Paul Tisdale

Southampton

A former England schools international, Tisdale came through the youth system at Southampton. He signed as a professional in June 1991. He was loaned out to Northampton Town in February and March 1993, where he made five league appearances. He eventually made his Southampton debut in a League Cup game against Huddersfield Town on 5 October 1994. Unfortunately, at this time Southampton were enduring frequent changes of manager and, as a result, Tisdale never had a settled run in the first team. Having played his last senior game for Southampton on 27 April 1996, he again went out on loan in the 1996–97 season, this time to Huddersfield Town, where he made only two appearances. In his time at Southampton he made a total of 18 first team appearances, scoring once, against Manchester City on 16 March 1996, when he took one touch and delicately lifted the ball over goalkeeper Eike Immel. Following the departure of mentor David Merrington, Tisdale moved to Bristol City in August 1997.

Bristol City and abroad

At Bristol City his appearances were limited. It was while at Bristol City that Tisdale got his first taste of life at Exeter City, with a three-month loan at the club during the 1997–98 season. He left Ashton Gate after just one year, and played abroad for both Finnish club FinnPa and Greek club Panionios before returning to England to spend a year with Yeovil Town.

Club

Managerial

As of match played 15 March 2022

Born in Malta, Tisdale went to Beechen Cliff School in Bath, England, where he was childhood friends with actor Andrew Lincoln. In 2017, Lincoln said "One of my oldest and dearest friends happens to be Paul Tisdale. So I've been watching him very avidly throughout his whole career and I've been very proud of him." Tisdale's uncle is Game of Thrones actor James Faulkner who played Randyll Tarly in the show. His brother Peter Tisdale also played at Bath City and Team Bath, and attracted interest from Football League clubs such as Queens Park Rangers and AFC Bournemouth, before deciding on a corporate career after graduating from the University of Bath with a degree in politics and economics.

As a manager

Team Bath

Western Football League First Division: 2000–01 Western Football League Premier Division: 2002–03 Exeter City

Conference Premier play-offs: 2008 Football League Two runners-up: 2008–09 Milton Keynes Dons

EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2018–19 Individual

LMA Manager of the Year: 2008–09 League Two EFL League Two Manager of the Month: August 2017, October 2018