Port Vale Paynter started his career at
Port Vale after being
scouted in his native
Liverpool at the age of ten. He signed professional forms in 2000, and
manager Brian Horton gave Paynter his debut against
Walsall at
Vale Park on 3 May 2001. At only 16 years and 294 days old, he was the youngest Vale player for twenty years. Horton went on to give the young striker seven further
Second Division games in the
2001–02 season. He scored his first senior goal past
Notts County on 17 September 2002, making him the club's youngest goalscorer for 24 years. By the end of
the season, he had scored five goals in 34 appearances. Still a teenager during the
2003–04 season, he hit 14 goals in 48 games despite being played mostly on the right wing, leaving him second in the club's scoring charts behind the prolific
Stephen McPhee. He opened the
2004–05 season by being
sent off for over celebrating after scoring Vale's first goal in a 3–2 defeat at
Walsall on 7 August; he went on to criticize
referee Lee Probert for ruining the game with the
red card decision. He went on to end the campaign as the club's top-scorer with 13 goals in fifty games; this came despite criticism from some supporters for a mini-goal drought in mid-season. In March, manager
Martin Foyle dismissed rumours of Paynter moving to nearby
Crewe Alexandra. At the end of the season, fans voted Paynter as the club's
Player of the Year. He started the
2005–06 season with just two goals in 16
League One games, but had still done enough in his Port Vale career to justify a move into
Championship football. The club reported
Tony Pulis'
Plymouth Argyle to
The Football Association for an alleged illegal approach for the player, but accepted a bid from Hull City.
Hull City In November 2005,
Hull City manager
Peter Taylor signed Paynter on
loan, then later negotiated a permanent
transfer for an initial fee of £150,000 in the January
transfer window. Teammate
Sam Collins also moved to Hull at the same time. Again, Paynter mainly played as a striker but also made some appearances as a right midfielder. He scored three times in his 23 appearances before moving on again at the end of the season.
Southend Paynter joined
Southend United on a three-year contract on 7 August 2006 for an undisclosed fee, although he actually joined the Shrimpers a few days earlier on loan, to enable him to play in their match against
Stoke City. Paynter scored his first and what turned out to be only Southend goal in a 3–2
League Cup victory over
Brighton, but lost his place in the first-team due to a lack of goals. Paynter's stay at Southend was brief, interrupted by a
hamstring injury, and on the last day of the January transfer window of the
2006–07 season he was loaned out to
Bradford City for a month, having made just eleven appearances for Southend. Paynter made his debut for Bradford City against
Nottingham Forest on 3 February 2007, scoring a last-minute
equaliser to earn the Bantams a 2–2 draw. He played 15 times for Bradford, scoring four goals, after his loan was extended to the end of the season.
Swindon Town In August 2007, Paynter signed for
Swindon Town on transfer deadline day on a three-year contract. He made his debut on 9 September, coming on as a
substitute in a televised defeat against
Yeovil. He hit a
hat-trick against
AFC Bournemouth on 22 September, his first game at the
County Ground. He followed this up with a brace against
Gillingham in a 5–0 win on 6 October, as a strong partnership with loan signing
Simon Cox began to develop. Following
Paul Sturrock's departure,
caretaker managers
David Byrne and
Maurice Malpas dropped him over concerns that he had lost confidence following a run of one goal scored in nine games. before he was sent off in a League One game with
Crewe Alexandara for
an elbow on
Michael O'Connor. – an award he was also nominated for again in March. At this point, Paynter also entered negotiations over a new contract with Swindon. On 3 April 2010, Paynter scored a brace for Swindon in their 3–0 rout of
Leeds United at
Elland Road – the win gave Swindon some hope of achieving automatic
promotion. He had also previously scored twice against Leeds that season in a 3–0 win at the County Ground. Swindon reached the League One
play-offs, and won their play-off semi-final after beating
Charlton Athletic on penalties – Paynter had missed the first leg through injury, but returned for the second leg which saw Swindon edge into
the final at
Wembley. He overcame a slight injury doubt and managed to play from the start in Swindon's 1–0 defeat to
Millwall, with Paynter being replaced late in the second half. In total Paynter scored 29 goals for Swindon during the 2009–10 season, representing his best goal scoring ratio in a single season.
Leeds United In June 2010, after turning down a new deal at Swindon Town, Paynter accepted a three-year deal with newly promoted
Leeds United. In late July however, it was reported that Paynter would be ruled out for two months after suffering a
stress fracture of the
shin that he had picked up during Leeds' pre-season schedule. The injury ruled him out of the rest of the pre-season, with manager
Simon Grayson suggesting that the club could not provide timescales for Paynter's recovery from the injury. Paynter finally returned to training at the start of September, and played 90 minutes in a
behind closed doors friendly, however, Paynter later suffered a reaction to his injury, keeping him out of action longer than had been expected. Having finally returned to fitness and having appeared for Leeds'
reserve team, Paynter finally made his first-team debut on 10 October 2010, as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 defeat of
Scunthorpe United. Paynter eventually scored his first goal for Leeds in a 2–1 win at
Preston North End on 8 March. Paynter had a disappointing first season with Leeds, scoring just once in 23 games, and was linked with a move to
Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United during the following the summer. Having remained at Leeds despite interest from elsewhere, Paynter came on as a substitute for Leeds on the opening day of the
2011–12 season as they suffered a 3–1 defeat against
Southampton. Paynter was unable to establish himself in the Leeds first-team however, as he picked up another injury, sidelining him for a further spell. At the end of August, Paynter was permitted to speak with
Brighton & Hove Albion regarding a move to the club. With
Luciano Becchio returning from injury and the signing of
Mikael Forssell, Paynter's playing opportunities diminished further, and manager
Simon Grayson hinted that he would allow Paynter to go out on loan. Having not played since the season's opening day for Leeds in October 2011, reports circulated that several Championship clubs were interested in taking Paynter on loan. but Leeds insisted they would not loan him to a rival club in the same division, and were currently considering an offer from an unnamed League One side. On 27 October 2011, Paynter signed for
Brighton & Hove Albion on loan until the start of January 2012. He made his debut for the club on 29 October, as a second-half substitute against
Birmingham City. He played a total of ten games for Brighton without scoring before he returned to
Elland Road. Paynter finally made his first start of the season for Leeds, and his first start under new manager
Neil Warnock in mid-April 2012, coming into the side against
Peterborough United, scoring twice in a 4–1 home win. He was given a second consecutive start in the following game against
Blackpool, however, he picked up an
Achilles injury in the game which ended his season prematurely. Neil Warnock subsequently placed Paynter on the transfer list at the end of the
2011–12 season.
Doncaster Rovers boss
Dean Saunders was strongly linked with a move for the striker at the end of July. However, Paynter instead joined
Blackpool for a week-long trial. The trial was cut short after a few days. He began training with Doncaster Rovers. When Leeds issued their squad numbers for the
2012–13 season on 3 August, it was revealed that Paynter, previously the club's number nine, had not been allocated a number.
Doncaster Rovers Following a trial spell, Paynter completed a
free transfer to League One side
Doncaster Rovers on 13 August 2012, signing a two-year contract. Paynter scored 13 goals in 40 games during the
2012–13 campaign, and on the last day of the season he provided the
pass to
James Coppinger which was converted for the late winning goal over
Brentford that won Doncaster promotion to the Championship as champions of League One. On 10 January 2014, Paynter signed on loan for
Sheffield United. He spent most of his time on the bench as
Nigel Clough chose to use
Jose Baxter as a false number nine in a highly successful run that took the club up the table and into the semi-finals of the
FA Cup. played 13 games for the "Blades" in the second half of the
2013–14 campaign, without scoring a goal. He was released by Doncaster manager
Paul Dickov in May 2014.
Carlisle United Paynter signed a two-year contract with newly-
relegated League Two club
Carlisle United in June 2014. It was reported that he decided to reject higher paid offers from clubs in higher divisions in join the "Cumbrians" after being convinced to come to
Brunton Park by manager
Graham Kavanagh. However, Carlisle struggled during the
2014–15 season, and after being fined by new manager
Keith Curle for refusing to take part in extra training sessions put on for players not in the first-team, both Paynter and
Gary Dicker took representation from the
Professional Footballers' Association to dispute the legality of their fines. He was transfer listed by Curle in May 2015.
Hartlepool United Paynter had his contract with Carlisle United cancelled by mutual consent and joined League Two rivals
Hartlepool United on 27 June 2015. He was appointed as club
captain by manager
Ronnie Moore. He made his debut in the 2–0 win over
Morecambe in the first game of the
2015–16 season, scoring the opening goal and providing an
assist for
Rakish Bingham. Three days later, Paynter scored in his second game to help Hartlepool beat
Fleetwood Town 1–0 in the first round of the League Cup. His total of 15 goals in 35 appearances in the
2015–16 season made him the club's top-scorer and caused new manager
Craig Hignett to exercise a contract clause to keep Paynter at the club for another year. He was out injured in January with an Achilles problem, and underwent surgery to correct the issue two months later. Hartlepool were relegated into
non-League at the end of the
2016–17 season, and Paynter admitted that he did not know what manager
Dave Jones had been doing with his
tactics. Paynter was one of three men – along with
Stuart Parnaby and Ian Gallagher – tasked with assisting caretaker manager
Matthew Bates for the final two games of the season, which ended in a defeat and a victory, but ultimately relegation. Paynter was released in May 2017.
Warrington Town On 26 November 2017, Paynter signed with
Northern Premier League Premier Division club
Warrington Town. He had previously been training with
AFC Fylde and
Southport. However, he announced his retirement from football the following month. ==International career==