Paul Kitson

Leicester City

Kitson began his career as a trainee at Leicester City in 1988. In one season at Leicester, Kitson and Ian Baraclough, his striking partner, scored 60 or so goals between them for the youth and reserve sides. Baraclough was sold to Grimsby Town, while Kitson scored 11 goals in 63 appearances for the Leicester first-team, and joined Derby County for a club record of £1.3 million transfer fee in March 1992, made up of £800,000 with Phil Gee and Ian Ormondroyd moving to Leicester in part exchange. Derby manager Arthur Cox described him as having "...all the qualities to develop into an outstanding player". and Kitson went on to score 49 goals in 132 appearances in two and a half years at Derby.

Derby County

His arrival at the Baseball Ground came in the final quarter of the 1991–92 season, the last season before the creation of the FA Premier League from the top flight of English football. Derby, bankrolled by wealthy new chairman Lionel Pickering, were spending heavily as they looked to win promotion from the Second Division to the new super league, and ironically one of their biggest promotion rivals were Kitson's former club and arguably Derby's biggest rivals – Leicester City. Kitson scored four times in 12 appearances as the 1991–92 season drew to a close, but defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the playoffs semifinals meant that third placed Derby would be denied a Wembley playoff final meeting with Kitson's former club and most crucially the…

On 21 April 2018, Kitson was accused of gambling £25,000 that he was meant to be putting towards paying off his debts, after he was declared bankrupt the previous year. In 2021, Kitson was banned from driving for 22 months and fined £550 after being found guilty of drink driving. Kitson had crashed into his neighbour's fence in Billingham after a 10-hour drinking session.

West Ham UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999