Player Profile

King joined the club from Torquay United in February 1987. When he signed, the Town were pushing for promotion from Division Three, and King helped to balance the side, filling the left back position that had been a problem for the previous two years. David Hockaday had been playing in that position, but the arrival of King saw him revert back to a more familiar position on the right side of defence.

King was ever-present for the rest of that season, making his debut as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Blackpool on 7th February 1987 - in all the other games, he wore the number three shirt. His twenty-five appearances included all of the successful play-off series, concluding with a place in the team that won the Final replay, gaining a 2-0 result over Gillingham at Selhurst Park.

King spent two more full seasons at the County Ground, being ever-present in 1987/1988, and missing just eight games the following season. Now under Ossie Ardiles, the 1989/1990 season seemed to be going the same way, until First Division Sheffield Wednesday came in for his signature in November 1989. He originally signed on loan, before Wednesday signed him permanently at the end of the month for £500,000.

After four seasons and 129 appearances at Sheffield, King moved on to Aston Villa, and, although injury prevented him from ever being a first team regular, he helped Villa overcome Inter Milan in the 1994/1995 UEFA Cup, scoring the winner in the penalty shoot out.

Just two seasons later, Steve McMahon brought King back to Swindon for a second spell, signing on 26th March 1997 on a free transfer. He made five more appearances for the Town at the end of that season - but then never played for the club again. King was to later claim in Town fanzine "The Magic Roundabout" that an argument between himself and McMahon was the cause - and that McMahon didn't speak to him as a result. After a short spell at Blackpool on loan at the end of 1997, King found himself out in the cold again, and he eventually moved to Brighton two years after he had rejoined, leaving on 16th March 1999.

Playing Record

Senior

Reserve and Youth Team Appearances

Note that appearance data for reserve and youth teams may not be complete. Expand for more information.

Career details

Club	Details
Warmley Rangers Warmley Rangers	(apprentice)
Exeter City Exeter City	(youth) January 7th, 1985 ; transferred out (July 14th, 1986)
Torquay United Torquay United	July 14th, 1986 (transferred in, fee set by tribunal , £3,000 ); transferred out (February 6th, 1987)
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham	1987 (trial)
Swindon Town Swindon	February 6th, 1987 (loan)
Swindon Town Swindon	March 13th, 1987 (transferred in, total fee £158,333, initial payment of £25,000 £25,000 plus one-third of future transfer fee); transferred out (November 30th, 1989)
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday	November 2nd, 1989 (loan)
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday	November 30th, 1989 (transferred in, total fee £450,000, initial payment of £400,000 initial fee of £400,000, plus £50,000 after 50 appearances, and £100,000 if capped); transferred out (August 1st, 1994)
Notts County Notts County	October 22nd, 1993 (loan)
Aston Villa Aston Villa	August 1st, 1994 (transferred in , £250,000 ); transferred out (March 26th, 1997)
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion	October 30th, 1995 (loan)
Swindon Town Swindon	March 26th, 1997 (transferred in, free transfer); transferred out (March 19th, 1999)
Blackpool Blackpool	October 20th, 1997 (loan); expired (November 19th, 1997)
Brighton and Hove Albion Brighton	March 19th, 1999 (transferred in, free transfer); released (1998/9)
Chester City Chester	August 1999 (trial)
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers	August 1999 (unattached); transferred out
Bath City Bath City	July 2000 (transferred in, free transfer); retired (May 2001)
Cinderford Town Cinderford Town	March 2004 (unattached)