Frankie Lane (20 July 1948 – 19 May 2011) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He began his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

career with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

, before joining

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, where he spent four years as reserve goalkeeper. He made only two appearances for the club – the first of which, against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

, was notable for an incident where he safely caught a cross, only to step back over his goal line – but did make it onto the bench for the 1973 UEFA Cup Final, before leaving to join

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

in 1975. He was also second choice at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017. It currently h ...

, understudying

Eric McManus Eric McManus (born 14 November 1950) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played for Coleraine, Coventry City, Notts County, Stoke City, Lincoln City, Bradford City, Middlesbrough, Peterborough United, Tranmere Rovers and Boston United. ...

, before dropping into non-league football with

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

in March 1978. Lane died in May 2011.

References

External links

Profile at LFCHistory.net
1948 births 2011 deaths Footballers from Wallasey English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Bedford Town F.C. players UEFA Cup winning players {{England-footy-goalkeeper-stub