When he was playing for Spratton, they were playing in some cup game and he waddles out on the pitch busting out of his shirt. The other side were taking the pìss, but that all stopped by half time when they were 3-0 down. Paul scored the lot, one from about 30 yards when he nearly took the net out. Absolute class at that level. I hadn't seen him for years, but always had a good chat when I did. Last time I saw him he was doing a few nights on the door at The Mailcoach.
I played against him in a few semi finals and finals, but always took the piss by telling him I’d dropped down a level for him.. But he was a much better player than me, just struggled with his weight and more importantly the discipline at a higher level. He was easily a professional playing park football. I didn’t go to the funeral, I don’t do them if I can avoid them. But I set up the link so his mother in law could watch it. And sat with her for a while. It was sad to see how poorly he got. He wasn’t everyone's cup of tea. But he was, as the yanks would say, a blast. Characters like him are few and far between now.
