Paul Canoville get well soon

traff
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Paul Canoville get well soon

by traff » 03 Feb 2021 11:55

Best wishes to Paul Canoville, critically ill at the moment.
Loved watching him play for us before that useless lump Swindlehurst crocked him.
Get Well soon Paul.
Last edited by traff on 03 Feb 2021 13:02, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by RoyalBlue » 03 Feb 2021 12:05

traff Best wishes to Paul Canoville, critically ill at the moment.
Loved watching him pay for us before that useless lump Swindlehurst crocked him.
Get Well soon Paul.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55916730

A great player for us until that injury pretty much finished his professional career.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Millsy » 03 Feb 2021 13:36

Didn't know anything about him. I see he was Chelsea's first black player and it was as late as 1981!?? 9 years after Alleyne :shock: :shock: :shock:

Hope he pulls through, get well soon Paul!

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Mid Sussex Royal » 03 Feb 2021 13:53

Millsy Didn't know anything about him. I see he was Chelsea's first black player and it was as late as 1981!?? 9 years after Alleyne :shock: :shock: :shock:

Hope he pulls through, get well soon Paul!


Played for us 1986-88 during the two second tier seasons under Ian Branfoot. cost around £60,000 I believe which was cheap even back then. Was amazing for the first few weeks then as someone said above he got a horrific injury at Sunderland which basically finished him, although I recall he did try and come back the following season but was not the same player

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by South Coast Royal » 03 Feb 2021 14:53

Mid Sussex Royal
Millsy Didn't know anything about him. I see he was Chelsea's first black player and it was as late as 1981!?? 9 years after Alleyne :shock: :shock: :shock:

Hope he pulls through, get well soon Paul!


Played for us 1986-88 during the two second tier seasons under Ian Branfoot. cost around £60,000 I believe which was cheap even back then. Was amazing for the first few weeks then as someone said above he got a horrific injury at Sunderland which basically finished him, although I recall he did try and come back the following season but was not the same player


His injury IIRC coincided with our fall from grace after a bright start to the season.

One of those players that you thought "How did we get him?"
Have read his book and saw a documentary where he was doing good stuff amongst mainly black kids in school.

Wishing you well Paul


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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by RoyalBlue » 03 Feb 2021 15:02

Millsy Didn't know anything about him. I see he was Chelsea's first black player and it was as late as 1981!?? 9 years after Alleyne :shock: :shock: :shock:

Hope he pulls through, get well soon Paul!


Worth a read: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Black-Blue-Racism-Cancer-Destroyed/dp/0755316452/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4G7OP0Q0PO8K&dchild=1&keywords=paul+canoville&qid=1612364452&s=books&sprefix=Paul+Canoville%2Caps%2C143&sr=1-1

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by RATM » 03 Feb 2021 15:22

Paul would have become a Reading legend if he not got injured.

He was an amazing talent and an even bigger character

Hope he pulls through

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by SCIAG » 03 Feb 2021 17:43

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Mid Sussex Royal
Millsy Didn't know anything about him. I see he was Chelsea's first black player and it was as late as 1981!?? 9 years after Alleyne :shock: :shock: :shock:

Hope he pulls through, get well soon Paul!


Played for us 1986-88 during the two second tier seasons under Ian Branfoot. cost around £60,000 I believe which was cheap even back then. Was amazing for the first few weeks then as someone said above he got a horrific injury at Sunderland which basically finished him, although I recall he did try and come back the following season but was not the same player


His injury IIRC coincided with our fall from grace after a bright start to the season.

One of those players that you thought "How did we get him?"
Have read his book and saw a documentary where he was doing good stuff amongst mainly black kids in school.

Wishing you well Paul

Genuine question - wasn't it obvious how he ended up playing below his level? I've always had the impression that he only ended up here because he was black and didn't have the same opportunities a white player would have had to play at a higher level. Abused and frozen out at Chelsea and nobody else would take a chance on him.

Get well soon.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Jackson Corner » 03 Feb 2021 18:06

There may well be something in that.i couldn’t believe it when he signed for us. The few games he did play before Swindlhurst crocked him. He was different gravy I genuinely think if he hadn’t got injured we could have had a crack promotion that season. Get well soon Paul a class act.


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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Nameless » 03 Feb 2021 18:19

One of the best players I have seen play for us.
Heartily support the recommendations for his book, he has been through some dreadful times.
Hope he pulls through, he is a fighter.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Zip » 03 Feb 2021 18:37

Fully endorse all that’s been said. Terrific player with pace to burn.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Linden Jones' Tash » 03 Feb 2021 19:09

A great player, what could have been if he'd not been injured, coincided with my introduction to Reading FC.
An even greater man.
Inspirational story
Hope he pulls through

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by South Coast Royal » 03 Feb 2021 19:31

SCIAG
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Played for us 1986-88 during the two second tier seasons under Ian Branfoot. cost around £60,000 I believe which was cheap even back then. Was amazing for the first few weeks then as someone said above he got a horrific injury at Sunderland which basically finished him, although I recall he did try and come back the following season but was not the same player


His injury IIRC coincided with our fall from grace after a bright start to the season.

One of those players that you thought "How did we get him?"
Have read his book and saw a documentary where he was doing good stuff amongst mainly black kids in school.

Wishing you well Paul

Genuine question - wasn't it obvious how he ended up playing below his level? I've always had the impression that he only ended up here because he was black and didn't have the same opportunities a white player would have had to play at a higher level. Abused and frozen out at Chelsea and nobody else would take a chance on him.

Get well soon.


There have been players over the years where we wondered, "How did we get him?"
Richie Bowman
Robin Friday
Tom Jenkins
Kevin Bremner
Kerry Dixon
Simon Osborn
Darius Wdowczyk
Glen Little
Sonko
Josh Laurent

It's good scouting, good connections or good luck and in the case of Paul Canoville we got him for whatever reason -Chelsea had other black players (despite their fans) who went on to have good careers at the club in Newton, Elliott, Sinclair,Keith Jones etc , long before these more enlightened times when black players have contributed so much to their success.


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Zip
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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Zip » 03 Feb 2021 19:37

The first time I saw him play was a pre season friendly. I think it was Oxford v Chelsea but I cannot be certain.One of the quickest players I have ever seen.
Couldn’t believe he ended up with us but alas it didn’t last long.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Henley Royal 1 » 03 Feb 2021 20:18

Nameless One of the best players I have seen play for us.
Heartily support the recommendations for his book, he has been through some dreadful times.
Hope he pulls through, he is a fighter.

Fabulous player.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Sutekh » 04 Feb 2021 13:57

Just 13 appearances between signing in August 1986 and the injury on 21 October. Then he spent a year or so recovering but he could never get fully match fit again and after just 8 further appearances he retired in November 1987 at the tragically early age of 25. At least he got to play in the Reading team that knocked Chelsea out of the League Cup.

Hope he recovers, he’s certainly a hell of a fighter!

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by tmesis » 07 Feb 2021 00:01

SCIAG
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Played for us 1986-88 during the two second tier seasons under Ian Branfoot. cost around £60,000 I believe which was cheap even back then. Was amazing for the first few weeks then as someone said above he got a horrific injury at Sunderland which basically finished him, although I recall he did try and come back the following season but was not the same player


His injury IIRC coincided with our fall from grace after a bright start to the season.

One of those players that you thought "How did we get him?"
Have read his book and saw a documentary where he was doing good stuff amongst mainly black kids in school.

Wishing you well Paul

Genuine question - wasn't it obvious how he ended up playing below his level? I've always had the impression that he only ended up here because he was black and didn't have the same opportunities a white player would have had to play at a higher level. Abused and frozen out at Chelsea and nobody else would take a chance on him.

Get well soon.

Don't forget that clubs had much smaller squads back then, and due to the salaries of back-up players being much lower, there wasn't the incentive or desire to sit in the reserves picking up top division wages that there is now. Pretty much any player would move on if they got past 21 and weren't a first team player.

As to why no other first division side signed him, who knows? Maybe he didn't want to move from the area, and none of the other London clubs that he'd have got a game for wanted a left winger. It's not as if the racism he faced at Chelsea was the norm everywhere else.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by Cape Town Royal » 07 Feb 2021 05:50

tmesis
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South Coast Royal
His injury IIRC coincided with our fall from grace after a bright start to the season.

One of those players that you thought "How did we get him?"
Have read his book and saw a documentary where he was doing good stuff amongst mainly black kids in school.

Wishing you well Paul

Genuine question - wasn't it obvious how he ended up playing below his level? I've always had the impression that he only ended up here because he was black and didn't have the same opportunities a white player would have had to play at a higher level. Abused and frozen out at Chelsea and nobody else would take a chance on him.

Get well soon.

Don't forget that clubs had much smaller squads back then, and due to the salaries of back-up players being much lower, there wasn't the incentive or desire to sit in the reserves picking up top division wages that there is now. Pretty much any player would move on if they got past 21 and weren't a first team player.

As to why no other first division side signed him, who knows? Maybe he didn't want to move from the area, and none of the other London clubs that he'd have got a game for wanted a left winger. It's not as if the racism he faced at Chelsea was the norm everywhere else.



I can think of a few he might not have fancied where rascism was the norm. I bet he was glad he never signed for Leeds at that time. At least he would not have had to buy any fruit when he was shopping, he could have just picked it up off the pitch!

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by TiagoIlori » 10 Feb 2021 10:49

He is still in critical condition but he is at least “stable”. Fingers crossed he’ll pull through this.

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Re: Paul Canoville get well soon

by TiagoIlori » 02 Mar 2021 10:39

He’s been able to pull through, not in intensive care anymore just recovering. Was even well enough to make a tweet today.

https://twitter.com/kingcanners/status/ ... 31745?s=21

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