Steve Froggatt
FullnameStephen Junior Froggatt
Birth date9 March 1973 (age 53)[1]
Birth placeLincoln, England
Height1.78m[1]
PositionWinger
Youthyears 11989–1991
Youthclubs 1Aston Villa
Years 11991–1994
Clubs 1Aston Villa
Caps 135
Goals 12
Years 21994–1998
Clubs 2Wolverhampton Wanderers
Caps 2106
Goals 27
Years 31998–2001
Clubs 3Coventry City
Caps 349
Totalcaps190
Goals 32
Totalgoals11
Nationalyears 11992–1993
Nationalteam 1England U21
Nationalcaps 12
Nationalgoals 10

Stephen Junior Froggatt (born 9 March 1973) is an English former professional footballer. His senior playing career lasted from 1991 until 2001, when he announced his retirement after failing to recover from injury.

Career

Aston Villa

Froggatt was born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. Youth team coach Dave Richardson poached schoolboy player Froggatt from his old club Leicester.[2] Froggatt began his career Aston Villa as a trainee, before turning professional and making his debut for the team in 1991. He truly established himself during the first Premier League season of 1992–93 as he made 21 appearances, scoring his first goal (against Crystal Palace) in the process, helping the club to end as runners-up. Villa won the League Cup in 1994 and although Froggatt was not part of the squad for the final he played in the semi-final first leg against Tranmere Rovers.[3] He also won recognition from the England U21s, earning two caps during this season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Froggatt was sold to First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers in July 1994 for £1 million, where he linked up again with Graham Taylor, who had given him his YTS contract at Aston Villa. The winger played for four full seasons at Molineux as the club twice failed in the promotion play-offs. In total, he made 111 appearances for Wolves before being sold to a third West Midlands side, Coventry City.

Coventry City

Froggatt joined Premier League Coventry City for £1.9 million in October 1998, by coincidence making his debut against his first club. He was a first choice player throughout his time at Highfield Road and his form earned him a surprise call-up to Kevin Keegan's England national team squad in November 1999, over six years after his Under 21 appearances.[4]

He went on to be an unused substitute for England in the first leg of the Euro 2000 qualifying Playoff match against Scotland on 13 November 1999 and also featured in the squad for the second leg and a friendly against Argentina in February 2000.

However, his playing career was suffered a fatal blow just days after being included in the England squad, as he was stretchered off after a horror tackle by Sunderland's Nicky Summerbee during a Premier League fixture on 12 February 2000. After trying to play on for a handful of further games, he underwent surgery on the injury in summer 2000. He spent the 2000–01 season on the sidelines trying to recover, but was forced to concede defeat and announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Post-retirement

Upon retiring, Froggatt became the press officer at Coventry City and now works as a personal trainer and often appears on television and radio as a football summariser.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[5]
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa1991–92First Division90310000121
1992–93Premier League1713010—211
1993–94Premier League91101000111
Total352712000443
Wolverhampton Wanderers1994–95First Division20200312[a]0253
1995–96First Division1810000—181
1996–97First Division272002000292
1997–98First Division3323031—393
1998–99First Division80—30—110
Total106730112201229
Coventry City1998–99Premier League23132——263
1999–2000Premier League2613010—301
Total4926210—564
Career total190111631422022216
  1. ^ Appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup

Honours

Aston Villa

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Steve Froggatt". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. ^ Villan on the Spot: Steve Froggatt, By Aston Villa FC, 8 October 2015
  3. ^ "Football / Coca-Cola Cup: Nolan opens Tranmere's path to final". Independent. 17 February 1994. Archived 25 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Shock England call for Froggatt". BBC. 4 November 1999. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. ^