Billy Paynter

William Paul Paynter (born 13 July 1984) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of Cymru Premier club Connah's Quay Nomads. In a 17-year professional career in the English Football League, he played as a striker and scored 131 goals in 529 league and cup appearances.

Born in Liverpool, Paynter started his career with Port Vale in 2000 and made over 150 appearances in his six years with the club, being voted Player of the Year in 2005. He was sold to Hull City in January 2006 before moving on to Southend United eight months later. His career stalled, and following a loan spell with Bradford City, he moved on to Swindon Town in August 2007. Averaging more than a goal every three games with the club, he transferred to Leeds United in June 2010. He joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan in October 2011 before taking a free transfer to Doncaster Rovers in August 2012. He helped Rovers to win the League One title in 2012–13. He was loaned to Sheffield United in January 2014. He signed with Carlisle United in June 2014, moving on to Hartlepool United twelve months later. He dropped into non-League football for a brief spell with Warrington Town in November 2017.

After retiring as a player, he moved into coach and has coached at the academies at Everton, RIASA, and Port Vale. He was appointed first-team manager at Runcorn Linnets in March 2023 and stepped down in May 2024. He took charge at Connah's Quay Nomads in August 2024 but was relieved of his duties eight months later.

Paynter started his career at Port Vale after being scouted in his native Liverpool at the age of ten. He signed professional forms in 2000, and manager Brian Horton gave Paynter his debut against Walsall at Vale Park on 3 May 2001. At only 16 years and 294 days old, he was the youngest Vale player for twenty years.

Horton went on to give the young striker seven further Second Division games in the 2001–02 season. He scored his first senior goal past Notts County on 17 September 2002, making him the club's youngest goalscorer for 24 years. By the end of the season, he had scored five goals in 34 appearances. Still a teenager during the 2003–04 season, he hit 14 goals in 48 games despite being played mostly on the right wing, leaving him second in the club's scoring charts behind the prolific Stephen McPhee. He was rewarded with a long-term contract at the season's end.

He opened the 2004–05 season by being sent off for over celebrating after scoring Vale's first goal in a 3–2 defeat at Walsall on 7 August; he went on to criticize referee Lee Probert for ruining the game with the red card decision. He went on to end the campaign as the club's top-scorer with 13 goals in fifty games; this came despite criticism from some supporters for a mini-goal drought in mid-season. In March, manager Martin Foyle dismissed rumours of Paynter moving to nearby Crewe Alexandra. At the end of the season, fans voted Paynter as the club's Player of the Year. He started the 2005–06 season with just two goals in 16 League One games, but had still done enough in his Port Vale career to justify a move into Championship football. The club reported Tony Pulis' Plymouth Argyle to The Football Association for an alleged illegal approach for the player, but accepted a bid from Hull City.

In November 2005, Hull City manager Peter Taylor signed Paynter on loan, then later negotiated a permanent transfer for an initial fee of £150,000 in the January transfer window. Teammate Sam Collins also moved to Hull at the same time. Again, Paynter mainly played as a striker but also made some appearances as a right midfielder. He scored three times in his 23 appearances before moving on again at the end of the season.

Paynter joined Southend United on a three-year contract on 7 August 2006 for an undisclosed fee, although he actually joined the Shrimpers a few days earlier on loan, to enable him to play in their match against Stoke City. Paynter scored his first and what turned out to be only Southend goal in a 3–2 League Cup victory over Brighton, but lost his place in the first-team due to a lack of goals. Paynter's stay at Southend was brief, interrupted by a hamstring injury, and on the last day of the January transfer window of the 2006–07 season he was loaned out to Bradford City for a month, having made just eleven appearances for Southend.