Paul Wright (footballer)

Paul Hamilton Wright (born 17 August 1967) is a Scottish retired footballer whose position was striker. Wright played for seven professional clubs spanning 14 years.

For the U.S. soccer player, see Paul Wright (soccer).

Paul Wright
Personal information
Full name Paul Hamilton Wright
Date of birth (1967-08-17) 17 August 1967
Place of birth East Kilbride, Scotland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1983–1985 Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1989 Aberdeen 68 (16)
1989–1990 Queens Park Rangers 15 (5)
1990–1991 Hibernian 36 (7)
1991–1995 St Johnstone 112 (40)
1995–2001 Kilmarnock 176 (58)
2001–2002 Falkirk 14 (2)
2002 Greenock Morton 13 (4)
Larkhall Thistle 0 (0)
Total 434 (132)
International career
1987–1989 Scotland U21[1] 4 (1)
1998 Scotland B[2] 2 (1)
Managerial career
2015–2017 BSC Glasgow U20s
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wright is currently assistant manager at Bonnyton Thistle.

Playing career

Born in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Wright's professional career began with Aberdeen in 1983. He won the Scottish Youth Cup as a trainee, alongside David Robertson, Joe Miller and Stevie Gray.[3] However the competition for a striking place at Pittodrie was tough and he was never able to hold down a regular spot in the team, moving on to England and Queens Park Rangers for one season and then returning to Scotland for an equally brief spell with Hibernian.

It was in the mid-to-late 1990s, however, that Wright was at the peak of his career in the Scottish Premier Division, firstly with St Johnstone and then Kilmarnock. He was transferred from Hibs to St Johnstone for £275,000, and from St Johnstone to Kilmarnock for £340,000,[4] becoming both clubs' record buys.

Wright scored the winning goal for Kilmarnock in the 1997 Scottish Cup Final against Falkirk.[5]

He brought his professional playing career to a close in 2002 with Greenock Morton and moved into junior football with Larkhall Thistle.

Coaching career

Wright moved into coaching after retirement and worked as Under-20s manager at Scottish Lowland Football League club BSC Glasgow until June 2017, when he joined his former Kilmarnock coach Alan Robertson at new South of Scotland League side Bonnyton Thistle.[6][7]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[8][9][10][11][12][13]
Club Seasons League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aberdeen 1983-84 Scottish Premier Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 1 0
1984-85 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - - 1 0
1985-86 10 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 - - 14 2
1986-87 25 4 3 0 1 0 2 1 - - 31 5
1987-88 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 9 4
1988-89 23 6 4 2 1 0 1 0 - - 29 8
Total 68 16 9 2 3 0 5 1 - - 85 19
Queens Park Rangers 1989-90 First Division 15 5 - - - - - - - - 15+ 5+
Hibernian 1989-90 Scottish Premier Division 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - 4 1
1990-91 33 6 0 0 1 0 0 0 - - 34 6
Total 36 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 - - 38 7
Kilmarnock 1994-95 Scottish Premier Division 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 7 1
1995-96 36 13 2 2 2 1 0 0 - - 40 16
1996-97 31 15 5 3 1 0 0 0 - - 37 18
1997-98 28 10 2 0 2 1 3 3 - - 35 14
1998-99 SPL 33 6 0 0 2 2 4 0 - - 39 8
1999-00 16 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 - - 18 6
2000-01 25 8 4 1 4 0 0 0 - - 33 9
Total 176 58 13 6 11 4 9 4 - - 209 72
Falkirk 2001-02 Scottish First Division 14 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 17 2
Greenock Morton 2001-02 Scottish Second Division 13 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 13 4
Career total 322+ 92+ 23+ 8+ 17+ 4+ 14 5 1 0 377+ 109+

References
  1. "Scotland U21 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  2. "Scotland B profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  3. "Scottish Youth Cup". Aberdeen F.C. 31 March 2006. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  4. "Kilmarnock land Wright". The Independent. London. 31 March 1995. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  5. Turnbull, Simon (25 May 1997). "Wright has Killie instinct". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. "News & Events". Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  7. "Bonnyton Thistle enter senior ranks of Scottish football". youthfootballscotland.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  8. "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  9. "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Paul Wright". barryhugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  10. "Hibernian Player Paul Wright Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  11. "Kilmarnock Player Paul Wright Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  12. "bettermeddle..." bettermeddle.org.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  13. "Morton Player Paul Wright Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.


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