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Billy Paynter
English former association football player / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Paul Paynter (born 13 July 1984) is an English football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Northern Premier League Division One West club Runcorn Linnets. In a 17-year professional career in the English Football League, he played as a striker and scored 131 goals in 529 league and cup appearances.
![]() Paynter playing for Hartlepool United in 2015 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William Paul Paynter[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1984-07-13) 13 July 1984 (age 39)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Liverpool, England[2] | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1994–2000 | Port Vale | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2000–2006 | Port Vale | 144 | (30) |
2005–2006 | → Hull City (loan) | 9 | (3) |
2006 | Hull City | 13 | (0) |
2006 | → Southend United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2006–2007 | Southend United | 8 | (0) |
2007 | → Bradford City (loan) | 15 | (4) |
2007–2010 | Swindon Town | 122 | (45) |
2010–2012 | Leeds United | 27 | (3) |
2011–2012 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2012–2014 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | (13) |
2014 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 13 | (0) |
2014–2015 | Carlisle United | 18 | (1) |
2015–2017 | Hartlepool United | 53 | (17) |
2017 | Warrington Town | 1 | (0) |
Total | 479 | (116) | |
International career | |||
2006 | Football League England U21 | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2023–2024 | Runcorn Linnets | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Born in Liverpool, Paynter started his career with Port Vale in 2000 and made over 150 appearances in his six years with the club, being voted Player of the Year in 2005. He was sold to Hull City in January 2006 before moving on to Southend United eight months later. His career stalled, and following a loan spell with Bradford City, he moved on to Swindon Town in August 2007. Averaging more than a goal every three games with the club, he transferred to Leeds United in June 2010. He joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan in October 2011 before taking a free transfer to Doncaster Rovers in August 2012. He helped Rovers to win the League One title in 2012–13. He was loaned to Sheffield United in January 2014. He signed with Carlisle United in June 2014, moving on to Hartlepool United twelve months later. He dropped into non-League football for a brief spell with Warrington Town in November 2017.
After retiring as a player, he moved into coach and has coached at the academies at Everton, RIASA, and Port Vale. He was appointed first-team manager at Runcorn Linnets in March 2023 and stepped down in May 2024.