Ian John Knight (born 26 October 1966) is a former professional

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 defender. He played for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

and

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

before retiring due to injuries.

Playing career

Knight began his career promisingly. He established himself in the first-team at

, and was capped twice for the England under-21s.

Injury

Knight was badly injured on 4 February 1987 in a

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

replay against Chester City. Two minutes into the game a poor tackle by Gary Bennett left Knight's leg broken in seven places. Although he recovered from the injury, Knight lost his place in the first-team and was sold to

. 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 Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

, appearing once in the league before dropping into non-league football, where he played for

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

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. It was the first time a professional footballer had successfully claimed compensation for a career-ending injury.

Post-playing career

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. In April 2010, he was appointed head coach of the

Abbotsford Mariners Fraser Valley Mariners is a Canadian soccer team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Divis ...

Career statistics

Source:

References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Ian 1966 births Footballers from Hartlepool Living people English footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders Barnsley F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players English Football League players Grimsby Town F.C. non-playing staff