The visit of Middlesbrough this weekend revives the memory of one of Hull City's most natural goalscorers and complex characters.
For 15 years Andy Payton's name stayed on the Hull City rollcall because the £750,000 fee upon leaving Boothferry Park for Middlesbrough remained the club's record sale. He was worth every penny - and many would say a good deal more - when what had been a protracted and inevitable move finally happened in November 1991.
Payton was a nippy and nimble striker, focussed beyond the norm and often to the detriment of his relationship with strike partners. In his recent autobiography, his chief partner-in-goals, Peter Swan, talked admirably of Payton's ability while less so about his attitude, demeanour and general way of conducting himself. Most strikers need to be selfish, but Payton seemed to be beyond this. The partnership with Swan, which did yield many goals in struggling sides, seemed to consist of Swan scoring a few, helping set Payton up for a few more, but rarely getting a goal as a result of Payton's donkey work.
This is because Payton didn't do donkey work. Even when Eddie Gray utilised him on the wing in the infamous 1988-89 season because of a) his pace, and b) the presence of marksmanship giants Billy Whitehurst and Keith Edwards, the Lancastrian forward wasn't prone to getting up and down his flank and giving his full back - initially Charlie Palmer, later Nicky Brown - a bit of a hand. Irrespective of his position on the park, the tactics of the team or the period in Hull City's existence, Payton's laziness became him as much as his facility to score goals.
But this is dwelling on the negative, and so many more positive memories come from recalling Payton's career with his first employer. He signed comparatively late after his hometown and boyhood club, Burnley, decided not to offer him apprentice terms. He didn't get near the first team until he was 19, and only when Gray took over from Brian Horton did he start to make his mark.
Horton was a fan of Payton, but was already blessed in the striking department to need to risk unleashing a fast, confident and potentially destructive youngster on the team. Payton had just a couple of sub appearances to his name when eventually his reserve form demanded reward and Horton gave him the ultimate test - a full debut at home to Leeds United a couple of days into 1988. Payton responded by scoring an opportunist's opening goal after just two minutes. City won 3-1, with the Leeds consolation coming ironically from a certain Peter Swan.
Payton flitted around the squad for the rest of Horton's tenure, but the glorious day against Leeds was the last win of Horton's time in charge, leaving in April after an impetuous (and instantly regretted) decision from an angry Don Robinson. City took 15 years to recover from this bit of angry chairmanship, but Payton as an individual - and one must wonder if that was all he was concerned about - began to flourish.
Gray's arrival slowly but surely helped Payton become a regular, albeit only as a wide player who contributed the odd goal but largely used his pace and vision to help Edwards and - when he rejoined in the December - Whitehurst take the opportunities. League form was mixed but progressive, yet the FA Cup run was what saves Gray's name from a complete tarnishing.
Payton was picked as the wide man in a four-man midfield as Liverpool, defending champions, arrived at Boothferry Park for the fifth round tie. His two primary contributions were to kick Gary Gillespie so hard in the shins early on that the bruising enveloped his whole leg and he had to be substituted, and then miss a glorious chance late in the game when Liverpool were 3-2 up and City were upping the ante. Bruce Grobbelaar was on the deck and Payton followed up surely to score, only for left back David Burrows to get in the way, heroically.
What followed was a winless run akin to Horton's the year before and Gray was sacked. Colin Appleton's return for a brief, calamitous second spell was not to Payton's benefit, but when Stan Ternent arrived, kindred spirits seemed to be meeting.
Under Ternent, and with the reluctant Swan's assistance, Payton began to score a colossal number of goals. The team were dragged away from what seemed certain relegation after more than a quarter of the season, and these two were the architects of it. Ternent spent too much money on packing the rest of the side with experienced players and the dream died as quickly as it had been activated. Payton, as selfish as his reputation perceived, threatened publicly to walk out on Hull City when Ternent got the sack on New Year's Day, 1991.
Terry Dolan arrived to steady a sinking ship, and although relegation couldn't be prevented, there was no downturn in Payton's form, even though fans were starting to question his influence on the team. He would score goals but sometimes the celebration from Payton and certainly his team-mates would be muted, though when he ran three quarters of Boothferry Park, leaving numerous Brighton players in his wake, the ovation he received upon placing the ball in the net was well deserved. City were horribly relegated, despite possessing a striker who had put away more than 20 League goals. Inevitably, the rumours about his future began, especially as City were not only sinking down the divisions, they were also skint.
Payton began 1991-92 with a smart clutch of goals, signing off with the only strike in a 1-0 home win over Chester City, prior to joining Middlesbrough who, gallingly, were in the same division the year before. This meant there wasn't even the consolation of a club genuinely big and successful taking on the complicated virtues and abilities of this young striker and, coupled with the feeling that he should have fetched a whole million, there was as much a feeling of underwhelm as there was of disappointment. Payton's private life was also becoming rather eventful, and that led to a quick switch every couple of years from club to club - Middlesbrough, Celtic, Barnsley, Huddersfield, Burnley, Blackpool - in order to pick up signing-on fees.
There is something comedic about Payton's legacy, especially since Swan's book came out. It was well known that Payton was a shuffling, insular, moody figure in the dressing room but such issues were put aside as long as he did the business on the pitch. We now know that the off-pitch troubles were correct - assuming Swan is not just grinding a bitter axe - and this could be seen as helpful to Payton's longer term standing, given that he frequently delivered goals and hope to Hull City while not being a standout character for the right reasons behind the scenes. Payton didn't do barren spells, goalless sequences. If he didn't score in one game, he would almost certainly get one in the next, even though many of his strikes were consolation efforts in a team very familiar with defeat.
It took until 2006, when Leon Cort followed Peter Taylor to Crystal Palace for £1.2million, before Payton's name was scrubbed from City's record books. However, for his goals, natural ability and breathtaking arrogance, of the type now to be admired given how little he had around him, his name should remain in lights somewhere within Hull City's history.
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