Graham Charles Paddon was born 24th August, 1950, in Manchester, England.
The third Norwich City loanee, Graham was an attacking midfielder, an excellent free-kick taker. He started his career with Coventry City in 1969, before signing for Norwich City, where he played 162 games and scored 19 goals. West Ham United payed a large amount to get his services, which payed off, as the "Hammers" won the FA Cup in 1975 against Fuham. Making 103 appearances and scoring 10 goals.
Norwich came a calling again, so he returned. He was to break his leg, which would keep him out of the game for quite a while.
He was one of the main reasons why the Rowdies made it to Soccer Bowl '78. Starting 30 games and 1 as a substitute, and coming up with 5 goals. He played in one game and scored one goal during the 1978 Indoor season.
On his return to England, he had a spell at Millwall where he made 5 League appearances and scored one goal. He finished his career in Hong Kong with Eastern AA.
After his playing career, he moved into coaching. In August 1985, Paddon joined the coaching staff at Portsmouth, working under Alan Ball. He moved to Stoke City to become Ball's assistant in October 1989, but returned to the south coast to work as Jim Smith's number two in the spring of 1991. In March 1995, the pair were sacked. He later worked as a scout for Derby County, again under Jim Smith.
Sadly, Graham passed away very suddenly at home 0n 19th November, 2007, aged 57.
Thanks to Mike Connell for the photo.
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