Paul Bodin

Bodin began his career with Chelsea as a schoolboy, travelling via train to London Paddington station every weekend to train with the club. However, he left Stamford Bridge without making a first team appearance for the "Blues" and moved onto a brief spell with Newport County under manager Len Ashurst, rejecting interest from his hometown side Cardiff City after watching Newport draw 2–2 with German side Carl Zeiss Jena in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.[2] As a young trainee player, Bodin's role at the club included tasks such as helping to paint the stands at the club's Somerton Park ground.[3] He eventually followed Ashurst to Cardiff and was handed his professional debut on the opening day of the 1982–83 season against Wrexham at the age of seventeen.[4] He quickly established himself in the first team, making over 30 appearances in his first season,[2] helping Ashurst's "Bluebirds" to promotion into the Second Division,[4] finishing as Third Division runners-up to Portsmouth.[5] Jimmy Goodfellow then led Cardiff to a 15th-place finish in the 1983–84 season, before Alan Durban took charge at Ninian Park and led Cardiff to relegation in the 1984–85 campaign, after which Bodin left the club and joined Merthyr Tydfil. During his time as a semi-professional he supplemented his income working as a roofer’s assistant and insurance salesman.[6]

He signed with Conference club Bath City, who finished 12th at the end of the 1985–86 season. He scored 21 goals for the "Romans" in the 1986–87 season, helping the Twerton Park club to a tenth-place finish. Bath were relegated to the Southern League out of the Conference in the 1987–88 season, though in January 1988 Bodin went in the opposite direction as he made a return to the English Football League with Brian Eastick's Newport for a £15,000 transfer fee, who themselves were heading for relegation at the end of the season.[7] Newport's financial difficulties meant that Bath never received payment for Bodin's transfer.[8]

Bodin left Newport for Second Division side Swindon Town in March 1988 for a fee of £30,000 after Eastick was ordered to sell players in an attempt to raise funds.[9] Newport were forced to fold less than a year later with debts of over £300,000.[10] Signed by Swindon as cover for Phil King; he signed a three-year contract.[11] Lou Macari took the "Robins" to the play-offs in the 1988–89 season, where they were beaten by Crystal Palace. When King left for Sheffield Wednesday in November the following year, Bodin became the club's first choice left back. He was almost ever-present under Osvaldo Ardiles in the 1989–90 campaign as Swindon reached the play-off final at Wembley, where they beat Sunderland 1–0.[12] However they were denied a place in the First Division due to a financial scandal after the club were found to have been making irregular payments to players, initially being demoted to the Second Division before being allowed to remain in the First Division on appeal.[13] Bodin was sold on to Steve Coppell's Crystal Palace for £550,000 in March 1991,[11] but failed to break into the "Eagles" first team as Palace reached third in the league in the 1990–91 campaign, though he was still named on the Second Division PFA Team of the Year for his time at Swindon.[14] Ardiles took him back into the Second Division with Newcastle United for a short loan spell in December 1991.

Bodin returned to the County Ground just ten months after he had left - Glenn Hoddle paying a fee of £225,000 in January 1992. Hoddle played Bodin as a more attack-minded wing back, making better use of Bodin's crossing ability. He also installed Bodin as the club's penalty taker - moves which were to come to fruition the following season, when he scored a total of twelve goals from his new position. Five of these goals came from the penalty spot - the last of which gave Swindon the lead in the dying minutes of the 1993 play-off final win over Leicester City.[15] He was named as the club's Player of the Season for 1992–93. He performed well in the Premier League, scoring seven league goals, including penalty strikes against Manchester United and Arsenal as Swindon were relegated at the end of the 1993–94 season. He remained as John Gorman's first choice left back for two more seasons, despite a second successive relegation in 1994–95. He helped the club to the Second Division championship under Steve McMahon in 1995–96, ahead of initial first choice left-back Jason Drysdale, before leaving the club at the end of that season despite being named on the PFA Team of the Year for the second time in his career.[16][17]

He was signed by his former teammate Jimmy Quinn at Reading in July 1996.[11] He made 36 appearances in the 1996–97 campaign despite being told he would only be used as emergency cover in case on injuries. He spent the first half of the 1997–98 season on loan at John Gregory's Second Division Wycombe Wanderers. He left Elm Park after Tommy Burns's "Royals" were relegated out of the First Division in 1998. He returned to Bath City to take up a position as player-manager. He led the club to fourth-place finishes in the Southern League in 1998–99 and 1999–2000, and a 15th-place finish in 2000–01. In 2001 his position was dropped to a part-time role due to financial troubles at the club and he subsequently resigned.

Source:[27][28]

Cardiff City

• Football League Third Division runner-up: 1982–83

Swindon Town

• Football League Second Division play-off winner: 1990
• Football League First Division play-off winner: 1991
• Football League Second Division champion: 1995–96

• PFA Team of the Year (Second Division): 1990–91 & 1995–96
• Swindon Town F.C. Player of the Season: 1992–93