Paul Carden
Encyclopedia
Paul Andrew Carden is an English footballer who plays in midfield as a player/coach for Luton Town. While at Cambridge United
, Carden was the club's assistant manager
. He has previously played for Blackpool
, Rochdale
, Chester City
, Doncaster Rovers
, Peterborough United
, Accrington Stanley
, Burton Albion
, Wrexham and Luton Town
. He is currently both a player and coach at Luton.
, Carden made his Football League
debut as a 17-year old apprentice for Blackpool
in December 1996 in a local derby defeat by Preston North End
. That was to be his only first-team action for Blackpool but he enjoyed regular football with Rochdale
, who he joined in March 1998. However, after falling out of favour he joined Chester City
in March 2000, shortly before they were relegated out of the Football League. It was to be the start of a long association with the Cheshire club.
Carden had two spells with Chester (a brief stint at Doncaster Rovers
in 2001 falling in between) and was a regular for most of his time there, chalking up more than 200 first-team appearances for the Blues. He captained the side to the Football Conference
title in 2003–04 and a return to the Football League for both Carden and the club. The following season saw him named as the club's player of the season, but he was then released by new manager Keith Curle
.
Carden teamed up with his former boss Mark Wright at Peterborough
. His debut ironically came against Chester on the opening day of 2005–06. Later in the season, after Wright had departed, Carden became one of the central characters of the Big Ron Manager
documentary series on Sky, with Ron Atkinson
drafted in to help new boss Steve Bleasdale
.
On 18 October 2006 it was announced that Carden had his contract with Peterborough terminated by mutual consent. He promptly registered with Burscough
, who his brother Adam plays for, but immediately joined Burton Albion on a three-month loan, with a view to a permanent deal when the January transfer window opened. Carden, however, initially failed to complete the move following interest from Bury
- a move failed to materialise and he signed a deal with Burton on 31 January 2007 until the end of the season. Four months later, he returned to Football League circles with Accrington Stanley
but was allowed to join Cambridge United
on loan in November 2007. After briefly returning to Stanley, Carden was allowed to join Cambridge for the remainder of the season on 3 January 2008. Carden was influential as Cambridge reached the Conference National
play-off final at Wembley
in May 2008.
Although initially leaving Cambridge after their defeat in the play-off final to join Wrexham, Carden returned to Cambridge on 23 June 2008 as a player and assistant manager to Gary Brabin
, his first management role. He was appointed as caretaker manager
at Cambridge on 13 July 2009 after Brabin left the club following a second successive play-off final defeat in May. On 22 July Carden signed a three-year deal as player and assistant manager at Cambridge, despite there being no full-time manager in place at the time. Following Martin Ling
's appointment as manager, Carden returned to assistant manager duties on 27 July 2009, but was forced to regain control after Ling's unexpected departure after only nine days at the club. After managing Cambridge to a win and a loss in their first two games of the season in August 2009, Ling was reappointed as manager on 12 August, leaving Carden once again as assistant manager.
On 18 February 2011, Carden signed on loan for Luton Town
until the end of the 2010–11
season, linking back up with Luton assistant manager Gary Brabin, who he had previously worked with at Cambridge.
On 16 June 2011, Carden had his contract at Cambridge United terminated. On 27 August 2011, Carden was appointed first-team coach at Luton, joining up once again with Gary Brabin, who was now the club's manager. Carden is still registered as a player, and made his first appearance of the season in a 2–2 draw against Ebbsfleet United.
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
, Carden was the club's assistant manager
Assistant Manager
An assistant manager is an employee of an organization with manager's authority. Examples of this position can be found in retail and other service businesses where the need to have more than one member of daily operations management is important....
. He has previously played for Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
, Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
, Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
, Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
, Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
, Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C.
Accrington Stanley is an English association football club from Accrington in Lancashire, in the North West of England, who play in Football League Two, the fourth-highest division in the English football league system....
, Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...
, Wrexham and Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
. He is currently both a player and coach at Luton.
Career
Born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Carden made his Football League
The 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...
debut as a 17-year old apprentice for Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
in December 1996 in a local derby defeat by Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
. That was to be his only first-team action for Blackpool but he enjoyed regular football with Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
, who he joined in March 1998. However, after falling out of favour he joined Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
in March 2000, shortly before they were relegated out of the Football League. It was to be the start of a long association with the Cheshire club.
Carden had two spells with Chester (a brief stint at Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
in 2001 falling in between) and was a regular for most of his time there, chalking up more than 200 first-team appearances for the Blues. He captained the side to the Football Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
title in 2003–04 and a return to the Football League for both Carden and the club. The following season saw him named as the club's player of the season, but he was then released by new manager Keith Curle
Keith Curle
Keith Curle is an English former professional football player, who is currently first team coach at Queens Park Rangers.As a player, he was capped three times by England at senior level.-Playing career:...
.
Carden teamed up with his former boss Mark Wright at Peterborough
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
. His debut ironically came against Chester on the opening day of 2005–06. Later in the season, after Wright had departed, Carden became one of the central characters of the Big Ron Manager
Big Ron Manager
Big Ron Manager is a television documentary series based on Ron Atkinson's efforts as a troubleshooter at the English football club Peterborough United, at the time playing in Football League Two...
documentary series on Sky, with Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...
drafted in to help new boss Steve Bleasdale
Steve Bleasdale
Steve Bleasdale is a Liverpool-born football coach. He has managed Bangor City, Leigh Genesis and Football League side Peterborough United and twice been assistant manager at Chester City.-Early years:...
.
On 18 October 2006 it was announced that Carden had his contract with Peterborough terminated by mutual consent. He promptly registered with Burscough
Burscough F.C.
Burscough F.C. is an English football club based in Burscough, Lancashire. The club are members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division and groundshare with Skelmersdale United...
, who his brother Adam plays for, but immediately joined Burton Albion on a three-month loan, with a view to a permanent deal when the January transfer window opened. Carden, however, initially failed to complete the move following interest from Bury
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
- a move failed to materialise and he signed a deal with Burton on 31 January 2007 until the end of the season. Four months later, he returned to Football League circles with Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C.
Accrington Stanley is an English association football club from Accrington in Lancashire, in the North West of England, who play in Football League Two, the fourth-highest division in the English football league system....
but was allowed to join Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
on loan in November 2007. After briefly returning to Stanley, Carden was allowed to join Cambridge for the remainder of the season on 3 January 2008. Carden was influential as Cambridge reached the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
play-off final at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in May 2008.
Although initially leaving Cambridge after their defeat in the play-off final to join Wrexham, Carden returned to Cambridge on 23 June 2008 as a player and assistant manager to Gary Brabin
Gary Brabin
Gary Brabin is an English former footballer and manager, currently manager at Conference National club Luton Town.-Playing career:...
, his first management role. He was appointed as caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
at Cambridge on 13 July 2009 after Brabin left the club following a second successive play-off final defeat in May. On 22 July Carden signed a three-year deal as player and assistant manager at Cambridge, despite there being no full-time manager in place at the time. Following Martin Ling
Martin Ling
Martin Ling is an English football manager and former player, who is currently manager of Torquay United in League Two. He played in over 100 Football League matches for Exeter City, Southend United, Swindon Town and Leyton Orient, before moving into management where he led Orient for over five...
's appointment as manager, Carden returned to assistant manager duties on 27 July 2009, but was forced to regain control after Ling's unexpected departure after only nine days at the club. After managing Cambridge to a win and a loss in their first two games of the season in August 2009, Ling was reappointed as manager on 12 August, leaving Carden once again as assistant manager.
On 18 February 2011, Carden signed on loan for Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
until the end of the 2010–11
2010–11 in English football
The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...
season, linking back up with Luton assistant manager Gary Brabin, who he had previously worked with at Cambridge.
On 16 June 2011, Carden had his contract at Cambridge United terminated. On 27 August 2011, Carden was appointed first-team coach at Luton, joining up once again with Gary Brabin, who was now the club's manager. Carden is still registered as a player, and made his first appearance of the season in a 2–2 draw against Ebbsfleet United.
Honours
- Football ConferenceConference NationalConference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
champions: 2003–04, Chester CityChester City F.C.Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the... - Player of the Season: 2004–052004-05 in English footballThe 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
, Chester CityChester City F.C.Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...