County captain Paul Turnbull is set to make his 200th appearance for the club this Saturday against Kidderminster Harriers.
Midfielder Paul, 29, returned to Edgeley Park in March 2018 to begin his fourth spell with the Hatters, but it was as an eleven-year-old striker that he first caught the eye of the County coaching staff. He joined the club’s Centre of Excellence in 2000 and was soon converted to a central midfielder.
Just five years later, the Handforth-born midfielder became the youngest player ever to feature in a Football League match for the Hatters when he made his senior debut as a substitute at home to Wrexham in a League One fixture in April 2005 – he was still at Wilmslow High School at the time, aged 16 years and 97 days.
Under Jim Gannon, Paul joined Altrincham on a short-term loan in March 2008 but when he returned he impressed the County boss so much that he featured in every Play Off game at the end of 2007/08, including the Wembley final against Rochdale, where the teenager earned rave reviews for his dominant and mature performance in the County engine room.
Two years later, Paul Simpson handed him the captain’s armband, when he was still only 21, and he caught the eye of Northampton Town who signed him at the end of that campaign. Paul went on to captain Macclesfield Town before spells with Barrow and Chester.
This season he’s hoping to lead County to promotion, more than a decade since being a key part of County’s last promotion campaign.
