A centre-half who joined City towards the end of 1953, Knapp didn’t make his senior debut until over two years later in an away game at Stoke City and went on to make almost 100 appearances for the club in all competitions.
He made his biggest impact in the top flight in 1958 but eventually lost out in his battle for a regular first-team slot at the back against Ian King, with an injury taking its toll on the Newstead-born player.
Despite struggling for regular outings with City, however, he did receive a call-up to the England squad but continued to be only used as back-up.
Clubs such as Chelsea and Liverpool made a move for him but he eventually picked Southampton as his destination and enjoyed some of his playing days with the Saints, helping them to the top flight for the very first time before he moved to Iceland to manage KR Reykjavik and the national side. Norway proved to be his more permanent destination, however, managing four of the country’s top clubs including Viking Stavanger and SK Brann.
