Paul Shepherd: The Leeds United Player Jailed For Drug Dealing
The Story of Paul Shepherd - Footballer Turned Drug Dealer
Jailed football star Paul Shepherd plays against Danny Williams. Picture credits: Hatters Heritage
Leeds United fans won’t remember their 1996 defeat to Arsenal fondly, but it’s likely a moment Paul Shepherd will never forget.
How did the former Leeds United player go from football fame to convicted drug dealer? The Sporting Blog tells the full story!
The then-18-year-old made his one and only Premier League appearance for Leeds against the Gunners on October 28, squaring off against David Seaman, Martin Keown, Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Lee Dixon, Patrick Vieira, David Platt, Nigel Winterburn, Paul Merson, Denis Bergkamp and Ian Wright.
It’s the dream of every youngster, playing against those they looked up to as a child, so Shepherd must consider that one of the best moments of his club career - even though Leeds suffered a 3-0 defeat at Highbury that night.
A year later, Shepherd had the biggest moment of his international career, scoring for England at the FIFA World Youth Championships.
He was in a squad with Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen, but unfortunately, things collapsed for Shepherd after that.
Shepherd quickly fell down the pecking order at Leeds and had a nomadic career without settling at one club for more than a year. He spent most of his time in Football League mediocrity before retiring as a semi-pro.
The 46-year-old didn’t make a lot of money throughout his career, so he turned to the drug trade as a way to get rich quick.
The law would catch up to Shepherd, however, as he was jailed in 2021 for possession of drugs and firearms, joining a few other footballers behind bars.
So, how did a bright football career fall apart so quickly? The Sporting Blog tells the full story…
Dreams of Playing For Boyhood Club Quickly Shattered
Shepherd was born in Leeds on November 17, 1977. He excelled at football during his childhood, impressing enough to be headhunted by Leeds after leaving school.
The midfielder joined as a trainee and would sign a professional contract in 1995.
He had to be patient for first-team opportunities, however, instead featuring for the youth side and reserves in his first season as a pro.
Shepherd would work his way through the ranks the following campaign - and he was handed his full debut after George Graham succeeded Howard Wilkinson.
Graham left Arsenal in 1995 after allegations of him receiving unsolicited payments. He served a ban and returned to football management on September 10, 1996.
George Graham ignored Shepherd for his first eight games in charge, but called upon the midfielder against Arsenal in October.
Arsenal blew Leeds away and Shepherd barely had a touch at Highbury, so it wasn’t the ideal debut.
He played 90 minutes and cancelled out his opposite marker, but Graham wouldn’t hand Shepherd another opportunity at Leeds before his controversial departure in 1998.
In an interview with Will Unwin of Planet Football, Shepherd said he spent most of his time at Leeds training away from the first-team and being ignored by Graham, who never explained his decisions.
He said: “I didn’t even make the squad, without explanation. So that was pretty devastating, as I felt it was harsh, especially as (Graham) didn’t say anything. It just made me become a bit bitter.”
Writing on the Wall
Shepherd sought first-team football and had the chance to join Huddersfield Town on loan after a behind-closed-doors friendly, but Graham wouldn’t allow it.
Former Town assistant Terry Yorath approached Shepherd, and Huddersfield were flying high in the First Division (English second tier), but a move was denied.
When Shepherd would eventually be sent away for more playing time, it was for a Scottish side in the second tier late in the season. He joined Ayr United in March 1998 and made six league appearances, scoring one goal.
Shepherd embarked on another loan move the following campaign, this time for Tranmere Rovers of the First Division in February 1999.
He only spent a move at Prenton Park and played only once, however.
But after three years at Leeds without making more than one senior appearance, coupled with underwhelming loan moves away, Shepherd left Elland Road permanently.
He said he never got on with Graham or his successor David O’Leary, but the midfielder ultimately didn’t develop and would join Ayr United on a free transfer.
Money Troubles
Being a Premier League footballer is lucrative, even for squad players, so Shepherd had a lot of disposal income.
Leeds had the 9th-highest wage bill in the top-flight before Shepherd left, so he must have come crashing down to earth at Ayr.
The Honest Men were a mediocre second division club in Scotland with a 12,000-capacity stadium – one-third of Elland Road.
The average weekly wage in the Scottish Championship is £600 – lower than the UK average salary. So players would be earning approximately £328 a week in 1999, adjusting for inflation.
Shepherd would be forced into making significant cutbacks due to the reduction of money, and his nomadic career after Leeds won’t have helped matters.
After Ayr, he went on to play for Keflavík ÍF of Iceland (2000), Scunthorpe United of League One (2000 - 2001), cash-strapped Luton Town of League Two (2001) and Oldham Athletic of League One (2001/02) - before falling out of professional football.
The average League One wage in the early 2000s was around £1000 a week before tax. It wasn’t lucrative for a former Premier League player.
Paul Shepherd: the Leeds United player jailed for drug dealing. Picture credits: Yorkshire Evening Post
“I knew it was too late,” he said. “I was 24 or 25 and I knew I was going to be doing something different. It’s a bit sad as I was playing for England at 18. I knew there were no guarantees, but I never envisaged falling right out of the game.”
Shepherd would play for semi-pro sides such as Scarborough (2001 - 2003), Leigh RMI (2003/04), Harrogate Town (2004/05) and Stalybridge Celtic (2005/06), but he wasn’t making enough of a living to justify continuing.
The 28-year-old stopped in 2005 to be an estate agent in Spain before running his own company, Spanish Lettings, back in Yorkshire from 2008 until it dissolved in 2012.
He was also a director and member of Chapel Allerton Snooker and Social Club. It seemed Shepherd was getting money through mainstream work for a time, but he wanted to make himself a fortune.
Drug Trafficking
Shepherd became a courier for a four-man drug network, moving illegal substances and money in the North East of the UK.
Carl O’Flaherty was the leader who ran operations in West Yorkshire, Dane Marshall was the ‘chef’ who diluted the drugs, and Clinton Blakey would sell them on for a profit.
The house of cards came tumbling down in 2020 when Shepherd was pulled over by police.
They discovered cocaine in his vehicle and later searched his home property, which uncovered a Glock semi-automatic pistol, an Howa bolt-action rifle, ammunition and a mobile phone loaded with EncroChat.
EncroChat was a encrypted communications platform used by 60,000 suspected criminals worldwide, 10,000 of which were in the UK.
French and Dutch police managed to hack the service provider, and European investigators collaborated with the National Crime Agency and British police.
The NCA began an investigation under Operation Venetic and arrested 746 people. Shepherd was one of them, and messages on his phone to O’Flaherty uncovered their drug operation.
Shepherd was found guilty of four charges relating to possessing a firearm and Class A drugs. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
The 46-year-old was sentenced to nine years and six months. Quite the fall for the ex-professional…
Featured image credits: Hatters Heritage
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References
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