Graham Paddon is pictured above during West Ham United's
2-1 defeat against Derby County.
|
| Coventry City: |
1969-1970 |
Played |
4 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
| Transferred in October 1969 |
| |
| Norwich City: |
1969-1970 |
Played |
30 |
Scored |
2 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
1970-1971 |
Played |
40 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 2) |
| |
1971-1972 |
Played |
40 |
Scored |
8 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
1972-1973 |
Played |
38 |
Scored |
7 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1973-1974 |
Played |
14 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
| Transferred in December 1973 |
| |
| West Ham Utd: |
1973-1974 |
Played |
24 |
Scored |
4 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1974-1975 |
Played |
40 |
Scored |
4 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1975-1976 |
Played |
39 |
Scored |
2 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1976-1977 |
Played |
12 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
| Transferred to Norwich City in November 1976 |
Biography of Graahm Paddon's West Ham United career.
Manchester born Paddon was signed by West Ham from Norwich City in December 1973
for £170,000, a club record at the time, in a deal that saw Ted MacDougal move in the
opposite direction. Twenty-three-year-old Paddon made an immediate impact at Upton Park,
when in his Hammers debut against Manchester City, his cross was headed into his own net
by Mike Doyle for the game’s winning goal, the Hammers first home win of the season.
During his first season with West Ham Paddon soon established himself on the left side
of a fine three-man Hammers midfield, together with Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking.
He played in all the remaining league games that season, scoring four goals, including two
on his sixth appearance for the club on New Years Day, in a 4-2 home win against his old
team Norwich. This result was to spark a revival in the team’s fortunes as the Hammers
went on a ten-game unbeaten run in the league, to narrowly avoid relegation.
The elegant left footer was soon to become a firm favourite at Upton Park, missing only two
league games during the 1974/75 season. He was also an ever present in West Ham’s FA Cup
run that season and it was his shot that led to Alan Taylor’s second goal in the Hammers Final
victory over Fulham at Wembley.
Paddon enjoyed his best season in claret and blue the following
season, making thirty-nine league appearances and scoring four goals.
Probably his most memorable goal for West Ham was his left footed thunderbolt from almost
thirty yards in the 2-1 defeat in the European Cup Winners Cup semi-final first leg away against
German side Eintracht Frankfurt in March 1976. The Hammers went on to win the second leg,
before ultimately losing in the Final to Belgian side Anderlecht. Paddon’s excellent season was
rewarded by him being voted by the fans in second place to Trevor Brooking as Hammer of the Year.
West Ham had a disastrous start to the 1976/77 season, being bottom of the table after eight
defeats in the first twelve league games. Paddon, feeling that he needed a fresh start and that
he would benefit from a move away from the struggling Hammers, told the club that he wanted
to move back to Norfolk. The club reluctantly agreed, and he left Upton Park in November 1976
to rejoin Norwich City for a £110,000 fee, having made in total one hundred and fifty-two
appearances in his three years with West Ham, scoring fifteen goals.
Graham sadly passed away in 2007 aged only fifty-seven, after suffering a heart attack at his home in Norfolk.
(Mark Matthews)