Paul Benson

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For the federal judge, see Paul Benson (judge).

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Paul Benson
Personal information
Full name Paul Andrew Benson[1]
Date of birth (1979-10-12) 12 October 1979 (age 44)[1]
Place of birth Southend-on-Sea, England
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Luton Town
Number 9
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– Luton Town 41 (5)
International career‡
2007 England C 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:15, 9 April 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 League Two club Luton Town.

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 side Charlton Athletic.[6] After making 27 appearance 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 side 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 side 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 side 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 side 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.[20]

On 10 May 2016, it was announced that Benson would not have his contract renewed.[27][28]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 April 2016.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dagenham & Redbridge 2005–06[29] Conference National 26 1 2 0 — 3[lower-alpha 1] 1 31 2
2006–07[30] Conference National 46 28 1 0 — 2[lower-alpha 2] 2 49 30
2007–08[31] League Two 22 6 2 3 0 0 2[lower-alpha 3] 0 26 9
2008–09[32] League Two 33 18 3 1 1 0 3[lower-alpha 3] 2 40 21
2009–10[33] League Two 45 17 1 1 1 0 4[lower-alpha 4] 4 51 22
2010–11[34] League One 3 0 — 1 0 — 4 0
Total 175 70 9 5 3 0 14 9 201 84
Charlton Athletic 2010–11[34] League One 32 10 4 0 — 3[lower-alpha 3] 0 39 10
2011–12[35] League One 1 0 — 2 1 0 0 3 1
Total 33 10 4 0 2 1 3 0 42 11
Swindon Town 2011–12[35] League Two 22 11 2 1 — 2[lower-alpha 3] 0 26 12
2012–13[36] League One 9 1 0 0 3 2 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 13 3
Total 31 12 2 1 3 2 3 0 39 15
Portsmouth (loan) 2012–13[36] League One 7 2 — — — 7 2
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2012–13[36] League Two 16 4 — — 2[lower-alpha 5] 0 18 4
Luton Town (loan) 2013–14[37] Conference Premier 36 17 2 1 — 0 0 38 18
Luton Town 2014–15[38] League Two 21 1 1 1 1 0 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 24 2
2015–16[39] League Two 20 4 1 0 2 1 0 0 23 5
Total 77 22 4 2 3 1 1 0 85 25
Career total 339 120 19 8 11 4 23 9 392 141
  1. ↑ One appearance and one goal in Football League Trophy, two appearances in FA Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearances in FA Trophy
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  4. ↑ One appearance in Football League Trophy, three appearances and four goals in League Two play-offs
  5. ↑ Two appearances in League Two play-offs

Honours

Club

Dagenham & Redbridge

Swindon Town

Luton Town

Individual

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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