Paul Slane

Paul Slane (born 25 November 1991) is a Scottish media personality and professional footballer for Open Goal Broomhill. He has played for Motherwell, Celtic, Partick Thistle, Milton Keynes Dons, Ayr United and Clyde. Slane also represented the Scotland under-17 team.

For the Irish cyclist, see Paul Slane (cyclist).

Paul Slane
Personal information
Full name Paul Slane[1]
Date of birth (1991-11-25) 25 November 1991
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Right midfield
Team information
Current team
 Open Goal Broomhill
Youth career
2003–2009 Motherwell
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Motherwell 3 (0)
2010–2013 Celtic 1 (0)
2012 → Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 5 (0)
2012 → Partick Thistle (loan) 4 (0)
2014–2015 Ayr United 12 (0)
2015–2016 Clyde 11 (0)
2022–2023 Open Goal Broomhill 4 (0)
International career
2008 Scotland U17 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:07, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Motherwell

Slane made his debut for Motherwell on 16 May 2009 in a league match at Hamilton Academical. He was an 86th-minute substitute during the 3–0 win.[3]

Slane played in Motherwell's Europa League matches against Llanelli[4][5] and Flamurtari in the summer of 2009, scoring the third goal in the 8–1 second round second leg win over Flamurtari.[6][7] Slane was a trainee at Motherwell, but refused to sign a contract.[8] When he signed a contract with Celtic in February 2010, Slane was criticised by Motherwell chairman John Boyle for showing a lack of loyalty to the club.[8][9]

Celtic

On 1 February 2010, Slane signed a four-year contract with Celtic.[10] He made his reserve debut in a 4–1 win over Queen of the South's first team. Slane missed the entire 2010–11 season due to a cruciate ligament injury to his knee.[11]

On 31 January 2012, Slane signed with English League One club Milton Keynes Dons on loan until the end of the season.[12]

Slane made his SPL debut for Celtic on 18 August 2012, as a substitute against Ross County.[11] He was loaned to Scottish First Division club Partick Thistle in October 2012.

After discussions with Celtic manager Neil Lennon, Slane was released from his contract in January 2013. Lennon stated, "...he was doing really well but he got a bad injury in a bounce game and that set him back for a while. He had loans at MK Dons and Partick Thistle but it didn't quite work out for him. With his talent it should have gone well but it didn't. It came to January and I told him he could stay on with our development side but he's better than that level. He had the option to stay or go and he decided to go." Lennon also added that Slane "... still has a bit of growing to do. He has to find his niche in life and the game. I really hope he finds that."[13]

Ayr United

On 25 September 2014, Slane signed for Ayr United,[14] having played in the club's previous two fixtures as a trialist.[15][16] Slane was released by Ayr on 2 February 2015.[17]

Clyde

Having already played twice for the club as a trialist, Slane signed for Clyde on 27 February 2015.[18] Twenty minutes into Clyde's League Two match at Elgin City the following month, Slane was forced to come off as a result of eating a large amount of Mars bars on the coach journey up to the game.[19] "Ten minutes in, I'm looking at him and he's just walking about," explained Clyde manager Barry Ferguson. "I'm thinking, 'What's up with this guy now?' He just looked across and said, 'I can't play'. I went mental."[19] After he was substituted, the Elgin team doctor examined Slane and said he needed hospital treatment. Having sent the team home on the coach, Ferguson and his assistant Bob Malcolm picked up Slane (and Ross Fisher, who followed Slane to the hospital with a broken nose) in a rental car and drove them home at 2.00 am.[19]

Slane's final career appearance occurred on 16 April 2016, a goalless home draw against East Fife.[19] Immediately after coming on as a 74th-minute substitute, Slane asked the referee how long was left in the match. "I never heard that, but Bob heard it," said Barry Ferguson four years later, "and Bob never said anything to me until after the game. Bob says he's run on, he's run past the ref — he's not even been on for two minutes here — 'How long to go?' I would have taken him straight off." Slane explained: "I had taken co-codamol right before I went on, and when I was running I felt like I was running in slow motion. I remember thinking, 'I'm the final sub here; there's nobody who can come on for me.'"[19]

Open Goal Broomhill

After six years of retirement, during which he began a career as a media personality with Open Goal, Slane returned to football to play for their new side, Lowland League club Open Goal Broomhill, on a one-year deal under manager and fellow Open Goal podcaster Simon Ferry.[20]

Media career

In 2019, Slane began appearing in videos for Open Goal's YouTube channel, and would soon become a regular to the channel, having previously appeared in the channel's podcast Keeping the Ball on the Ground, along with his former Celtic teammate Simon Ferry, Kevin Kyle and Andy Halliday.[21] Open Goal has received a large cult following in Scotland, and won 'Best Podcast' at the 2019 Football Blogging Awards.[22] Slane has received praise for his 'maverick' personality, earning a cult following of his own as a "horny winger".[23]

Personal life

A couple of months after leaving Celtic with a £10,000 pay-off, Slane appeared in the Scottish tabloid press as a result of a four-day bender in Amsterdam with friends. Compromising pictures of him appeared on Twitter which he initially claimed were faked but later admitted were real. Slane had initially intended to spend his pay-off from Celtic to fund a hip operation, but ended spending most of it on nights out and the trip to Amsterdam.[13][24]

In 2017, he had been on the dole and delivering parcels with a friend around Lanark. "There was a forest there with caravans, and I used to say to him, 'Drop me off there. You deliver the parcels and I'll meet you back here'. So I used to just sit there, enjoying the nature, and always prayed that people came out of the caravans, just so that I could talk to somebody." While there, Slane received a call from Simon Ferry, who asked if he wanted to join the Keeping the Ball on the Ground podcast. "My mate came back, and I was partying in his van on the way home, going wild."[25]

References
  1. "Paul Slane". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 498. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  3. "Hamilton 0–3 Motherwell" Soccerbase, 16 May 2009
  4. "Motherwell 0–1 Llanelli". BBC Sport. 2 July 2009.
  5. "Llanelli 0–3 Motherwell (1–3)". BBC Sport. 9 July 2009.
  6. "Flamurtari 1–0 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 16 July 2009.
  7. "Motherwell 8–1 Flamurtari (8–2)". BBC Sport. 23 July 2009.
  8. "Boyle blasts disloyal Slane". Sky Sports. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  9. "Celtic sign Fulham's Kamara, Braafheid and Well's Slane". BBC Sport. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  10. "Celtic sign Fulham's Kamara, Braafheid and Well's Slane". BBC Sport. 1 February 2010.
  11. "Paul Slane". Celtic FC. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  12. "MK Dons capture Slane from Celtic". BBC Sport. 31 January 2012.
  13. Archibald, Lindsey (17 April 2013). "Celtic manager Neil Lennon offers to help troubled former Hoops starlet Paul Slane who's gone off the rails". Daily Record. Media Scotland. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  14. "Slane signs". Ayr United FC. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  15. "Ayr United 0 v 2 Stranraer". Ayr United FC. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  16. "Brechin City 2 v 4 Ayr United". Ayr United FC. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  17. "Paul Slane released". Ayr United FC. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  18. "Slane and Roberts Sign". Clyde FC. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  19. "BARRY FERGUSON & SLANEY REUNITED! | Keeping the Ball on the Ground" – Open Goal, YouTube, 30 September 2020
  20. "Open Goal hero Paul Slane announces return to football". The National. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  21. "Open Goal - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  22. Lewis, Harriet (2019). "The 2019 Winners - Football Blogging Awards". footballcontentawards.com. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  23. Alexander, Douglas (9 February 2020). "Paul Slane finds niche singing to his own tune". The Times. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  24. "Paul Slane admits using Celtic money on booze and prostitutes". Toronto Sun. Postmedia Network. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  25. "The Road To The Hydro: The Behind-The-Scenes Open Goal Documentary" – Open Goal, YouTube, 10 December 2021
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