Zat Knight

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Zat Knight
Zat Knight.JPG
Personal information
Full name Zatyiah Knight
Date of birth (1980 -05-02) 2 May 1980 (age 33)
Place of birth Solihull, England
Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) [1]
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club Bolton Wanderers
Number 12
Youth career
1999 Rushall Olympic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1999–2007 Fulham 150 (3)
2000 → Peterborough United (loan) 8 (0)
2007–2009 Aston Villa 40 (2)
2009– Bolton Wanderers 137 (2)
National team‡
2002 England U21 4 (0)
2005 England 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:46, 19 May 2013 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Zatyiah "Zat" Knight (born 2 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Football League Championship club Bolton Wanderers. Knight has two caps for England.

Contents

Club career [edit]

Fulham [edit]

Fulham signed Knight from Rushall Olympic on a free transfer in 1999. As Knight was not a professionally contracted player to Olympic, Fulham were not obliged to pay a fee for him, but sent the club 30 tracksuits as a gesture of thanks.[citation needed]

Knight scored four goals for Fulham, two in the 2004–05 season and two in the 2006–07 season. The first in a FA Cup match against Watford in a 1–1 draw,[2] his second a Premier League goal against Norwich City in a 6–0 win.[3] His last goal for Fulham came against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–1 loss.[4] He was arguably Fulham's most consistent player in the 2006–07 season, a reward for this being given temporary captaincy of the club while regular skipper Luís Boa Morte was out injured.

Before the game against West Ham United it was announced that he had broken his jaw in two places while messing around with his brother. Chris Coleman has been quoted as saying that it takes more than horseplay to break one's jaw in two places, but Knight insists there was "nothing sinister" about the incident.[5]

Aston Villa [edit]

Zat Knight in action for Aston Villa during a 5–1 Second City Derby victory against Birmingham City in 2008.

On 29 August 2007, Knight signed a four-year contract deal with the club he supported as a boy, Aston Villa, in a £3.5 million deal.[6] Ironically his last Fulham match was the 2–1 defeat against Villa, in which he played a part in Villa's equaliser when an Ashley Young shot deflected off him into the net, although this was later given as Young's goal. In the early hours of the day of his transfer (29 August), Knight and his brother Carlos, were arrested in a drugs raid on the family home.[7] Knight was released on police bail while Carlos was remanded in custody. Police said that a quantity of drugs were seized at the home. Knight feared that he may miss the press conference announcing his signing but his agent bailed him out and no mention of the incident was made at the press conference.[8] Knight scored a headed goal on his Villa debut in a 2–0 win against Chelsea on 2 September 2007.[9][10] Knight's next goal for Villa did not come until the following season, on 26 December 2008 when Villa were trailing 2–1 against Arsenal at Villa Park. Knight scored the equaliser in the 91st minute of the game in front of the Holte End to make it 2–2.

Bolton Wanderers [edit]

Zat Knight before a Bolton match in 2011

On 25 July 2009, Knight signed a three-year contract with Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £4 million.[11]

Knight made his Bolton debut in the 1–0 reverse against Sunderland on 15 August 2009. He scored his first goal for Bolton against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on 27 February 2010 and this led to a crucial 1–0 home win which lifted the side out of the relegation zone.[12] He made his hundredth appearance for Bolton in their 3–0 defeat at Manchester United on 14 January 2012.

Knight's contract expired at the end of the 2011-12 season, making him a free agent. However, on 9 July, Bolton announced that he had signed a further two year contract.[13]

Knight often takes the captain's armband at Bolton if usual skipper Kevin Davies is off the pitch.

International career [edit]

Knight made his England debut on 28 May 2005 as a substitute against the United States in a friendly match. He gained his second cap in a friendly against Colombia on 31 May.[14]

Family [edit]

His cousin is Leon Knight, formerly of Chelsea.

Career statistics [edit]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1999–2000 Peterborough United Third Division 8 0 - - - 8 0
2000–01 Fulham First Division 0 0 - 3 0 - 3 0
2001–02 Premier League 10 0 3 0 2 0 - 15 0
2002–03 17 0 1 0 1 0 5 0 24 0
2003–04 31 0 6 0 - - 37 0
2004–05 35 1 5 1 2 0 - 42 2
2005–06 30 0 1 0 1 0 - 32 0
2006–07 23 2 1 0 - - 24 2
2007–08 4 0 - - - 4 0
2007–08 Aston Villa Premier League 27 1 - 1 0 - 28 1
2008–09 13 1 3 0 1 0 9 0 26 1
2009–10 Bolton Wanderers Premier League 35 1 3 0 3 0 41 1
2010–11 34 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 39 1
2011–12 25 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 28 0
2012–13 Championship 43 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 47 0
Total England 331 7 27 1 19 0 14 0 401 8
Career total 331 7 27 1 19 0 14 0 401 8

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Bolton Player Profile". Bolton Wanderers F.C. Retrieved 23 January 2012. 
  2. ^ "Watford 1–1 Fulham". BBC. 8 January 2005. Retrieved 27 February 2010. 
  3. ^ "Fulham 6–0 Norwich". BBC. 15 May 2005. Retrieved 27 February 2010. 
  4. ^ Holt, Sarah (11 February 2007). "Bolton 2–1 Fulham". BBC. Retrieved 27 February 2010. 
  5. ^ "Knight plays down injury incident". BBC Sport. 2006-12-24. Retrieved 2007-08-30. 
  6. ^ "Knight moves to Villa". AVFC. Retrieved 2007-08-30. 
  7. ^ Parker, Andrew. "News: Footie star nicked in heroin raid". London: The Sun. Retrieved 2007-08-30. 
  8. ^ Ducker, James (2007-08-30). "Knight's arrival at Villa tainted". London: The Times. Retrieved 2007-08-30. 
  9. ^ McKenzie, Andrew (2007-09-02). "Aston Villa 2–0 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-09-02. 
  10. ^ Self, Janine (2007-09-03). "Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 0". London: The Sun. Retrieved 2007-09-03. 
  11. ^ "Bolton sign Knight and Ricketts". BBC Sport. 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
  12. ^ "Bolton 1–0 Wolverhampton". BBC. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2010. 
  13. ^ "Bolton Wanderers defender Zat Knight signs new contract". BBC Sport. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012. 
  14. ^ "Zat Knight England stats". EnglandStats.com. Retrieved 2007-08-30. 

External links [edit]

England squad – 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
England
Bolton Wanderers F.C. – current squad
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