Ian John Knight (born 26 October 1966) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Sheffield Wednesday and Grimsby Town before retiring due to injuries.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian John Knight | ||
| Date of birth | 26 October 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Hartlepool, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Barnsley | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1985 | Barnsley | 0 | (0) |
| 1985–1990 | Sheffield Wednesday | 21 | (0) |
| 1989 | → Scunthorpe United (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1990–1992 | Grimsby Town | 21 | (2) |
| 1992 | Carlisle United | 1 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Boston United | 10 | (1) |
| 1993 | Grantham Town | ? | (?) |
| International career | |||
| 1986 | England U21 | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010– | Abbotsford Mariners | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career edit
Knight began his career promisingly. He established himself in the first-team at Sheffield Wednesday, and was capped twice for the England under-21s.[2]
Injury edit
Knight was badly injured on 4 February 1987 in a FA Cup replay against Chester City. Two minutes into the game a poor tackle by Gary Bennett left Knight's leg broken in seven places.[3] Although he recovered from the injury, Knight lost his place in the first-team and was sold to Grimsby Town. However, recurring injury problems limited him to only 21 appearances in two years and he left the club in 1992. He then had a brief spell at Carlisle United, appearing once in the league before dropping into non-league football, where he played for Boston United and Grantham Town before deciding to retire.
He later sought £1.5 million damages against Bennett for the incident. In 1997, Knight settled the case out of court with Chester City.[4] It was the first time a professional footballer had successfully claimed compensation for a career-ending injury.[5]
Post-playing career edit
Shortly after retiring, Knight worked on a youth programme at Grimsby. When his contract with Grimsby ended, he moved to Canada where he coached youth teams at the Greater London Soccer Club.[6] In April 2010, he was appointed head coach of the Abbotsford Mariners.[7]
Career statistics edit
Source:[8]
| Season | Club | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1984–85 | Barnsley | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| 1985–86 | Sheffield Wednesday | First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |
| 1986–87 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 19 | 0 | |||
| 1987–88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1988–89 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| 1989–90 | Scunthorpe United (loan) | Fourth Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Grimsby Town | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 1990–91 | Third Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |
| 1991–92 | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | Carlisle United | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 45 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 2 | ||
References edit
- ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ England – U-21 International Results 1986–1995 Archived 25 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Culley, Jon (14 April 1996). "'There was talk of amputation'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ "October 1997 News".
- ^ "Injury time | Features | The Lawyer". 17 June 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ "Ex-pro Ian carves coaching career". Hartlepool Mail. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ "SYL Coach Climbs USL Ladder – Ian Knight Joins Abbotsford Mariners in PDL". 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ "The English National Football Archive". Soccerdata. Retrieved 24 February 2013.