Fraser Franks
Franks captaining England C in 2014
Personal information
Full name Fraser George Franks[1]
Date of birth (1990-11-22) 22 November 1990[1]
Place of birth Hammersmith, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1999–2007 Chelsea
2007–2009 Brentford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Brentford 0 (0)
2009–2010 → Basingstoke Town (loan) 13 (2)
2010–2012 AFC Wimbledon 28 (2)
2011 → Hayes & Yeading United (loan) 7 (0)
2012 → Newport County (loan) 1 (0)
2012–2014 Welling United 60 (4)
2014–2015 Luton Town 30 (0)
2015–2018 Stevenage 109 (7)
2018–2019 Newport County 25 (3)
Total 273 (18)
International career
2013–2014 England C 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fraser George Franks (born 22 November 1990) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender in the Football League for AFC Wimbledon, Luton Town, Stevenage and Newport County.

Career

Brentford

Born in Hammersmith, Greater London,[1] Franks began his career in the youth system at Chelsea at the age of 9.[3][4] He then joined Brentford as an apprentice in 2007,[5] and was named as a substitute against Swansea City in a League Cup fixture on 12 August 2008.[6] Franks was again an unused substitute for a 2–1 FA Cup defeat away to Barrow on 28 November.[7] He signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2009,[8] though he remained as an unused substitute for the majority of 2009–10 and failed to make an appearance.[9]

In September 2009, after struggling to feature for Brentford, Franks joined Conference South club Basingstoke Town on an initial one-month loan, which was later extended until January 2010.[10] He debuted on 19 September in a 2–1 victory away to Braintree Town and scored his first goal on 24 October in a 2–1 victory at home to Weymouth.[11] Franks' second goal came on 14 November in a 3–2 defeat away to Maidenhead United and completed the loan spell with two goals from 18 appearances.[11] He was not offered a new contract by Brentford and was released by the club in May 2010.[12]

AFC Wimbledon

On 29 July 2010, Franks signed a one-year contract with Conference Premier club AFC Wimbledon.[13] He debuted as an 81st-minute substitute in a 2–1 victory away to Kettering Town on 4 September and scored his first goals in a 3–0 victory at home to Cambridge United on 29 September.[14] Franks went on to make 28 appearances in 2010–11,[14] though he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in a 2–1 defeat away to Grimsby Town on 5 March 2011.[15] He required an operation that ruled him out of action for six months, causing him to miss the 2011 Conference Premier play-off final victory over Luton Town,[16] and the beginning of AFC Wimbledon's first season in the Football League.[15] Despite this, Franks had made enough appearances to trigger a one-year extension clause in his contract, keeping him at the club until the end of 2011–12.[17]

In September 2011, Franks returned from injury and was loaned to Conference Premier club Hayes & Yeading United to gain match fitness.[18] He debuted on 24 September in a 3–2 defeat at home to Gateshead, finishing the loan spell with seven appearances, but turned down the offer to extend the loan for a further month.[14][19] Franks made his return to the AFC Wimbledon starting lineup away to Swindon Town on 8 November in a Football League Trophy tie, the match finishing 1–1 after extra time.[20] He scored the team's only penalty in the 3–1 penalty shoot-out defeat.[20] On 22 March 2012, Franks joined Conference Premier club Newport County on a one-month loan to play regular first-team football.[21] He made his debut and only appearance for the club two days later in a 2–0 defeat away to Lincoln City.[14] The remainder of his loan spell was hampered by injury.[22] After making only five appearances for AFC Wimbledon in 2011–12,[23] Franks was released by the club in May 2012.[24]

Welling United

On 19 June 2012, Franks signed for Conference South club Welling United.[25][26] After signing, Welling manager Jamie Day claimed Franks had turned down offers from higher leagues to be guaranteed regular first-team football.[25] He debuted on the opening day of 2012–13 in a 1–1 draw at home to Bath City and scored his first goal in the following match, a 3–2 victory over Chelmsford City.[27] Franks finished the season with 43 appearances and four goals,[27] as Welling won the Conference South title and therefore promotion into the Conference Premier.[28] He was named in the Conference South Team of the Year and signed a new one-year contract shortly afterwards.[29][30] Franks made his first appearance of 2013–14 on the opening day of the season in a 2–1 defeat away to Wrexham and went on to make 29 appearances for Welling during the first half of the season.[14]

Luton Town

On 17 January 2014, Franks signed for Conference Premier leaders Luton Town for an undisclosed fee after the club activated a release clause in his contract.[31] Due to bad weather postponing the club's matches throughout much of the rest of January, Franks did not make his debut until 11 February against Macclesfield Town, which finished as a 2–1 victory and was named as man of the match by The Luton News.[32] He made 18 appearances for Luton in the second half of 2013–14,[27] as the club won the Conference Premier title and therefore promotion into League Two.[33] Franks made his first appearance of 2014–15 on 12 August 2014 in a 2–1 defeat at home to Swindon Town in the League Cup first round.[34] He struggled to force his way into the first-team, making just 17 appearances,[34] as Luton finished eighth in League Two,[35] having missed an opportunity to make an impression in the first-team in the absence of first-choice central defenders Luke Wilkinson and Steve McNulty through suspension.[36] After the end of the season, Franks informed the club that he felt his future lay elsewhere and was transfer-listed by manager John Still,[37] before his contract was cancelled a year early by mutual consent on 15 July 2015.[38]

Stevenage

On 17 July 2015, Franks signed for Luton's near-neighbours Stevenage.[39] He debuted on the opening day of 2015–16 in a 2–0 defeat at home to Notts County and scored his first goal in a 2–0 victory at home to Hartlepool United on 22 August.[40] Franks finished the season with 42 appearances and three goals,[40] as Stevenage finished 18th in League Two.[41] He was named Season Ticket Holders Player of the Year, BoroChat Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year at the club's end-of-season presentation night.[42] Franks spent three seasons at Stevenage, making 120 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals.[43]

Newport County

Franks re-signed for fellow League Two club Newport County on 18 June 2018 on a two-year contract.[44] He made his debut on the opening day of the 2018–19 season, starting in the club's 3–0 away defeat to Mansfield Town.[45] Franks scored his first goal for Newport in a 3–2 home win over Notts County on 21 August.[46] He captained Newport in a 2–1 victory at home to Premier League team Leicester City in the FA Cup third round on 6 January 2019.[47]

Franks retired from playing on 21 March 2019, as a result of a heart issue.[48] Franks had made 34 appearances and scored three goals for Newport up to that point in 2018–19.[49] Franks had heart palpitations and chest pains, and had to be taken to hospital by his pregnant wife.[50]

International career

In June 2013, Franks was selected for the England national C team and won his first cap in a 6–1 victory over Bermuda.[51] On 19 November 2013, Franks scored his first international goal in a 2–2 draw with Czech Republic U21, a match in which he also captained the team for the first time.[52] Franks went on to earn five caps for the England C team, captaining the side four times, before becoming ineligible due to Luton Town's promotion to the Football League.

Personal life

Franks is married to former S Club Juniors singer Stacey McClean.[48] Franks struggled with alcohol following his premature retirement from football, but following counselling from the Sporting Chance Clinic, became sober on 1 August 2021.[4] Franks is an ambassador for Alcohol Change UK and together with lawyer Matt Himsworth,[4] runs mentoring firm B5 Consultancy.[53]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brentford 2008–09[54] League Two 0000000000
2009–10[55] League One 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Basingstoke Town (loan) 2009–10[11] Conference South 13220—3[lower-alpha 1]0182
AFC Wimbledon 2010–11[14] Conference Premier 24220—2[lower-alpha 2]0282
2011–12[23] League Two 4000001[lower-alpha 3]050
Total 282200030332
Hayes & Yeading United (loan) 2011–12[14] Conference Premier 70———70
Newport County (loan) 2011–12[14] Conference Premier 10———10
Welling United 2012–13[27] Conference South 34450—4[lower-alpha 2]0434
2013–14[14] Conference Premier 26030—00290
Total 60480—40724
Luton Town 2013–14[27] Conference Premier 17000—1[lower-alpha 4]0180
2014–15[34] League Two 130301000170
Total 300301010350
Stevenage 2015–16[40] League Two 38320101[lower-alpha 3]0423
2016–17[56] League Two 41310202[lower-alpha 5]1464
2017–18[57] League Two 301101000321
Total 10974040311208
Newport County 2018–19[49] League Two 25350202[lower-alpha 5]0343
Career total 273182407016132019
  1. ↑ Two appearances in Hampshire Senior Cup, one in FA Trophy
  2. 1 2 Appearances in FA Trophy
  3. 1 2 Appearance in Football League Trophy
  4. ↑ Appearance in Bedfordshire Senior Cup
  5. 1 2 Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

AFC Wimbledon

Welling United

Luton Town

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fraser Franks". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Fraser Franks". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Robertson, Gregor. "Newport County player's Wembley dream stolen by heart condition". Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Long, Dan. "Fraser Franks: Ex-Newport captain striving to change people's relationships with alcohol". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Case study: Fraser Franks" (PDF). League Football Education. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  6. ↑ "Swansea 2–0 Brentford". Sky Sports. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "Barrow 2–1 Brentford". Sky Sports. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "His story: Fraser Franks". League Football Education. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Fraser Franks: 2009/2010". ESPN FC. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  10. ↑ Murtagh, Jacob (18 September 2009). "Brentford FC defender goes out on loan". Get West London. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "Fraser Franks appearances: 2009/10 appearances". Basingstoke Town F.C. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "Brentford release Mark Phillips and Steve Kabba". BBC Sport. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Murtagh, Jacob (29 July 2010). "AFC Wimbledon snap up trio". Surrey Herald. Guildford. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "F. Franks: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  15. 1 2 Lewis, Matt (6 June 2011). "Dons defender won't be ready for pre-season". Hounslow, Heston & Whitton Chronicle. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
  16. 1 2 Marshall, Steve (21 May 2011). "AFC Wimbledon 0–0 Luton Town (4–3 on pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "AFC Wimbledon sign defender Mat Mitchell-King". BBC Sport. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  18. ↑ Whitney, Steve (23 September 2011). "Franks loaned to Hayes & Yeading". Pitchero Non-League. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "A–Z of Hayes & Yeading United". Hayes & Yeading United F.C. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Swindon Town 1–1 AFC Wimbledon". Sky Sports. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  21. ↑ "Newport County sign defender Fraser Franks on loan". BBC Sport. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  22. ↑ "Newport County's top loan stars and the worst flops of the last 10 years". South Wales Argus. Newport. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  23. 1 2 "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  24. ↑ Murtagh, Jacob (9 May 2012). "Brown lifts the lid on Dons cull". Get West London. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  25. 1 2 "Fraser Franks now has a chance to kick-start his career, says Welling United boss Jamie Day". Kentish Football. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  26. ↑ Miles, Greg (20 June 2012). "Franks joins Welling". Kent News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 "Player profiles: Fraser Franks". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  28. 1 2 "Welling United seal Blue Square Bet South title". BBC Sport. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  29. 1 2 Doig, Mark (9 June 2013). "Six Kent players in Team of the Year". Kent Sports News. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  30. ↑ "Centre back signs new Wings contract". Welling United F.C. 17 June 2013. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  31. ↑ Panting, Matthew (17 January 2014). "Former AFC Wimbledon and Brentford defender Fraser Franks leaves Welling United to join Skrill Premier title favourites Luton Town". KentOnline. KM Group. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  32. ↑ Wood, Mark (11 February 2014). "Lethal Gray sends Hatters six points clear". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  33. ↑ "Luton Town win Conference Premier and Football League spot". BBC Sport. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  34. 1 2 3 "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  35. ↑ "League Two: 2014/15: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  36. ↑ Cunliffe, James (25 February 2015). "Luton Town: Luke Wilkinson poised to return to line-up after stand in defenders miss chance to impress". Bedfordshire on Sunday. Bedford. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017.
  37. ↑ Simmonds, Mike (8 May 2015). "Franks expecting to leave Kenilworth Road this summer". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  38. ↑ Simmonds, Mike (15 July 2015). "Franks leaves Luton". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  39. ↑ "Fraser Franks: Former Luton Town defender joins Stevenage". BBC Sport. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  40. 1 2 3 "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  41. ↑ "League Two: 2015/16: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  42. 1 2 Yousif, Layth (16 May 2018). "Stevenage fans' favourite Fraser Franks bows out in gracious style after bidding a fond farewell". The Comet. Stevenage. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  43. ↑ "Fraser Franks". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  44. ↑ "Fraser Franks joins Newport from Stevenage as Tom Owen-Evans joins Falkirk". BBC Sport. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  45. ↑ Penman, Andrew (4 August 2018). "Mansfield Town 3 Newport County 0". South Wales Argus. Newport. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  46. ↑ Penman, Andrew (21 August 2018). "Newport County 3 Notts County 2". South Wales Argus. Newport. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  47. ↑ Pearlman, Michael (6 January 2019). "Newport County 2–1 Leicester in FA Cup third round". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  48. 1 2 "Fraser Franks: Newport defender retires because of heart problem". BBC Sport. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  49. 1 2 "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  50. ↑ "'I played Man City on Saturday, by Wednesday I was in hospital' – Fraser Franks". BBC Sport. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  51. ↑ Simmonds, Mike (5 June 2013). "Gray skippers England C to huge win in Bermuda". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  52. ↑ Simmonds, Mike (20 November 2013). "Hatters duo help England C to Czech Republic draw". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  53. ↑ "Who we are | B5 Consultancy | Matt Himsworth | Fraser Franks". B5 Consultancy. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  54. ↑ "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  55. ↑ "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  56. ↑ "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  57. ↑ "Games played by Fraser Franks in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
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