Paul Rideout
Encyclopedia
Paul Rideout is a retired English professional football player who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He is a youth coach with Sporting Kansas City, heading their U-16, U-17 and U-18 teams.
as their youngest ever first team player, and he finished the 1980–81 season
with four goals from 16 Third Division games. He established himself as a first team player in 1981–82
by playing 35 games and scoring 14 goals, though it was not enough to save Swindon from relegation to the Fourth Division he initially decided to remain at the County Ground
in order to help them win promotion. After they failed to win promotion in 1982–83
, despite Rideout's 20 goals in 44 games, he was transferred to First Division club Aston Villa for £200,000 by manager Tony Barton.
He scored five goals in 25 league games during his first season as a First Division player at Villa Park, and also helped them reach the Football League Cup
semi finals, though they could only manage a 10th place finish in the league. He remained a first team player the following season under new manager Graham Turner
, scoring 14 goals in 29 games though Villa finished mid table once again. Then came a transfer to Italian team Bari, where Rideout spent three years before returning to England in a £430,000 move to Southampton on 5 July 1988.
Rideout was initially a regular first team player at The Dell, but the arrival of Iain Dowie
in March 1991 cost him his place in the side after 71 league games and 19 goals, and he then dropped down a division with a nine-game loan spell at Swindon Town, where he scored once, before returning to Southampton for the 1991–92 season
.
He made four more appearances for The Saints, failing to score a goal, before he was sold to Notts County
for £250,000 on 16 September 1991, just after they began their first top division season since 1984. However, they were already struggling to avoid relegation from the First Division and manager Neil Warnock
saw Rideout as the man to help County preserve their top flight status and gain a place in the new FA Premier League
which would begin the following season
. However, he lasted barely four months at Meadow Lane
, scoring three goals in 11 league games (his performances failed to improve County's league form and they ended the season relegated) before joining Rangers
for £500,000 on 10 January 1992. He scored once in 11 games, providing adequate backup for the strike partnership of Mark Hateley
and Ally McCoist
, as Rangers won the double of the Scottish Premier Division
and SFA Cup
, and played one game in the 1992–93
Scottish league season before returning to England in a £500,000 move to Everton on 14 August 1992 - the day before their first game in the new Premier League. Among his fellow strikers was Mo Johnston
- ironically the player whose gap he had effectively filled at Rangers just months earlier.
Rideout's first season at Goodison Park
was something of a disappointment, as he managed just three goals in 24 games and was unable to break up the strike partnership of Peter Beardsley
and Tony Cottee
, and it was a similar story the following season (despite Beardsley's departure to Newcastle United
) as he managed just 24 league appearances once again, though he did improve his goals tally to six for the 1993–94 season
. It was not a good time for Everton, either, as their Premier League debut had brought them a 13th place finish, and after going top of the Premier League by winning their first three games of the 1993-94 season, their form slumped dramatically (failing to improve after Mike Walker succeeded Howard Kendall
as manager in mid season) and they only narrowly avoided relegation.
The 1994–95
season was arguably the finest of Rideout's career. He scored 14 goals from 29 Premier League games as Everton overcame a 12-match winless league start to finish in a secure 15th place following Walker's dismissal in favour of Joe Royle
, and scored the only goal of the FA Cup final as Everton won their first major trophy since 1987 and condemned Manchester United to their first trophyless season since 1989. With Beardsley, Cottee and Johnston now gone, Rideout now had an effective strike partner in the shape of Duncan Ferguson
and a capable deputy in Daniel Amokachi
.
The 1994–95 campaign was as good as it got for Rideout in his time at Everton, though he did score six goals in 25 league games to help them finish sixth in 1995–96
. The following season
saw him restricted to a mere 10 league appearances, during which he failed to score, and at the end of the campaign he transferred to Qianwei Huangdao
in China, where he was voted 'Best Overseas player' in the Chinese League. He then moved to the United States of America in 1998 to play for the Kansas City Wizards
from 1998-1999 before returning to the Chinese league until 2000, playing for Shenzhen Jianlibao.
Rideout's last club was Tranmere Rovers
, where he played until May 2002, before being appointed to the club's coaching staff as an assistant with Tranmere Rovers Youth Academy. His time at Tranmere Rovers is most memorable for the FA Cup
match against former club Southampton
, in which he scored three of four second half goals to win the game after his team had been 3–0 down at half-time, Stuart Barlow
scoring the other. However, on the league scene it was not a successful time for player and club. They were relegated in bottom place at the end of his first season
after a decade of second tier football, which had seen manager John Aldridge
forced out of his job after five years at the helm. Rideout's former Everton team mate Dave Watson
was then appointed manager at Prenton Park
, but was unable to restore Tranmere to Division One in Rideout's final season before retiring as a player.
Although he did not represent the England national football team
at full-level, he played several times for England at schoolboy, under-18 and under-21 level. At international level he scored over 30 goals, including 3 goals for England schoolboys in a match lost 4–5 to Scotland, at Wembley Stadium.
, managing all three of the club's youth squads.
In August 2010 Paul contributed an interview to the Followtonians Podcast whilst out in Kansas in regards to his career at Everton. Rideout also coaches a U17 girl's teams.
Playing career
Rideout's career began as a 16 year old at Swindon TownSwindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
as their youngest ever first team player, and he finished the 1980–81 season
1980-81 in English football
The 1980–81 season was the 101st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League introduced a three points for a win system in place of the two points for a win system which had operated since the league's formation in 1889...
with four goals from 16 Third Division games. He established himself as a first team player in 1981–82
1981-82 in English football
The 1981–82 season was the 102nd season of competitive football in England.It was also the first season that the Three points for a win system was introduced.- First Division :Three points for a win was introduced for the first time in England...
by playing 35 games and scoring 14 goals, though it was not enough to save Swindon from relegation to the Fourth Division he initially decided to remain at the County Ground
County Ground, Swindon
The County Ground is a stadium located near the town centre of Swindon, England. It is home to Swindon Town Football Club and has been for over a century.The current capacity is 15,728, all-seated...
in order to help them win promotion. After they failed to win promotion in 1982–83
1982-83 in English football
The 1982–83 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Bob Paisley's last season as Liverpool manager ended on a high as they topped the First Division with a comfortable lead. Bob Paisley retired as Liverpool manager with a record 21 prizes in nine years. His...
, despite Rideout's 20 goals in 44 games, he was transferred to First Division club Aston Villa for £200,000 by manager Tony Barton.
He scored five goals in 25 league games during his first season as a First Division player at Villa Park, and also helped them reach the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
semi finals, though they could only manage a 10th place finish in the league. He remained a first team player the following season under new manager Graham Turner
Graham Turner
Graham John Turner is an English former footballer who became a manager. He is currently manager of League Two club Shrewsbury Town. His son Mark was also a professional footballer....
, scoring 14 goals in 29 games though Villa finished mid table once again. Then came a transfer to Italian team Bari, where Rideout spent three years before returning to England in a £430,000 move to Southampton on 5 July 1988.
Rideout was initially a regular first team player at The Dell, but the arrival of Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie is a former footballer and manager. He is currently without a club. He has previously managed Hull City and Queens Park Rangers and was assistant manager of Newcastle United...
in March 1991 cost him his place in the side after 71 league games and 19 goals, and he then dropped down a division with a nine-game loan spell at Swindon Town, where he scored once, before returning to Southampton for the 1991–92 season
1991-92 in English football
- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of, among others, Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David Batty, Gary Speed and Gary McAllister...
.
He made four more appearances for The Saints, failing to score a goal, before he was sold to Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
for £250,000 on 16 September 1991, just after they began their first top division season since 1984. However, they were already struggling to avoid relegation from the First Division and manager Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
saw Rideout as the man to help County preserve their top flight status and gain a place in the new FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
which would begin the following season
1992-93 in English football
The 1992–1993 season was the 113th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:This season saw the birth of the FA Premier League. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions....
. However, he lasted barely four months at Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane
Not to be confused with The Meadow, home of Southern Football League Premier Division football team Chesham UnitedThe Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England...
, scoring three goals in 11 league games (his performances failed to improve County's league form and they ended the season relegated) before joining Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
for £500,000 on 10 January 1992. He scored once in 11 games, providing adequate backup for the strike partnership of Mark Hateley
Mark Hateley
Mark Wayne Hateley is a retired English football player who played as a centre-forward. He was capped 32 times for the English national team , and played in top-level football leagues in England, Italy, France and Scotland...
and Ally McCoist
Ally McCoist
Alistair Murdoch "Ally" McCoist, MBE ; 24 September 1962) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Rangers in Scotland....
, as Rangers won the double of the Scottish Premier Division
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
and SFA Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
, and played one game in the 1992–93
1992-93 in Scottish football
The 1992–93 season was the 96th season of competitive football in Scotland.- Notable events:* Rangers completing a domestic treble of the Premier Division title, FA Cup and League Cup....
Scottish league season before returning to England in a £500,000 move to Everton on 14 August 1992 - the day before their first game in the new Premier League. Among his fellow strikers was Mo Johnston
Mo Johnston
Maurice John Giblin "Mo" Johnston is a former football striker.Johnston began his football career with Partick Thistle in 1981 before moving to Watford in 1983. With Watford Johnston scored 23 league goals, made his international debut, and helped the team reach the 1984 FA Cup Final...
- ironically the player whose gap he had effectively filled at Rangers just months earlier.
Rideout's first season at Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
was something of a disappointment, as he managed just three goals in 24 games and was unable to break up the strike partnership of Peter Beardsley
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE is an English former footballer who played between 1979 and 1999. He once set a record transfer fee in the game and represented his country 59 times between 1986 and 1996, once as captain...
and Tony Cottee
Tony Cottee
Anthony Richard "Tony" Cottee is a former football player who now works as a television football commentator...
, and it was a similar story the following season (despite Beardsley's departure to Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
) as he managed just 24 league appearances once again, though he did improve his goals tally to six for the 1993–94 season
1993-94 in English football
The 1993-1994 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:From the start of this season, the FA Premier League would be sponsored by Carling Breweries - an association which would last for eight years...
. It was not a good time for Everton, either, as their Premier League debut had brought them a 13th place finish, and after going top of the Premier League by winning their first three games of the 1993-94 season, their form slumped dramatically (failing to improve after Mike Walker succeeded Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall is an English football manager and former player. He is most famous for his connection to Everton, a club that he both played for and managed. His uncle Harry Taylor played for Newcastle United and Fulham in the 1950s....
as manager in mid season) and they only narrowly avoided relegation.
The 1994–95
1994-95 in English football
-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...
season was arguably the finest of Rideout's career. He scored 14 goals from 29 Premier League games as Everton overcame a 12-match winless league start to finish in a secure 15th place following Walker's dismissal in favour of Joe Royle
Joe Royle
Joseph "Joe" Royle is an English football manager. In his club career, he played for Everton , Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team...
, and scored the only goal of the FA Cup final as Everton won their first major trophy since 1987 and condemned Manchester United to their first trophyless season since 1989. With Beardsley, Cottee and Johnston now gone, Rideout now had an effective strike partner in the shape of Duncan Ferguson
Duncan Ferguson
Duncan Cowan Ferguson is a Scottish former footballer. He was notorious for his "hardman" image and nicknamed "Big Dunc" and "Duncan Disorderly"....
and a capable deputy in Daniel Amokachi
Daniel Amokachi
Daniel Owefin Amokachi nicknamed "The Bull" is a former football striker from Nigeria.- Career :While playing for Ranchers Bees, Amokachi was discovered by Nigerian national team coach Clemens Westerhof, who brought the talented player to the 1990 African Nations Cup, and soon Amokachi moved to...
.
The 1994–95 campaign was as good as it got for Rideout in his time at Everton, though he did score six goals in 25 league games to help them finish sixth in 1995–96
1995-96 in English football
- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
. The following season
1996-97 in English football
The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...
saw him restricted to a mere 10 league appearances, during which he failed to score, and at the end of the campaign he transferred to Qianwei Huangdao
Chongqing Lifan
Chongqing Lifan, are a professional Chinese football club who currently plays in the Chinese League One division. They play their home games at the 58,680 seater Chongqing Olympic Sports Center in Chongqing and are owned by the Chongqing based Lifan Group, which manufactures motorcycles, cars and...
in China, where he was voted 'Best Overseas player' in the Chinese League. He then moved to the United States of America in 1998 to play for the Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
from 1998-1999 before returning to the Chinese league until 2000, playing for Shenzhen Jianlibao.
Rideout's last club was Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
, where he played until May 2002, before being appointed to the club's coaching staff as an assistant with Tranmere Rovers Youth Academy. His time at Tranmere Rovers is most memorable for the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
match against former club Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, in which he scored three of four second half goals to win the game after his team had been 3–0 down at half-time, Stuart Barlow
Stuart Barlow
Stuart Barlow is a retired English football forward. He is best remembered for scoring the winning goal in an FA Cup fifth round replay win against Premiership Southampton in the 2000-01 season...
scoring the other. However, on the league scene it was not a successful time for player and club. They were relegated in bottom place at the end of his first season
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
after a decade of second tier football, which had seen manager John Aldridge
John Aldridge
John William Aldridge is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer and football manager...
forced out of his job after five years at the helm. Rideout's former Everton team mate Dave Watson
Dave Watson
David "Dave" Watson is an English former professional footballer who made 12 appearances for the English national team. He is now the youth team coach at Newcastle United.-Playing career:...
was then appointed manager at Prenton Park
Prenton Park
Prenton Park is an association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C. The club moved to the current Prenton Park in 1912. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report...
, but was unable to restore Tranmere to Division One in Rideout's final season before retiring as a player.
Although he did not represent the England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
at full-level, he played several times for England at schoolboy, under-18 and under-21 level. At international level he scored over 30 goals, including 3 goals for England schoolboys in a match lost 4–5 to Scotland, at Wembley Stadium.
Coaching career
Following his spell coaching at the club's academy, Rideout then returned to the United States and began coaching with the Kansas City WizardsKansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
, managing all three of the club's youth squads.
In August 2010 Paul contributed an interview to the Followtonians Podcast whilst out in Kansas in regards to his career at Everton. Rideout also coaches a U17 girl's teams.