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John Frain
Personal information
Full name	John William Frain
Date of birth	8 October 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder / Left back
Youth career
1984–1986	Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years	Team
1986–1997	Birmingham City
1997	→ Northampton Town (loan)
1997–2003	Northampton Town
2003–2005	Moor Green
Managerial career
2003–2007	Moor Green (assistant manager)
2007–2008	Solihull Moors (assistant manager)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John William Frain (born 8 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer who played for Birmingham City and Northampton Town. He played in all four divisions of the Football League, making nearly 500 league appearances for his two clubs.

Life and career

Frain was born in Yardley, Birmingham. He joined Birmingham City from school, made his debut in the First Division in April 1986 aged 17, and signed full professional forms in October of that year. He was originally a left back, but good passing ability and a lack of pace saw him moved into midfield, towards the end of his Birmingham career returning to left-back. He was the club's free kick and penalty specialist.^[3] He was part of the team that won the Associate Members' Cup in 1990-91 and gained promotion from the Third Division in 1991–92.^[4] He was the club's Player of the Year for 1994.^[5] He also appeared in the club's 1994–95 Third Division championship-winning season and in the early rounds of that year's Football League Trophy, but played insufficient games to qualify for a league medal and did not play in the final.^[6] In 1996, he was awarded a testimonial match against Aston Villa in recognition of ten years' service.^[7] He made 336 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 28 goals.

In January 1997 Frain joined Northampton Town on loan, writing himself into the club's history by scoring a stoppage-time winner from a free kick in that season's Third Division play-off final.^[8] His free-transfer move to the club was made permanent at the end of that season. He later played his part in the club winning automatic promotion back to the Second Division in 1999–2000. He made 248 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 8 goals.

In July 2003 Frain was appointed player/assistant manager of Moor Green. In his first season, he helped the club reach the final of the Southern League Cup and win the Birmingham Senior Cup, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final.^[9] Frain retired as a player at the end of the 2004–05 season due to a persistent knee injury, but retained his assistant manager's post following the merger of Moor Green and Solihull Borough to form Solihull Moors,^[7] until he resigned in August 2008.^[10]

Frain combined his football duties with working as a mortgage underwriter.^[11] His brother Peter played as a forward for West Bromwich Albion and Mansfield Town.^[12]

Whenever Birmingham City play against Northampton Town, the game is dubbed 'The John Frain Derby'

Honours

Birmingham City

Associate Members' Cup: 1990–91^[4]
Third Division promotion: 1991–92^[4]

Northampton Town

Third Division play-offs: 1997^[8]^[13]
Third Division promotion: 1999–2000

Moor Green

Southern League Cup: 2004^[9]
Birmingham Senior Cup: 2004^[9]

References

General

Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.

Specific

^ "John Frain". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
^ Rollin, Glenda, ed. (1997). Playfair Football Annual 1997–98. Headline. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-7472-5644-1.
^ Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 87–88. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
^ ^a ^b ^c Matthews, Complete Record, p. 226.
^ "Player of the Year". The Birmingham City FC Archive. 13 December 2002. Archived from the original on 28 December 2004. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 230, 245.
^ ^a ^b "Pen Pictures". Solihull Moors F.C. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Club history". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Solihull Moors History Moor Green 1901–2007". Solihull Moors F.C. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.
^ "Former Birmingham City star John Frain wants a management role". Sunday Mercury. Birmingham. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
^ Roberts, Andy. "Thanks for the Wembleys". Archived from the original on 3 December 2008.
^ "Peter Frain". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^ Fox, Norman (25 May 1997). "Football: Swansea run over by Frain". The Independent. Independent Digital News & Media. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2020.