Paul Paton

Paul Paton
Personal information
Full name Paul Raymond Paton
Date of birth (1987-04-18) 18 April 1987
Place of birth Paisley, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 St Johnstone
Number 18
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Queen's Park 88 (1)
2008–2013 Partick Thistle 147 (5)
2013–2016 Dundee United 75 (6)
2016– St Johnstone 5 (0)
National team
2014– Northern Ireland 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:27, 18 September 2016 (UTC).


Paul Raymond Paton (born 18 April 1987) is a Scottish-born Northern Irish professional footballer currently playing for St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership. He has previously played for Queen's Park, Partick Thistle and Dundee United. Paton has represented Northern Ireland at international level.

Club career

Early Career

Paton played for Queen's Park from 2005 until 2008. His displays at right back were key in Queen's winning promotion to the Second Division. He scored the goal which gave Queen's the lead in the second leg of the playoff final against East Fife at New Bayview.

Partick Thistle

Paton signed for Partick Thistle in May 2008, on a three-year contract.[1] He played a significant role in Thistle winning promotion in the 2012–13 season, during which he was the club captain.

Dundee United

On 16 April 2013 it was announced that he would follow former Thistle manager Jackie McNamara, along with Thistle teammate Chris Erskine, to join Dundee United for the start of the 2013–14 season.[2] Paton scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win against Motherwell. Having established himself as a first team regular, Paton was rewarded with a contract extension at the beginning of the following season to keep him at the club until 2017.[3] In the 2014–15 season Paton was named as SPFL Player of the Month for September 2014.[4]

On 18 December 2014, Paton was found guilty, by an SFA Disciplinary Tribunal, of spitting at Aberdeen player Jonny Hayes during the match between Dundee United and Aberdeen on 13 December 2014, and was given a two-match suspension, despite Hayes saying that Paton hadn't spat at him. Dundee United announced they would be appealing the suspension but were told that the SFA's fast-track judicial system didn't allow this.

In April 2015, Paton suffered a knee injury which kept him out for the rest of the season and the most of the 2015–16 season. He made his return for United in the latter stages of a Scottish Cup fourth round match against Airdrieonians where United won 1–0 in January 2016. He scored his first goal of the season in the final minutes of a 2–1 win over Heart of Midlothian to put United into the lead with a 25 yard strike. United were relegated to the Scottish Championship at the end of the season. In June 2016, he left United by mutual agreement with the club.[5]

St Johnstone

After leaving Dundee United, Paton signed a two-year contract with St Johnstone.[5]

International career

On 1 March 2014, he was called up to the full Northern Ireland squad for their friendly international against Cyprus. He qualifies to play for Northern Ireland through his father, who was born in Larne.[6]

Career statistics

As of 7 June 2016[7]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other[note 1] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Queen's Park 2005–06 230200000250
2006–07 341203022413
2007–08 340202020400
Total 9116050421063
Partick Thistle 2008–09 353202010403
2009–10 291102020341
2010–11 261301000301
2011–12 330101010360
2012–13 240001020270
Total 14757070601675
Dundee United 2013–14 372503000452
2014–15 242404000322
2015–16 142400000182
Total 7561307000956
Career Total 3131126019010236813

Personal life

In October 2014, Paton was arrested in connection with an alleged assault on Celtic goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska along with former Stenhousemuir goalkeeper Chris McCluskey.[8] Two Dundee United players, Paton and Mark Wilson, had been dropped from the team pending a club investigation.[9] Paton was subsequently charged with assaulting Zaluska.[10] He later pleaded guilty on one charge of assault and was fined ₤500.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes the Scottish Challenge Cup and playoffs.

References

  1. ↑ "Paton confirms switch to Firhill". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Partick Thistle's Chris Erskine and Paul Paton to join Dundee United". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Dundee United: Deals for Paton, Connolly and Lochhead". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Dundee United's Paul Paton wins SPFL September award". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 "St Johnstone sign Paul Paton following his exit from Dundee Utd". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Sammy Clingan out of N Ireland's Cyprus game because of injury". BBC Sport. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Paul Paton career statistics at Soccerbase
  8. ↑ Braiden, Gerry (26 October 2014). "Scottish top flight footballer is one of two men arrested in connection with an alleged assault on Celtic player". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Dundee United: Paton and Wilson not available due to inquiry". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Dundee United footballer in court on assault charge". BBC News. BBC. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "Dundee United's Paul Paton admits assault on Celtic goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska". BBC News. BBC. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
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