Paul William Batty (born 9 January 1964) is an English former professional

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 made nearly 250 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. He played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Batty began his career as an apprentice with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, turning professional in January 1982. He made his debut on 25 September 1982 as Swindon won 1–0 at home to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

and remained a regular for the next two seasons. He lost his place late in 1985 and was released at the end of the season. He joined Chesterfield but left to join

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in 1986. After five years with Exeter he dropped out of league football, joining

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

in March 1991. In 1992, he scored a hat-trick as Yeovil knocked Football League team

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 ...

out of the

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 ...

. He joined

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. Nicknamed the "R ...

in July 1993, scoring the goal that knocked league side

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

out of the following season's FA Cup. He struggled with a knee injury towards the end of the season and left to join Salisbury City in July 1994.

References

1964 births Living people People from Edlington Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Footballers from South Yorkshire Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Swindon Town F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players {{England-footy-midfielder-1960s-stub