Bourne Legacy: Paul Compton

A towering central defender, Compton was unearthed by David Webb playing for Trowbridge Town in the Southern League and joined the Cherries for £10,000 in October 1980.

The former Cardiff City apprentice went on to make 76 appearances in all competitions, including 20 in the promotion season, before joining Aldershot in December 1983.

Compton was on target against a star-studded Manchester United team in the second round of the Milk Cup in 1982/83, pitting himself against the likes of Bryan Robson and Ray Wilkins.

He reunited with Webb at Torquay United in February 1984 and also played for Newport County, Weymouth and Bashley before being appointed manager at Plainmoor in May 1992.

As well as setting up a painting and decorating business, Compton has had a number of roles in youth football and recruitment and is currently head of academy recruitment for the south at Wolves.

In a Bourne Legacy feature for afcb.co.uk, Compton discusses his eventful and memorable stay at Dean Court in the early 1980s.

How did your move to AFC Bournemouth come about?

I was released by Cardiff City at 16 and went back to live with my mum and dad in Stroud. I started working part-time with my dad as a roofer and playing for Trowbridge Town in the Southern League.

I started to play well and got a lot of interest. Andy Feeley was in the same team and he went to Leicester.

Geoff Butler had watched me and then Stuart Morgan came to watch me against Dorchester when I was up against Trevor Senior.

The move materialised in October and I was very fortunate at 19 to sign for Bournemouth for £10,000. It was everything I had dreamed of.

David Webb (pictured above) brought you in to replace him, what did he say to you?

I need to paint a picture here!

I was a naive, 19-year-old country boy from a farming village in Gloucestershire who suddenly found himself in dressing room full of experienced, streetwise Cockney lads! That was the best life education I ever had and I continue to be grateful for it.

Dave was honest. He told me to do my best and to do what I had been doing. That was the market they were looking at in those days. Trevor Morgan had come in from Leytonstone & Ilford and Nigel Spackman from Andover.

Dave said it was an opportunity for me. I signed on the Friday and made my debut against Crewe at Dean Court on the Tuesday night. I was straight in at the deep end. Dave was great. He was ideal for me.

What can you remember about your debut in a 0-0 draw against Crewe?

I liked to travel out with the ball and I always remember travelling out with the ball to the halfway line in that game.

I never had the strongest left foot in the world but I hit one and caught it right. I played in Phil Ferns. I didn’t have a bad debut.

Dave Webb said to me ‘good game big fella – the only trouble is, you make passes like that with your wrong foot and the crowd will expect it week in, week out’! That was near enough a pat on the back from Dave.

Dean Court was a great ground to play at. To fulfil my dream and play in a league game, albeit in the Fourth Division, meant everything to me.

What are your memories of the club then?

It was brilliant. I enjoyed every single second of being involved with that squad. I was young and naïve but I had great mentors.

I had Kenny Allen behind me who never stopped shouting at you, even if you did something good! I had John Impey alongside me who was like a dad on the football field. He guided me and gave me a rollocking when I needed it.

The other defenders were Tommy Heffernan, Jon Moore and Ian (Jock) Cunningham. I couldn’t really fail. In those days, if you didn’t follow the captain’s instructions, you got a kick up the backside.

I remember playing Doncaster Rovers and Alan Warboys was absolutely dominating me. I was known as Worzel, after Worzel Gummidge, and John Impey looked at me and said ‘c’mon Worz, sort him out’.

I was supposed to pick him up at a corner and John said he would pick him up. All of a sudden, I heard a mighty whack. I looked round and Alan Warboys was on the ground with his nose all over his face.

John looked at me and said ‘that’s what I mean about sorting players out’. I got the message from then on!

You missed just one game in your first season – how did you feel you had adapted to full-time football?

It was going really well. Dave pulled me in and said there were a few First Division clubs watching me.

We knew Chelsea were watching Nigel Spackman and there was interest in me from Aston Villa. Dave just told me to keep doing what I was doing.

Things were looking up and I was really enjoying it. I felt I settled in well and settled in quickly. I was fortunate to have the squad of players I had with me at the time.

What was it liking playing in front of Kenny Allen?

Kenny was a senior pro and was great with me. He kept you on your toes. A few of the ‘keepers around nowadays should look back on some of his games because he was a great communicator in his Geordie accent.

He bellowed every time he spoke to you. He was great off the field as well. He was a good ‘keeper, a good size and he had his faults at times.

When you had someone like him behind you, you didn’t want to make a mistake because you knew what was going to come.

Secondly, he would always give you a pat on the back if you did something well. He gave as good as he got and I enjoyed playing with him.

Tell us about the bad injury you suffered in the 1981/82 promotion-winning season?

It was in a Hampshire Professional Cup game against Southampton at The Dell about a year after I had joined. I was quite quick for my size and I liked the forward to push the ball in behind me and my forte was to get in a sliding tackle and take the lot.

Danny Wallace was playing at the time and I thought I would give him that opportunity. The trouble was, he pushed the ball past me and just kept going. I said to myself he wasn’t going to do that again.

He overran a ball on the halfway line and I went in with a straight leg. He jumped up in the air and the bottom of his studs hit my kneecap and shattered it. There was an almighty crack.

I’d hit him so hard that he had landed on his neck and everybody thought he may have broken it. I looked down and the top half of my kneecap was halfway up my thigh.

Unfortunately, I was sent off on the stretcher. They didn’t have the rehab they had now. John Kirk, another great character in the dressing room, was the physio but they just didn’t have the facilities. You can’t live in the past but all the interest in me dwindled as a result of the injury.

What were your emotions being on the sidelines when the team won promotion?

They made me feel part of it and it was great. I was part of the celebrations and I remember the numerous dinners we were invited to.

Being part of a promotion-winning team is a great experience and all these players at these big clubs who win trophies continuously are very fortunate because it’s a great feeling.

Dave was very much a person who made sure everybody was included and I was very much a part of it.

What was it like training alongside George Best?

Listen, he was a lovely, lovely man and those were my first impressions. He was so humble.

Although he was carrying a bit of lumber at the time and wasn’t getting any younger, some of the things he did were amazing.

It was brilliant to be in his company, he had an aura about him. He got a lot of attention from different people but as he was such a nice man, he would never say no.

The other big plus was he was seeing Miss World Mary Stavin at the time so that was an added bonus when she used to come to games and be in the players’ lounge afterwards.

You scored your only goal against the might of Manchester United – are you still dining out on that?

I’m still dining out on that, believe me! Was it my only goal? I thought I’d scored a couple more.

It was a great moment. I just wish it had been videoed or there was social media around in those days.

I’ve got one photo of me running away celebrating. It’s a good shot with Lou Macari, Frank Stapleton, Norman Whiteside and Mike Duxbury so it was great.

Kevin Dawtry put the corner in and I headed it in at the near post, leaving Gary Bailey waving to his mum and dad in the stand. I try not to talk about it too often though!

How did your move to Aldershot come about?

Dave Webb left while I was out injured with my knee and Don Megson came in. I came back in the pre-season when he started and probably came back too early. I started playing with a limp.

Don didn’t last very long and Harry took over. He said I needed games so I went on loan to Aldershot.

I think I had two months there and Bournemouth signed Roger Brown while I was away.

Dave Webb had taken over at Torquay United and Harry said with them signing Roger, he felt I’d lost a little bit with my knee so he was letting me go.

It was upsetting at the time. I was going through a divorce with my first marriage so it wasn’t a good time on or off the pitch.

I had really enjoyed my time at Bournemouth and it will always have a special place in my heart.

What are you doing now?

I’m head of academy recruitment for the south at Wolverhampton Wanderers. I joined them in the first lockdown in 2020.

Before that, I was looking after the south west academy recruitment for Southampton.

I’ve been in player recruitment since 2003 when I was head of academy recruitment at Cardiff City and went on to West Brom.

Before that, I was successful as youth team coach at Torquay United where I finished my playing career. I played with a limp and one of the consequences of that was putting out a disc.

I became youth team coach there and we had a lot of success with the likes of Garry Monk, Darren Moore, Paul Hall, Michael Williamson and Paul Trollope.

I became manager at Torquay when I was 31 and that is another club I’m very fond of.

My son Jack Compton (pictured above) went on to be a pro as well and he played against Bournemouth for Portsmouth at the start of the 2012/13 season. I look back at my life and I’ve been very fortunate.