On June 7th 1980, Paul Rideout first caught the attention of a wider audience when socring a hat-trick in the annual schoolboy match between England and Scotland at Wembley. With an attendance of 69,000 and a TV audience in the millions, it was the perfect time for the 15 year old to find his goal scoring form and it would not be the last time he would enjoy this feeling at that venue.
Scotland would win 5-4 in a captivating match with a young Paul McStay also coming to the fore. The Scotland goalkeeper that day was Andy Bruce who would later go on to make 2 first team appearances for Rangers.
Rideout began his professional career at Swindon Town and his impressive goal scoring form with ‘The Robins’ saw him earn a move to top-flight side Aston Villa on 1st June 1983. Villa, of course, had been crowned England’s Champions only 2 years earlier whilst going one step further by winning the European Cup in 1982. Paul would score 5 times in 25 league appearances during that debut season (also featuring regularly in the side was Mark Walters). His goal ratio improved further during 1984/85 as he scored 14 times in 29 league outings. However, mid-table finishes in each of these seasons highlighted a fairly rapid decline within a side which had gradually been dismantled following that memorable night in Rotterdam.
Paul’s own profile increased further in the summer of 1985 when he joined the growing exodus of stars to Serie A. With fellow Brits such as Graeme Souness, Trevor Francis (Sampdoria), Ray Wilkins and Mark Hateley (AC Milan) already plying their trade in Italy, he was in excellent company. Throw in the likes of Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Diego Maradona and it was not difficult to understand the attraction.
Although signing for the less fashionable and newly promoted Bari, there were still over 5,000 fanatical Italians waiting to welcome Rideout and his former Aston Villa team mate Gordon Cowan when they touched down at the Airport. The combined fee for the duo was reported to be in the region of £850,000. Whilst the Serie A experience would last just one year due to relegation, Paul saw out his 3 year contract making just shy of 100 league appearances for the club. He returned to England in 1988, back in the 1st Division with Southampton.
His time at The Dell came to an end in season 1991/92 after a second spell at Swindon (this time on loan). He would join Notts County very briefly before Walter Smith brought him to Ibrox in January 1992.
Paul made his Gers debut on January 11th in a 2-0 win over Hibernian, partnering Ally McCoist in the Rangers attack. There was little doubt that Rideout was seen as back up to Mark Hateley who, by then, was getting back to his very best form.
With Maurice Johnston having also moved on, Rangers were beginning to look a bit light in the striking department in terms of strength in depth. His first (and only) goal came on February 29th 1992 as Airdrieonians were defeated 5-0.
With Hateley scoring a hat-trick in the same game it probably emphasised that Paul was hitting his head against the proverbial brick wall.To try and put into context, the McCoist / Hateley partnership would yield a staggering 110 league goals over seasons 1991/92 & 1992/93 (overlapping Rideout’s brief stay in Glasgow).
Strong in the air and decent on the ground, he was neither a true target man nor an out and out goal scorer. Whilst he would possibly be slightly disappointed with only 1 goal in 15 appearances, it should be remembered that 7 of those came from the bench and his general play had been good. He certainly did not let anyone down in his time at Rangers, a highlight being a substitute in the famous 10 man Scottish Cup Semi Final win over Celtic in March 1992.
His final appearance also came at Hampden during a 5-0 League Cup win over Dumbarton. He transferred to Everton on his 28th Birthday.
At Goodison, Paul would initially team up with former Rangers player Maurice Johnston and formed a good striking partnership with Tony Cottee before later vying with Duncan Ferguson. The pinnacle of his Everton career being the 1995 FA Cup Final at Wembley when he scored the winning goal against Manchester United.
No stranger to travel, Rideout would have spells in China and USA before hanging up his boots.
