Paul Andrew Stewart was born in Manchester on October 7th 1964. From a very early age he showed great promise as a footballer and joined a Manchester junior team associated to Blackpool FC at the age of eleven. His 4 years there were hugely successful from a football point of view leading to him being signed by the club but he suffered sexual abuse on an almost daily basis at the hands of his coach. He was to keep this to himself for 42 years.
From joining Blackpool Paul enjoyed a hugely successful career despite suffering constantly from the effects of his childhood abuse. After leaving Blackpool he had spells at Manchester City, Spurs, Liverpool and Sunderland amongst others. His professional career spanned 18 years and he scored over 125 goals in over 500 senior appearances. In 1991 he scored in Spurs’ FA Cup Final win over Notts Forest and he gained three senior England caps in the early nineties.
