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Fraser Franks
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. CareerBrentfordBorn 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 WimbledonOn 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 UnitedOn 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 TownOn 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] StevenageOn 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 CountyFranks 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 careerIn 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 lifeFranks was married to former S Club Juniors singer Stacey McClean.[53][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.[54] Career statistics
HonoursAFC Wimbledon
Welling United Luton Town Individual
References
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