Kevin Kent

At age 14, Kent signed on schoolboy terms with West Bromwich Albion.[2] He made two First Division appearances under Ron Wylie and Johnny Giles in the 1983–84 campaign. He then left The Hawthorns and signed for Newport County of the Third Division. A late bid from Birmingham City failed as the move to Newport had already been confirmed.[2]

Kent had been approached to sign for Newport by manager Colin Addison, who had previously been the assistant manager at West Brom.[2] Kent played 33 league games for the "Exiles" in 1984–85, before leaving Rodney Parade to join Mansfield Town.

Kent helped Ian Greaves's side to win promotion out of the Fourth Division with a third-place finish in 1985–86. In 1986–87 he scored ten goals in 57 games, and wrote his name in the club's history books on 24 May 1987, when he became the first (and to date, the only) player in Mansfield's history to score at Wembley when the "Stags" won the Football League Trophy after beating Bristol City on penalties following a 1–1 draw (he also successfully converted his penalty).[4] He scored fifteen goals in 58 games in the 1987–88 campaign. Mansfield posted a 15th-place finish in 1988–89, before new boss George Foster led the club to another 15th-place finish in 1989–90. They were demoted back into the basement division after a last place finish in 1990–91. In total, Kent played 276 first-team games and scored 47 goals in his six seasons at Field Mill. Mansfield told him they would accept a minimum offer of £150,000 for him and so he wrote a letter to all 92 clubs in the Football League to inform them of his availability and received interest from Port Vale and Reading.[2]

In March 1991, Kent joined Port Vale in exchange for Gary Ford and £80,000.[1] He featured in 11 Second Division games at the end of the 1990–91 season, but featured just 25 times in the 1991–92 campaign, as the "Valiants" suffered relegation with a last place finish.[1] He played 28 Third Division (renamed the Second Division due to the creation of the Premier League) games in the 1992–93 season; he did though play 40 games in total throughout the campaign, as he helped the Vale to win the TNT Tournament, the Football League Trophy, and to reach the play-off final.[1] They beat Stockport County in the Football League Trophy Final, but lost 3–0 to West Bromwich Albion in the play-off final.[1] Manager John Rudge ensured his side made up for their failure to win the play-offs by leading them to promotion as the division's runners-up in 1993–94.[1] However, injuries soon brought Kent's career to a halt; he fractured his hand in October 1994 and his kneecap the following February and was hospitalised in May 1995 with a back injury; this final injury brought about his early retirement at the end of the 1995–96 season.[1] On his retirement he became a coaching assistant at Vale Park.[1]