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| Kevin AMANKWAAH | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A full-back signed on a free transfer from Swansea City in June 2008, Amankwaah made a belated debut in a 2-1 win at Milton Keynes Dons in the August, after missing the opening games of the season with a hamstring injury. After coming on as a half-time substitute for Yinka Casal in his opening match, he made his full debut the following week in a Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie at Aldershot. Though Amankwaah's initial performances were not that impressive, he gradually seemed to improve as he gained his fitness back, but as part of a side that didn't win in the league in any of the six games that he had started, he paid the price for his part in a defensive error that gifted Huddersfield a goal in a 3-1 home defeat in October, when he was dropped to the bench for the next game. With Jack Smith performing consistently in his favoured right back position, Amankwaah saw just eight minutes of action from that point until the turn of the year. Perhaps fortunately, after the sacking of the man who had brought him to the County Ground, Maurice Malpas, when Swindon appointed their new boss, they turned to Danny Wilson, who had previously managed Amankwaah at Bristol City. He returned to the side in mid-January, before notching his first goal for the club in a 3-2 victory over Walsall at the end of the month. From that point, Amankwaah was virtually ever-present for the rest of the season, and was sometimes utilised in a more advanced midfield position, especially away from home with Wilson trying to shore up a leaky defence. It was in this position that Amankwaah opened the 2009/10 campaign, but he soon reverted back to his usual full-back role after the Town were thumped 5-0 at Gillingham - a position he made his own right through into the New Year. After scoring in back-to-back matches in September, controversy struck in October though, when after the dismissal of Andy Frampton caused a fracas in the match against Millwall, resulting in both Amankwaah and Neil Harris being booked - Harris later alleging that Amankwaah made references to his fight against testicular cancer, claims that Amankwaah initially denied. Shortly after though, Amankwaah backtracked and issued an apology, making a donation to Harris’ Everyman charity, then went on to suggest that he had been subjected to racial abuse throughout the game - claims that Harris dismissed as "laughable", and an FA investigation into the row was dropped. The row did seem to dent Amankwaah’s form over the next few weeks, but with no other cover on the right, he kept his place in the side, celebrating a new contract offer with another goal in a 1-1 draw against Charlton, a two year deal that he signed at the end of February. Unfortunately, this coincided with Amankwaah’s first absence of the season, as he hobbled out of a 4-1 win over Stockport with a hamstring strain that would trouble him for a few weeks. Wilson eventually signed Liverpool full back Stephen Darby on loan, initially as cover for Amankwaah, but with the Town in the hunt for promotion, Wilson chose the more defensive-minded Darby in preference, and Amankwaah didn’t appear in the starting eleven for any of the final twelve games of the season, he did appear as a late substitute in the return match against Millwall at the New Den, and his every touch of the ball was jeered. After the Town secured a play-off place, Amankwaah was perhaps surprisingly recalled for the first leg against Charlton, but reverted back to the bench for the second leg - though he was called upon to replace Simon Ferry in the second half after captain Gordon Greer's dismissal. He regained his starting place for the final at Wembley - ironically against Millwall - and again he was jeered; and in truth, Amankwaah's performance was awful in the first half - having nearly handed the Lions the lead when his diving header went crashing into his own net only to be ruled out for offside, he then missed the chance to cut out the cross that led to Millwall's winning goal in the first half. At the final whistle, Amankwaah looked inconsolable, laying face down on the Wembley turf. The signing of Scotland under-21 captain Paul Caddis over the close season gave Amankwaah strong competition for his place in the first team, and though he started the opening game of the season against Brighton, Caddis replaced him for the next four matches. Returning for a 3-0 victory over Southampton in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, Amankwaah regained his place in the side until the middle of October, when, a week after scoring a last minute own-goal to hand Peterborough a 5-4 victory in a match that Swindon had been 3-0 down in, Amankwaah Was withdrawn in the second half of a 2-2 draw against Leyton Orient. It proved to be the start of a frustrating spell for Amankwaah, as first a knee injury, then a number of niggling problems restricted him to just one appearance between the end of October and mid-January. When he did return, for successive 0-0 draws against Exeter and Tranmere at the end of January, Swindon were in relegation trouble at the bottom of the table - and when the next three games failed to produce a victory, Amankwaah was relegated to the bench for an away trip to Colchester, and over the next month, he remained either on the bench or out of the eighteen completely. It was during this time that manager Wilson resigned from his post, and new boss Paul Hart recalled Amankwaah to the starting eleven for a trip to champions elect Brighton, after bringing him on for the last half-hour at Huddersfield a week previously. Amankwaah's latest comeback was to last just two games though, a recurrence of his knee problem sidelining him for the rest of the season, as the Town were relegated to the fourth tier - Amankwaah having surgery in the close season to rectify the issue. Though Amankwaah came on as a substitute in all of the Town's pre-season matches, in the eyes of new boss Paolo di Canio, he started the season behind both Caddis and Nathan Thompson in the pecking order for the right-back slot - and the writing appeared to be on the wall for Amankwaah when di Canio stated that the defender wasn't part of his plans for the coming season. On the transfer deadline day at the end of August, Amankwaah reached a deal to end his contract by mutual consent - the defender stating that he was disappointed, but he needed to move to get first-team football, whilst thanking the Town fans for their support during his time at the club. PLAYING RECORD:
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date of birth
usual positions right back youth career senior career |
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