FRANK BENNETT
Photo courtesy of Alan Marshall, Neil Brookman, Keith Brookman ©BRFPA
Born: 03/01/1969, Birmingham
Position: Forward
Rovers League Début: 30/11/96 v Bury
Debut Number: 608
Clubs represented: Local football in Birmingham, Halesowen Town, Southampton, Shrewsbury Town (loan), Bristol Rovers, Oxford United (trial), Exeter City, Forest Green Rovers, Cinderford Town, Aberystwyth Town, Weston super Mare, Bath City, Brislington.
Prime Minister John Major was in the crowd when crowd pleasing front man Frankie Bennett made his Southampton début against Chelsea over Christmas 1993.
Bennett’s career with Rovers, though, was fraught with injuries, a knee operation in the spring of 1997 preceding a comeback goal for the reserves as they defeated English Universities 5-0, whilst he scored after 19 minutes in the Auto Windscreens Shield against Exeter City in January 1998 on his return from a further lay off.
He scored one of Rovers’ three goals in the May 1998 first leg of an ultimately unsuccessful play off campaign and headed one of the four goals Rovers registered at Macclesfield in May 1999.
A goalscorer of some merit, his most notable strike in a Rovers shirt was perhaps the 25 yard match winner against Notts County in April 1997.
Previously in the Shrewsbury side which defeated Rovers 2-0 at Gay Meadow in November 1996, he suffered relegation with the Shropshire side.
In addition to 27 Conference games and two goals at Forest Green, he played the second half as a substitute in the 2001 Wembley FA Vase Final, which was lost 1-0 to Canvey Island and helped his side win the Gloucestershire Senior Challenge Cup by defeating Cheltenham Town 2-1 in the final.
Playing under manager Frank Gregan at both Aberystwyth and Weston super Mare, Bennett scored twice and hit the bar for the latter in a 2-2 draw away to his former side Halesowen in March 2002.
Frankie continues to live and work in Bristol.