Frankie Merrifield

Frankie Merrifield

Personal information
Full name	Frankie Edward Peter Merrifield
Date of birth	(1994-01-08) 8 January 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Hackney, England
Position(s)	Midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team	Billericay Town
Youth career
2010–2012	AFC Wimbledon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2013	AFC Wimbledon	5	(0)
2012–2013	→ Harrow Borough (loan)	10	(2)
2013–2014	Hayes & Yeading United [A]	45	(2)
2014–2016	Bishop's Stortford	58	(4)
2016–2017	Chelmsford City	8	(0)
2016–2017	→ Canvey Island (dual registration)	21	(4)
2017–2019	Canvey Island	80	(19)
2019–2020	East Thurrock United	30	(14)
2020–2023	Bishop's Stortford	81	(46)
2023–	Billericay Town	12	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:15, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

Frankie Edward Peter Merrifield (born 8 January 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for Billericay Town.

Career

AFC Wimbledon

Merrifield signed his first professional contract with AFC Wimbledon in December 2011, having joined the club's youth system at the age of 16 two years previously. Merrifield's contract with the club was extended on 18 May 2012. ^[1] Merrifield made his league debut in a 5–1 defeat by Bradford City on 25 August 2012 as an 87th minute substitute for Christian Jolley. ^[2] The midfielder scored his first senior goal for AFC Wimbledon in the first round of the 2012–13 Football League Trophy against Southend United on 4 September 2012, although the game ended in a 2–1 defeat after Ryan Cresswell scored for the Shrimpers in the fourth minute of stoppage time. ^[3] Merrifield made his first league start for the Dons on 8 September 2012 in a 2–0 defeat against Northampton Town. ^[4] On 30 November 2012, Merrifield was loaned out to Isthmian League Premier Division side Harrow Borough on an initial two-month loan deal along with teammate Emmanuel Akokhia. ^[5] He made his debut for The Boro in a 0–0 draw with Whitehawk on 1 December 2012. ^[6] On 8 December 2012, he struck a first-half equaliser for Harrow Borough against East Thurrock United, with the match eventually ending as a 3–2 defeat. ^[7] On 29 January 2013, Merrifield scored his second league goal in a 3–2 loss to Metropolitan Police. On 4 February 2013, it was announced that Merrifield's loan spell had been extended by a further month. ^[8] On 4 March 2013, it was announced that Merrifield had returned to AFC Wimbledon. During his loan spell he made ten appearances for Harrow Borough, scoring twice. ^[9] On 1 July 2013, it was announced that Merrifield had left AFC Wimbledon. ^[10]

Hayes & Yeading United

Merrifield featured in two of Hayes & Yeading United's pre-season matches after Phil Babb made his interest in the midfielder known. On 27 July 2013, he scored one goal in the 3–1 victory over Wealdstone, in the 63rd minute. On 15 August, he was announced as one of the club's new summer signings. ^[11]

Bishop's Stortford

In October 2014, Merrifield signed for Bishop's Stortford. ^[12] He scored on his debut against Eastbourne Borough. ^[13]

Chelmsford City

On 31 May 2016, Merrifield joined manager Rod Stringer and teammate Anthony Church in the switch from Bishop's Stortford to Chelmsford City. ^[14]

Canvey Island

On 30 December 2016, Merrifeld joined Canvey Island on dual registration. ^[15]

He signed permanently for the Gulls in June 2017. ^[16] During his time with the club he switched from a midfielder to a striker. ^[17]

East Thurrock United

Merrifield spent one year with the Rocks, scoring 17 goals in all competitions before the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. ^[18]

Bishop's Stortford return

Merrifield rejoined Bishop's Stortford for the 2020–21 season. He spent three years at the club during his second spell, culminating in the team winning the 2022–23 Isthmian League Premier Division, with Merrifield voted Supporters' Player of the Season. ^[19]

Billericay Town

In June 2023 after Bishop's Stortford were promoted to the National League North, Merrifield opted to remain in the Isthmian League Premier Division due to family and work commitments, signing with Billericay Town. ^{[20] [21]}

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
AFC Wimbledon	2012–13 [22]	League Two	5	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	1	6	1
Harrow Borough (loan)	2012–13 [9]	Isthmian League Premier Division	10	2	0	0	0	0	10	2
Hayes & Yeading United	2013–14 [A] [23] [24] [25] [26]	Conference South	38	2	1	1	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	42	3
	2014–15 [23] [27]	Conference South	7	0	1	0	0	0	8	0
	Total		45	2	2	1	3	0	50	3
Bishop's Stortford	2014–15 [28]	Conference South	24	3	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	27	3
	2015–16 [B] [23] [28]	National League South	34	1	0	0	5 [lower-alpha 4]	3	39	4
	Total		58	4	0	0	8	3	66	7
Chelmsford City	2016–17 [28]	National League South	8	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	10	0
Canvey Island	2016–17 [lower-alpha 6] [29]	Isthmian League Premier Division	21	4	0	0	0	0	21	4
	2017–18 [30]	Isthmian League Division One North	42	5	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 7]	0	47	5
	2018–19 [31]	Isthmian League Division One North	38	14	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 8]	2	42	16
	Total		101	23	2	0	7	2	110	25
East Thurrock United	2019–20 [32]	Isthmian League Premier Division	30	14	2	1	4 [lower-alpha 9]	2	36	17
Bishop's Stortford	2020–21 [33]	Isthmian League Premier Division	6	5	5	2	2 [lower-alpha 10]	1	13	8
	2021–22 [34]	Isthmian League Premier Division	35	19	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 11]	2	40	21
	2022–23 [35]	Isthmian League Premier Division	40	22	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 12]	2	45	24
	Total		81	46	8	2	9	5	98	53
Career total			338	91	14	4	34	13	386	108

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Two appearances in FA Trophy; one appearance in Middlesex Senior Cup
3. Two appearances in FA Trophy; one appearance in Hertfordshire Senior Cup
4. One appearance in FA Trophy; two appearances one goal in Hertfordshire Senior Cup; two appearances two goals in Hertfordshire Charity Cup
5. Appearance(s) in Essex Senior Cup
6. This season was on dual-registration with Chelmsford City
7. One appearance in FA Trophy; one appearance in Isthmian League Cup; two appearances in Isthmian League Division One North play-offs
8. Two appearances two goals in FA Trophy; one appearance in Isthmian League Cup
9. Two appearances one goal in FA Trophy; one appearance one goal in Isthmian League Cup; one appearance in Essex Senior Cup
10. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
11. Two appearances two goals in FA Trophy; one appearance in Isthmian League Premier Division play-offs
12. Three appearances one goal in FA Trophy; one appearance one goal in Hertfordshire Senior Cup

Notes

A. ^ Although Soccerway only credits Merrifield with one league goal for Hayes & Yeading United, the team's official website credits him with two. ^{[23] [36]} The discrepancy occurs in 15 April game against Dorchester Town – Soccerway lists the first goalscorer as Freddie Ladapo, but the Hayes & Yeading United match report credits it to Merrifield. ^[37] The video highlights of the game verify Merrifield as the goalscorer. ^[38]

B. ^ Soccerway and the Aylesbury United Archive differ for this season by one appearance and one goal. ^{[23] [28]} It is considered the Aylesbury United Archive is correct regarding the appearance discrepancy (against Hemel Hempstead Town on 19 September 2015), as a tweet shows that Dymon Labonne was still on the pitch in the 85th minute, after Soccerway states he was substituted off. ^{[39] [40] [41]} However, it is considered that Soccerway is correct for the goal discrepancy (against Chelmsford City on 29 February 2016), as YouTube footage shows that it was an own goal by Christian Dibble. ^{[42] [43] [44]}

References

1. "AFC Wimbledon youth products sign professional contracts". AFC Wimbledon. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
2. "Bradford City 5 – 1 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
3. "Southend United 2 – 1 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
4. "Northampton Town 2 – 0 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
5. "Dons pair loaned out". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
6. "Whitehawk 0 – 0 Harrow Borough". Harrow Borough. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
7. "Wimbledon players impress for other clubs". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
8. "Frankie extends stay at Harrow". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
9. "HARROW BOROUGH FC FIRST TEAM APPEARANCES AND GOALSCORERS 2012-13". Harrow Borough Football Club. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
10. "Frankie leaves Wimbledon". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
11. "Former AFC Wimbledon midfielder completes United move". Uxbridge Gazette. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
12. "Frankie goes to Woodside". Bishop's Stortford F.C. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
13. "Merrifield off the mark as Bishop's Stortford are held by Eastbourne". Herts & Essex Observer. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
14. "Church and Merrifield sign from Stortford". Chelmsford City F.C. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
15. "Chelmsford City FC on Twitter". Twitter. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
16. "Canvey Island FC on Twitter". Twitter. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
17. Keating, Terry (2022). East Thurrock United Club History 1969–2022 (PDF). p. 424.
18. Keating, Terry (2022). East Thurrock United Club History 1969–2022 (PDF).
19. Woollard, Ellie (6 May 2023). "Presentation Evening – Summary". Bishop's Stortford FC. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
20. "LATEST SQUAD UPDATES". billericaytownfc.co.uk. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
21. "Billericay Town | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
22. "Frankie Merrifield | Football Stats | Season 2012/2013". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
23. "England – F. Merrifield – Profile with news, career statistics and history". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
24. "Tonbridge Angels 2 Hayes & Yeading Utd 1". hyufc.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
25. "Hayes & Yeading Utd 2 Bognor Regis Town 1". hyufc.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
26. "Harefield United 3 Hayes & Yeading Utd 0". hyufc.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
27. "Hayes & Yeading Utd 0 St Albans City 1". hyufc.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
28. "Player Profile: Frankie Merrifield". Aylesbury United Archive. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
29. "Canvey Island | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield | 2016–2017". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
30. "Canvey Island | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield | 2017–2018". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
31. "Canvey Island | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield | 2018–2019". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
32. "East Thurrock United | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield | 2019–2020". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
33. "Bishop's Stortford | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield | 2020–2021". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
34. "Bishop's Stortford | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield | 2021–2022". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
35. "Bishop's Stortford | Appearances | Frankie Merrifield | 2022–2023". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
36. "Hayes & Yeading United Football Club – First Team Fixtures & Results". hyufc.com. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
37. "Hayes & Yeading United Football Club – Match Report". hyufc.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
38. Dorchester Town v Hayes & Yeading – 15 Apr 2014 , retrieved 31 May 2022
39. "Hemel Hempstead Town vs. Bishop's Stortford – 19 September 2015". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
40. "Match Details: Hemel Hempstead Town 1–2 Bishop's Stortford". aylesburyunitedarchive.com. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
41. "Bishop's Stortford FC on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
42. "Chelmsford City vs. Bishop's Stortford – 29 February 2016". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
43. "Match Details: Chelmsford City 4–1 Bishop's Stortford". aylesburyunitedarchive.com. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
44. Chelmsford City 4 vs 1 Bishop's Stortford – Extended Highlights , retrieved 13 July 2023

External links

• Frankie Merrifield at Soccerbase