John William Frain (born 8 October 1968) is an English 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 ...

who played for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. He played in all four divisions of

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

, making nearly 500 league appearances for his two clubs.

Life and career

Frain was born in

Yardley, Birmingham Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Historically it lay within Worcestershire. Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is Jess ...

. He joined

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 Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

, towards the end of his Birmingham career returning to left-back. He was the club's free kick and penalty specialist. He was part of the team that won the Associate Members' Cup in 1990-91 and gained promotion from the Third Division in 1991–92.Matthews, ''Complete Record'', p. 226. He was the club's Player of the Year for 1994. 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 Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. In 1996, he was awarded a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

against Aston Villa in recognition of ten years' service. He made 336 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 28 goals. In January 1997 Frain joined

on loan, writing himself into the club's history by scoring a stoppage-time winner from a free kick in that season's Third Division play-off final. 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 the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1999–2000. He made 248 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 8 goals. In July 2003 Frain was appointed player/assistant manager of

Moor Green Moor Green is a historic home located near Brentsville, Prince William County, Virginia. It dates to the early-19th century, and is a two-story, five-bay, Federal style brick residence, with a one-room, two-story ell. It has a standing seam me ...

. In his first season, he helped the club reach the final of the Southern League Cup and win the

Birmingham Senior Cup The Birmingham Senior Cup is a football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest county cup competition still active. The Birmingham Senior Cup is ...

, beating

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in the final. 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, until he resigned in August 2008. Frain combined his football duties with working as a mortgage underwriter. His brother

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

played as a forward for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

and

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

Honours

Birmingham City * Associate Members' Cup:

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

* Third Division promotion: 1991–92 Northampton Town * Third Division play-offs:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

* Third Division promotion: 1999–2000 Moor Green * Southern League Cup: 2004 *

: 2004

References

General * Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frain, John 1968 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English footballers Association football defenders Association football midfielders Birmingham City F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Moor Green F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players