Sports' Soccer Saturday. He was capped five times by England, scoring one goal. Club career Paul Walsh was born to Don and June Walsh in Plumstead on 1 October 1962; his father was an electrician and his mother worked at Tate & Lyle. He grew up supporting Arsenal, though his father was a season-ticket holder at West Ham United. Despite his natural skill, his small stature meant he was frequently overlooked at junior football. He was spotted playing for local youth side Londinium by Charlton Athletic scout Jim Fibbins, and signed schoolboy forms aged 14. In a 1986 interview with Shoot magazine Walsh cited Londinium manager John O' Connor as the biggest influence on his career. After leaving school he also began working part-time at a meat factory and later a fruit packing factory before he joined Charlton on a full-time basis. Charlton Athletic Walsh made his debut for the Reserves in September 1978, playing right midfield against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. He made his first team debut in the English Football League at 16 years old, coming on as a half-time substitute for Dick Tydeman in a Second Division fixture with Shrewsbury Town on 22 September 1979; he provided the assist for Martin Robinson's winning goal. Manager Andy Nelson handed him his first professional contract on his 17th birthday, a two-year contract paying £100 a week. However Nelson was sacked the following March and the "Addicks" were relegated into the Third Division at the end of the 1979–80 season. Following the sale of Mike Flanagan to Crystal Palace, new manager Mike Bailey played Walsh in a strike partnership with Derek Hales in the 1980–81 campaign. Due to a League Cup draw the season opened with three matches against Brentford, and Walsh scored his first senior goal at Griffin Park in a 3–1 defeat before scoring a hat-trick in the return fixture at The Valley, a 5–0 victory; this made him the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the club's history. He ended the campaign with 18 goals in all competitions, whilst Hales was named in the division's PFA Team of the Year. Charlton were top of the table for most of the season but a loss of form from February cost them the title, though promotion was still secured with a third-place finish. Bailey left Charlton to replace Alan Mullery as Brighton & Hove Albion manager, and the