Paul Telfer (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Paul Norman Telfer is a retired Scottish
footballer who played as a full-back
for various clubs, including Luton Town
, Coventry City
, Southampton
and Celtic
. He also made one appearance for the Scotland national football team
. He is currently a player/coach at Conference South side Sutton United
.
, but began his career at Luton Town
as a right-sided midfielder. In the summer of 1995, he was signed by Coventry City
, where he began his long association with Gordon Strachan
, who at the time was player-coach at the club, and later became manager. While at Coventry, Telfer won his only senior Scotland
cap, playing in Scotland's 2-0 friendly defeat against France
on 29 March 2000 at Hampden Park
.
In 1992, Telfer and then Luton teammate Darren Salton
were involved in a horrific car crash. Telfer suffered only minor injuries and went on to make a full recovery, while Salton almost died and was forced to quit football following the accident.
, who had appointed Strachan as manager just over a month earlier. At Southampton, Telfer was converted from midfielder to right-back, and was a member of the side that reached the 2003 FA Cup Final. He scored once during his spell at Southampton, in a 3-1 win over Newcastle in May 2002.
, and again made Telfer one of his first signings. Telfer played just under two years at Parkhead, where he won two Scottish League championships and scored once in the league against Aberdeen. However, his family had difficulty settling in Glasgow
, and on 3 December 2006, Telfer announced he would not renew his contract with Celtic because he wished to spend more time with his family in Winchester
. On 2 April 2007, Telfer brought forward his retirement and officially left Celtic to be with his family in England.
side Bournemouth
. On 12 December 2007, Telfer cancelled his contract with Bournemouth to help their financial problems. A few days earlier, he had been ruled out for the season with a foot injury that required surgery and retired again.
.
But after some poor performances by Leeds' centre backs, Telfer found himself playing in an unfamiliar centre back role after impressing for Leeds in the position in a Carling Cup game against Crystal Palace
. Telfer at first put in some assured performances, but as the season went on Leeds became very vulnerable, with Telfer's lack of pace being exposed. Most notably in injury time against Huddersfield Town after Leeds conceded a goal, where Telfer's lack of pace was badly exposed. Gary McAllister was sacked in December, and new manager Simon Grayson
left Telfer out of all of his first team squads during his first month at the club. On 2 February 2009, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent with Telfer saying he didn't want Leeds to spend money paying his wages whilst he wasn't going to play.
, but failed to appear in the 2009–10 season. In the 2011 close-season, it was announced that Telfer would be joining Sutton United
in a player/coach capacity.
Celtic
;
, who also played for Scotland.
Telfer is a keen player of golf
. As of June 2009, his handicap was two shots.
He has a son named Archie, born in 2001 and a daughter named Esme, born in 2011.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
footballer who played as a full-back
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
for various clubs, including Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
, Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
, 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...
and Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. He also made one appearance for the Scotland national football team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
. He is currently a player/coach at Conference South side Sutton United
Sutton United F.C.
Sutton United Football Club is an English football club currently playing in the Conference South. They are based in Sutton, London, and play their home games at the Borough Sports Ground in Gander Green Lane....
.
Football career
Telfer was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, but began his career at Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
as a right-sided midfielder. In the summer of 1995, he was signed by Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
, where he began his long association with Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...
, who at the time was player-coach at the club, and later became manager. While at Coventry, Telfer won his only senior Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
cap, playing in Scotland's 2-0 friendly defeat against France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
on 29 March 2000 at Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
.
In 1992, Telfer and then Luton teammate Darren Salton
Darren Salton
Darren Brian Salton is a former Scottish under-21 international footballer, whose career was cut short by injuries suffered in a car accident.-Playing career:...
were involved in a horrific car crash. Telfer suffered only minor injuries and went on to make a full recovery, while Salton almost died and was forced to quit football following the accident.
Southampton
In October 2001, Telfer joined SouthamptonSouthampton 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...
, who had appointed Strachan as manager just over a month earlier. At Southampton, Telfer was converted from midfielder to right-back, and was a member of the side that reached the 2003 FA Cup Final. He scored once during his spell at Southampton, in a 3-1 win over Newcastle in May 2002.
Celtic
In 2005, Strachan became manager at CelticCeltic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
, and again made Telfer one of his first signings. Telfer played just under two years at Parkhead, where he won two Scottish League championships and scored once in the league against Aberdeen. However, his family had difficulty settling in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and on 3 December 2006, Telfer announced he would not renew his contract with Celtic because he wished to spend more time with his family in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
. On 2 April 2007, Telfer brought forward his retirement and officially left Celtic to be with his family in England.
Bournemouth
On 13 July 2007, Telfer came out of retirement, signing a one-year contract with League OneFootball League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
. On 12 December 2007, Telfer cancelled his contract with Bournemouth to help their financial problems. A few days earlier, he had been ruled out for the season with a foot injury that required surgery and retired again.
Leeds United
On 8 August 2008, Telfer came out of retirement for a second time and joined Leeds United on a non-contract basis after initially training with Leeds to keep fitness. He signed a 1 year deal with the club at the end of August. Impressing his former teammate Gary McAlliser who was managing Leeds at the time. Telfer was expected to act as cover for right back Frazer RichardsonFrazer Richardson
Frazer Richardson is an English professional footballer who plays for Southampton. He had been Leeds' longest-serving player, and in 2009 was the only member of the Leeds squad who was with the club when relegated from the Premiership in 2004.- Leeds United :Richardson made his Leeds debut as a...
.
But after some poor performances by Leeds' centre backs, Telfer found himself playing in an unfamiliar centre back role after impressing for Leeds in the position in a Carling Cup game against Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
. Telfer at first put in some assured performances, but as the season went on Leeds became very vulnerable, with Telfer's lack of pace being exposed. Most notably in injury time against Huddersfield Town after Leeds conceded a goal, where Telfer's lack of pace was badly exposed. Gary McAllister was sacked in December, and new manager Simon Grayson
Simon Grayson
Simon Nicholas Grayson is a retired English footballer and current manager of Leeds United. He is the elder brother of cricketer Paul Grayson....
left Telfer out of all of his first team squads during his first month at the club. On 2 February 2009, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent with Telfer saying he didn't want Leeds to spend money paying his wages whilst he wasn't going to play.
Slough Town and Sutton United
In April 2009, Telfer signed for non-league Slough TownSlough Town F.C.
Slough Town F.C. is an English semi-professional football club. The club was officially founded in 1890 after the amalgamation of three local clubs, Swifts, Slough Albion and Young Men's Friendly Society, who between them forged a new club, Slough F.C....
, but failed to appear in the 2009–10 season. In the 2011 close-season, it was announced that Telfer would be joining Sutton United
Sutton United F.C.
Sutton United Football Club is an English football club currently playing in the Conference South. They are based in Sutton, London, and play their home games at the Borough Sports Ground in Gander Green Lane....
in a player/coach capacity.
Honours
SouthamptonSouthampton 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...
- FA CupFA CupThe 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...
runner-up: 2003FA Cup Final 2003The 2003 FA Cup Final saw the holders Arsenal, beat Southampton. The match took place on Saturday, 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and ended 1–0 with a 38th minute goal by Robert Pirès separating the sides....
Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
;
- Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
: 2006, 2007 - Scottish League CupScottish League CupThe Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
: 2006
Personal life
Telfer is a nephew of Eamonn BannonEamonn Bannon
Eamonn John Bannon is a former Scottish football player, who played in midfield for Hearts, Chelsea, Dundee United and Scotland.-Career:...
, who also played for Scotland.
Telfer is a keen player of golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. As of June 2009, his handicap was two shots.
He has a son named Archie, born in 2001 and a daughter named Esme, born in 2011.