Paul Aimson
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Paul Edward Aimson (3 August 1943 – 9 January 2008) was an English
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...
in
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
, most notably for
York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
, where he scored 113 goals in 249 games in all competitions during two spells with the club. Aimson played also as a striker for
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
, Bury,
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
,
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
,
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
and
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
between 1961 and 1974.


Career

Born in Prestbury, Aimson began his career with
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
, making his debut at centre-forward at the age of 18 against
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
. The game ended in a 4–1 defeat for City on 9 December 1961. He retrained as a striker over the course of the next year, and in the 1963–64 season scored six goals in 17 appearances in all competitions. He signed for
York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
in 1964 for a £1,000 fee, scoring 26 goals in his first season, helping the club win promotion to the Third Division. However, York were relegated in last place the following season. Aimson left the club to join Bury for £10,000 in 1966, with a record of 43 goals in 77 league games. Aimson scored 11 league goals in 31 games for Bury, and the following season moved to
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
for £4,000, scoring 11 goals in 23 games. He then transferred to
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
for £20,000, where he scored 13 goals in 38 games before moving back to York City for a fee of £8,000. In the 1970–71 season, he aided York to another promotion to the Third Division, forming a solid partnership with
Phil Boyer Philip John Boyer (born 25 January 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs throughout his career and came through the academy at Derby County, leaving for York City in 1968 witho ...
and scoring 26 goals. In the same season, Aimson scored a vital goal to earn York an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
third round replay with
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. He also scored York's fastest ever goal in 9.5 seconds in a match against
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
. During his second stint at York, Aimson scored 55 goals in 142 league appearances. He was top scorer for the club in four of his six campaigns in both spells, scoring a total of 113 goals in 249 games. His tally included five
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
s, including a perfect hat-trick, scoring with his left foot, right food and head in a 4–1 victory over
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...
in 1965. In March 1973 he signed for
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
for £12,000. He made only nine appearances and scored two goals for Bournemouth, before moving to
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
in August 1973 for a then club record of £11,000. Injury cut his career short, and Aimson retired from playing in 1974 having played just four games and scoring two goals for the U's.


Later life

After requiring a second operation on his problematic knee, Aimson was actually given his last rites as complications from the surgery arose, but he survived, retiring to become a sales rep and later a physical recreation officer for
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
Probation Service. Aimson received a benefit match from both Colchester and Bury in 1975, with Colchester taking on
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
in a promotion celebration friendly for the player, and Bury facing an all-star XI containing footballing greats from the north-west of England. His grandson
Will Aimson William Stewart Aimson (born 3 June 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Wigan Athletic. Club career Aimson started his career at Eastleigh and at age 17, Aimson joined Hull City after he made an impres ...
, followed in his footsteps as a professional footballer, making his debut for Eastleigh F.C. in 2012.


Death

Aimson died at the age of 64 of a heart attack in hospital near his home in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
on 9 January 2008.


References


External links

* d {{DEFAULTSORT:Aimson, Paul 1943 births 2008 deaths People from Prestbury, Cheshire English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Manchester City F.C. players York City F.C. players Bury F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Colchester United F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Cheshire 20th-century English sportsmen