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Johnny Paton

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Johnny Paton
Personal information
Full name John Aloysius Paton[1]
Date of birth (1923-04-02)2 April 1923
Place of birth Glasgow,Scotland
Date of death 2 October 2015(2015-10-02)(aged 92)[1]
Place of death Stanmore,England
Position(s) Outside left
Youth career
St. Mungo's Academy
St. Mary's Calton
Dennistoun Waverley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1942–1949 Celtic 52 (12)
→New York Americans(guest)
1945 →Leeds United(guest) 4 (0)
1946–1947 →Chelsea(loan) 18 (3)
1949–1952 Brentford 90 (14)
1952–1955 Watford 84 (17)
International career
Scotland Schoolboys
1940 Scotland Juniors 1 (0)
Managerial career
1955–1956 Watford
1961–1965 Arsenal 'A'
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Aloysius Paton(2 April 1923 – 2 October 2015) was a Scottish professionalfootballplayer,manager,coach,scoutand later a professionalsnookerreferee.He began his career in Scotland withCelticand played in theFootball LeagueforChelsea,BrentfordandWatford.Paton later managed Watford andArsenal 'A'.

Club career[edit]

Celtic[edit]

Born inGlasgow,Paton joinedCeltic(the club he supported as a boy) during theSecond World Warin May 1942.[2]Anoutside left,he made his debut in a 2–0Southern Leaguewin overSt Mirrenon 16 January 1943.[2]

During the war, Paton spent a period as a guest atAmerican Soccer LeagueclubNew York Americanswhile stationed in the United States and later guested forLeeds Unitedin 1945 in England,[3]making four appearances.[4]He also guested forArsenal,Crystal Palace,MillwallandManchester Cityduring the conflict.[2]Paton scored for Celtic in the Victory in Europe Cup triumph overQueens Parkon 9 May 1945.[2]

Due to thesuspension of competitive footballfor the duration of the Second World War, Paton didn't make his first professional appearances for Celtic until the1947–48season.[5]He made 77 appearances and scored 16 goals before a dispute with the club's management over wages led to his departure fromCeltic Parkin September 1949.[5]His last competitive game was the 3–1 1949Glasgow CupFinal victory overThird Lanark.[2]During the three post-war seasons with Celtic, Paton made 77 appearances and scored 16 goals.[2]

Chelsea (loan)[edit]

Paton joined EnglishFirst DivisionclubChelseaonloanin November 1946.[2]He made 23 appearances and scored three goals before returning to Celtic in May 1947.[6]

Brentford[edit]

Paton signed forSecond DivisionclubBrentfordin September 1949 for a £5,000 fee.[2]He had contactedLondon Evening Starcolumnist (and ex-Arsenal defender)Bernard Joyand asked for an advert to be placed in the paper that he was available for transfer.[3]Brentford manager (and former Celtic player)Malcolm McDonaldwas the first to take up the option on Paton's services.[3]He had a dream start to his career atGriffin Park,scoring on his debut in a 2–0 win overBradford Park Avenueand scoring again againstBlackburn Roversin the following game.[7]

A knock suffered in a match versusSouthamptonon 29 October 1949 hampered his progress, with Paton ruing that he had a "gammy leg" for two years, from which he finally recovered after a successful operation atBrentfordhospital.[8]He played on at Griffin Park until the end of the1951–52season, by which time he had made 94 appearances and scored 16 goals.[3]

Watford[edit]

Paton and Brentford teammateJimmy BowiejoinedThird Division SouthclubWatfordin July 1952,[2]to help finance the transfer which had seenTommy Lawtonmove to the Bees the previous year.[8]He made 91 appearances and scored 17 goals before playing his final match in 1955.[9]

International and representative career[edit]

Paton made appearances forScotlandat international level as a schoolboy and ajunior.[2][10]He played for theRAFrepresentative team during the Second World War and appeared alongsideStanley Matthewsin the team.[11]

Coaching and scouting career[edit]

Paton lamented the standard of football coaching in England in the early 1950s and said "many managers deliberately starved their players of the ball during the week, believing it made them more hungry for it out on the pitch on a Saturday".[8]Paton and Brentford teammatesRon GreenwoodandJimmy Hillenrolled on the first everFAcoaching course atLilleshallin the early 1950s.[3]One of the instructors was BrentfordgoalkeeperTed Gaskelland Paton roomed with Greenwood, Hill andMalcolm Allison.[8]Paton also led theHertfordshire FA's youth coaching scheme during the 1954–55 season.[9]

In the early 1960s, Paton worked as ascoutforRotherham United,focusing on Glasgow and Scotland.[2]In 1961,Tommy Dochertyoffered Paton a scouting role and the position of'A' teammanager at First Division club Arsenal.[8]Paton later found out that Ron Greenwood recommended him for the role. He won the1961–62Metropolitan League Cup and the1962–63 Metropolitan Leaguetitle with the 'A' team.[8]He left the club in 1965.[9]

Managerial career[edit]

After serving Watford as its first-everplayer-coach,[9]Paton succeededLen Gouldenas manager in October 1955.[8]He had a good start to his reign, but after entering hospital for acartilageoperation on both knees, the team's form drained away in his absence.[8]Paton was relieved of his duties only four months into his reign, after just two wins from 15 Third Division South matches.[12]

Personal life[edit]

Paton was born into a family of Celtic supporters, with his grandfather holding aseason ticketat Celtic Park and his father spending time on the club's books as a player.[11]In addition to football, Paton also competed as anamateur welterweight boxerand in athletics as a youth.[13]During the Second World War, he served as anavigatorin the RAF.[2]In the late 1950s, Paton turned his back on football and worked as apress photographer,snookerreferee and as asales rep,[13]sellingchocolate biscuits.[8]Paton died in October 2015, aged 92.[14]

Career statistics[edit]

Player[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 1946–47[5] Scottish First Division 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 0
1947–48[5] 28 6 4 2 5 2 2[a] 0 39 10
1948–49[5] 24 6 1 0 6 0 3[a] 0 34 6
Total 52 12 5 2 15 2 5 0 77 16
Chelsea(loan) 1946–47[6] First Division 18 3 5 0 — — 23 3
Brentford 1949–50[7] Second Division 23 5 0 0 — — 23 5
1950–51[7] 31 4 1 1 — — 32 5
1951–52[7] 36 5 3 1 — — 39 6
Total 90 14 4 2 — — 94 16
Watford 1952–53[15] Third Division South 33 2 3 0 — — 36 2
1953–54[15] 37 11 1 0 — — 38 11
1954–55[15] 14 4 3 0 — — 17 4
Total 84 17 7 0 — — 91 17
Career total 244 46 21 4 15 2 5 0 285 52
  1. ^abAppearances inGlasgow Cup

Manager[edit]

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
P W D L Win %
Watford October 1955 February 1956 17 3 6 8 017.6 [15]
Total 17 3 6 8 017.6 —

Honours[edit]

As a player[edit]

Celtic

As a manager[edit]

Arsenal 'A'

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Johnny Paton".Barry Hugman's Footballers.Retrieved11 March2017.
  2. ^abcdefghijklm"Paton: John Aloysius (Johnny)".Leeds United F.C. History.Retrieved9 August2014.
  3. ^abcdeHaynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006).Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006.Yore Publications. p. 122.ISBN978-0955294914.
  4. ^"Leeds United Season 1944 – 1945: Football League (Northern Section)".www.leeds-fans.org.uk.Retrieved8 June2017.
  5. ^abcde"Celtic Player Johnny Paton Details".www.fitbastats.com.Retrieved26 October2016.
  6. ^ab"John A Paton | Chelsea Player Profile".Stamford-Bridge.com The History of Chelsea FC. 7 December 1946.Retrieved9 August2014.
  7. ^abcdWhite, Eric, ed. (1989).100 Years Of Brentford.Brentford FC. pp. 380–381.ISBN0951526200.
  8. ^abcdefghijkGriffin Gazette versus Oxford United.Poole: Quay Design Limited. 31 December 1994. p. 33.
  9. ^abcd"Players – Pate to Pretty"(PDF).Watford Football Club archive 1881–2016.p. 4.Retrieved26 October2016.
  10. ^"Scotland Junior Internationals".Scottish Football Historical Archive.Archived fromthe originalon 5 May 2019.Retrieved12 April2018.
  11. ^ab"Obituary: John (Johnny) Paton, former footballer".www.scotsman.com.Retrieved6 November2016.
  12. ^Jones p. 272
  13. ^ab"Johnny Paton: Energetic left-winger for Chelsea".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2022.Retrieved8 June2017.
  14. ^"Johnny Paton 1923–2015".chelseafc.com.Chelsea FC. 2 October 2015.Retrieved2 October2015.
  15. ^abcd"Seasons – 1950/51 to 1959/60"(PDF).Watford Football Club archive 1881–2016.pp. 3–6.Retrieved12 April2018.
  16. ^"Johnny Paton".Herald Scotland.28 November 2015.Retrieved26 October2016.

Sources[edit]

  • Jones, Trefor (1996).The Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who.T.G. Jones.ISBN0-9527458-0-1.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johnny_Paton&oldid=1228146814"