Leon Knight
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| Leon Knight | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leon Leroy Knight | |
| Date of birth | September 16, 1982 (age 24) | |
| Place of birth | Hackney, England | |
| Height | 5ft 5in | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Milton Keynes Dons F.C. | |
| Number | 16 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999-2003 2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003 2003-2006 2006-2007 2006 2007- |
Chelsea → QPR (loan) → Huddersfield Town (loan) → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) Brighton & Hove Albion Swansea City → Barnsley (loan) Milton Keynes Dons |
0 (0) 11 (0) 31 (16) 24 (3) 2 (4) 106 (30) 28 (15) 9 (0) 8 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Leon Knight (born 16 September 1982 in Hackney, London) is an English footballer currently playing for League Two side Milton Keynes Dons. He joined the club from Swansea City in January 2007, just one year after joining the Welsh club from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Knight began his career as a trainee at Chelsea, spending loan periods at Queens Park Rangers, Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton & Hove Albion before joining Brighton on a permanent contract in 2003. Although his transfer was initially free, £50,000 was to be paid if Brighton were promoted. It was Knight himself who secured this, with his penalty against Bristol City in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
On 10 January 2006, Knight enjoyed the rare distinction of scoring a first-half hat-trick on his début for Swansea City in a 3-1 League One victory against his current club Milton Keynes Dons at the Liberty Stadium, completing the feat inside the first 27 minutes of his first appearance for the club.
He grabbed his second hat-trick for Swansea City on 6 May 2006 in a 4-0 away win at Chesterfield to secure the club's place in the end-of-season promotion play-offs, following this up with two goals in the play-off semi-final against Brentford.
Shortly afterwards, however, Knight was transfer listed for what were officially given as "footballing reasons". He signed on loan for Barnsley but returned after only nine games. Rumours of disciplinary and legal problems abounded, however, as no other explanation was given for a decision which seemed out of step with Knight's prolific scoring record of one goal every 1.87 games. Many also compared Knight's acrimonious departure from Swansea with his allegedly stormy relationship with manager Mark McGhee during his time at Brighton & Hove Albion.
On 22 January 2007 Knight signed an 18-month contract with Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed fee, with Dons manager Martin Allen said to have been a longtime admirer of the striker. Knight scored his first goal for the MK Dons on his full debut away at Bury on 3rd February 2007.
[edit] External links
| Milton Keynes Dons F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Bankole | 2 J. Smith | 3 Lewington | 4 Diallo | 6 O'Hanlon | 7 McGovern | 9 Platt | 10 McLeod | 12 Stirling | 13 Andrews | 14 G. Smith | 15 Edds | 16 Knight | 19 Taylor | 20 Wilbraham | 21 Hayes | 22 Hastings | 23 Dyer | 24 Lewis | 25 Harper | 31 Baines | 35 Page | 37 Howe | 38 Baldock | 39 Collins | 40 Thorne | 42 Nash | Manager: Allen |
Categories: 1982 births | Living people | English footballers | Football (soccer) strikers | Chelsea F.C. players | Queens Park Rangers F.C. players | Huddersfield Town F.C. players | Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players | Swansea City A.F.C. players | Barnsley F.C. players | Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players
