Paul Bernard (footballer)

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Paul Bernard
Personal information
Full name Paul Robert Bernard [1]
Date of birth (1972-12-30) 30 December 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
?–1991 Oldham Athletic
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1991–1995 Oldham Athletic 112 (18)
1995–2001 Aberdeen 99 (6)
2001–2002 Barnsley 0 (0)
2002–2003 Plymouth Argyle 10 (0)
2003–2005 St Johnstone 26 (2)
2005–2006 Drogheda United
Total247(26)
International career
1991–1993 Scotland under-21 [2] 15 (3)
1995 Scotland B [3] 1 (0)
1995 Scotland 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Robert Bernard (born 30 December 1972) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Oldham, Aberdeen, Barnsley, Plymouth Argyle, St Johnstone and Drogheda United. Bernard represented Scotland twice, with both appearances coming in 1995.

Contents

Career

He was born in Edinburgh but moved to Manchester as a small child in the mid-1970s, and grew up as a Hearts supporter.

Bernard started his career with Oldham Athletic, and is remembered for scoring the equaliser in the famous 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday in only his second game for the club during the 1990–91 season when the Latics sealed the Second Division title and returned to the First Division after a 68-year exile. He was soon a regular player in the Boundary Park midfield, helping them achieve survival in the First Division in 1991–92 and the new FA Premier League in 1992–93. He helped them reach the FA Cup semi-finals in the 1993–94 campaign, and when the Latics took the lead over Manchester United with an extra time goal by Neil Pointon, it looked as though Bernard and his teammates were on their way to the club's first ever FA Cup final. However, a late equaliser by United's Mark Hughes forced a replay, which the Latics lost 4–1 at Maine Road. They were relegated on the final day of the season after only managing a 1–1 draw with Norwich City. He played a total of 112 league games for the Latics, scoring 18 goals.

He was then transferred to Aberdeen for £1M on 27 September 1995, [4] and remained the only player that a Scottish club outside the Old Firm had spent £1 million on until the transfer of Thibault Klidjé by Hibernian F.C. in July 2025. [5] Soon after joining Aberdeen, Bernard helped them to win the Scottish League Cup, but his career suffered after this point due to injuries and loss of form. As such Bernard has been associated with the misguided spending of Aberdeen in the 1990s, when relatively large amounts were spent without much success. Bernard was released by Aberdeen in 2001 after six seasons, 99 league games and six goals. [5]

His playing career finished in 2006 after a year-long spell in Ireland with Drogheda United.

He was capped twice by the senior Scotland national team, with both of his appearances coming in 1995, following 16 under 21 and two "B" caps earlier in the decade.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club [6] [7] SeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Oldham Athletic 1990-91 Second Division 21------2+1+
1991-92 First Division 215------21+5+
1992-93 Premier League 334------33+4+
1993-94 325------32+5+
1994-95 First Division 172------17+2+
1995-96 71------7+1+
Total11218------13721
Aberdeen 1995-96 Scottish Premier Division 311312000362
1996-97 140001010160
1997-98 170104000220
1998-99 SPL 9100000091
1999-00 254713000355
2000-01 3000001040
Total996112100201228
Barnsley 2001-02 First Division 000000--00
Total000000--00
Plymouth Argyle 2002-03 Second Division 1000000--100
Total1000000--100
St Johnstone 2003-04 First Division 242------24+2+
2004-05 20------2+0+
Total262------26+2+
Drogheda United 2005-06 Ireland Premier Division ----------
Total----------
Career total247+26+11+2+10+0+20295+31+

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [8]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland 199520
Total20

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 46. ISBN   1-85291-651-6.
  2. ↑ "Paul Bernard". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Paul Bernard". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Bernard set for debut at Aberdeen, The Independent , 30 September 1995.
  5. 1 2 Pittodrie pair can go, BBC Sport, 22 December 2000.
  6. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Paul Bernard". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "Paul Bernard | Scotland | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
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