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Paul Merson

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Paul Merson
Personal information
Full name Paul Charles Merson
Date of birth (1968-03-20) 20 March 1968 (age 56)
Height 5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Forward (retired)
Youth career
Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1997 Arsenal 289 (78)
1987 → Brentford (loan) 6 (0)
1997–1998 Middlesbrough 48 (12)
1998–2002 Aston Villa 101 (18)
2002–2003 Portsmouth 44 (12)
2003–2006 Walsall 68 (6)
2006 Tamworth 1 (0)
Total 622 (126)
International career
1988–1990 England U21 4 (0)
1991–1998 England B 4 (3)
1991–1998 England 21 (3)
Managerial career
2004–2006 Walsall
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Charles Merson (born March 20, 1968 in Harlesden, London, England) is a retired English football player, and former player-manager of Walsall. His playing career has included spells at Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and finishing his playing career at Tamworth. He also played for England 21 times. He was a forward who later in his career dropped into the midfield playmaker position.

Career

Arsenal

Born in Harlesden, North West London, Paul Merson started his career at Arsenal, joining the club as an apprentice in 1984. After a loan spell at Brentford, then under manager Frank McLintock, he made his debut for the Gunners on 22 November 1986 against Manchester City, and gradually established himself in George Graham's successful Arsenal side of the late 1980s. By the 1988-89 season he was a regular on the right wing, at the end of which Arsenal secured the First Division title with a last gasp Michael Thomas goal in the final game of the season against Liverpool. Merson scored ten times that season, made his debut for the England U21 side, and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.

With Arsenal, Merson bagged another league championship in 1991, both the FA Cup and League Cup in 1993 (scoring equaliser in League Cup Final v Sheffield Wednesday) and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994. He also made his debut for the full England side, in a friendly against Germany on 11 September 1991.

Paul Merson's career was put on the line in November 1994 when he admitted to being an alcoholic and cocaine addict.[1] The Football Association arranged for Merson to undergo a three-month rehabilitation programme and he returned to the side in February 1995, just before the dismissal of George Graham as manager. Under caretaker manager Stewart Houston, Merson helped Arsenal reach the Cup Winners' Cup final for the second season in a row.

In 1995-96, Merson remained a regular first team player under Arsenal's new manager Bruce Rioch and continued to play regularly in 1996-97 following the appointment of Arsène Wenger. In a somewhat surprising move, at the end of the 1996-97 Premiership campaign, in which Arsenal finished third, Merson was sold to relegated Middlesbrough in a £5 million deal - making him the most expensive player ever signed by a non-Premiership club. Whilst Arsene Wenger had offered a new two year contract, Middlesbrough offered double the salary available at Arsenal. In all Merson played 423 times for Arsenal, scoring 99 goals.

Middlesbrough

In the summer of 1998, Merson accused Middlesbrough of being a club with a drinking and gambling culture, insisting he needed to move away.[2] He later refuted that claim. In the autumn of 1998, Paul Merson was sold to Aston Villa for £6.75 million after wishing to be nearer to his family in the South. Merson was a key player for Middlesbrough's promotion success as Division One runners-up in 1997-98.

Aston Villa

He quickly established himself as a fans favourite due to his creative, flamboyant brand of football. He remained on the club's payroll for nearly five years, helping them reach the 2000 FA Cup Final, before he was finally given a free transfer at the end of the 2001-02 season.

Portsmouth

Merson signed for Division One club Portsmouth, and was instrumental in the club's promotion to the Premiership in 2002-03. Merson, however, felt that he was too old for a return to the Premiership, and wanted to move closer to his home in Sutton Coldfield. Following a possible move to West Brom which was later vetoed by then Manager Gary Megson, he was eventually snapped up by Division One side Walsall in summer 2003.

Walsall

In February 2004, Merson admitted himself to the Sierra Tucson Clinic in Arizona to seek help for his gambling addiction under the advice and financial backing of the PFA, and missed several key games whilst Walsall slipped in the league from mid table mediocrity into the relegation zone. However, a couple of months after his return, Merson was quickly thrown into the manager's spot at Walsall following Colin Lee's sacking for allegedly having talks with Plymouth Argyle over a vacant manager's position there. Merson led a gallant bid to retain Division One status, but was hindered by a harsh last minute penalty against Crystal Palace, and eventually relegated after a 3-2 victory against Rotherham United whilst having to rely on Stoke City beating Gillingham F.C. on the final day. The following month, despite relegation, Merson was rewarded with the manager's job on a permanent basis.

2004-05 proved to be a difficult season for Merson, on and off the field. Walsall went out of all cup competitions against lower league teams, and it was reported that Merson had had a rift with his wife, and had started drinking and gambling again, whilst the press reported on him inviting goalkeeper Mark Bosnich back into the game. Walsall slipped close to a second consecutive relegation. Merson responded by making several key signings on transfer deadline day; Julian Joachim, Andy Oakes, Anthony Gerrard (cousin of Steven Gerrard), Craig Pead and David Perpetuini. Merson's side went undefeated during May 2005, securing League One status for another year.

After a difficult first season in management Merson's position at Walsall looked more secure as the club entered 2005-06; however, he was unable to lift Walsall out of the relegation zone, and with the club in 19th place, he was sacked on 6 February 2006 after his Walsall side lost 5-0 to Brentford at Griffin Park. Despite a number of offers from clubs as high as the Championship, Merson opted to resume his playing career at part-time Conference club Tamworth, however this arrangement only lasted two games (with Merson playing only once) before he announced his retirement from professional football playing on 9 March 2006.[3] Tamworth fans enjoy joking that Merson was good enough for England but not good enough for Tamworth.

International career

Euro 1992

Merson first played for the England national team in 1991, being called up by Graham Taylor. He participated in the 1992 European Championships in Sweden. He played in the opening 0-0 draw with Denmark. England went out after another 0-0 draw against the French and a 2-1 loss to hosts Sweden.

1994 World Cup Qualifying

Merson also played a part in the failed campaign to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He played in the opening game, a 1-1 home draw with Norway.[4] He next played against the Netherlands as a substitute for Paul Gascoigne who was injured. England were leading 2-1, but crucially conceded a late penalty for a 2-2 draw.[5] Merson also played in the 1993 U.S. Cup against Brazil and Germany, nearly scoring in a 2-1 defeat to the later, Bodo Illgner saving from a 20-yard shot. He returned for the critical and controversial 2-0 defeat against the Dutch in Rotterdam. Merson nearly equalised the opening Dutch goal, and hit the post with a free-kick.[6]

England failed to qualify for the World Cup. Taylor's successor, Terry Venables, told Merson that he would not get into the team owing to his life style of heavy drinking. In his book, How Not to be a Professional Footballer, Merson refers to an incident in Chicago while on duty with England during the US Cup. After drinking he wandered off into the city on hs own. Merson ended up in a dangerous area and was involved in trying to break up a fight while very drunk himself. When the combatants turned on Merson, he fled back to the hotel. The next morning the FBI came to the hotel and briefed the players on the dangers in the city. They expressed surprise that Merson was not injured in the incident.

1998 World Cup

Merson held the distinction of being the only player in England's 1998 FIFA World Cup squad not to play for a top flight club. In that tournament, he played in England's famous second round match against Argentina, scoring in the penalty shootout, although England eventually lost.

1998 marked the end of Merson's international career after 21 full caps in seven years, in which he scored three times.

Media work

In August, 2006 he also commenced a column for the official Arsenal FC magazine. He also continues to play for the England Legends, a 16-man squad of former internationals who have played Italy, Germany, Scotland, Ireland and the rest of the world. Merson has recently[when?] become a regular on Star Sports Asia, covering Premier League matches, although his main job is on Sky Sports, where he is a match reporter and regular pundit for Gilette Soccer Saturday. Although outspoken on the show, Merson is most often wrong in his pre-match previews and predictions, which are posted as part of his column for the Sky Sports website. Merson also has commentated on Arabic channels, again covering the Premier League. These are all recorded in London, not abroad. Merson has also been a regular contributor to US Football show beyond the pitch (www.beyondthepitch.net).[citation needed]

Career statistics

[7] Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1986-87||Arsenal||First Division||7||3||||||||||||||||3 |- |1986-87||Brentford||Third Division||7||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1987-88||rowspan="10"|Arsenal||rowspan="5"|First Division||15||5||||||||||||||||5 |- |1988-89||37||10||||2||||2||||||||14 |- |1989-90||29||7||||||||||||||||7 |- |1990-91||37||13||||1||||2||||||||16 |- |1991-92||42||12||||||||1||||||||13 |- |1992-93||rowspan="5"|Premier League||33||6||||1||||1||||||||8 |- |1993-94||33||7||||||||2||||3||||12 |- |1994-95||24||4||||||||1||||2||||7 |- |1995-96||38||5||||||||||||||||5 |- |1996-97||32||6||||||||1||||2||||9 |- |1997-98||rowspan="2"|Middlesbrough||First Division||45||12|||||||||||||||| |- |1998-99||Premier League||3||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1998-99||rowspan="4"|Aston Villa||rowspan="4"|Premier League||26||5|||||||||||||||| |- |1999-00||32||5|||||||||||||||| |- |2000-01||38||6|||||||||||||||| |- |2001-02||21||2|||||||||||||||| |- |2002-03||Portsmouth||First Division||45||12|||||||||||||||| |- |2003-04||rowspan="3"|Walsall||First Division||34||4|||||||||||||||| |- |2004-05||rowspan="2"|League One||36||2|||||||||||||||| |- |2005-06||7||0|||||||||||||||| |- |2006-07||Tamworth||Conference National||1||0|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 3622||126|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 5622||126|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics end

Honours

Team

Arsenal

Middlesbrough

Aston Villa

Portsmouth

Football League First Division

Individual

Personal life

Merson is a Chelsea FC supporter [citation needed].

Merson has been married twice (to Lorainne and Louise), and has five children. His first marriage crumbled under his recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism.[8]

In March 2006, he was photographed by the Daily Mirror drunk at the Boujis nightclub in South Kensington. In June 2006, Merson was accused of rape after a night at a flat owned by the Sloane Club in Chelsea, West London.[9] But it was found that although he had been at the flat, he had been in another room with another woman.[10]

In October 2011, Merson was involved in a car crash with a lorry on the M40 near Warwick, UK and arrested for drink-driving. [11]

References

  1. ^ "Merson battles gambling addiction". BBC Sport. 2003-05-05. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  2. ^ "Gazza's 'brave decision'". BBC News. 1998-10-13. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  3. ^ "Merson announces his retirement". BBC Sport. 2006-03-09. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  4. ^ http://allworldcup.narod.ru/1994/PROTOCOL/QUALIF/UEFA/G2/ENGVSNOR.HTM
  5. ^ http://allworldcup.narod.ru/1994/PROTOCOL/QUALIF/UEFA/G2/ENGVSHOL.HTM
  6. ^ England: The Official F.A History, Niall Edworthy, Virgin Publishers, 1997, ISBN 1-85227-699-1. p. 154.
  7. ^ :: National Football Teams ::.. Player - Paul Merson
  8. ^ "The Fall and Fall of Paul Merson". The Daily Mirror. 2006-03-25. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  9. ^ "Paul Merson in rape quiz". The Sun. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  10. ^ "Merson in clear on rape...he was having sex with other girl". Sunday Mirror. 2006-06-25. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  11. ^ "Paul Merson faces drink-drive charge after M40 crash". BBC News. 2011-12-06. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Aston Villa F.C. Captain
2001–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Portsmouth Captain
2002-2003 		Succeeded by

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