Kenneth Graham Sansom was born on 26 September 1958 and is a former professional footballer who played as a defender.
36 Facts About Kenny Sansom
2.
Kenny Sansom is the second most capped England national team full-back, having appeared 86 times for his country between 1979 and 1988.
3.
Kenneth Graham Kenny Sansom was born in Camberwell, London on 26 September 1958; the second youngest of five children.
4.
Kenny Sansom's father, George, was an itinerant who left the family home shortly after the birth of his youngest child.
5.
Kenny Sansom's mother, Rose, was a cleaner, and moved the family to Tulse Hill in 1960.
6.
Kenny Sansom considered himself a goalkeeper in his early years, but while playing for a youth team called Spring Park Wolves he replaced an injured teammate at left-back, and remained a full-back for the rest of his career.
7.
Kenny Sansom attended Beaufoy Secondary school, and was capped by England schoolboys.
8.
Kenny Sansom was scouted by Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur, but went on to join the youth team at Crystal Palace.
9.
Kenny Sansom made his League debut against Tranmere Rovers on 7 May 1975.
10.
Quick, calm, strong in the tackle and an excellent crosser of the ball, Kenny Sansom missed just one league game in a consecutive run of 156 games, starting in 1976, when Palace were in the Third Division.
11.
Kenny Sansom made his Arsenal debut against West Bromwich Albion on 16 August 1980 and was an ever-present for that season and the next, and a near-constant figure at left-back for Arsenal.
12.
Kenny Sansom was bestowed with the honour of Arsenal Player of the Season in 1981.
13.
Kenny Sansom was one of the few players who could really hold up his head in a time of under-achievement.
14.
Kenny Sansom did keep his place in the side; although Graham had just signed a long-term replacement in Nigel Winterburn.
15.
Everton away at Goodison Park on 7 May 1988 was the last time Kenny Sansom pulled on the red and white shirt.
16.
Kenny Sansom had played 394 matches in total for Arsenal, scoring six goals.
17.
Kenny Sansom then had short spells at Everton, who he joined on a free transfer in February 1993, and First Division Brentford, who he joined on a free transfer a month later, March 1993, but he could not prevent 'The Bees' from being relegated.
18.
Kenny Sansom made one league appearance for Watford, before he retired from top class football, though he did play on for non-league clubs such as Croydon FC and Slough Town.
19.
On 23 May 1979, Kenny Sansom made his debut for the full England team, in a goalless draw against Wales.
20.
Kenny Sansom was a regular starter playing in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, in which England exited in the second group phase.
21.
Kenny Sansom was still the first-choice left-back for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, playing in all of the matches up to and including the quarter final defeat against Argentina, in which game he was one of the England players left behind by Diego Maradona as he burst from inside his own half to score his second goal.
22.
Kenny Sansom missed only a handful of England matches between 1980 and 1988; his record of 37 consecutive appearances between May 1984 and April 1987 has only been bettered by Billy Wright and Ron Flowers.
23.
Kenny Sansom was occasionally rested in friendly matches so that coaches Ron Greenwood and then Bobby Robson could check on potential replacements Derek Statham, Alan Kennedy, Nick Pickering and Stuart Pearce in the event of Sansom's suffering from either serious injury or chronic loss of form.
24.
However Kenny Sansom was still the regular left-back during England's UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying campaign.
25.
Kenny Sansom made an error for the only goal of the game, toeing an attempted clearance high into the air and putting pressure on his fellow defenders, from which John Aldridge won a header for Ray Houghton to nod the ball past Peter Shilton.
26.
Kenny Sansom played in the other two group fixtures but after the tournament Stuart Pearce replaced him as England's first-choice left-back.
27.
Kenny Sansom was briefly recalled to the side in 1989 as a back-up when Pearce was injured, though he did not play.
28.
Kenny Sansom is England's second-most capped full-back and only eleven players have appeared more times for England than Kenny Sansom.
29.
Jointly with Shilton, Kenny Sansom holds the record for the most England caps in the 1980s, with 84 in all.
30.
Kenny Sansom returned to football as a player on the veterans' circuit.
31.
Kenny Sansom was frequently called upon as a pundit to make comments on the game, especially with matters concerning Crystal Palace or Arsenal.
32.
Kenny Sansom made occasional appearances on Australian football show Fox Sports FC via satellite.
33.
Kenny Sansom was a tour guide on the "Legend's Tour" of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
34.
Kenny Sansom was a co-presenter of LBC Radio's Saturday afternoon football programme.
35.
On 7 February 2014, Kenny Sansom appeared at court in Bromley, charged with assault following an alleged incident at his former partner's property.
36.
In 2016, Kenny Sansom was a guest on "Thursday Focus" on Manchester United's in-house TV channel, MUTV, discussing his career and his life after football.