Billy Knott

Billy Steven Knott (born 28 November 1992) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Billericay Town, on loan from Isthmian League club Bowers & Pitsea.

Billy Knott
Knott in 2011.
Personal information
Full name Billy Steven Knott[1]
Date of birth (1992-11-28) 28 November 1992
Place of birth Canvey Island, England
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Billericay Town
(on loan from Bowers & Pitsea)
Youth career
Concord Rangers
2003–2007 West Ham United
2007–2010 Chelsea
2010–2011 Sunderland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Sunderland 1 (0)
2012 → AFC Wimbledon (loan) 20 (3)
2012–2013 → Woking (loan) 20 (8)
2013–2014 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 17 (1)
2014 → Port Vale (loan) 17 (2)
2014–2016 Bradford City 64 (3)
2016–2017 Gillingham 17 (1)
2017 → Lincoln City (loan) 13 (1)
2017–2018 Lincoln City 14 (1)
2018 → Rochdale (loan) 4 (0)
2018–2019 Concord Rangers 11 (1)
2019–2020 Chelmsford City 26 (0)
2020– Bowers & Pitsea 5 (5)
2020– → Billericay Town (loan) 6 (0)
National team
2007 England U16 1 (0)
2008 England U17 6 (1)
2011 England U20 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:23, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

He has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-20 level. He joined Sunderland after being released from the Chelsea Academy in 2011. He played one game for the club, and spent periods on loan at AFC Wimbledon, Woking, Wycombe Wanderers, and Port Vale. He joined Bradford City in May 2014, and remained with the club for two seasons, before he joined Gillingham in June 2016. He joined Lincoln City on loan in January 2017, and joined the club permanently after he helped Lincoln to the 2016–17 National League title. He joined Rochdale on loan in January 2018, before transferring to Concord Rangers in June 2018. He switched to Chelmsford City in March 2019 and joined Bowers & Pitsea in September 2020. He was loaned out to Billericay Town in November 2020.

Club career

Sunderland

Knott joined the Academy at West Ham United at the age of ten, before moving with his family to Spain after his mother was diagnosed with lupus.[3] In Spain, West Ham arranged for a trial with Real Madrid, but after the family returned to London he elected to join the Chelsea Academy rather than rejoin West Ham.[3] He was signed by Premier League club Sunderland after he was released by Chelsea in the 2010–11 season.[4] He had been dismissed from the Chelsea Academy and forced to sign a confidentiality agreement after a "smoke grenade incident".[5]

Knott joined Terry Brown's League Two side AFC Wimbledon on loan on 11 January 2012,[6] and made his debut in a 2–1 win against Port Vale three days later.[7] He scored his first goal in professional football at Kingsmeadow in a 2–1 win over Macclesfield Town on 24 January.[8] The 19-year-old received the "Dons" Young Player of the Year award, despite only playing half the 2011–12 season, having scored three goals in twenty appearances.[9]

On 8 October 2012, Knott joined Conference Premier side Woking on a one-month loan.[10] He made his debut at Kingfield Stadium in a 2–1 win over Cambridge United the following day.[11] His first goals came for Garry Hill's "Cardinals" came against Luton Town on 1 January 2013, when he scored twice in a 3–1 win.[12] He scored another two goals on 2 February, in a 2–1 win over Hyde.[13] He was awarded the club's Goal of the Season award for his curled effort against Hyde, which was also nominated for the Conference's Goal of the Season competition.[14] Knott scored eight goals in twenty league games, and returned to the Stadium of Light, at the end of Woking's season, after a 2–1 defeat to Tamworth.[15] Manager Paolo Di Canio handed him his Sunderland debut on 19 May 2013, the last day of the 2012–13 Premier League season, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.[16]

Knott joined League Two side Wycombe Wanderers on a one-month youth loan deal on 20 August 2013.[17] He made his Wycombe debut four days later in a 2–2 draw with local-rivals Oxford United, and manager Gareth Ainsworth stated that: "Billy Knott had an immense debut. He has energy, passion, drive, everything that I like in a player, and on top of that he's got Premiership quality with his left foot."[18] He settled into the first team at Adams Park, and his loan spell was twice extended.[19][20] On 14 September, he scored his first goal for the "Chairboys", in a 3–0 win over Plymouth Argyle.[21] He was re-called by Sunderland on 13 January, 16 days before his loan spell was due to end.[22]

On 22 January 2014, Knott joined League One club Port Vale on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.[23] He scored his first goal at Vale Park with a left-footed strike from 25-yards on 22 March, in a 3–2 win over Tranmere Rovers.[24] In doing so he boosted his chances of winning a contract from "Valiants" manager Micky Adams when his contract at Sunderland expired in the summer.[25] On 1 April, he scored with a 20-yard strike in a 2–1 home win over Crawley Town that was later voted as the club's goal of the season.[26]

Bradford City

Knott signed a two-year contract with League One club Bradford City in May 2014, and stated that "[having heard] manager Phil Parkinson's plans to take the club forward you can't really turn that down."[27] Knott made his debut on 9 August in a 3–2 win against Coventry City at Valley Parade.[28] Knott scored his first goal for the "Bantams" on 19 August, in a 3–1 win away to Crawley Town.[29] On 27 August, he scored in a 2–1 win against West Yorkshire rivals Leeds United in the Second Round of the League Cup.[30] On 24 January, he played the first 80 minutes of City's 4–2 FA Cup giant-killing of Premier League champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which he described as the greatest achievement of his career.[31] After the game, he received a signed shirt from "Blues" captain John Terry, which he passed on to his Chelsea-supporting father.[32] In the next round he helped Bradford beat another Premier League team, as they ran out 2–0 winners over his former club Sunderland.[33] However, he lost his first team place to Josh Cullen, and was released at the end of the 2015–16 season.[34]

Gillingham

In June 2016, Knott signed a two-year contract with League One club Gillingham.[35] Manager Justin Edinburgh said he was "a very bright talent".[36] He struggled for form at Priestfield early in the season as he said he was "playing on the left in a diamond... but I would rather play top or bottom of the diamond to get on the ball"; he then was sidelined with a hamstring injury before manager Edinburgh was sacked in favour of Adrian Pennock in January.[37]

Lincoln City

On 2 February 2017, Knott joined National League side Lincoln City on loan for the remainder of the 2016–17 campaign.[38] On 1 April, he scored the only goal of the game against Bromley at Sincil Bank to send the "Imps" to the top of the table; speaking after the game, manager Danny Cowley said Knott was a "super-talented kid... [who] can be whatever he wants to be".[39] Lincoln achieved promotion back to the English Football League as National League champions with a 2–1 home win over Macclesfield Town on 22 April.[40] He secured his release from Gillingham, and signed a one-year deal at Lincoln City in June 2017.[41]

Speaking in September 2017, he stated that his growing maturity was the key to his recent good form.[42] However he struggled for form after being sent off later in the month and lost his place in the starting eleven.[43] On 11 January 2018, Knott moved to Rochdale on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.[44] However he started just once and made three substitute appearances for Keith Hill's "Dale". Having struggled with depression for years, his tough time at Spotland led him to drink heavily and as a result he contacted the Professional Footballers' Association; speaking in May 2018 he stated that "I know I still have a way to go but I will get through this".[45] He was released by Lincoln at the end of the 2017–18 season.[46]

Concord Rangers

On 4 June 2018, following his release from Lincoln, Knott dropped down two tiers to join National League South side Concord Rangers.[47] On the opening day of the 2018–19 campaign, he made his Concord debut during their 2–0 home victory over Gloucester City, featuring for 86 minutes before being replaced by D'sean Theobalds.[48] Just over a month later, he scored his first goal for the club against former side, Woking, netting a late equaliser in the 92nd minute during the 1–1 draw.[49]

Chelmsford City

On 15 March 2019, Knott signed for fellow Essex-based National League South club Chelmsford City.[50] He made six league appearances to help the "Clarets" to qualify for the play-offs with a fourth-place finish at the end of the 2018–19 season. However they lost out 3–2 to Welling United in the semi-finals.[51] He made 21 appearances during the 2019–20 season, which was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England.[52] On 3 May 2020, Chelmsford announced Knott's departure from the club; manager Robbie Simpson stated that "Billy is an extremely talented player but he struggled for consistency in terms of fitness last season and therefore I feel we are unable to offer him terms a player of his calibre would expect".[53]

Bowers & Pitsea

On 4 September 2020, Knott signed for Isthmian League Premier Division club Bowers & Pitsea.[54] In November 2020, Knott joined National League South side Billericay Town while the COVID-19 pandemic halted the Isthmian League season.[55]

International career

Knott has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-20 level. He scored for the under-17s in a 7–0 win over Estonia in a qualifier for the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship on 24 October 2008.[56] Brian Eastick selected Knott and Sunderland teammate Blair Adams in the 21 man squad for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.[57]

Style of play

Knott is a left-footed midfielder with a 'high-intensity, high-energy' playing style.[58] He prefers to play as an attacking midfielder, but can also play on the left-side of midfield.[59]

Career statistics
As of match played 7 March 2020.
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sunderland 2010–11[60] Premier League 000000—00
2011–12[61] Premier League 000000—00
2012–13[62] Premier League 100000—10
2013–14[63] Premier League 000000—00
Total 100000—10
AFC Wimbledon (loan) 2011–12[61] League Two 203000000203
Woking (loan) 2012–13[62] Conference Premier 20800—2[lower-alpha 1]22210
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 2013–14[63] League Two 17130003[lower-alpha 2]1232
Port Vale (loan) 2013–14[63] League One 172000000172
Bradford City 2014–15[64] League One 403833100517
2015–16[65] League One 24030001[lower-alpha 2]1281
Total 6431133111798
Gillingham 2016–17[66] EFL League One 17120302[lower-alpha 3]0241
Lincoln City (loan) 2016–17[66] National League 131——00131
Lincoln City 2017–18[67] EFL League Two 14120114[lower-alpha 3]0212
Total 272201140343
Rochdale (loan) 2017–18[67] EFL League One 4000000040
Concord Rangers 2018–19[52] National League South 11100—00111
Chelmsford City 2018–19[52] National League South 6000—1[lower-alpha 4]070
2019–20[52] National League South 20000—1[lower-alpha 1]1211
Total 260000021281
Career total 224201837214526331
  1. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  4. Appearance(s) in play-offs

Honours
Lincoln City

References
  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/02/2013 and 28/02/2013". The Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2013/14". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. Shaw, Matthew (23 January 2015). "Interview: Billy Knott". The Set Pieces. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  4. "Billy Knott". Sunderland A.F.C. Archived from the original on 1 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  5. Wilson, Scott (14 February 2015). "Billy hoping to tie Sunderland in Knotts". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  6. "Wimbledon tie up Knott on loan". Sky Sports. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  7. "Port Vale 1 - 2 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  8. "AFC Wimbledon 2 - 1 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  9. "Award for youngster Knott". SAFC.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  10. "Sunderland midfielder Billy Knott loaned to Woking". BBC Sport. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  11. "Woking 2 - 1 Cambridge". BBC Sport. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  12. "Woking 3 - 1 Luton". BBC Sport. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  13. "Woking 2 - 1 Hyde". BBC Sport. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  14. Shaw, Nick. "Goal of the Season - The Result". wokingfc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  15. "Tamworth 2 - 1 Woking". BBC Sport. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  16. McNulty, Phil (19 May 2013). "Tottenham 2 - 1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  17. "Knott links up with Wycombe". Sunderland AFC. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  18. "Oxford Utd 2 - 2 Wycombe". BBC Sport. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  19. "Billy Knott extends Wycombe loan stay from Sunderland". BBC Sport. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  20. "Sunderland's Billy Knott extends Wycombe Wanderers loan". BBC Sport. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  21. "Plymouth 0 - 3 Wycombe". BBC Sport. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  22. "Sunderland recall Billy Knott from Wycombe Wanderers loan spell". BBC Sport. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  23. "Port Vale sign Sunderland's Billy Knott". BBC Sport. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  24. "Port Vale 3 - 2 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  25. "Billy Knott playing for contract next season". The Sentinel. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  26. Baggaley, Mike (5 May 2014). "Tom Pope named Port Vale player of the year". The Sentinel. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  27. "Billy Knott signs from Sunderland". BBC Sport. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  28. "Bradford City 3-2 Coventry City" BBC Sport. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  29. "Crawley Town 1-3 Bradford City" BBC Sport. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  30. "Bradford City 2-1 Leeds United" BBC Sport. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  31. "Chelsea 2 - 4 Bradford". BBC Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  32. Parker, Simon (3 June 2016). "Gone but Knott forgotten thanks to one magic moment against Leeds". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  33. "Bradford 2 - 0 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  34. Parker, Simon (27 May 2016). "Knott confirms Bradford City exit". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  35. "Billy Knott: Gillingham sign former Bradford City midfielder". BBC Sport. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  36. Cawdell, Luke (16 June 2016). "Former Chelsea and Sunderland youngster Billy Knott signs for Gillingham after release from Bradford City". Kent Online. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  37. whiley, Mark (2 February 2017). "Lincoln City sign midfielder Billy Knott from Gillingham". Lincolnshire Live. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  38. "Gills' Knott Joins On Loan". Lincoln City Official Site. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  39. Whiley, Mark (1 April 2017). "'The break he needed' - Cowley hails quality of Billy Knott". Lincolnshire Live. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  40. Aloia, Andrew (22 April 2017). "Lincoln City 2-1 Macclesfield Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  41. "Billy Knott: Lincoln City sign Gillingham midfielder". BBC Sport. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  42. Marshall, David (8 September 2017). "Billy Knott 'maturing' under managers he trusts at Lincoln City". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  43. Whiley, Mark (22 May 2018). "'Not how I wanted it to end' - Knott confirms Imps exit". lincolnshirelive. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  44. "Billy Knott: Rochdale sign Lincoln City midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  45. "Billy Knott's battle with depression: The best way to deal with my life was to pass out through drink". Echo. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  46. "Lincoln City: Long, Walton & Whitehouse offered new contracts". BBC Sport. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  47. "Welcome Billy Knott!". Concord Rangers Official Site. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  48. "Concord Rangers vs. Gloucester City". Soccerway. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  49. "Concord Rangers vs. Woking". Soccerway. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  50. "City seal Knott signing". Chelmsford City F.C. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  51. Page, Stephen (5 May 2019). "Chelmsford City suffer play off heartache again after loss to Welling". essexlive. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  52. Billy Knott at Soccerway
  53. Parks, Benjamin (4 May 2020). "Billy Knott leaves Chelmsford City". Chelmsford City F.C. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  54. Townsend, Ian (4 September 2020). "Knott's Right For Bowers". Isthmian League. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  55. "Billy Knott is relishing short-term switch to Billericay Town". echo-news.co.uk. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  56. "England 7 - 0 Estonia". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  57. "Head Coach Brian Eastick names his squad for World Cup in Colombia". thefa.com. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  58. "Old boy Ainsworth tips Billy Knott to impress". The Sentinel. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  59. Bate, Adam (1 September 2016). "Billy Knott interview: Gillingham man on England dreams and future plans". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  60. "Games played by Billy Knott in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  61. "Games played by Billy Knott in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  62. Appearances and goals for this season are taken from:
    "Games played by Billy Knott in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
    "Woking vs. Farnborough 7 – 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
    "Woking vs. Welling United 0 – 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  63. "Games played by Billy Knott in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  64. "Games played by Billy Knott in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  65. "Games played by Billy Knott in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  66. "Games played by Billy Knott in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  67. "Games played by Billy Knott in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
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