Paul Andrew Kerr (born 9 June 1964) is an English 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

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 scored 48 goals in 264 league appearances in a 13-year career 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 began his career at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in 1982 before moving on to

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 January 1987. He helped the club to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

into the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

with successive promotions in 1986–87 and

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. He also played in the

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. T ...

final in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, before he moved on to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

in March 1991. He was sold on to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in July 1992 for a fee of £140,000. He helped the "Valiants" to win the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and then to win promotion out of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1993–94.

Loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

ed out to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in March 1994, he then ended his career at

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

Career

Aston Villa

Kerr began his professional career at

in May 1982 after two years as an apprentice. Villa recorded a sixth-place finish in the

in 1982–83 under Tony Barton's stewardship. Following tenth-place finishes in 1983–84 and 1984–85, Villa dropped to 16th in 1985–86. They were then

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 ...

in 1986–87 under

Billy McNeill William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He had a long association with Celtic F.C., Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, m ...

, though Kerr escaped this fate as he left the club in January. Kerr played 34 league and cup games in his five years with the "Villans", scoring six goals.

Middlesbrough

Kerr signed with

for a £50,000 fee in January 1987. He helped

Bruce Rioch Bruce David Rioch (; born 6 September 1947) is a British football manager and former player for the Scotland national team. His last managerial post was at AaB in the Danish Superliga in 2008. As a player, he made more than 550 appearances in ...

's side to win

at the end of the season after a second-place finish in the Third Division. "Boro" missed out on a second-place finish in 1987–88, as they finished behind Kerr's former club Aston Villa on goals scored. He featured in both legs of the

play-off final 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 ...

victory over Chelsea. However, they were immediately relegated in 1988–89, finishing in 18th place, one point behind Villa. They avoided a second-successive relegation in 1989–90, finishing one place and two points above the drop. Kerr also managed to get some revenge over Aston Villa by scoring past them in the 1990

semi-final, which helped Middlesbrough reach

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 ...

for the first time in the club's history. He was an unused substitute in the final, as "Boro" lost 1–0 to Chelsea following a first-half strike from

Tony Dorigo Anthony Robert Dorigo (born 31 December 1965) is a former professional footballer, sports pundit and co-commentator. As a player, he was a defender from 1983 to 2001. He had lengthy spells in the old First Division for both Aston Villa and C ...

. "Boro" pushed for promotion in 1990–91 under

Colin Todd Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing as a defender for Sunderland, ...

. However, Kerr departed

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

in March, having scored 18 goals for Middlesbrough in 162 appearances in all competitions.

Millwall

In March 1991, Kerr was signed by Bruce Rioch for a second time, who was then in charge at

and authorised a fee of £100,000. The "Lions" went on to finish the season in 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 ...

places, only to lose to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

at the semi-final stage. He then scored twelve goals in 1991–92 to become the club's top scorer during an otherwise disappointing campaign. Kerr scored 15 goals in 51 league and cup appearances at

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in Bermondsey, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter-of-a-mile from the Old Den, whic ...

Port Vale

Kerr signed for

in July 1992, with

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 ...

John Rudge John Robert Rudge (born 21 October 1944) is an English former professional football player and manager who is the president of club Port Vale. Rudge began his playing career at Huddersfield Town in November 1961, but made little impact at t ...

paying a reported fee of £140,000. Kerr later claimed "I know that isn't the correct figure, I'll say no more on the subject". He settled in well, helping the Vale to win the TNT Tournament in pre-season. After initially struggling for goals, he went on to score 14 goals in 51 appearances in 1992–93, including a goal in the

Potteries derby In Football in England, English football, the Potteries derby is the List of sports rivalries, local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Stoke-on-Trent – Port Vale F.C., Port Vale and Stoke City F.C., Stoke City, first contested ...

defeat at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. Histor ...

on 24 October. His most crucial goal though came in the fourth minute of the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, when he converted a

Bernie Slaven Bernard Joseph Slaven (born 13 November 1960) is a former professional Association football, football Forward (association football), striker. He scored 223 goals in 567 league and cup appearances throughout an 18-year career and also earned sev ...

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

to give the "Valiants" the first goal of a 2–1 win over

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

at Wembley. He went on to say: "My goal was a great ball from Bernie. I'd found myself in space behind the defence and seeing the gap between the goalkeeper and the right hand post I decided to take the

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

then. I knew there was a defender behind me, but I was just delighted to see the ball hit the back of the net." Eight days later he played in the

defeat to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. Promotion to the

was finally achieved with a second-place finish in 1993–94, during which Kerr struck six goals in 34 matches. However, he left the club under a cloud and refused the offer of a new

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

for less money.

Later career

Kerr joined

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

in March 1994. He scored twice in seven First Division games for

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

's "Foxes" before returning to

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

at the end of the season. He was released by Port Vale, having scored 20 goals in 84 appearances. He joined

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

on a week-to-week contract for the 1994–95 campaign and scored one goal in his only substitute appearance in the league; he also started one cup game for the club. He collapsed in front of O'Neill, and a subsequent medical examination showed he had spinal damage and needed to retire.

Post-retirement

Having acted as a

financial adviser A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

to the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sports trade union, with approximately 5,000 current members each seaso ...

, his own business in 2002, offering financial advice to professional footballers. He also provided commentary on Middlesbrough games for

BBC Radio Tees BBC Radio Tees, formerly known as BBC Radio Teesside, BBC Radio Cleveland and then BBC Tees, is a BBC local radio station broadcasting from Broadcasting House, Newport Road, Middlesbrough. It broadcasts to parts of County Durham and North Yor ...

Career statistics

Honours

Middlesbrough *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

second-place promotion: 1986–87 *

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 ...

play-offs:

runner-up:

Port Vale *

second-place promotion: 1993–94

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Paul 1964 births Living people Footballers from Portsmouth English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Aston Villa F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players Financial advisors English association football commentators 20th-century English sportsmen