Billy Knott
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Billy Knott | |
| |
| Full Name | Billy Steven Knott |
| Date of Birth | 28 November 1992 |
| Place of Birth | Canvey Island, Essex, England |
| Position | Left Back/Attacking Midfielder |
| Chelsea career | 2006 - 2010 |
| Debut | n/a |
| Games (goals) | n/a |
| Other clubs | West Ham United |
Billy Knott (born 28 November 1992 in Canvey Island, Essex, England) is a left back or left winger who formerly played for Chelsea's Academy team.
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Pre-Chelsea career
Billy was at West Ham United until the age of 14, when he left for Chelsea in a swap deal with Tosan Popo, who went on to play for Charlton Athletic.
Chelsea career
Billy captained the Under-16 team to second place in the 2008 Cobham Cup and was an inspirational leader throughout, but struggled for the first half of the ensuing season due to non-footballing (and non negative) issues, before a cruciate ligament injury ended any hopes of him playing for the Under-18 team before his scholarship, something he surely would have done.
After recovering from his injury, Billy came back into the academy team but struggled to adapt to the team’s new 4-4-2 diamond formation, having spent his formative years at the club solely operating in a 4-3-3. To instill some defensive work ethic in his game, the club coaches started to use him at left-back, where he was still able to get forward effectively, whilst improving his all-round ability. Despite playing further back he went on a six game goalscoring run, including his first for the reserve team, and looks as at home in the back four as he has in attack.
Early in the 2009-10 campaign, Billy was suspended for two weeks for a breach of discipline. In early 2010 a further transgression was apparently made, which led to Billy's dismissal from the academy.
International
Billy represented England at both Under-16 and Under-17 levels whilst at Chelsea.
Career statistics
Youth Team Football
| Season | Club | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | ||
| 2008-09 | Chelsea | 6 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | Chelsea | 14 | 5 |
Career honours
None
Post Chelsea Career
Billy initially joined Sunderland, impressing suitably for the Black Cats during 2010-11 to earn a place on their first team substitutes bench and an England Under-20 call-up for the World Cup in Colombia.
In early 2012 he joined AFC Wimbledon on loan and quickly proved a big hit with supporters, whilst weighing in with some spectacular goals. He spent most of the 2012-13 campaign on loan at Woking before playing for Port Vale in 2013-14 and joining Bradford City on a permanent basis in July 2014.
