Paul Clayton (semi-pro footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Clayton | ||
| Place of birth | Essex | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005-2015 | Romford | 396 | (48) |
| 2015-2017 | Ilford | 41 | (10) |
| 2018-2022 | Stansted | 127 | (19) |
| Total | 564 | (77) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paul Clayton was a Semi-professional footballer who played most of his playing days at Romford,[1] he also had spells at Ilford, Barking and retiring at Stansted.
Clayton started his career at Ilford before the 2005–06 season but there are no stats to be seen.
Club career
Romford
Paul joined Romford after starting the 2005–06 season at Ilford. His debut was a 2–1 loss away at Basildon United in the Essex Senior League, Clayton went on to make 14 appearances and scoring 1 goal in a 1–1 draw against Southend Manor in the League.[2] In the 2006–07 season Paul made 54 appearances for the Boro, scoring 4 in a 3–1 loss vs Southend Manor in the Essex Senior Cup, a 3–1 away win vs Basildon United in the League, a 4–4 draw away at Barking and a 1–1 draw away at Bowers & Pitsea. Romford finished 2nd in the Essex Senior League finishing 6 points behind Brentwood Town, Romford lost the Essex Senior League Cup final 5–4 on penalties against Brentwood. In the 2007–08 season Clayton made 47 appearances and scored 4, one against Bowers & Pitsea, London APSA, Basildon United and Barkingside. The Boro finished 5th in the League. At the end of the season as a farewell to the Rush Green Ground, Romford held a match between Romford and Romford Legends. Romford won 7-5. In the 2008–09 season Paul appeared 42 times for the Boro and he scored 7 goals. Romford won the Essex Senior League and were promoted to the Isthmian League North Division. In the 2009–10 season Paul made 42 appearances, scoring 2 goals against Maldon Town and VCD Athletic. Romford finished 13th in the Isthmian League North Division. For the 2010–11 season Clayton made 48 appearances, featuring in nearly every game, he scored 3 goals, he scored in both games against Crawley Green in the FA Cup and Potters Bar Town, Romford finished 12th with another decent season in the Isthmian North. In the 2011–12 season Clayton made 40 appearances and scored 5 for the Boro. In early October that season Clayton broke the appearances record of 257 with a 1–0 away loss to Enfield Town in the Isthmian League North Division.[3] Romford finished 13th with another mid-table performance. In the 2012–13 season Paul made 42 appearances and he scored 7 goals in one of his better scoring seasons. He was the Romford FC Player of the Season, The Boro finished 8th in the league, one of Pauls teammates that season Nick Reynolds[4] won the Isthmian League North Division Golden Boot after a great season all round. For the 2013–14 season Clayton made 44 appearances and scored 10, this season he also equalled the record for most Sending offs with his sixth being against Grays Athletic in the Isthmian League Cup, Romford finished 11th in the Isthmian North Division. In the 2014–15 season Clayton only made 24 appearances as he left the club in February, his last game for the Boro was a 3–2 away loss to Thurrock in which he scored, also in that game the goalscoring record for the club since 1992 was broken with Nick Reynolds scoring his 68th goal for the club.[5] He ended the Season with Barking but there are no stats for him to be found. Paul Clayton finished his time at Romford with 396 appearances and 48 goals for the club.[6] A Boro Legend.[7]
Clayton made the Romford FC Team of the season 10 times in 2005-06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014-15[7]
Ilford
Clayton joined Ilford after his short stint with Barking at the end of last season.[8] In the 2015–16 season Paul appeared 23 times and scored 4 for Ilford in the Essex Senior League. According to The FA Pauls debut for Ilford was a 3–3 draw at home to Sporting Bengal United in which he scored. Ilford finished 5th with 71 points in the Essex Senior League, but got deducted points along with Sawbridgeworth Town. In the 2016–17 season Clayton made 16 appearances and he scored 6 goals in a 3–2 loss away to St Margaretsbury in the FA Vase, 2 goals at home to West Essex, 2 goals away at Sporting Bengal United in the League, a 1–1 draw away at Waltham Forest. In the 2017–18 season Paul Clayton only appeared once for Ilford, cant find stats for any other team.[9]
Stansted
Paul Clayton joined Stansted after a season off from football after leaving Ilford. According to he FA he made his debut in a 2–0 loss vs Takeley in the Essex Senior League,[10] his first goal for the club was against Southend Manor in the League, Stansted won 3-0. In total Paul made 43 appearances and scored 8 goals, Stansted finished 2nd in the league and they won the Errington Challenge Cup[11] and the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy. In the 2019–20 season all the games were declared Null and Void[12] due to COVID-19 pandemic but before the season was called off Paul made 30 appearances and scored 5 goals. For the 2020–21 season Paul appeared 16 times and scored 1 goal but the season was on and off due to Covid. The 2021–22 season was the last season that Paul played, he made 36 appearances and he scored 5 goals. Stansted finished 4th in the Essex Senior League.
Career Stats
All stats from http://romfordfcarchive.co.uk/ and https://fulltime.thefa.com/home/index.html
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy/Vase | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Competition | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Romford | 2005-06 | Essex Senior League | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | FA Vase | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 2006-07 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 54 | 4 | |||
| 2007-08 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 47 | 4 | |||
| 2008-09 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 42 | 7 | |||
| 2009-10 | Isthmian League North Division | 36 | 2 | 3 | 0 | FA Trophy | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 2 | |
| 2010-11 | 39 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 3 | |||
| 2011-12 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 5 | |||
| 2012-13 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 7 | |||
| 2013-14 | 40 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 10 | |||
| 2014-15 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 5 | |||
| Total | 300 | 41 | 21 | 3 | --- | 19 | 0 | 56 | 4 | 396 | 48 | ||
| Ilford | 2015-16 | Essex Senior League | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | FA Vase | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 4 |
| 2016-17 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 7 | |||
| 2017-18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 35 | 8 | 1 | 0 | --- | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 11 | ||
| Stansted | 2018-19 | Essex Senior League | 33 | 7 | 2 | 0 | FA Vase | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 43 | 8 |
| 2019-20 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |||
| 2020-21 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2021-22 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 5 | |||
| Total | 96 | 18 | 5 | 0 | --- | 5 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 127 | 19 | ||
| Career Total | 431 | 67 | 27 | 3 | 25 | 1 | 78 | 6 | 564 | 78 | |||
Individual Awards
| Award | Team | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Romford FC Player of the Season[7] | Romford FC | 2012-13 |
| Romford FC Team of the Season[7] | Romford FC | 2005-06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 |
| Romford FC Top Appearance Maker[3] | Romford FC | 2005-2015 |
Team Trophies
| Trophy | Team | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Essex Senior League[13] | Romford FC | 2008-09 |
| Errington Challenge Cup | Stansted FC | 2018-19 |
| Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy |
References
- ^ "Paul CLAYTON - Romford Football Club Ex Players". www.romfordfc.com. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
- ^ Limited, Alamy. "Paul Clayton celebrates scoring the first goal for Romford - Romford vs Ilford - Ryman League Division One North Football at Mill Field, Aveley FC - 27/09/11 Stock Photo - Alamy". www.alamy.com. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ a b "Clayton proud of Romford record". Romford Recorder. 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
- ^ "Nick REYNOLDS - Romford Football Club First Team". www.romfordfc.com. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
- ^ "Reynolds breaks record in Romford defeat". Romford Recorder. 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
- ^ "Romford record-holder Clayton pays tribute to former boss Martin". Romford Recorder. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
- ^ a b c d "Romford F C Archive". romfordfcarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
- ^ "Fenn delighted with Clayton's Ilford return". Romford Recorder. 2014-11-27. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
- ^ "Essex Senior League: Paul Clayton feeling good after goalscoring spree for Ilford". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
- ^ EssexNonLeague (2018-08-08). Takeley 2-0 Stansted. Essex Senior League. Tue7Aug2018. Retrieved 2025-10-31 – via YouTube.
- ^ Casey, Michael (2019-04-24). "Stansted Win The Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy". Your Harlow. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Smith, George (2020-03-26). "2019/20 season null and void for level 3 of non-league and below". Football London. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Football Club History Database - Essex Senior League 2008-09". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 2025-11-01.