Paul Bradshaw
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| Paul Bradshaw | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul William Bradshaw | |
| Date of birth | April 28, 1956 | |
| Place of birth | Altrincham, England | |
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1972–1973 | Blackburn Rovers | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1973–1977 1977–1984 1984 1985–1986 1986–1987 1987–1988 1988–1990 1990–1991 1991–1992 |
Blackburn Rovers Wolverhampton Wanderers Vancouver Whitecaps West Bromwich Albion Bristol Rovers Newport County West Bromwich Albion Peterborough United Kettering Town |
78 (0) 200 (0) 24 (0) 8 (0) 5 (0) 23 (0) 6 (0) 39 (0) - (-) |
| National team | ||
| 1976–1978 | England U21 | 4 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Paul William Bradshaw (born April 28, 1956 in Altrincham) is an English former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.
[edit] Career
Bradshaw began his career as an apprentice at Blackburn Rovers, signing professionally in June 1973. He broke into the first team in the following season, making 18 appearances in Division 3. His most prominent season at Ewood Park came in 1976/77 when he made 41 league appearances, and played in the first ever England Under-21 game, attracting the attention of First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves paid a then-club record £150,000 for the goalkeeper in September 1977. He made his debut on 1 October 1977 in a 3-0 home win over Leicester City and remained the club's first-choice for the next five consecutive seasons.
Bradshaw made 243 appearances for Wolves in total, winning the 1980 League Cup, playing in two FA Cup semi-finals and appearing in European competition. He was voted the club's Player of the Year in both 1981 and 1982.
He lost his place for the 1982/83 season to John Burridge, as the club won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. Bradshaw remained to play 10 further First Division games for the side before leaving in August 1984, joining the Vancouver Whitecaps of the NASL.
After the American league folded, Bradshaw returned to England with West Bromwich Albion in February 1985, where he stayed as a back-up player until June 1986 when he took up a coaching role at Walsall. He soon returned to playing though, signing for Bristol Rovers on a non-contract basis, and later played in Newport County's final Football League season.
After a second spell at West Bromwich Albion, he joined Peterborough United where he played a full season. He dropped out of league football at Kettering Town before retiring in 1992.
