell, " I remember him, he was one of the senior pro's, he was a bit of a lad, I'd love to know what he's doing now!"

Deadline Day 1993 was approaching and Paul got a whiff that Portsmouth may be interested in him, "Neil Warnock came down and saw something in my play, arranged for me to go to Portsmouth for a week, I came back to Torquay but Portsmouth soon decided they wanted me and Manager Jim Smith signed me and gave me the break I needed." £70,000 was the fee agreed and Paul was off to Hampshire, he didn't play for a while, but made his first appearance in a big match, "I hadn't played until right at the end of the season, my debut was in the second leg of play offs against Leicester City, I came on as a sub at a full Fratton Park, we drew but had lost the first leg so didn't make the final but the next season I scored on my full debut against Luton, the only goal in a 1-0 win. It was a massive step up, Portsmouth was a big Club and I spend a good six years down there, I loved it. I scored a few goals from a position on the wing, often getting in at the back post, I had a few games up front as well. I hit some good form and kept scoring, I had a good understanding with Lee Bradbury there, he got the better end of it though, going to Man City for £3.5m and I got a pat on the back!" Indeed Paul's Fratton Park stats of 42 goals in 170 starts and 46 sub appearances make excellent reading for a winger.

During his time on the South Coast, he became known in Jamaican International circles, "My first game for Jamaica was against Cuba in Kingston and I scored. It's a hard place for anyone to go is Kingston, I always wanted to play there. International football was very difficult to start off with, but me, Fitzroy Simpson and Deon Burton managed to embed ourselves in and become important members of the set up. It was always first class travel, we had a laugh with a lot of English based players going to play in the Caribbean, we'd meet players from all over!"

After the 98 World Cup, a £300,000 fee took Paul to Coventry City, a move that saw him have a chance in the Premier League, but he made only a couple of League starts plus a few sub and cup games. "It's difficult after being in a World Cup because everything else is like coming down from the euphoria of the World Cup, so getting back into League football was tricky, I'd hit a few goals before the tournament in the league, 15 or so but immediately after it was tough and I never really got going at Coventry after moving there. I didn't really get much of a chance at Coventry, you perhaps get one chance at Premier League level and if the manager doesn't fancy you, you're out fairly quickly and move on."

Loan spells at Bury, Sheffield United and West Brom came before a move to Walsall in March 2000, he was there for about 18 months, scoring 11 in 63 appearances under Ray Graydon, and experienced both relegation and promotion! In October 2001, he was on the move again, to Brian Talbot's Rushden & Diamonds, where,

In 2003, he scored a memorable goal. "I scored the goal to win us the title, I was really happy with that. I'd just come back from South Africa having been there with Jamaica, I got back on the Friday after a 10 hour flight and on the Saturday I had to play against Hartlepool in the clincher, but it was worth it. One of my Jamaican colleagues, Onandi Lowe was there, he's a brilliant footballer and a good character to have around too, a top man at a top Club, the set up at Nene Park was excellent, it was a pleasure to play and train there."

Onto Tranmere Rovers in March 2004, his only full season was an excellent one both personally and for the team, but success eluded Rovers by the finest of margins. "It was disappointing, you play a whole season and become the third most consistent team in the Division, you expect something out of it, but when it comes down to the play offs, it's a bit of a lottery, it's not always the best team that wins. It's probably the team with a bit of recent form and the one that has a bit of luck." Rovers lost 2-0 at Hartlepool in leg 1 of the semi but clawed it back at home, extra time brought no further goals, so onto penalties and Rovers' opening spot kick man was Ryan Taylor, League One's top dead ball man last term, but he missed. "Ryan was our penalty taker and he had a great season, he's gone to Wigan now, he's on the up, he'll carry on and live on. When I took my penalty I was thinking of one I'd missed a few weeks earlier and was only thinking of putting it in the back of the net, you've got to be cool and say 'if I miss, I miss, if I score, I score' because coming down to one kick at the end of the season with the keeper having a 50% shot of saving it, if he guesses right, he's the hero, if he guesses wrong no one can blame him. Regardless of losing on penalties to Hartlepool, we had a very good season at Tranmere last year, we achieved a lot."

So, on to Saltergate, a goal in his second game but then a run that stretched to five straight defeats, but Paul's been around long enough to know things would turn, "It was a difficult start here this season, you've got to try hard, it's an on-going process. We're now all knitting together, getting to know each other and getting a few decent results." And Paul's been in amongst the goals too!

Finally, you may see a couple of little lads around the place with blue shirts with the No.11 on the back and the name 'Daddy' printed above it, they belong to Paul and are his pride and joy, "The boys Paul and Corey follow me everywhere, they love football, I'm glad they're old enough to be able to see me play."