Paul Benson

For the federal judge, see Paul Benson (judge).
Paul Benson
Personal information
Full name Paul Andrew Benson[1]
Date of birth (1979-10-12) 12 October 1979[1]
Place of birth Southend-on-Sea, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Dagenham & Redbridge
Number 14
Youth career
Southend United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2005 White Ensign 59 (96)
2005–2010 Dagenham & Redbridge 175 (70)
2010–2012 Charlton Athletic 33 (10)
2012–2014 Swindon Town 31 (12)
2012–2013 → Portsmouth (loan) 7 (2)
2013 → Cheltenham Town (loan) 16 (4)
2013–2014 → Luton Town (loan) 36 (17)
2014–2016 Luton Town 41 (5)
2016– Dagenham & Redbridge 13 (1)
National team‡
2007 England C 1 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:02, 3 December 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:30, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Paul Andrew Benson (born 12 October 1979) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for National League club Dagenham & Redbridge.

Career

Dagenham & Redbridge

Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex,[1] Benson was on the books of Southend United as a youth player. He was signed by Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still on 1 July 2005 after Still saw him play for White Ensign of the Essex Olympian League, where he scored 96 goals in 59 league games (107 goals in 65 games in all competitions) in just two seasons with the club.[2] Benson's first season with the Daggers was frustrating as he was not a regular first-team player, scored only one Conference goal, and was out for three months with a broken leg.[3] However, the 2006–07 season saw a complete reversal, as he earned a spot in Dagenham's first-team and finished the season as both the team and Conference National top scorer with 28 goals, leading the Daggers' successful campaign for promotion to League Two.[4] The following year, Dagenham's first in The Football League, Benson scored nine goals, though was injured for half the season.

The 2008–09 season saw Benson end in the top five goal scorers in League Two and come second in the player of the season poll for Dagenham. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Benson scored a goal at Wembley Stadium as Dagenham defeated Rotherham United in the play-off final to clinch a place in League One for the 2010–11 season.[5]

Charlton Athletic

On 31 August 2010, Benson completed a move to League One club Charlton Athletic.[6] After making 27 appearances and scoring 10 goals for Charlton in his first season, Benson's first-team chances were limited behind Charlton strikers Paul Hayes, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Jason Euell and Yann Kermorgant. Notts County made a bid to sign him, which Charlton accepted, although the move collapsed after they failed to agree personal terms.[7][8] On 2 January 2012, Benson transferred to Swindon Town as part of a swap deal in exchange for Leon Clarke.[9]

Swindon Town

Benson joined a Swindon side chasing promotion to League One. His arrival coincided with a 10-game winning run which was the platform from which the Robins' won the title under the guidance of Paolo Di Canio. Benson's first goal for Swindon came when he scored the winner in the club's FA Cup third round victory over Premier League club Wigan Athletic, although replays showed he was in an offside position. Benson's goalscoring form was rewarded on 9 March 2012 when he was named League Two Player of the Month for February after scoring five goals in five games and being widely praised by manager Paolo Di Canio.[10] Di Canio, in a post-match press conference, was quoted as saying that "Paul Benson at 70% is better than any other striker in this league at 150%".[11] On 28 April 2012, he scored twice as Swindon beat Port Vale 5–0 and were crowned champions of League Two in the process.[12]

On 15 November 2012, Benson joined League One club Portsmouth on an initial one-month loan deal.[13] His first goal came in a Boxing Day home league match against Crawley Town.[14] In the following match he netted again, against Yeovil Town.[15] He returned to Swindon in January 2013.[16]

Benson then joined League Two club Cheltenham Town on 29 January 2013 in a loan move until the end of the 2012–13 season.[17] He made his debut four days later in a 2–1 victory over Torquay United.[18] Benson scored his first goal for the club on 12 February, tapping the ball past goalkeeper Paul Smith in another 2–1 victory, this time against Southend United.[19] He ended the season with four goals in 18 appearances for the club.[20]

Luton Town

On 26 August 2013, Benson signed for Conference Premier club Luton Town on a season-long loan, with the possibility of a permanent transfer taking place in the summer of 2014.[21] This move saw him link back up with his former Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still, now in charge of Luton. Benson made his debut for the club on 31 August 2013, winning a penalty in a 2–0 away win over Kidderminster Harriers.[22] He was named as the Conference Premier Player of the Month in December 2013 after scoring four goals in four games and contributing to numerous other goals with his hold-up play.[23] Benson played a key role as Luton won promotion to League Two, scoring 17 league goals and assisting 14 others throughout the 2013–14 season.[24] His strike partnership with Andre Gray resulted in the two scoring 47 goals between them – almost half of Luton's total league goals.

After his successful loan spell at Luton during the 2013–14 season, Benson signed a permanent two-year deal with the club on 22 July 2014.[25] Benson scored his only league goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Mansfield Town on 29 November 2014, but also broke his leg during the game.[26] He returned to the squad later in the season and made a total of 24 appearances in all competitions.[27]

On 10 May 2016, it was announced that Benson would not have his contract renewed.[28][29] He left the club upon the expiry of his contract.[30]

Return to Dagenham & Redbridge

Benson re-signed for Dagenham & Redbridge who were newly relegated into the National League, on an initial one-year contract on 6 August 2016.[31]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 December 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dagenham & Redbridge 2005–06[32] Conference National 26120—3[lower-alpha 1]1312
2006–07[33] Conference National 462810—2[lower-alpha 2]24930
2007–08[34] League Two 22623002[lower-alpha 3]0269
2008–09[35] League Two 331831103[lower-alpha 3]24021
2009–10[36] League Two 451711104[lower-alpha 4]45122
2010–11[37] League One 30—10—40
Total 17570953014920184
Charlton Athletic 2010–11[37] League One 321040—3[lower-alpha 3]03910
2011–12[38] League One 10—210031
Total 33104021304211
Swindon Town 2011–12[38] League Two 221121—2[lower-alpha 3]02612
2012–13[20] League One 9100321[lower-alpha 3]0133
Total 31122132303915
Portsmouth (loan) 2012–13[20] League One 72———72
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2012–13[20] League Two 164——2[lower-alpha 5]0184
Luton Town (loan) 2013–14[39] Conference Premier 361721—003818
Luton Town 2014–15[27] League Two 21111101[lower-alpha 3]0242
2015–16[40] League Two 204102100235
Total 77224231108525
Dagenham & Redbridge 2016–17[39] National League 13120—00151
Career total 352121218114239407142
  1. ↑ One appearance and one goal in Football League Trophy, two appearances in FA Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearances in FA Trophy
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  4. ↑ One appearance in Football League Trophy, three appearances and four goals in League Two play-offs
  5. ↑ Appearances in League Two play-offs

Honours

Club

Dagenham & Redbridge

Swindon Town

Luton Town

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ "Dagenham & Redbridge player profiles". Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Daggers marksman aiming high". BBC Sport. 1 March 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Dag & Red 2–1 Aldershot". BBC Sport. 7 April 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 Weeks, Jonny (30 May 2010). "Daggers reach League One for first time with victory over Rotherham". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Charlton Athletic swoop to sign three new players, including former Addick Jonathan Fortune". Kent Online. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  7. ↑ O'Rourke, Pete (21 July 2011). "Magpies agree Benson fee". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  8. ↑ "Benson deal falls through". Sky Sports. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  9. ↑ Rose, Gary (30 December 2011). "Benson to complete Town move". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Benson named Player of the Month". The Football League. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Rose, Gary (12 March 2012). "Di Canio would not swap Benson". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Swindon 5–0 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "Pompey bring duo on loan". Portsmouth News. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "Portsmouth 1–2 Crawley". BBC Sport. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "Portsmouth 1–2 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "Benson denied Pompey stay". Portsmouth News. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  17. ↑ Payne, Ned (29 January 2013). "Benson joins Robins". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Cheltenham 2–1 Torquay". BBC Sport. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Southend 1–2 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Paul Benson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Hatters net Benson as 'imminent' deal comes to fruition". Luton Today. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  22. ↑ Scott, Ged (31 August 2013). "Kidderminster 0–2 Luton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  23. 1 2 "December awards for duo". Luton Town F.C. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Paul Benson Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Paul Benson signs permanent Luton contract". Luton Town F.C. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  26. ↑ "Luton Town: Hatters striker Paul Benson breaks leg in win over Mansfield Town". Bedfordshire On Sunday. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  27. 1 2 "Games played by Paul Benson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  28. ↑ "Hatters release list published". Luton Town F.C. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "Luton Town: Jake Howells and Alex Lawless among nine released". BBC Sport. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  30. ↑ "Jake and Alex bid fond farewell to the Town". Luton Town F.C. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  31. ↑ Keating, Ned (6 August 2016). "Dagenham & Redbridge sign strikers Paul Benson and Corey Whitely". Barking and Dagenham Post. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  32. ↑ "Paul Benson season details 2005/2006". Dagenham & Redbridge Mad. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
    "Forest Green Rovers 2–3 Dagenham & Redbridge". The Football Archives. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  33. ↑ "Paul Benson season details 2006/2007". Dagenham & Redbridge Mad. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
    "Dagenham & Red 0–1 Oxford United". Oxford United F.C. 28 October 2006. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008.
  34. ↑ "Games played by Paul Benson in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Paul Benson in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Paul Benson in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  37. 1 2 "Games played by Paul Benson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  38. 1 2 "Games played by Paul Benson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  39. 1 2 3 4 "P. Benson". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  40. ↑ "Games played by Paul Benson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
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