Profile of Paul Mariner on Famous Like Me

Paul Mariner (born Bolton, Lancashire, May 22, 1953) was a feared centre forward with Ipswich Town and England in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mariner started his career as an amateur player at non-league club Chorley, close to his Lancashire roots, and his bustling yet skilful style at the helm of their attack caught the attention of Plymouth Argyle, for whom he signed in 1973.

So began an impressive scoring record with the Devon club, with 56 goals in 135 appearances coming before Bobby Robson, who had been personally monitoring Mariner's progress, took him to Ipswich for 220,000 pounds. Mariner chose Ipswich ahead of a similar offer from West Ham United.

Mariner made his debut in September 1976 and quickly settled into the Ipswich side as an old-fashioned number 9 - ie, a forward capable of taking hard tackles and rough treatment from defenders but willing to give it back, while also scoring a fair share of goals. Received wisdom suggests that Mariner was only a 'target-man'-type centre forward, but he scored plenty of goals with his feet and had the skill to create his own chances on the deck, rather than relying entirely from service through the centre and via the flanks.

Such was Mariner's impact that six months after joining Ipswich, he made his England debut as a substitute in a 5-0 win over Luxembourg at Wembley and played from the beginning in the following game against Northern Ireland in the British Home Championship at Windsor Park, Belfast. He impressed in both games, though didn't score and was not selected for the next six matches. During this period, Ipswich finished third in the First Division, with Mariner contributing ten goals from 28 games.

Mariner's third England cap came in the return World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg, scoring a last-minute goal in a 2-0 win which England really needed to win by much more in order to give themselves half a chance of qualifying for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. By now, Mariner had become one of a number of 'target man'-type centre forwards for England coach Ron Greenwood to select from, with the likes of Stuart Pearson and Bob Latchford also on the scene. It was Mariner, however, who would get the nod for the majority of the time.

Meanwhile, at club level, Mariner was having a mixed time. He scored eleven goals in 37 appearances for Ipswich, which maintained his England aspirations, but the team underperformed in the First Divison and finished a lowly 18th. However, they reached the FA Cup final at Wembley where they memorably beat Arsenal 1-0. Mariner hit the woodwork with one chance and generally caused havoc to the Arsenal defence, earning him the Man Of The Match award afterwards.

Greenwood decided not to select Mariner for England throughout 1979, although he enjoyed his most productive spell for Ipswich in front of goal that season, hitting 13 in 33 matches. It wasn't until 1980 that Mariner won a sixth England cap - almost exactly two years after his fifth - and he scored England's goal in a surprising 4-1 defeat against Wales at Wrexham. He stayed in the reckoning thereafter, scoring in a 2-1 win over Australia in Sydney in the final game before England took to the field for the 1980 European Championships. Mariner was named in Greenwood's squad for the tournament, despite not kicking a ball during the whole qualifying campaign.

He didn't play in the opening 1-1 draw versus Belgium in Turin but came on as a sub in the remaining two group matches - a defeat against Italy and a victory over Spain, which ensured England's elimination from the competition.

Mariner maintained his England place as his Ipswich goalscoring record continued to improve - 17 from 41 games had come in 1980 and Ipswich made the early running as the next season got underway. England began their qualifying campaign for the 1982 World Cup with a conclusive 4-0 win over Norway, with Mariner scoring a superb goal with a deft turn and shot from 25 yards. He was, however, left out of the next game, which turned into a gruesome 2-1 defeat against Romania in Bucharest. Greenwood put him back in the side a month later for a now vital match against Switzerland, and Mariner scored the opener in a 2-1 win.

Ipswich were challenging for three trophies as the 1981 season approached its climax, with Mariner again to the fore, scoring 13 times in 36 matches. However, they were to miss out on two domestic fronts, with Aston Villa winning the First Division (after Ipswich failed to beat Middlesbrough) and Manchester City defeating Ipswich in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. But in the UEFA Cup, Mariner was proving to be a real hero as glory beckoned.

He scored twice in the early rounds as Ipswich progressed to a tasty quarter final against St Étienne. In the first leg in France Mariner put two away as Ipswich went 4-1 up, and added another as Ipswich completed the task in the second leg. After winning the semi-final, Mariner scored again in the first leg of the final against AZ Alkmaar as Ipswich coasted to a 3-0 lead, ultimately winning the competition 5-4 on aggregate. Weeks later, Greenwood put him back in the England side as the World Cup qualification campaign resumed with a defeat in Switzerland, a vital victory in Hungary and a shock defeat in Norway. It appeared that they may miss out on the World Cup finals for an unthinkable third tournament in a row.

But results elsewhere miraculously went their way, meaning England only needed to beat Hungary at Wembley in the final game to guarantee qualification. It was Mariner who scored the only goal in a 1-0 win, though he got it via a stumble which saw him score via a deflection rather than an actual shot on goal. But it was enough.

Injuries to both Achilles tendons restricted Mariner's football over the next few months, and he only scored eight times in 25 games for Ipswich. But in the five final England warm-up matches prior to the World Cup in Spain, he scored four times, including a stunning solo run and strike against Holland at Wembley. He was named in Greenwood's squad and started the first match of the tournament, against France.

England went into a 2-1 lead thanks to a brace from Bryan Robson - the first of which was the World Cup Finals' quickest-ever goal - before Mariner slammed home a close-range volley to complete an impressive 3-1 win. It was his eleventh international goal in his 22nd match - an admirable ratio of one goal every other game. It was his also his sixth consecutive scoring game for England - a feat only previously achieved by Jimmy Greaves.

Greenwood selected Mariner for the rest of the tournament but he didn't score again and England went out in the second phase after two disappointing goalless draws. Mariner is best remembered for dragging a gutted Kevin Keegan to his feet in support after the England captain, on as a substitute after a tournament ruined by injury problems, sank to his knees, head in hands, missed an open goal with a header which would have sent England into the semi-finals.

Mariner's club boss Robson subsequently became England coach and he continued to select him as the qualification campaign for the 1984 European Championships got underway. Mariner continued to score frequently for Ipswich, whose young and vibrant side had started to age and break up.

England's qualification campaign faltered, though Mariner scored in consecutive pool matches against Hungary and Luxembourg - the latter of which would prove to be his 13th and final England goal. By the time he next played for England, he was an Arsenal player, with the Gunners taking him from Ipswich in February 1984 for £150,000. By now Mariner was nearly 31, but he still initially performed well for Arsenal, scoring seven times in the final fifteen games of the season. But age was starting to get the better of him; and he only scored nine goals in 41 games in 1984-85.

Mariner won two more England caps but a sign of things to come had arrived in the shape of Mark Hateley, a tall but skilful young striker exactly in the Mariner mould. Hateley came on as a substitute for Mariner in a friendly victory over East Germany in September 1984, before Mariner picked up his 35th and final cap in a goalless draw against Romania in May 1985, a qualifier for the 1986 World Cup.

Meanwhile, at his club Mariner could barely get a game, only playing nine times in 1985-86, including one match as a emergency centre half. In the summer of 1986 Arsenal's new manager George Graham gave Mariner a free transfer; in all he played 80 times for Arsenal, scoring 17 goals. He signed for Portsmouth, where he spent two seasons. He saw out his career at Maltese side Naxxar Lions, and then back home with Chorley and Bury Town.

After retiring, Mariner set up a management company for footballers before being approached to go to the United States of America to coach the Albany Capitals of the old APSL. He has remained in the States since, first as an assistant coach at Harvard University, and currently at the New England Revolution as second-in-command to former Liverpool and Scotland defender Steve Nicol.

Mariner married his first wife Alison in 1976; they divorced in 1989. He has three sons from that marriage. He now has a second wife, Dedi.

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Paul Mariner