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Simon King (footballer)

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Simon King
Personal information
Full name Simon Daniel Roy King[1]
Date of birth (1983-04-11) 11 April 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Oxford, England
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 Oxford United 4 (0)
2003–2007 Barnet 151 (6)
2007–2012 Gillingham 101 (3)
2011 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 6 (0)
2012–2013 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4 (0)
2013–2015 Thurrock 48 (1)
Total 314 (10)
International career
2004–2005 England C 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Simon Daniel Roy King (born 11 April 1983) is an English retired footballer. He primarily played as a defender.

Career

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Oxford United

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King started his career with Oxford United and made his debut on 1 May 2001 against Port Vale in the last competitive match to be played at the Manor Ground.[2] He would leave the club having made just four appearances.

Barnet

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King signed for Conference side Barnet in 2003.[3] While with the club he would win the league title in 2004–05.[4]

King was transfer listed by Barnet at the end of the 2006–07 season, for which he was named player of the year,[5] to avoid him leaving on a free transfer a year later.

Gillingham

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He was signed by League Two side Gillingham for £200,000 on a three-year deal in June 2007. This fee could however rise to £250,000, depending on appearances and whether Gillingham were to achieve promotion to the Football League Championship.[6]

King made his debut as a 62nd minute substitute for Aaron Brown on the first day of the 2007–08 season against Cheltenham Town, but was on the wrong end of a 1–0 defeat.[7]

The following season King would achieve promotion with the Kent side, playing the full 90 minutes as they defeated Shrewsbury Town 1–0 in the 2009 League Two play-off final, a game in which he was named Man of the Match.[8] He was named Gillingham's Player of the Year for the season[9] as well as being voted into the Professional Footballers' Association League Two team of the year.[10]

On 3 July 2009, King signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2012.[11] However, during a pre-season friendly against Bromley,[12] King suffered an ankle injury which kept him out of the entire 2009–10 season. The injury also carried over to the beginning of the 2010–11 season.[13] King finally returned to training in November 2010 after 18 months out, with the last professional game he played in having been the 2009 League Two play-off final.[14]

The return from injury for King was short lived however, after suffering a setback during training which caused the length on the sidelines to be extended for a few weeks. On 8 February 2011, King finally made his return to football after 18 months without playing after replacing Matt Lawrence in the 25th minute in the 3–1 home win against Rotherham United.[15]

Loan to Plymouth Argyle

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He joined Plymouth Argyle on loan for one month on 31 August 2011,[16] and made his debut in a 2–1 defeat at Burton Albion on 3 September. He made two further appearances before the loan was extended until 7 November.[17]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

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Following his release by Gillingham in May 2012,[18] King agreed to sign for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in July 2012.[19]

He made his debut for the side on the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League season in 2–2 draw against St Mirren.[20]

King was forced to retire from professional football after failing to recover from an injury sustained playing for Inverness.[21]

Thurrock

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King signed for Isthmian League Division One North club Thurrock on 23 August 2013, reuniting with Mark Stimson, his former manager at Gillingham.[22]

International career

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King won three caps for the England non-league team, scoring the winning goal on his debut against Italy on 11 November 2004.[23]

Honours

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Barnet

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Gillingham

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Individual

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References

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  1. ^ "Simon King". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Oxford 1-1 Port Vale". 1 May 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Ex-Bees defender King grateful to Allen for taking him out his comfort zone". Times Series. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b Root, James (9 April 2005). "Football Conference: Barnet finally win the title". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Fans name King Player of the Year". This Is Local London. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Gillingham complete King signing". Gillingham F.C. 10 June 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  7. ^ "Cheltenham 1-0 Gillingham". 11 August 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  8. ^ Limited, Alamy. "Football – Gillingham v Shrewsbury Town – Coca-Cola Football League Two Play Off Final – Wembley Stadium – 08/9 – 23 May 2009 Gillingham's Simon King at the end with his man of the match award Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Henry Browne Stock Photo – Alamy". alamy.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ a b "King voted Player of the Year". Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  10. ^ "King Named in PFA Team of the Year". Gillingham F.C. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  11. ^ "King signs new Gills deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  12. ^ "King Injury". Kent Online. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Gillingham Defender Simon King to miss entire season". BBC Sport. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  14. ^ "Gillingham Boss Andy Hessenthaler wants squad shake-up". BBC Sport. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  15. ^ "Garry Richards & Simon King return for Gillingham". BBC Sport. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  16. ^ Cawdell, Luke (31 August 2011). "Simon King makes loan switch from Gillingham to Plymouth Argyle". Kent Online. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Plymouth Argyle extend Simon King's loan until November". BBC Sport. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  18. ^ "Gillingham release Simon King, Jo Kuffour & Garry Richards". BBC Sport. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  19. ^ "Inverness Caledonian Thistle to sign Simon King". BBC Sport. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  20. ^ "St Mirren 2-2 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Foundations in place for future success at ICT". Inverness Courier. Scottish Provincial Press. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  22. ^ "Ship Lane fit for a King". 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  23. ^ "Bishop stars in Italian job". York Press. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Gillingham 1-0 Shrewsbury". 24 May 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Giggs earns prestigious PFA award". 26 April 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Giggs earns prestigious PFA award". BBC Sport. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
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