Kevin Rapley (born 21 September 1977) is an English footballer. After playing for several Football League and non-league clubs, Rapley is now playing for Witton Albion.

Kevin Rapley
Personal information
Full name Kevin John Rapley[1]
Date of birth (1977-09-21) 21 September 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth Reading, England
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Witton Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1999 Brentford 33 (5)
1998–1999Southend United (loan) 9 (4)
1999Notts County (loan) 7 (1)
1999–2001 Notts County 49 (4)
2000Exeter City (loan) 7 (0)
2001Scunthorpe United (loan) 5 (0)
2001–2003 Colchester United 56 (11)
2003–2005 Chester City 46 (3)
2005Forest Green Rovers (loan) 5 (0)
2005–2006 Droylsden ? (?)
2006–2007 Leigh RMI 32 (12)
2007–2008 Barrow ? (?)
2008Vauxhall Motors (loan) ? (?)
2008– Witton Albion ? (?)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:38, 22 August 2010 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:38, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Career

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The striker began his career with Brentford as an apprentice, going on to make 51 Football League appearances for them. He later played in the league for Southend United (loan), Notts County, Exeter City (loan), Scunthorpe United and Colchester United, before joining Football Conference side Chester City in July 2003. His first season at the club ended with Chester winning the title and promotion back to the League, where he played for one more season (but part of it was spent on loan at Forest Green Rovers). Unfortunately, he struggled to land a regular place in the Chester side throughout his time at the club and had a relatively poor scoring record, meaning it came as no surprise when he was released by the club in 2005.

Rapley's 2005–06 season started well but petered out through the season, which ended with Droylsden losing to Stafford Rangers in the Conference North play-off final on penalties. In February 2007, he signed for Leigh RMI,[2] where he helped them avoid relegation from the Conference North at the end of 2006–07.

In October 2007, after 12 goals from 32 appearances at Leigh, Rapley moved to Barrow, who were also struggling in the Conference North. The fans at Barrow reacted positively to the move, believing Rapley's wealth of experience would lift them up the table and he enhanced his reputation by scoring in a 1–1 draw with Football League One side AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup First Round in November 2007.

On 3 January 2008, Rapley joined Vauxhall Motors on loan to gain match practice.[3] The following month he joined Witton Albion on a permanent basis.[4]

Honours

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Club

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Brentford[5]
Chester City[6]
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References

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  1. ^ "Kevin Rapley". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  2. ^ Lawton, Matt (16 February 2007). "Humphreys signs new striker". Unofficial RMI Online. Sport Network. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Rapley joins Motors on one month loan". Barrow A.F.C. (see 3 January). 3 January 2008. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  4. ^ "Albion swoop for striker". Northwich Guardian. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Tier Four (League Two) Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Conference Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.