Paul Reece

Paul Reece

Personal information
Full name	Paul John Reece
Date of birth	16 July 1968
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1986–1987	Stoke City	2	(0)
1987–1988	Kettering Town
1988–1992	Grimsby Town	54	(0)
1992–1993	Doncaster Rovers	1	(0)
1993–1994	Oxford United	39	(0)
1994–1995	Notts County	11	(0)
1995–1996	West Bromwich Albion	1	(0)
1997–2000	Cliftonville
Total		108	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Paul John Reece (born 16 July 1968) is a former English footballer who played in the Football League for Doncaster Rovers, Grimsby Town, Notts County, Oxford United, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion.^[1]

Career

Reece was born in Nottingham and started his footballing career at Staffordshire side Stoke City.^[2] He played just twice for Stoke both came towards the end of the 1986–87 where he deputised for the injured Peter Fox.^[2] He conceded six goals in his two matches 4–1 to Shrewsbury Town and 2–1 to Barnsley and was released at the end of the season.^[2] He joined Kettering Town for one season and won Player of the Year Award before signing for Grimsby Town for £10,000. where he played regular football.^[3] He left for Doncaster Rovers in 1992 and made just one appearance for Doncaster.^[4] He joined Oxford United and later played for Notts County, West Bromwich Albion, Ilkeston Town and for Northern Irish club Cliftonville.^[5]

Reece arrived at Solitude on a free transfer after being recommended to the club by former player Keith Alexander, who had been his manager at Ilkeston.^[6] He made his debut for the Belfast club in the final of the 1996–97 County Antrim Shield and he saved a penalty in the penalty shootout, ensuring Cliftonville won the trophy for the first time since 1979.^[7] He subsequently wore the number one shirt during the club's Irish League title winning season the following year^[8] and became established as a club legend in the eyes of the supporters.^[9] Reece would also appear for the Reds in the UEFA Champions League qualifier against MFK Košice the following season^[10] Later however Reece, who remained based in London during his time at Cliftonville, failed to travel to Belfast for a number of matches and during his absence he lost the number one shirt to Michael Ingham.^[11][12]

Reece subsequently returned to Ilkeston Town, remaining on the club's books until his retirement from playing in 2003. He worked as a goalkeeping coach for Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town and the Derby County youth team before fulfilling the same role at football training camps.^[13]

Career statistics

• Sourced from Paul Reece profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other^[A]		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	1986–87	Second Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Grimsby Town	1988–89	Fourth Division	14	0	3	0	2	0	2	0	21	0
	1989–90		15	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	20	0
	1990–91	Third Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1991–92	Second Division	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
Doncaster Rovers	1992–93	Third Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Oxford United	1992–93	Division One	35	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	38	0
	1993–94		4	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	7	0
Notts County	1994–95		11	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	15	0
West Bromwich Albion	1995–96		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Career Total			108	0	7	0	7	0	8	0	130	0

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup and Football League Trophy.

References

1. • Lowe, Simon: "Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record" (Desert Island Books, ISBN 1-874287-39-2).
2. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
3. "Paul Reece". The Fishy. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
4. "Paul Reece". doncasterrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
5. "Paul Reece stats". RAGE online. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
6. A Strange Season in Solitude
7. The History of Cliftonville Football Club
8. Jeepers Keepers!
9. News: August 2008
10. Match report
11. Football: McCourt is staying put says Marty; CLIFTONVILLE 1 COLERAINE 1
12. Football: Reds in safe hands; CLIFTONVILLE....1 COLERAINE....1.
13. Reece, Paul