Paul Edmunds (footballer)

Paul Edmunds (born 2 December 1957) is an English former professional footballer and manager.

Paul Edmunds
Personal information
Date of birth (1957-12-02) 2 December 1957
Place of birth Doncaster, England
Position(s) Right winger
Youth career
Troston Welfare
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1981 Leicester City 8 (2)
1981–1982 Bournemouth 14 (2)
1982–1983 Bentley Victoria
1983–1986 Grantham Town
Burton Albion
Goole Town
Armthorpe Welfare
Teams managed
1987–1988 Doncaster Belles (joint with Mick Sherrard)
1988–1991 Doncaster Belles
1992–1995 Doncaster Belles
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

A pacy winger, Edmunds trained as a teacher in Sunderland and was called into Great Britain's 1979 World Student Games squad. From here he was spotted by Leicester City and signed as a professional.

Edmunds made his debut against Sunderland at Roker Park, then scored in his first home game against Shrewsbury Town.

While playing for Leicester Edmunds broke his wrist in a challenge from Joey Jones and was released in 1981 after suffering further injuries. He was signed by Bournemouth but released again after a single season.

Coaching career

In 1983 Edmunds began working at a school alongside Sheila Stocks, the founder and captain of Doncaster Belles. After the pair became an item, Edmunds attended pre-season training with the Belles in 1984. When he criticised their methods, he was challenged to do better and found himself coaching at the club. Edmunds married Sheila in 1986 and took over as Doncaster Belles manager the following year.[1]

At the time Doncaster Belles were the pre-eminent women's football team in England, who reached 11 FA Cup finals out of twelve from 1983 to 1994.

Edmunds resigned in 1995 after heavily criticising the Football Association's running of the women's game and the efforts of then-England women manager Ted Copeland.[2]

References
  1. Davies, Pete (23 May 1994). "Football: Belles face tough run-in: The women's National Premier League is being fought to a tight finish. Pete Davies reports". London: The Independent.
  2. Davies, Pete (1996). I Lost My Heart To The Belles. London: Mandarin. p. 99. ISBN 0-7493-2085-0. He did it because ten years was long enough, it was time he saw more of his daughter - but he also did it because all this fretting what people thought of them, all this bother about the FA and Copeland and how they were supposed to behave now these people were running things, all this nervy, small-'c' conservatism - that wasn't his idea of what the Belles were about for a minute.
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