Paul Raynor
English footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, Gillingham and Stevenage. He is currently assistant head coach at Bristol Rovers.
|
Raynor in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul James Raynor | ||
| Date of birth | 29 April 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bristol Rovers (assistant head coach) | ||
| 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) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2001 | Hednesford Town | ||
| 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) | ||
| 2022–2024 | Stevenage (assistant manager) | ||
| 2024–2025 | Rotherham United (assistant manager) | ||
| 2025– | Bristol Rovers (assistant head coach) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
He played in the Football League for Nottingham Forest, Bristol Rovers,[2] Huddersfield Town,[3] Swansea City, Wrexham,[4] Cambridge United,[5] Preston North End[6] (where he briefly played alongside a young David Beckham), and Leyton Orient.[7] He also spent a year in the Chinese Jia-A League with Guangdong Hongyuan.[8]
After leaving Leyton Orient, Raynor moved into non-League football with clubs including Kettering Town, Ilkeston Town, Boston United,[9] King's Lynn, Hednesford Town, where he spent a few months as player-manager,[10][11] Gainsborough Trinity,[12] 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.[13][14]
Coaching career
Raynor has coached at clubs Sheffield United and Boston United, where he was assistant manager for a time to Steve Evans.[15] In May 2007 Evans and Raynor left Boston to take over as manager and assistant at Crawley Town,[16] where he occasionally appeared as a player in the Conference.[9] The pair subsequently moved to Rotherham United. On 28 September 2015, Raynor left Rotherham.[9] On 19 October 2015, Raynor joined fellow Championship side Leeds United, once again as assistant to Evans.[17][18] 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.[19]
In June 2019 Raynor linked up with Evans once again at Gillingham.[20] Both departed the club on 9 January 2022.[21]
In December 2025, Raynor followed Evans to League Two club Bristol Rovers as assistant head coach on a short-term deal until the end of the season.[22]
Honours
Swansea City
