Jump to content

Antony Kay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Citation bot (talk | contribs) at 00:16, 15 December 2023 (Alter: template type. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Linked from User:DynamoDegsy | #UCB_webform_linked 1746/2886). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the footballer of the 1960s, see Tony Kay. For the baseball player, see Anthony Kay.

Antony Kay
Kay playing for Tranmere Rovers in 2009
Personal information
Full name Antony Roland Kay[1]
Date of birth (1982-10-21) 21 October 1982 (age 42)[2]
Place of birth Barnsley, England[3]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[4]
Position(s) Defender; midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Bala Town
Youth career
0000–1999 Barnsley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2007 Barnsley 174 (11)
2007–2009 Tranmere Rovers 82 (17)
2009–2012 Huddersfield Town 95 (10)
2012–2016 Milton Keynes Dons 142 (6)
2016–2017 Bury 42 (0)
2017–2019 Port Vale 60 (5)
2020 Chorley 4 (0)
2020–2023 Bala Town 75 (8)
2023– Runcorn Linnets 0 (0)
International career
2001 England U18 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Antony Roland Kay (born 21 October 1982) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Northern Premier League Division One West club Runcorn Linnets.

Kay began his career with hometown club Barnsley, and made his first-team debut in August 2000. Established as a first-team regular by the age of 20, he was voted as the club's Player of the Season in 2003–04, and helped Barnsley to win promotion out of League One via the play-offs in 2006 after scoring the winning penalty in the shoot-out victory over Swansea City. He signed with Tranmere Rovers in June 2007, and was voted the club's Player of the Season for 2008–09, before moving on to Huddersfield Town in May 2009. He was again promoted into the Championship after victory in the 2012 League One play-off final. However, he stayed in League One after joining Milton Keynes Dons in August 2012, and won his third promotion out of the division after helping the club to secure runners-up spot in 2014–15.

He signed with Bury in June 2016, and played 47 matches as club captain, before moving on to Port Vale a year later. Released after two years in the Vale first-team, he went on to join non-League Chorley in January 2020. He joined Cymru Premier side Bala Town eight months later and went on to play in the 2023 Welsh Cup final, before joining Runcorn Linnets in May 2023.

Club career

Barnsley

Born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Kay began his career in the youth system at hometown club Barnsley, signing a professional contract in October 1999.[2] He made his first-team debut under Dave Bassett on 12 August 2000, in a 1–0 victory over Norwich City at Oakwell.[5] He ended the 2000–01 season with seven First Division appearances to his name, and featured just once in the 2001–02 relegation campaign. Initially a midfielder, he was moved to centre back after Glyn Hodges took over from Nigel Spackman as manager in October 2002.[6] He played 16 Second Division matches in the 2002–03 season.

He established himself as the club's utility player following the appointment of manager Guðjón Þórðarson in June 2003, and in addition to operating across the defence and midfield was also utilised as a target man striker in January, picking up a man-of-the-match award in that role against AFC Bournemouth.[7] He scored four goals in 51 appearances across the 2003–04 campaign, and was voted the club's Player of the Season.[8] He signed a new one-year contract in June 2004.[9]

Speaking in December 2004, manager Paul Hart said that "it's slightly too early to say whether he'll stay as a centre-half or return to midfield in his career", but was able to say that Kay had "shown that when he is concentrating he is as good as anybody" in both defence and midfield.[10] He scored six goals from 43 appearances in the 2004–05 campaign as Barnsley posted a 13th-place finish. He played 45 times in the 2005–06 season, and scored the fourth and final Barnsley penalty in the play-off final penalty shoot-out victory over Swansea City at the Millennium Stadium, in which Andy Ritchie's "Tykes" gained promotion to the Championship.[11] He played 33 matches in the 2006–07 season as Barnsley retained their second tier status with a 20th-place finish, but was rumoured to have had a bust-up with manager Simon Davey in February, and his future with the club was put into doubt three months later after he allegedly broke club rules.[12]

Tranmere Rovers

Kay signed a two-year contract with League One club Tranmere Rovers in June 2007.[13] He scored seven goals from 43 matches in the 2007–08 season, playing mainly in his natural position of centre back, which led manager Ronnie Moore to consider playing him as a goalscoring midfielder.[14] Moore shifted him forward into midfield during the 2008–09 season, and Kay went on to score 12 goals in 53 appearances as Tranmere narrowly missed out on the play-offs after conceding a late equaliser at Scunthorpe United on the final day of the season.[15] Kay was voted as the club's Player of the Season for 2008–09.[16]

Huddersfield Town

Kay joined League One club Huddersfield Town on a two-year contract in May 2009; manager Lee Clark said that "he is a strong, physical player and we have identified that we need that presence in the side".[17] He spent the 2009–10 season as a first-team regular in midfield, making 46 starts in league and cup competitions. Huddersfield qualified for the play-offs, and were knocked out by Millwall at the semi-final stage after losing 2–0 on aggregate.[18] He was reduced to the role of substitute for parts of the 2010–11 campaign.[19] He did though score both the extra time equaliser and the winning penalty in the subsequent shoot-out victory over Bournemouth in the play-off semi-final second leg at the Galpharm Stadium on 18 May.[20] Eleven days later, Huddersfield went on to lose 3–0 to Peterborough United in the play-off final at Old Trafford.[21]

Kay signed a new two-year contract in July 2011.[22] He was limited to 28 league matches in the 2011–12 season, and was not in the matchday squad as Town secured promotion with victory over Sheffield United in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.[23] Manager Simon Grayson signed centre backs Joel Lynch and Anthony Gerrard in the summer 2012 transfer window, and subsequently looked to move Kay on to a new club.[24]

Milton Keynes Dons

Kay had his contract with Huddersfield cancelled by mutual consent and signed a two-year contract with League One club Milton Keynes Dons in August 2012.[25] He made 42 appearances across the 2012–13 campaign as the Dons missed out on the play-offs after finishing two places and four points behind sixth-placed Swindon Town. In September 2013, he underwent surgery to correct a persistent hip problem, and was out of action for 12 weeks.[26] He recovered to play a total of 34 matches by the end of the 2013–14 campaign, during which time he also sent off three times.[27] He signed a new one-year contract in May 2014, having helped Karl Robinson's Dons to keep eight clean sheets in his 30 league matches on the way to a tenth-place finish.[28]

Kay missed just one of the club's 46 league matches in the 2014–15 season as the Dons secured promotion out of League One with a second-place finish behind champions Bristol City. He signed a new one-year contract in June 2015.[29] He played 34 Championship matches in the 2015–16 season as the Dons were relegated in 23rd-place. On 5 April, Kay made a late challenge on Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Michał Żyro which left Zyro suffering with multiple knee ligament damage and over a year-long recovery.[30] In May 2016, Kay was one of four players released from the club following relegation back into League One.[31]

Bury

On 19 June 2016, Kay joined League One club Bury on a two-year contract.[32] Six weeks later he was appointed as club captain by manager David Flitcroft.[33] However, Bury endured a poor start to the season, leaving tensions high as Kay and teammate Tom Soares had to be separated from each other after exchanging heated words following a 5–1 defeat to AFC Wimbledon at the Kingsmeadow on 19 November.[34] Bury's form did turn around over the new year though, and Kay praised manager Chris Brass for changing to a 5–3–2 formation and halting a club record 12-match losing streak and 17-match winless run.[35]

Port Vale

On 28 June 2017, Kay secured his release from Bury and signed a two-year contract with League Two club Port Vale, who had been relegated after finishing two places and one point behind Bury the previous season.[36] He was appointed as club captain by manager Michael Brown.[37] He scored a headed goal on his debut for the "Valiants" in a 3–1 win at Crawley Town on 5 August.[38] However, he was dropped by new manager Neil Aspin in October, who also gave the captaincy to Danny Pugh.[39] Kay did though make a quick return to the first team playing out-of-position in midfield.[40] On 12 December, he scored the "goal of his life" with a stunning long-range lob in a 3–2 defeat at Yeovil Town in the FA Cup.[41] He maintained his new position as a holding central midfield player until the end of February, when he was both suspended for picking up ten yellow cards over the campaign and also ruled out of action for a month after undergoing a hernia operation.[42] He marked his return from injury on 2 April by scoring what would go on to win him the club's goal of the season award, his long-range strike helping to secure a 2–2 draw at local rivals Crewe Alexandra.[43][44] Two weeks later he was named on the EFL team of the week for scoring the only goal of a 1–0 win over Lincoln City.[45] Kay featured 33 times during the 2018–19 season; however, manager John Askey confirmed that he would not be offering Kay a new contract on 16 May.[46]

Non-League

On 16 January 2020, Kay signed a deal to join National League club Chorley until the end of the 2019–20 season.[47] He made four appearances for the "Magpies" in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with Chorley bottom of the table.[48]

On 24 August 2020, Kay joined Cymru Premier side Bala Town.[49] He scored five goals from 28 appearances in the 2020–21 season.[50] He featured 26 times in the 2021–22 campaign, and scored one goal in an 11–0 victory over Penybont at Maes Tegid on the final day of the season as Bala secured runners-up spot in the league.[50][51] He featured thirty times in the 2022–23 campaign, including in the 6–0 defeat to The New Saints in the final of the Welsh Cup.[50][52]

On 26 May 2023, at the age of 40, Kay signed with Northern Premier League Division One West club Runcorn Linnets; he was a former teammate of manager Billy Paynter.[53]

International career

Kay was capped once by the England national under-18 team,[54] coming on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Switzerland on 30 May 2001.[55]

Style of play

Kay plays as a centre back, but can also operate as a holding midfielder; early in his career he was something of a utility player, having also filled in at full back and as a striker on occasion.[56] Bury Times journalist Mikael McKenzie stated that he is a solid all-round defender, is capable in the air and has good positional skills.[57]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barnsley 2000–01[58] First Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 — 7 0
2001–02[59] First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
2002–03[60] Second Division 16 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 17 0
2003–04[61] Second Division 43 3 5 1 1 0 2[a] 0 51 4
2004–05[62] League One 39 6 1 0 2 0 1[a] 0 43 6
2005–06[63] League One 36 1 3 0 2 0 4[b] 0 45 1
2006–07[64] Championship 32 1 0 0 1 0 — 33 1
Total 174 11 9 1 6 0 8 0 197 12
Tranmere Rovers 2007–08[65] League One 38 6 4 1 0 0 1[a] 0 43 7
2008–09[66] League One 44 11 4 1 1 0 4[a] 0 53 12
Total 82 17 8 2 1 0 5 0 96 19
Huddersfield Town 2009–10[67] League One 40 6 3 0 2 0 3[c] 0 48 6
2010–11[68] League One 27 3 4 1 1 0 8[d] 1 40 5
2011–12[69] League One 28 1 1 0 0 0 2[a] 0 31 1
Total 95 10 8 1 3 0 13 1 119 12
Milton Keynes Dons 2012–13[70] League One 33 1 6 0 2 0 1[a] 0 42 1
2013–14[71] League One 30 2 2 0 1 0 1[a] 0 34 2
2014–15[72] League One 45 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 49 1
2015–16[73] Championship 34 2 1 0 1 0 — 36 2
Total 142 6 10 0 7 0 2 0 161 6
Bury 2016–17[74] League One 42 0 2 0 1 0 2[e] 1 47 1
Port Vale 2017–18[75] League Two 33 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 37 4
2018–19[76] League Two 27 2 0 0 1 0 5[e] 0 33 2
Total 60 5 3 1 2 0 5 0 70 6
Chorley 2019–20[50] National League 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Bala Town 2020–21[50] Cymru Premier 28 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 5
2021–22[50] Cymru Premier 23 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 26 1
2022–23[50] Cymru Premier 24 2 4 0 2 2 0 0 30 4
Total 75 8 6 0 3 2 0 0 84 10
Runcorn Linnets 2023–24 Northern Premier League
Division One West 		0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 674 57 46 5 23 2 35 2 788 66
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ One appearance in Football League Trophy, three in League One play-offs
  3. ^ One appearance in Football League Trophy, two in League One play-offs
  4. ^ Five appearances in Football League Trophy, three appearances and one goal in League One play-offs
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Barnsley

Milton Keynes Dons

Bala Town

Individual

References

  1. ^ "EFL: Club retained and released lists published". English Football League. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  3. ^ "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2018/2019". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Antony Kay". Port Vale F.C. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Barnsley 1–0 Norwich City". BBC Sport. 12 August 2000. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  6. ^ Thomson, Doug (23 October 2010). "Antony Kay keen to keep his Huddersfield Town place – whatever the position". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  7. ^ "A kick up the backside". officialplayersites.com. 19 January 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Kay facing two-game ban". officialplayersites.com. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Contract signed". officialplayersites.com. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Kay a key man as Reds go for treble". officialplayersites.com. 10 December 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Swansea 2–2 Barnsley (aet)". BBC Sport. 27 May 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Doubts over Kay's future". The Star. Sheffield. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Tranmere net ex-Barnsley man Kay". BBC Sport. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  14. ^ Hilton, Nick (1 May 2008). "Goals adding a new dimension for Ronnie Moore's plans". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Scunthorpe 1–1 Tranmere". BBC Sport. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  16. ^ a b Ley, John (7 June 2009). "League One players of the season: club by club". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Huddersfield sign Tranmere's Kay". BBC Sport. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  18. ^ Fletcher, Paul (18 May 2010). "Millwall 2–0 Huddersfield (agg 2–0)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  19. ^ Hilton, Nick (17 September 2010). "Antony Kay returns to frontline". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  20. ^ Mitchener, Mark (18 May 2011). "Hudd'field 3–3 B'mouth (agg 4–4)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  21. ^ Begley, Emlyn (29 May 2011). "Huddersfield 0–3 Peterborough". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Cadamarteri and Kay agree new contracts to stay at Huddersfield". The Yorkshire Post. Leeds. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  23. ^ Begley, Emlyn (26 May 2012). "Huddersfield 0–0 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016.
  24. ^ Nelson, Dan (10 August 2012). "Antony Kay leaves Town". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Antony Kay signs deal with MK Dons after leaving Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  26. ^ "MK Dons defender Antony Kay out for 12 weeks". BBC Sport. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  27. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 2–1 MK Dons: Pogba ends Dons' play-off dreams". Milton Keynes Citizen. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  28. ^ "Antony Kay: MK Dons defender signs one-year contract". BBC Sport. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  29. ^ "MK Dons: Antony Kay signs new one-year contract". BBC Sport. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  30. ^ "Wolves: Michal Zyro faces more than year out with serious knee injury". BBC Sport. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  31. ^ "Dons make decisions on players". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  32. ^ "Antony Kay: Bury sign MK Dons centre-back". BBC Sport. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  33. ^ "Captain Kay is man for Bury". Bury Times. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  34. ^ Nelson, Craig (25 November 2016). "Brass: Let's show the home fans what we can do". The Press. York. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  35. ^ McKenzie, Mikael (16 March 2017). "Kay pays tribute to Brass factor in Bury revival". Bury Times. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  36. ^ "Antony Kay: Port Vale sign ex-Barnsley, Tranmere, Huddersfield & MK Dons defender". BBC Sport. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  37. ^ Baggaley, Mike (9 August 2017). "Antony Kay praises Port Vale fans ahead of Leeds United tie". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  38. ^ "Crawley 1–3 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  39. ^ Baggaley, Michael (17 October 2017). "Neil Aspin explains Port Vale captaincy decision". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  40. ^ Baggaley, Michael (22 October 2017). "Port Vale boss Neil Aspin impressed with Antony Kay in midfield". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  41. ^ "FA Cup: Antony Kay scores 'goal of his life' for Port Vale in FA Cup defeat by Yeovil". BBC Sport. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  42. ^ Baggaley, Michael (22 February 2018). "Port Vale injury blow as Port Vale's Antony Kay faces operation". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  43. ^ Baggaley, Michael (4 April 2018). "Catch us if you can, says Port Vale goal hero". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  44. ^ Baggaley, Michael (28 April 2018). "Tom Pope makes history at Port Vale player of the year awards". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  45. ^ "Team of the Week: Matchday 43". www.efl.com. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  46. ^ Baggaley, Michael (16 May 2019). "Port Vale's retained list in full as nine players are released". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  47. ^ Salmon, Craig (16 January 2020). "Magpies bolster squad with the addition of veteran defender Antony Kay". Chorley Cuardian. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  48. ^ "National League clubs vote to end regular season immediately". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  49. ^ Jones, Jordan (24 August 2020). "Bala Town sign experienced defender Antony Kay following Chorley exit". Y Clwb Pêl-Droed. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  50. ^ a b c d e f g Antony Kay at Soccerway
  51. ^ Davies, Shaun (24 April 2022). "Goal-den Bala Town end great season on a real high". The Free Press. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  52. ^ a b "Saints hit Bala for six to win Welsh Cup". BBC Sport. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  53. ^ "The Official Runcorn Linnets FC Web Site". www.runcornlinnetsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  54. ^ "Antony Kay". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  55. ^ "Switzerland v England, 30 May 2001". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  56. ^ "Turning the corner". officialplayersites.com. 25 February 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  57. ^ Baggaley, Mike (28 June 2017). "Scouting report: Why Antony Kay is a good signing for Port Vale". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  58. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  59. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  60. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  61. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  62. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  63. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  64. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  65. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  66. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  67. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  68. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  69. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  70. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  71. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  72. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  73. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  74. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  75. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  76. ^ "Games played by Antony Kay in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  77. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2015). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2015–2016. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 238–239. ISBN 978-1-4722-2416-3.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antony Kay.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antony_Kay&oldid=1189944390"