PAUL SHAW 

Last updated : 05 July 2011 By Tony Scholes

Date and Place of Birth

4th September 1973 - Burnham

 

Transfers to and from Burnley

from Arsenal - 23rd March 1995 (loan)

returned - 1st May 1995

 

First and Last Burnley Games

Wolverhampton Wanderers (h) - 23rd March 1995

sub: replaced Liam Robinson

 

Sunderland (h) - 29th April 1995

replaced by Kurt Nogan

 

Other Clubs

Arsenal

----------------------------------------

Cardiff City (loan), Peterborough United (loan), Millwall, Gillingham,

Sheffield United, Rotherham United, Chesterfield, Ferencváros

 

 

Burnley Career Stats

 

Season League FA Cup League Cup Others Total
                     
  apps gls apps gls apps gls apps gls apps gls
1994/95 8(1) 4 - - - - - - 8(1) 4
                     
Total 8(1) 4 - - - - - - 8(1) 4

 

Profile by Tony Scholes

 

When you join a new club it can't do much harm if you score on your home debut, whilst scoring in each of your first four home games is likely to set you on the road to becoming a massive crowd favourite.

That's exactly what Paul Shaw did after signing for Burnley in a loan deal from Arsenal on transfer deadline in March 1995 as we continued our fight against relegation.

The 21-year-old striker had precious little first team experience when he arrived from Highbury having made just one substitute appearance for Arsenal, and it was from the subs bench that he made is debut for Burnley in a 2-0 defeat at Wolves.

The next three games were all at home and he went straight into Jimmy Mullen's starting eleven. In the first of them he scored our third in a 4-3 win against Port Vale, a game being played after it had been abandoned on the original Boxing Day date.

Four days later he was our scorer as we lost 2-1 to Millwall and three days after that he netted our second in a 2-0 success against Charlton.

The usual 'Sign him on' cries followed and Mullen likened him to Newcastle's Andy Cole. He'd been allowed to leave Arsenal cheaply and was now one of the top strikers in the Premiership. He felt Shaw could follow the same path and was keen to sign him permanently.

A goal in his next home game, the second as we beat Derby 3-1, did his chances no harm. Unfortunately though we couldn't avoid the drop and once it had been confirmed he went back to Arsenal, missing the last game of the season at Bolton.

There was never any suggestion again from Mullen that we'd try to sign him and the only other strikers he was to sign during his time as Burnley manager were Andy Cooke and Ian Helliwell.

Shaw was never able to establish himself at Arsenal and after further loans with Cardiff and Peterborough he left Highbury for the last time in 1997 when he signed for Millwall. Over the next seven years he enjoyed long spells as a first team player. The first three of those years were with Millwall before he moved on to Gillingham after they won promotion in 2000 via the play offs. He cost new Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler £450,000.

He scored his fair share of goals but by now had been converted into a midfielder and such was his form that in January 2004 he won himself a deal with Sheffield United. Unfortunately, in two years at Bramall Lane, he was never able to fully establish himself.

He spent some of the time out injured and had a loan with Rotherham. Eventually he signed for Rotherham but a few months later he was on the move again, this time to Chesterfield.

Although still under contract he agreed a termination with Chesterfield in the summer of 2007 and signed for Conference club Oxford United as his career seemed to be coming to an end. It was not the case and in October 2007 he left Oxford for Hungarian club Ferencváros.

They are owned by current Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe and recently former Blade Craig Short become manager. At the time of writing Shaw is still with the Hungarian club.

Many Burnley fans agreed with Mullen that we might have a potential star player on our hands but it proved not to be with Shaw who did become a competent Championship player with Gillingham.

Those four goals he got did create a Burnley record, becoming the first player to score in each of his first four home games for the club. It remains a record.

October 2010 saw Shaw return to England, after three years with Ferencváros, and sign for Retford United who play in the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

 

Links

Shaw joins Retford (09/10/10)