Frankie Kent

Frankie Kent

Personal information
Full name	Frankie James Kent[1]
Date of birth	21 November 1995[2]
Place of birth	Havering, London, England
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Colchester United
Number	15
Youth career
0000–2012	Arsenal
2012–2014	Colchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2013–	Colchester United	36	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:04, 30 April 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

Frankie James Kent (born 21 November 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Colchester United. He progressed through the Arsenal Academy prior to joining Colchester for his two-year scholarship in 2012. He made his professional debut for the club in May 2014.

Career

Born in Havering,^[1] Kent attended Shenfield High School, with whom he won the 2008 English Schools' Football Association under-12s Schools Cup for boys. He scored in the final held at Wolverhampton Wanderers Molineux Stadium, doubling Shenfield High's lead early in the second half.^[4]

Kent is a product of the Arsenal Academy, where he progressed through each age group before joining Colchester United for his two-year scholarship in 2012. During his scholarship, Kent was named captain of the under-18 side.^[5] He was first called into the first-team squad by manager Joe Dunne in December 2013, where he was drafted in as defensive cover over the festive period after Northampton Town loanee Ben Tozer had been recalled from his loan at Colchester by his parent club.^[6] During the same season, with the under-18s, Kent helped his side earn a league title and cup winning double. He played in the Youth Alliance Cup final held against Bradford City at Valley Parade on 29 April 2014 as the U's won the game 4–2.^[7]

Just four days after his under-18s cup triumph, Kent made his professional debut for Colchester United on 3 May 2014. He came on as a half-time substitute for Magnus Okuonghae in a 1–0 away win against Walsall.^[8]

Ahead of the 2014–15 campaign, Kent scored in a pre-season friendly with a powerful against Southend United on 22 July 2014, a game in which Colchester were defeated 2–1.^[9] He made his first League One appearance of the season and his first senior start on 16 August when he replaced the suspended Magnus Okuonghae in the centre of defence for a game against Bristol City at Ashton Gate. He played the full 90 minutes as the U's succumbed to a 2–1 defeat.^[10] He was once again called upon on 13 September when he replaced Sammie Szmodics in a tactical substitution in Colchester's 2–0 victory against Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road. He replaced Szmodics prior to half-time after Magnus Okuonghae was dismissed for a serious foul on Dave Mooney.^[11] Okuonghae's ensuing four-match ban allowed Kent to make his first home start for the club on 16 September when the U's fell to a 3–2 defeat to Sheffield United, in which Colchester squandered a two-goal lead by conceding three goals in six second-half minutes.^[12] In Okuonghae's absence, Kent established himself as a first-team regular, and with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, he was rewarded with a three-and-a-half year contract extension, which he signed on 16 October 2014.^[13]

Kent once again held a starting berth for Colchester's home clash with Chesterfield on 21 October. However, less than one minute into the game, Kent fell to the ground after being struck in the head by the ball. Meanwhile, referee Darren Sheldrake allowed play to continue, as the Spireites scored through Sam Clucas. Kent then received four minutes of treatment on the field before being replaced by Magnus Okuonghae. After being stretchered off the pitch, Kent reappeared on the sidelines before the first-half ended.^[14]

Following his injury, Kent returned to action in Colchester's 2–1 home defeat by Port Vale on 1 November.^[15] It would prove to be his last game of the season, after suffering a knee injury that ruled him out of action until March 2015. A slip in a training session in March set back his recovery, and he failed to regain fitness before the end of the campaign.^[16]

Kent returned to first-team action in the 3–2 Football League Trophy defeat at Northampton Town on 1 September 2015, playing the full 90 minutes.^[17]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 April 2016.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Colchester United	2013–14[18]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2014–15[19]	League One	10	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	11	0
	2015–16[20]	League One	25	0	2	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	28	0
Career total			36	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	40	0

1. Appearance in Football League Trophy

Honours

Colchester United U18

• 2013–14 Football League Youth Alliance South East winner^[21]
• 2013–14 Football League Youth Alliance Cup winner^[7]

References

1. "Results for Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records". Findmypast.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
2. Frankie Kent career statistics at Soccerbase
3. "Colchester United". FootballSquads. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
4. "Shenfield U12s scoop national trophy". Daily Gazette (Colchester). 24 May 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
5. "Frankie Kent". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
6. Waldron, Jonathan (26 December 2013). "Kent added to U's squad for festive schedule". Daily Gazette (Colchester). Retrieved 3 May 2014.
7. Marston, Carl (30 April 2014). "League-Cup double for super Colchester United Under-18s". East Anglian Daily Times (Ipswich). Retrieved 3 May 2014.
8. Marston, Carl (3 May 2014). "Colchester United end season on winning note with Craig Eastmond on target". East Anglian Daily Times (Ipswich). Retrieved 3 May 2014.
9. Waldron, Jonathan (22 July 2014). "Kent scores for U's in friendly defeat". Daily Gazette (Colchester). Retrieved 4 June 2015.
10. "Bristol City 2–1 Colchester". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
11. "Leyton Orient 0–2 Colchester". BBC Sport. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
12. "Colchester 2–3 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
13. Marston, Carl (16 October 2014). "Frankie Kent is third Colchester United player to sign a new deal". Green'Un (Ipswich). Retrieved 17 October 2014.
14. Waldron, Jonathan (21 October 2014). "Sears scores superb late winner as U's beat Chesterfield". Daily Gazette (Colchester). Retrieved 21 October 2014.
15. "Colchester 1–2 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
16. Waldron, Jonathan (22 May 2015). "U's defender Kent on a fitness mission". Daily Gazette (Colchester). Retrieved 25 May 2015.
17. "Northampton 3–2 Colchester". BBC Sport. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
18. "Games played by Frankie Kent in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
19. "Games played by Frankie Kent in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
20. "Games played by Frankie Kent in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
21. "Newsletter 34" (PDF). The Football League. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.