Stephen Junior Froggatt (born 9 March 1973) 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 lea ...

. 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 Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. Youth team coach Dave Richardson poached schoolboy player Froggatt from his old club Leicester. Froggatt began his career

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

as a trainee, before turning professional and making his debut for the team in 1991. He truly established himself during the first

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

season of 1992–93 as he made 21 appearances, scoring his first goal (against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

) 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 Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

he played in the semi-final first leg against

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

. He also won recognition from the England U21s, earning two caps during this season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Froggatt was sold to

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

in July 1994 for £1 million, where he linked up again with

Graham Taylor Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln ...

, 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 Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

Coventry City

Froggatt joined

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 Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City for 106 years. History It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game on 30 ...

and his form earned him a surprise call-up to

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

squad in November 1999, over six years after his Under 21 appearances. He went on to be an unused substitute for England in the first leg of the Euro 2000 qualifying Playoff match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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 Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Nicky Summerbee Nicholas Summerbee (born 26 August 1971) is an English former professional footballer, sports television pundit and commentator. He notably played in the Premier League for Swindon Town, Manchester City and Sunderland, as well as in the Footba ...

during a

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

Honours

Aston Villa * League Cup: 1993–94 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1996–97

References

External links

*
Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Froggatt, Steve 1973 births Living people Footballers from Lincoln, England English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Aston Villa F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Premier League players England men's under-21 international footballers English Football League players