Paul James Raynor (born 29 April 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has worked as assistant manager under Steve Evans at Rotherham United, Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United and Gillingham, his most recent role.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Paul James Raynor | ||
Date of birth | (1966-04-29) 29 April 1966 (age 56) | ||
Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
Nottingham Forest | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1984–1985 | Nottingham Forest | 3 | (1) |
1984 | → Bristol Rovers (loan) | 8 | (0) |
1985–1987 | Huddersfield Town | 50 | (9) |
1987–1992 | Swansea City | 191 | (27) |
1988 | → Wrexham (loan) | 6 | (0) |
1992–1993 | Cambridge United | 49 | (2) |
1993–1995 | Preston North End | 80 | (9) |
1995–1997 | Cambridge United | 79 | (7) |
1997 | Guangdong Hongyuan | 10 | (1) |
1998 | Leyton Orient | 15 | (0) |
1998–1999 | Kettering Town | ||
1999–2000 | Ilkeston Town | ||
2000–2001 | Boston United | ||
2001 | King's Lynn | 5 | (0) |
2001 | Hednesford Town | 11 | (0) |
2001 | Gainsborough Trinity | ||
2002 | Ossett Albion | ||
2002–2004 | King's Lynn | 68 | (1) |
2007–2009 | Crawley Town | 4 | (1) |
Teams managed | |||
2001–2001 | Hednesford Town (player-manager) | ||
2004–2006 | Boston United (assistant manager) | ||
2006–2007 | Boston United | ||
2007–2012 | Crawley Town (assistant manager) | ||
2012–2015 | Rotherham United (assistant manager) | ||
2015–2016 | Leeds United (assistant head coach) | ||
2016–2018 | Mansfield Town (assistant head coach) | ||
2018–2019 | Peterborough United (assistant manager) | ||
2019–2022 | Gillingham (assistant manager) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
He played in the Football League for Nottingham Forest, Bristol Rovers,[1] Huddersfield Town,[2] Swansea City, Wrexham,[3] Cambridge United,[4] Preston North End[5] (where he briefly played alongside a young David Beckham), and Leyton Orient.[6] He also spent a year in the Chinese Jia-A League with Guangdong Hongyuan.[7]
After leaving Leyton Orient, Raynor moved into non-league football with clubs including Kettering Town, Ilkeston Town, Boston United,[8] King's Lynn, Hednesford Town, where he spent a few months as player-manager,[9][10] Gainsborough Trinity,[11] Ossett Albion, and then King's Lynn again, to be released at the end of the 2002–03 season, only to rejoin for the next.[12][13]
Raynor has coached at clubs Sheffield United and Boston United, where he was assistant manager for a time to Steve Evans.[14] In May 2007 Evans and Raynor left Boston to take over as manager and assistant at Crawley Town,[15] where he occasionally appeared as a player in the Conference.[8] The pair subsequently moved to Rotherham United. On 28 September 2015, Raynor left Rotherham.[8] On 19 October 2015, Raynor joined fellow Championship side Leeds United, once again as assistant to Evans.[16][17] On 31 May 2016, Evans and Raynor were both sacked by Leeds owner Massimo Cellino, with Evans becoming the sixth manager sacked by Cellino in two years.[18]
In June 2019 Raynor linked up with Evans once again at Gillingham.[19] Both departed the club on 9 January 2022.[20]