JOURNEYMAN goalkeeper Paul Crichton played 540 games in a 22-year career and, even at the age of 39, found himself on the Brighton subs bench ready to be called on in an emergency.
As things turned out, the former Burnley custodian’s time with the Seagulls remained in a coaching capacity, helping to develop youngster John Sullivan and improve no.1 Michel Kuipers.
However, he was registered as a player and when either Kuipers or Sullivan were unavailable, Crichton answered the call as stand-by ‘keeper, as well as making an appearance as a sub in a pre-season friendly.
Much of Crichton’s career was as a back-up no.1 but he stepped up as a coach, working with the likes of Rob Green and Fraser Forster, and obtained a UEFA A licence in outfield and goalkeeper coaching.
Crichton arrived at Withdean in July 2007 after previous goalkeeping coach John Keeley moved along the coast to take up a similar role with Portsmouth.
Manager Dean Wilkins told the club website: “Paul has impressive coaching qualifications and we have already seen him in action on the training ground.
“He also has a huge amount of experience from over 20 years playing professional football.”
No. 1 Kuipers certainly appreciated the influence the coach had on his game. He told an Albion matchday programme: “Paul approaches things from a different angle. He has given me extra information and a different opinion on how I can get the best out of myself.
“His input has improved me as a goalkeeper and my performances on the pitch have improved. We’ve worked on me playing more as a kind of sweeper, letting the defence sit a little higher up the pitch. It helps the defenders out as they don’t have to worry as much about the space behind them and allows them to go tighter on the strikers and gives them a better opportunity to win the ball or defend against strikers.”
Kuipers said he also felt more confident leaving his goal to claim crosses, and with his kicking. “It’s an aspect I feel has improved,” he said. “Paul and I have practised it on an almost daily basis in training, and the more I am doing it, the better I am getting at it.”
Sullivan was also grateful for Crichton’s input, telling the matchday programme: “Paul’s brought some great new ideas into the club – he’sa very, very good coach. Paul is not long retired so he’s well aware of how the modern game has changed so much for ‘keepers.”
Crichton remained in post until February 2009 when the lure of returning to Norwich City, one of his former clubs, four and a half years after leaving the club as a player, was too great and he went back to East Anglia, even though he had started to put down roots in Sussex.
“We’d just started to get settled in Eastbourne,” he told pinkun.com. “The manager, Micky Adams, and the backroom staff have been fantastic and I’m sad to leave. But I had three great years here, ending in the Championship winning season.
“I didn’t play many games, but I just wanted to return – it’s a great place.”
Adams told the Argus: “I am very disappointed to lose Paul. He was a hard-working and highly-valued member of the backroom staff and he has done a fantastic job with all the goalkeepers at the club.
“I have no doubt he is going to be one of the top goalkeeping coaches in years to come but, after he expressed a desire to go back to Norwich for both footballing and family reasons, it was not right for us to stand in his way.”
Crichton had been understudy to the aforementioned Green during his time as a player at Carrow Road, and boss Bryan Gunn (a former City goalkeeper himself) told the pinkun.com: “We want someone to continue to develop not only the first team goalkeepers but those in the academy and I know he’s looking forward to putting a development programme in place, which is important as we’ve had a good record in this position in recent years.”
Crichton had first moved to City on a two-year contract in June 2001, signed for £150,000 by former Burnley coach Nigel Worthington, who’d taken charge of the Canaries.
At Turf Moor, Crichton had been one of Stan Ternent’s first signings after he took over as manager from Chris Waddle in 1998. He made his debut on 8 August 1998 in a 2-1 win at home to Bristol Rovers and was a regular in their third-tier side, helping them to promotion in 2000.
Clarets fans have mixed opinions of his attributes, if a 2019 discussion on uptheclarets.com is anything to go by. For example, ‘jdrobbo’ said: “Used to be a big fan of his. Thought his kicking was excellent for a keeper at that level. Occasionally left stranded off his line. A key player in our 2000 promotion side, but not good enough for the next level up.”
‘ClaretTony’ reckoned: “A master of a goalkeeper at not being where he should be. Never known a goalkeeper out of position so much.”
Although ‘Lord Beamish’ said: “A key part of the last Burnley team to play in the third tier. He’ll always be fondly remembered by this Claret fan.”
Born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, on 3 October 1968, Crichton began his career with Nottingham Forest, turning professional in 1986. But with Hans Segers and Steve Sutton ahead of him, he didn’t break into the first team at the City Ground and went out on loan to six different league clubs to get games, making his debut across the Trent at Notts County.
Eventually he moved on permanently, in 1988, initially spending two years with Peterborough United, then three years with Doncaster Rovers.
Alan Buckley signed him on a free transfer for Grimsby Town, where he played the most games (133) for any of the clubs he represented. Mariners Memories on Facebook, noted: “Crichton was a good shot stopper…..he was made the Supporters Player of the Season in 1994”.
In September 1996, he followed Buckley to West Bromwich Albion for £250,000.
It was during his time at West Brom that he had two loan spells with Burnley in 1998 before joining them permanently for £100,000 in November that year.
His playing career following his departure from Carrow Road took him to eight different clubs, Gillingham and Cambridge United among them, together with some non-league outfits. During a brief and controversial spell at York City, when he was alleged to have clashed with supporters, he coached a young David Stockdale. He moved to the Albion from King’s Lynn.
His subsequent return to Carrow Road was briefer than expected when Paul Lambert took over from Gunn and brought in his own goalkeeping coach.
In March 2010, Crichton became goalkeeping coach at Northampton Town but, in the summer of 2010, he linked up with Danny Wilson at Sheffield United, where he was also registered as a player to provide emergency cover. He spent two seasons at Bramall Lane before becoming part of Simon Grayson’s management team at Huddersfield Town.
After two years with the Terriers, he switched to Blackpool and spent just over a year working as goalkeeper coach and interim assistant manager alongside Jose Riga.
Next up was a brief spell in London, at QPR, where he was appointed by former Albion full-back Chris Ramsey to succeed Kevin Hitchcock.
After leaving the Hoops in early 2016, his next port of call was Swindon Town, to work under Luke Williams, Brighton’s former under-21s manager, but he left after only a couple of months to move to America.
He had several short spells coaching with different clubs in Florida before becoming assistant head coach at The Miami FC in January 2020, when head coach was Kenny Dalglish’s son, Paul.
He became goalkeeper and interim assistant coach for North American professional women’s team the Washington Spirit during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, helping lead goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury to the 2021 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year award and guiding the club to the 2021 NWSL Championship.
Then in April 2023 he switched in a similar role to Florida based women’s team Orlando Pride.
ARTICULATE Andrea Orlandi would probably rank as one of my favourite Albion players of recent times. It was just a shame he seemed bedevilled by injuries which curtailed his contribution.
Managerial changes at the Swans meant he wasn’t always first choice although on signing a contract extension in July 2011, chairman Huw Jenkins said: “He has grown into the squad over the past few years and his technical ability is well suited to the Premier League.”
In one of his last Swansea games, on 28 April 2012, Orlandi scored after just 25 seconds of a Premier League game against already-relegated Wolves, but the game finished 4-4.
In parallel lines 