Paul Victor Heffer (born 21 December 1947) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

former

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 defender for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Club career

Heffer started as a junior for

making his professional debut on 18 March 1967 in a 1–0 away defeat to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. He made only fifteen appearances for West Ham before his footballing career was cut short by injury in 1972. He was awarded a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

on 4 April 1973 in which a West Ham side beat an Israeli side 3–2. Heffer later played semi-professionally with Cambridge City.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Heffer managed Southend Manor during the 1980s, also taking up a chairman role at the club during the late-1980s before being replaced as chairman by Simon Dibley in 1990. Heffer later returned to West Ham, becoming an academy coach, before making the step up to assistant academy director.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffer, Paul 1947 births Living people Men's association football defenders English men's footballers English football managers West Ham United F.C. players Cambridge City F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from the London Borough of Newham People from West Ham English football chairmen and investors Southend Manor F.C. managers West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff English football coaches