Paul John Harding (born 6 March 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 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 ...

. He played 119 games 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 ...

representing

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

, Southend United,

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

Playing career

Harding was born in

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He began his football career as an apprentice with Chelsea, but did not progress to the first team,Matthews, p. 93. and worked as a bricklayer, playing part-time for a number of

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs in the Surrey and south London area before joining Enfield of the

Conference National 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 League (English football), National Le ...

, with whom he won the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

in 1988. In February 1990 he moved to Conference runners-up Barnet, and in September of the same year he and teammate

Dave Regis David Regis (born 3 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He scored 53 goals from 237 appearances in the Football League in the 1990s, notably for Stoke City and Notts County. Playing career Regi ...

signed for

, newly promoted to the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

.Matthews, p. 93. Harding contributed to their second successive promotion, to the First Division via the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, at the end of his first season with the club. Notts County had drawn the first leg of the play-off semi-final at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. In the second leg, following an injury to Phil Turner, Harding, who had played as a striker with Enfield, moved out of midfield to play in attack. Within minutes, he headed the only goal of the game, the first he had scored since joining the club. He appeared in the play-off final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, though only briefly, as an 81st-minute substitute. After the semi-final, Harding told the press that "turning pro with Notts County was a big gamble for me. But now I know that it was worth it." In the quarter-final of the that season's FA Cup, with County leading First Division

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

1–0, Harding was elbowed by Tottenham's

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of ...

, a sending-off offence which the referee allowed to go unpunished but which left Harding with a black eye. Gascoigne was instrumental in Tottenham's equalising goal and scored the winner. Harding made 25 starts in the top flight as County were

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

back to the second tier. He fell out of favour, and spent time

on loan In sports, a loan involves a particular player being able to temporarily play for a club other than the one to which they are currently contracted. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to a full season, sometimes persisting for multiple seasons ...

at Southend United,

and

, before joining the latter club on a permanent basis in January 1994 for a fee of £50,000. Harding made 26 appearances in all competitions for Birmingham before, in the 1995 close season, making his last move within the Football League, to

where he was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He played 36 league games for the club, and spent a short time on loan at

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

where he played six times.

References

Infobox stats * Enfield: * Barnet: Harman ed., ''Alliance to Conference'', pp. 65, 73. * Football League clubs: * Birmingham City (loan and permanent spells): * Kettering Town: Harman ed., ''Alliance to Conference'', pp. 363, 377. General {{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Paul 1964 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Merton People from Mitcham English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Wimbledon F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Whyteleafe F.C. players Epsom & Ewell F.C. players Carshalton Athletic F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Enfield F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players