Zatyiah Knight (born 2 May 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
Knight had extended spells at Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham in the Premier League and the EFL Championship. He finished his career at Reading in the Championship. Knight represented England at under-21 and senior international levels.
Knight scored four goals for Fulham, two in the 2004–05 season and two in 2006–07. The first was in a FA Cup match against Watford in a 1–1 draw, his second was a Premier League goal against Norwich City in a 6–0 win. His last goal for Fulham came against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–1 loss. He was arguably Fulham's most consistent player in 2006–07, a reward for this was being given temporary captaincy of the club while regular skipper Luís Boa Morte was out injured.
Before a match against West Ham United, it was announced that he had broken his jaw in two places while messing around with his brother. Chris Coleman has been quoted as saying that it takes more than horseplay to break one's jaw in two places, but Knight insists there was "nothing sinister" about the incident.
At the start of 2007–08, Knight signed a two-year contract extension with Fulham, contracting him until the summer of 2010. Prior to signing a new contract, Knight was linked with a move away from Fulham, but insisted he wanted to stay at the club and win trophies.
Knight's contract expired at the end of 2011–12, making him a free agent. However, on 9 July 2012, Bolton announced that he had signed a further two-year contract. Knight often took the captain's armband at Bolton when usual skipper Kevin Davies was off the pitch. When Davies left at the end of 2012–13, Knight was named as the new captain for 2013–14. Jay Spearing took the armband when Knight came out of the team and Spearing retained it when Knight returned. On 8 March 2014, Knight scored his first goal in three and a half years when scoring Bolton's third in their 5–1 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road. At the end of that season, he was released by the club along with Chris Eagles, Tyrone Mears and Jay Lynch.
Following his release from the Rapids, Knight went on trial with Watford, before signing with fellow EFL Championship club Reading on 12 March 2015. He was released by Reading on 21 May 2015.
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | |||
Fulham | 1999–2000 | First Division | 0 |
2000–01 | First Division | 0 | |
2001–02 | Premier League | 0 | |
2002–03 | Premier League | 0 | |
2003–04 | Premier League | 0 | |
2004–05 | Premier League | 2 | |
2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | |
2006–07 | Premier League | 2 | |
2007–08 | Premier League | 0 | |
Peterborough United (loan) | 1999–2000 | Third Division | 0 |
Aston Villa | 2007–08 | Premier League | 1 |
2008–09 | Premier League | 1 | |
Bolton Wanderers | 2009–10 | Premier League | 1 |
2010–11 | Premier League | 1 | |
2011–12 | Premier League | 0 | |
2012–13 | EFL Championship | 0 | |
2013–14 | Championship | 2 | |
Colorado Rapids | 2014 | Major League Soccer | 0 |
Reading | 2014–15 | Championship | 0 |
+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
England | 0 |
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