Paul Canoville
Encyclopedia
Paul Canoville is an English
former professional football
er, most notable for being the first ever black player to play for Chelsea
.
Hillingdon Borough
, he signed for Chelsea in December 1981. At the time, Chelsea had among their support a number of hardcore members of far-right and neo-nazi political groups, as did many English football clubs at the time, for whom Canoville became an immediate and regular target for racist
abuse.
. He claimed in his biography that during the warm up, he was subject to racist abuse from Chelsea fans.
His first full season with the club was one of the worst in its history, as the team avoided relegation to the Third Division
on the final day of the season. Canoville nevertheless made an invaluable contribution to the cause with an equaliser against Fulham
and a brace in a 4-2 win over Carlisle United
.
The following year at Chelsea proved more successful, as a side rejuvenated by a series of John Neal
signings were promoted as Second Division
champions. He again played an important part by scoring seven goals, including a hat-trick
against Swansea City - his only treble for the club. However, the high point in his Chelsea career was his role in a Milk Cup
quarter-final win over Sheffield Wednesday
in 1985. Chelsea trailed 3-0, and Canoville came on as a half-time substitute; he scored within 11 seconds of the restart, sparking a Chelsea comeback, which he capped by putting Chelsea 4-3 ahead, though a late penalty conceded by Doug Rougvie
denied the side a win. But his performances continued to be inconsistent (he missed an open goal in the return game against Wednesday) and thereafter lost his place in the side to Nevin and Mickey Thomas
, and was mainly used as a substitute. Canoville was sold to Reading
in August 1986 for £50,000.
, a torn cartilage
and a rupture to his cruciate
ligament in a tackle by Sunderland
's Dave Swindlehurst
on 21 October 1986, three months into his debut season. This effectively ended his professional career at the age of 24. After a failed comeback, he moved down to non-league football, making appearances for Enfield
, Maidenhead United
and Burnham
, before retiring.
|1981–82||rowspan="5"|Chelsea
||Second Division
||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||0
|-
|1982–83||Second Division
||19||3||0||0||2||0||0||0||21||3
|-
|1983–84||Second Division
||20||6||1||0||4||1||0||0||25||7
|-
|1984–85||First Division
||24||1||2||1||9||2||0||0||35||4
|-
|1985–86||First Division
||13||1||2||0||3||0||1||0||19||1
|-
|1986–87||rowspan="2"|Reading
||Second Division
||9||3||0||0||4||0||0||0||13||3
|-
|1987–88|||Second Division
||7||1||0||0||1||0||0||0||8||1
|-
79||11||5||1||18||3||1||0||103||15
16||4||0||0||5||0||0||0||21||4
95||15||5||1||23||3||1||0||124||19
for the illness and made a full recovery.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
er, most notable for being the first ever black player to play for Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
.
Early career
Starting out playing for non-leagueThe Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
Hillingdon Borough
Hillingdon Borough F.C.
Hillingdon Borough Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was also the name of a now-extinct club that existed between 1965 and 1987.-Historic club:...
, he signed for Chelsea in December 1981. At the time, Chelsea had among their support a number of hardcore members of far-right and neo-nazi political groups, as did many English football clubs at the time, for whom Canoville became an immediate and regular target for racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
abuse.
Chelsea
Canoville was a talented, though inconsistent, left-sided player who joined Chelsea at a time when the club seemed to be imploding, both on and off the pitch. He made his debut on 12 April 1982 against Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
. He claimed in his biography that during the warm up, he was subject to racist abuse from Chelsea fans.
His first full season with the club was one of the worst in its history, as the team avoided relegation to the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
on the final day of the season. Canoville nevertheless made an invaluable contribution to the cause with an equaliser against Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and a brace in a 4-2 win over Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
.
The following year at Chelsea proved more successful, as a side rejuvenated by a series of John Neal
John Neal (footballer)
John Neal is a former English football player and manager.Neal was a full-back whose playing career included numerous clubs, including Hull City, Southend United and Swindon Town...
signings were promoted as Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
champions. He again played an important part by scoring seven goals, including a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
against Swansea City - his only treble for the club. However, the high point in his Chelsea career was his role in a Milk Cup
Milk Cup
The Milk Cup is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of Northern Ireland, with matches taking place in the towns of Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock, Limavady, Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballymena and...
quarter-final win over Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
in 1985. Chelsea trailed 3-0, and Canoville came on as a half-time substitute; he scored within 11 seconds of the restart, sparking a Chelsea comeback, which he capped by putting Chelsea 4-3 ahead, though a late penalty conceded by Doug Rougvie
Doug Rougvie
Douglas 'Doug' Rougvie is a retired Scottish international footballer who played mainly for Aberdeen and Chelsea.-Aberdeen:...
denied the side a win. But his performances continued to be inconsistent (he missed an open goal in the return game against Wednesday) and thereafter lost his place in the side to Nevin and Mickey Thomas
Mickey Thomas
John Michael Thomas aka Mickey Thomas is an American singer.-Early career:Thomas was inspired to pursue a career in music after travelling to Atlanta with long time childhood friends Charles Connell and Tommy Verran to see a Beatles performance in 1965. Thomas, Connell, and Verran wound up in...
, and was mainly used as a substitute. Canoville was sold to Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
in August 1986 for £50,000.
Reading
He had a bright start to his time at Reading, scoring and creating several goals, but suffered a dislocated kneeKnee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
, a torn cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
and a rupture to his cruciate
Cruciate
Cruciate, and similar words, can mean:-*The cruciate ligaments in the knee.*For a magic spell in the Harry Potter scenario, see crucio....
ligament in a tackle by Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
's Dave Swindlehurst
Dave Swindlehurst
David "Dave" Swindlehurst is an English former footballer who played as a striker.He came up through the ranks at Crystal Palace, playing youth football in the early 1970s with future West Ham United team-mate Alan Devonshire. Starting his senior career in 1973, he played for Palace for eight...
on 21 October 1986, three months into his debut season. This effectively ended his professional career at the age of 24. After a failed comeback, he moved down to non-league football, making appearances for Enfield
Enfield F.C.
Enfield F.C. is a football club, formed in June 2007 after Enfield F.C. ceased to exist....
, Maidenhead United
Maidenhead United F.C.
Maidenhead United Football Club is an English football club in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The club was founded in 1870 and moved to their current ground at York Road the following year...
and Burnham
Burnham F.C.
Burnham F.C. is a non-League football club from Burnham in Buckinghamshire, near Slough. They currently compete in the Southern Football League Division One Central. The team play in blue and white quartered shirts and blue shorts. The manager is Martin Stone and the chairman is Bob Breen. Home...
, before retiring.
Career statistics
|-|1981–82||rowspan="5"|Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
||Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||0
|-
|1982–83||Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||19||3||0||0||2||0||0||0||21||3
|-
|1983–84||Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||20||6||1||0||4||1||0||0||25||7
|-
|1984–85||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||24||1||2||1||9||2||0||0||35||4
|-
|1985–86||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||13||1||2||0||3||0||1||0||19||1
|-
|1986–87||rowspan="2"|Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
||Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||9||3||0||0||4||0||0||0||13||3
|-
|1987–88|||Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||7||1||0||0||1||0||0||0||8||1
|-
79||11||5||1||18||3||1||0||103||15
16||4||0||0||5||0||0||0||21||4
95||15||5||1||23||3||1||0||124||19
Cancer
Shortly after retiring he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, an aggressive form of cancer which attacks the immune system. He underwent a course of chemotherapyChemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
for the illness and made a full recovery.