John Frain

John Frain
Personal information
Full name John William Frain
Date of birth (1968-10-08) 8 October 1968
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position Midfielder / Left back
Youth career
1984–1986 Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1997 Birmingham City 274 (25)
1997 → Northampton Town (loan) 14 (1)
1997–2003 Northampton Town 205 (4)
2003–2005 Moor Green
Teams managed
2003–2007 Moor Green (assistant manager)
2007–2008 Solihull Moors (assistant manager)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


John William Frain (born 8 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer who played for Birmingham City and Northampton Town. He played in all four divisions of the Football League, making nearly 500 league appearances for his two clubs.

Biography

John Frain was born in Yardley, Birmingham. He joined Birmingham City from school, made his debut in the First Division in April 1986 aged 17, and signed full professional forms in October of that year. He was originally a left back, but good passing ability and a lack of pace saw him moved into midfield, towards the end of his Birmingham career returning to left-back. He was the club's free kick and penalty specialist.[1] He was part of the team that won the Associate Members Cup in 1991 and gained promotion from the Third Division in 1991–92.[2] He also appeared in the club's 1994–95 Third Division championship-winning season and in the early rounds of that year's Football League Trophy, but played insufficient games to qualify for a league medal and did not play in the final.[3] In 1996 he was awarded a testimonial match against Aston Villa in recognition of ten years' service.[4] He made 336 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 28 goals.

In January 1997 Frain joined Northampton Town on loan, writing himself into the club's history by scoring a stoppage-time winner from a free kick in that season's Football League Two play-off final.[5] His free-transfer move to the club was made permanent at the end of that season. He later played his part in the club winning automatic promotion back to League Two in 1999–2000. He made 248 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring eight goals.

In July 2003 Frain was appointed player/assistant manager of Moor Green. In his first season he helped the club reach the final of the Southern League Cup and win the Birmingham Senior Cup, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final.[6] Frain retired as a player at the end of the 2004–05 season due to a persistent knee injury, but retained his assistant manager's post following the merger of Moor Green and Solihull Borough to form Solihull Moors,[4] until he resigned in August 2008.[7]

Frain combined his football duties with working as a mortgage underwriter.[8]

Honours

Personal life

Frain's brother Peter played as a striker for West Bromwich Albion and Mansfield Town.

References

General

Specific

  1. ↑ Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 87–88. ISBN 1-85983-010-2.
  2. ↑ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 226.
  3. ↑ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 230, 245.
  4. 1 2 "Pen Pictures". Solihull Moors F.C. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.
  5. ↑ "Club history". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Solihull Moors History Moor Green 1901–2007". Solihull Moors F.C. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.
  7. ↑ "Former Birmingham City star John Frain wants a management role". Sunday Mercury. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Roberts, Andy. "Thanks for the Wembleys". Archived from the original on 3 December 2008.

John Frain career statistics at Soccerbase

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