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Paul Andrew Carden (born 29 March 1979) 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 ...
and coach, who manages Warrington Town. While playing at
Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...
, Carden was also the club's
assistant manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
. He previously played for
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
,
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
, Chester City,
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
,
Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...
,
Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...
, and
Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...
. He was a player and coach at
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
before leaving in January 2013, and was manager of
Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
between January and November 2015.Paul Carden: Southport manager leaves National League side
BBC Sport, 16 November 2015


Playing career

Born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
,
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
, Carden made his
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 ...
debut as a 17-year-old apprentice for
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
in December 1996 in a local derby defeat by
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
. That was to be his only first-team action for Blackpool but he enjoyed regular football with
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
, who he joined in March 1998. However, after falling out of favour he joined Chester City in March 2000, shortly before they were relegated out of the Football League. It was to be the start of a long association with the Cheshire club. Carden had two spells with Chester (a brief stint at
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
in 2001 falling in between) and was a regular for most of his time there, chalking up more than 200 first-team appearances for the Blues. He captained the side to the
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
title in 2003–04 and a return to the Football League for both Carden and the club. The following season saw him named as the club's player of the season, but he was then released by new manager
Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who was most recently the manager of National League side Hartlepool United. He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Prem ...
. Carden teamed up with his former boss Mark Wright at
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
. His debut ironically came against Chester on the opening day of 2005–06. Later in the season, after Wright had departed, Carden became one of the central characters of the Big Ron Manager documentary series on Sky, with
Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939) is an English former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Ron", he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nicknamed "The Tank" during his ...
drafted in to help new boss
Steve Bleasdale Stephen Bleasdale (born 17 January 1960) is a former English football coach. He has managed Bangor City, Leigh Genesis and Football League side Peterborough United. Bleasdale has often worked alongside former England footballer Mark Wright h ...
. On 18 October 2006 it was announced that Carden had his contract with Peterborough terminated by mutual consent. He promptly registered with
Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. The town is located approximately north-northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Its north ...
, who his brother Adam plays for, but immediately joined Burton Albion on a three-month loan, with a view to a permanent deal when the January transfer window opened. Carden, however, initially failed to complete the move following interest from Bury – a move failed to materialise and he signed a deal with Burton on 31 January 2007 until the end of the season. Four months later, he returned to Football League circles with
Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...
but was allowed to join
Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...
on loan in November 2007. After briefly returning to Stanley, Carden was allowed to join Cambridge for the remainder of the season on 3 January 2008. Carden was influential as Cambridge reached the
Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
play-off final at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
in May 2008. Although initially leaving Cambridge after their defeat in the play-off final to join
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
, Carden returned to Cambridge on 23 June 2008 as a player and assistant manager to
Gary Brabin Gary Brabin (born 9 December 1970) is an English former professional footballer, coach and manager who is the assistant manager at club Oldham Athletic and the sporting director at club The New Saints. A midfielder with a 12-year career in t ...
, his first management role. He was appointed as
caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...
at Cambridge on 13 July 2009 after Brabin left the club following a second successive play-off final defeat in May. On 22 July Carden signed a three-year deal as player and assistant manager at Cambridge, despite there being no full-time manager in place at the time. Following
Martin Ling Martin Ling (born 15 July 1966) is an English Association football, football manager and former player currently director of football for Leyton Orient F.C., Leyton Orient. He played in over 100 The Football League, Football League matches for ...
's appointment as manager, Carden returned to assistant manager duties on 27 July 2009, but was forced to regain control after Ling's unexpected departure after only nine days at the club. After managing Cambridge to a win and a loss in their first two games of the season in August 2009, Ling was reappointed as manager on 12 August, leaving Carden once again as assistant manager. On 18 February 2011, Carden signed on loan for
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
until the end of the
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
season, linking back up with Luton assistant manager Gary Brabin, who he had previously worked with at Cambridge. During that loan spell, Carden played against Cambridge despite being the club's assistant manager. On 16 June 2011, Carden had his contract at Cambridge United terminated. On 27 August 2011, Carden was appointed first-team coach at Luton, joining up once again with Gary Brabin, who was now the club's manager. Carden was registered as a player, and made his first appearance of the season in a 2–2 draw against
Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...
. He remained with Luton as a coach until January 2013, when his contract was terminated.


Managerial career

Carden was appointed Southport manager in January 2015 following the departure of Gary Brabin to Everton. Carden successfully kept Southport in the Conference Premier with some crucial wins against Halifax, Aldershot and Torquay United. However, he left the club in November 2015. He was appointed interim manager of
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...
in September 2016 after a spell as assistant manager. BBC News, "Paul Carden: Tranmere Rovers assistant manager takes interim charge", 19 September 2016
/ref> On 26 October 2016, Paul Carden was named manager of
Warrington Town F.C. Warrington Town Football Club is an association football club based in Warrington, Cheshire. They were established in 1949 under the name of Stockton Heath, adopting their current name in 1961. They currently compete in the and play at Cantilev ...
On 21 November 2021,
National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...
side
AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...
appointed Carden as their First Team Manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract. The club was rooted to the bottom of the league at Christmas, but their form improved following Carden's appointment and they eventually finished the 2021/22 season in 20th place, above the relegation zone. Carden was sacked on 9 October 2022 with the club rooted to the bottom of the league table. Carden was appointed manager of Nantwich Town in February 2023. Nantwich were relegated from the Northern Premier League on 23 April 2023. On 21 September 2024, Carden returned to former club Warrington Town, now of the National League North.


Honours

Chester City *
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
: 2003–04 *Player of the Season: 2004–05 Warrington Town *
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
Play-off Winners: 2018-19


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carden, Paul 1979 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Blackpool F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Burscough F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players English football managers Cambridge United F.C. managers Southport F.C. managers AFC Telford United managers Warrington Town F.C. managers Nantwich Town F.C. managers National League (English football) managers Northern Premier League managers Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff Cambridge United F.C. non-playing staff Tranmere Rovers F.C. non-playing staff