Charlie Paynter (28 July 1879 in Swindon – 1 December 1971) was the manager of West Ham United from 1932 to 1950.

[1] He played for the local teams Victoria Swifts and South West Ham,[2] but while still a teenager he also developed an interest in physiotherapy.

He sustained a knee injury in a match against Woolwich Arsenal which ended his career and the club appointed him reserve-team trainer in 1902.

The team's form tailed off in the years ahead, though they still generally finished safely in mid-table.

However, his final season in charge, 1949-50 saw another relegation struggle, after which Paynter decided to retire and allow his assistant manager, Ted Fenton to take over.