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Fullname: Paul Marcellus Elliott
aka: Paul Elliott
Born: 18 March 1964
Birthplace: London, England
Signed: 3 July 1989
Left: 8 July 1991
Position: Central defender
First game: Motherwell home 1-1 League 23 September 1989
Last game: Dunfermline Athletic home 5-1 20 April 1991
First goal: Ayr United home 4-0 League cup 22 August 1990
Last goal: Saint Johnstone home 3-0 League 2 March 1991
Internationals: England
International Caps: 0 caps
International Goals: 0
Biog
Paul Elliott’s Celtic career could simply be described as the right man, wrong time. However, it was the wrong time for him but desperately right for Celtic. The club was beginning a poor era (The Barren Years) and he provided some respite for the Celtic Support.
The English defender arrived at Celtic Park from Italian club Pisa for £650,000 in the summer of 1989. Paul Elliott had moved to Italy from Aston Villa having started his professional career at Luton Town. While the switch to the continent may not have worked out as well as hoped the Lewisham-born centre-half undoubtedly benefited from his spell in the more cultured environment of Serie A; at that time Serie A was by far the premier football league in the world.
Physically big, good in the air and no slouch, Paul Elliot was also strong in the tackle and had the ability and confidence to play the ball out of defence rather than just lump it up the pitch. He was an undoubted asset to Celtic and his performances in the Hoops were seldom short of excellent. Admittedly he had a unconvincing start at Celtic, but once he got going he was peerless. Unfortunately for Paul Elliott the same could not be said for too many of his Celtic team-mates, and through no fault of his own the defender had the misfortune to play in one of the poorest Celtic sides in the club’s history.
For two seasons Paul Elliott was, alongside the magnificent Paul McStay, the only undeniable top quality performers in a Celtic side which could barely compete with the most mediocre of Scottish Premier teams let alone the big money signings of a rejuvenated and rampaging Rangers.
He was injured in pre season 1989 and it was a disappointment that it took until September 23rd to make his debut against Motherwell at Celtic Park. Four days later he played in the infamous but breathtaking 5-4 win against Partizan Belgrade in the European Cup Winners cup. He quickly became a big favourite with the supporters but was targeted by referees and picked up a lot of bookings in his first season with a number of Celtic fans suspecting that he was being victimised by referees for various reasons.
He scored his first goals for Celtic, a double, against Ayr United in a 4-0 League Cup win in August 1990. He was a constant threat at dead ball situations with his aerial ability and Rangers took to Gary Stevens blatantly obstructing his runs in the penalty area in the 1990/91 season. Despite those efforts he scored twice against Rangers with thundering headers.
During Paul Elliott’s time in Glasgow the Bhoys did make it to a Scottish Cup final (1989/90) and a League Cup final (1990/91). Celtic lost the former to Aberdeen on penalties and the latter 2-1 to Rangers – Paul Elliott netting for the Hoops. League form in that period was woeful, finishing in a sorry fifth and distant third as Rangers romped home to the title on both occasions. Paul Elliott’s personal performances had been considerably better though than that of his teammates and he firmly established himself as a huge favourite of the Parkhead fans.
During his spell at Celtic he was often on the end of terrible racist abuse at away grounds all over Scotland, including unsurprisingly Ibrox, despite his great friend from Villa Park days, Mark Walters, playing for them.
It could be argued of Paul Elliott that during his time in the Hoops he wasn’t only the best defender at Celtic Park but the whole of Scotland. Certainly the plaudits from pundits were plentiful and there was also talk of an England call-up. Unsurprisingly clubs in England had also noticed Elliott’s fine displays and it seemed only a matter of time before he would be tempted back south.
In his last game for the club, in Pat Bonner’s testimonial in May 1991, the fans stormed the pitch and carried him aloft in hope that he would stay having chanted “Paul Elliott must stay” throughout the preceding 90 minutes. He was that popular, but he was self-admittedly homesick and there was a financial spat with the board (not an uncommon occurrence back then). Some fans were critical over the board not making greater efforts to retain his services. Cynics felt that Elliot had tried to work his ticket away from Parkhead by initiating financial problems with the board regarding a house bought for him by the club to which he could retain the profits after selling.
As a measure of his contribution to the game, he won the ‘Scottish Footballer of the Year‘ award for his form in season 1990/91. Highly deserved, and in retrospectives many have rated him as one of the finest centre-backs they have ever seen at Celtic if not all of football.
So it proved when in the summer of 1991 Chelsea paid £1.25 million to take the player back to his native London.
Paul Elliott had made a total of 66 appearances for Celtic over two seasons and scored five goals. He failed to pick up any winners medals during his time in Scotland but there’s little doubt that Paul Elliott was a player good enough to play in any Celtic defence during the past 15 years.
Big things were expected in England of Paul Elliott, but sadly his career came to a premature end after he suffered a serious knee injury in a tackle by Liverpool striker Dean Saunders in September 1992. It led to a protracted legal case in which Dean Saunders was found not guilty.
Post-Playing Career
Since the premature end of his playing days, Paul Elliott has enjoyed a successful career in the media and in October 2006 was appointed onto the English FA’s disciplinary panel.
He made his mark tirelessly working for anti-racism groups and became the first black footballer to receive a CBE in Feb 2013 for his work in the field. However very soon after receiving his bobble, he was forced to resign from England’s FA. He stupidly texted an offensive term in a message over an alleged dispute (business related) with another black footballer (Richard Rufus). He’d uncharacteristically described him using an offensive racial “n” word. It was disappointing but this shouldn’t be seen as being reflective of his true character, as he has been a genuine idol to all in his time campaigning in football.
Paul Elliott still visits Parkhead occasionally as a media pundit and is always given a warm welcome by very appreciative Celtic fans.
We wish him the best.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1989-91 | 52 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 66 |
| Goals: | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
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Articles
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Quotes
“I had the privilege of playing against Van Basten and Maradona, but in terms of my most talented team-mates, there was a Brazilian called Carlos Verri, better known as Brazilian legend Dunga and Paul McStay at Celtic.”
Paul Elliott (link)
“The racial abuse I’ve suffered in Scotland is far worse than anything I had to put up with in England or Italy.”
Paul Elliott (1989)
“[Best achievement in football] Breaking into the Chelsea team or being voted Scottish Player of the Year (1991) by my fellow professionals. Two completely different achievements in two unique footballing environments, but both were very significant to me.”
Paul Elliott (link)
“I think Celtic were my favourite fans, because I loved the industrious nature of the people, the honour and that was reflected in their day to day manner. I had a great empathy with the Scottish people….”
Paul Elliott
Articles
Kick Out Racists As Well As The Bigots; Celtic great Paul Elliott wants to see race hate given boot along with sectarianism.
Byline: SIMON HOUSTON EXCLUSIVE
Daily Record 2003
CELTIC hero Paul Elliott has watched Scotland’s battle against bigotry begin in earnest.
But the Englishman reckons there’s one issue the Scottish Executive’s crackdown on sectarianism could do more about – racism.
Elliott was bombarded with disgusting chants during his three seasons with the Parkhead side, as he was throughout his career south of the border and in Italy.
He was one of the first black players of the modern era in Scotland and recalls bananas being hurled on to the pitch.
He knows the Scottish game has come on leaps and bounds since he quit Celtic.
The night in September 2001 when Martin O’Neill, the boss of his former club, stripped six blacks for action in a clash with Juventus left him breathless.
Elliott – a former Scottish Players’ Player of the Year – said: “The wonderful thing is that players of ethic minority backgrounds are being welcomed into the game up here in greater numbers.
“Martin O’Neill is exceptional. He has set a wonderful precedent – yet that wasn’t even his intention.
“His intention was to pick people on their ability and it just so happened they were black. They have the quality he requires to be in his team.
“However, in Scotland some of the racist stuff does still go on and I hope the football authorities and the players’ union start to make better use of the legislation in place to deal with it.
“Down south, there’s been a lot more progress made and that’s been because of the work done by the players’ union, the Commission for Racial Equality, the FA and the Premier League.
“Scotland has caught on to that now. But before, there wasn’t the required level of commitment.
“In an ideal world, you would want the same vigour displayed in the battle against sectarianism to be applied to racism.
“You also want your own supporters to take more responsibility, because we are talking about a minority. I’ve always said the majority in Scotland are very, very decent and honourable people.”
Elliott spoke out yesterday as English football pondered remarks made by Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham.
The ex-England star dared to suggest that white youngsters could struggle to succeed in the game because of “bigger, stronger and quicker” black players.
In the initial frenzy of reaction, some claimed his comments could be exploited by racists.
But among those to defend him for stating a fact were England great and ex-Celtic boss John Barnes and Elliott, who works tirelessly for the CRE.
Elliott knows more about the lion’s den than most. He broke new ground as a black footballer in England, Italy and Scotland, before finishing his career at Chelsea, where a section of fans are associated with right-wing extremism.
And it delights him to see how Scottish football has finally woken up to the talents offered by ethnic minority stars, even if we only have a fraction of the number in England.
There, at least 15 per cent of the 2500 registered players are non-white.
JUMPING to Sheringham’s defence, he said: “Teddy is qualified to make such a statement. He has an impeccable CV as an international player and I think it’s a very important point.
“If you look at the context of what he said, it’s a very professional observation.
“Yes, there’s been a massive increase in the number of black players in Britain for commercial and financial reasons, as the talent pours into the country.
“But, from a professional point of view, the modern day player needs to be very strong, to be an athlete, to have pace, more than ever before.
“These are fundamental requirements of being a top-class player nowadays.
“And, yes, I would have to acknowledge that the development of black talent is quite mesmerising.
“When I started out, we were getting bananas thrown at us and now they play with such a carefree, confident manner.
“The difference is, I had to deal with racism and then concentrate on my job.”
On arrival at Parkhead from Italy, he became the second black Old Firm player of the modern era, after Mark Walters at Rangers.
But it says a lot about the complexities of the west of Scotland psyche that more of a fuss was made about Roman Catholic ex- Celt Mo Johnston signing for Rangers than the Walters signing.
Elliott added: “The most difficult experiences I encountered in Scotland were when we played Hearts and Hibs.
“I loved Old Firm games – I felt safer during them than in any other matches.
“I was lucky because there was more pressure on Mo Johnston than myself and Mark Walters.
“When myself and Mark came to the two biggest clubs in Scotland, I think it made a big impact and went a long way towards helping those who followed.
“We were the turning point, because after that there was quite an influx of black players in Scotland.”
When Elliott played at Luton in 1983 they had seven black players in the team, which raised a lot of eyebrows.
But he believes that even now, six black players playing in Scotland for Celtic has made a greater impact.
“You have to respect Martin O’Neill because his judgment is purely football- related. But I also have a lot of respect for Alex McLeish.
“If he’s looking at a player, first and foremost he’s looking at his talent. It’s wonderful you’ve got two very powerful and decent human beings who are not getting caught up in bigotry or judging someone by their race, colour or creed.
“It’s not an issue to those managers and that can only be good for Scotland.”
AS well as the Parkhead contingent, Rangers have also welcomed black players including Russell Latapy and Marcus Gayle.
Others have become crucial players at Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen, Livingston, Motherwell and elsewhere.
Mark de Vries, Kevin Harper and Eugene Dadi have all made their marks on the Scottish game.
It’s all good news for Elliott, who travels the country spreading a wise message.
An intelligent communicator, he also helps front the anti-racism campaign Kick It Out, part of a UK- wide initiative to kick racism into touch.
In Scotland, its catchphrase is: “Show racism the red card.” The Executive, the SFA and teaching union EIS have thrown their weight behind the scheme.
Elliott said: “A big part of my work involves going to universities, colleges and football clubs talking to kids and adults about racism and ways to eradicate it.
“Both racism and sectarianism are an inherited way of life and the fundamental way to deal with them is education, starting with children in the classroom.
“The intolerance is all recycled and there’s no break in the cycle. You have to re- educate and while it has worked down south, you can’t be complacent.”
Few are more qualified to offer a considered opinion than a player who faced racism in three different countries.
He said: “I think my destiny has taken me into difficult places to set different precedents.
“It was only recently that I’ve considered my career path and the way it went and luckily I had a reasonable level of success at all of the clubs.
“So I can use those experiences to put forward my opinions in a very constructive way.
“My career started in 1980. I was part of the second generation of black players in England and at that point racism was prevalent. There was an insular, negative attitude about black players.
“I was in the Charlton first team at 16 and we were going to the north of England, to Newcastle, Carlisle, places like that, and the ignorance there was worse than anywhere I’ve been – even worse than in Scotland.
“What prepares a 16-year-old for that? I was aware of it socially but I never had many confrontations to deal with and then all of a sudden I’m thrown into an arena where people are behaving like that and getting away with it.”
Back then, the idea of a single black player in Scotland’s top flight seemed a million miles away. Six in one line- up was out of the question.
Elliott said: “Nowadays football, like society, is multi-cultural, multi- racial.
“It’s important that Scottish football attacks any racism which still exists with the same vigour given to sectarianism.
“I would like the people inside the game to really be very positive because you’ve seen the benefits in society in Scotland as a result.
“I’m able to walk along the streets here and see people of all races, colours and creeds enjoying being here.
“Sport is a great way to encourage that and change attitudes because it brings people together.”
COPYRIGHT 2003 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday