April 28, 1990, remains one of the finest days in Exeter City's history as, on the back of an incredible home record, we secured our first title in our club's history. During this month we will be taking a look back - in alphabetical order - of the main players in that title winning side. This time we look at a reliable and versatile player who made 20 appearances during the title winning campaign.
PAUL BATTY
MIDFIELDER
89/90 APPEARANCES: 20
GOALS: TWO
Paul Batty was one of the players that demonstrated the strength of the depth available to Terry Cooper in his title winning squad.
Beginning his playing career with Swindon Town as an apprentice, Paul signed a full professional contract in January 1982 and completed 108 league appearances - scoring seven goals - by the time he left the County Ground.
He signed for Chesterfield in July 1985, but it didn’t prove to be the ideal move for him in terms of first team football, as he was only selected 26 times in his season at Saltergate.
Offering him more playing time, Colin Appleton signed Paul in July 1986, and the midfielder immediately won a first team place, making his league debut for the Grecians in a 1-0 home win over Leyton Orient on August 23.
By 1988, Paul’s appearances on the pitch had again dropped off, although this time it was due to a long-term knee injury that required surgery on three separate occasions.
Despite this, Terry Cooper was able to call on him on a number of occasions during the 89/90 campaign, where Paul proved to be an able deputy in a range of positions, wearing the numbers 4, 6, 9, 11 and 12 across 20 appearances.
A loan move to Cambridge in March 1990 could have resulted in him missing the celebrations, but he was soon recalled to St James Park and featured in each of the final four games of the season, including the decisive championship winning game at home to Scarborough on April 28.
In total, Paul made 111 appearances for the Grecians - netting 11 goals - before his former teammate Clive Whitehead signed him for Yeovil Town on a free transfer, just hours before the deadline in March 1991.
This article has been created using material from the Grecian Archive and ECFC Museum as part of the 'Celebrating our Heritage' programme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and supported by the University of Exeter.