| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Heald | ||
| Date of birth | 20 September 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Wath-on-Dearne, England | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Milton Keynes Dons (Goalkeeper Coach) |
||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1987-1988 | Sheffield United | 0 | (0) |
| 1988-1995 | Leyton Orient | 176 | (0) |
| 1992 | → Coventry City (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1992 | → Crystal Palace (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1994 | → Swindon Town | 2 | (0) |
| 1995-2004 | Wimbledon | 38 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2004-2005 | Milton Keynes Dons | 0 | (0) |
| – | Total | 223 | (0 ) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Paul Heald (born 20 September 1968 in Wath-on-Dearne) is a former football goalkeeper who played for multiple clubs in England. He started his career at Sheffield United in 1987 and moved on to Leyton Orient and also spent loan spells at Coventry, Crystal Palace and newly promoted Swindon Town.
In 1995 a £125,000 fee[2] took him to the Premier League side Wimbledon, where he acted mainly as backup for first Hans Segers and then Neil Sullivan. He played a total of 38 league games for the club.
In his first season at Wimbledon he was the goalkeeper who was unable to stop Tony Yeboah's thunderbolt in September 1995, the goal going on to win the Goal of the Season. He stayed with Wimbledon until the club's relocation to Milton Keynes in 2003, and also went on loan to Sheffield Wednesday in 2002. He remained a player with the newly rebranded Milton Keynes Dons from their creation in 2004 until his retirement in 2005, since which he has served as the club's goalkeeper coach.