Paul Leslie Rutherford (born 10 July 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a winger.
Career Born in Moreton, Wirral, he was brought up through the ranks in Liverpool's academy with his brother John before joining Chester City.
In 2005, he signed his first professional contract after impressing in Chester City's Youth Team.
He made his First Team début for Chester City against Cambridge United in the Football League Trophy in 2005 and over the past few years has been involved in first–team duties. He scored his first league goal in the 2–1 win over Darlington on 22 March 2008.
Rutherford was part of the Barrow side who won the 2009-10 FA Trophy at Wembley against Stevenage Borough 2–1.
On 25 June 2013, Rutherford signed for Southport.
On 23 May 2016, Rutherford signed for Wrexham. He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2016–17 season, in a 0–0 draw with Dover Athletic, scoring his first goal for the club in their following match with a 93rd minute winning goal during a 3–2 victory over Guiseley. On 2 June 2021, it was announced that Rutherford would leave Wrexham after spending five years at the club. He features prominently in the first two episodes of the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, where he is shown getting a red card that is implied to cost the team the playoff spot and the reason for his dismissal; despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rutherford maintains his support for both the club and the documentary, saying that the latter is "arguably one of the best things that's happened to [him]", and that "it probably makes [his] career look better".
On 25 June 2021, Rutherford signed for Bala Town. He made his European debut in July 2021, as Bala lost 2–0 on aggregate to Larne in the Europa Conference League.
In 2023, Rutherford returned to representing Wrexham in The Soccer Tournament.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsChester City2005–06League Two60000010702006–07League Two900010101102007–08League Two2311010102612008–09League Two190100000250Total571202030691Barrow2009–10Conference National38040—004202010–11Conference National42710—104472011–12Conference National40121—204422012–13Conference National44150—40531Total1649121—7018310Southport2013–14Conference National18010—102002014–15Conference National40360—204832015–16National League40210—30442Total98580—601125Wrexham2016–17National League39200—003922017–18National League43210—004432018–19National League44150—315212019–20National League33240—103822020–21National League27000—10280Total1868100—512029Bala Town2021–22Cymru Premier283312120325Total528313424124159035
References
External links
Profile at Barrow A.F.C. website. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Profile at Southport F.C. website. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.