Martin Grainger
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| Martin Grainger | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Grainger | |
| Date of birth | 23/08/1972 | |
| Place of birth | Enfield, England | |
| Position | Left Back | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 1992-1993 1993-1996 1996-2005 2004 |
Colchester United Brentford Birmingham City Coventry City (loan) |
46 (7) 101 (12) 225 (25) 7 (0) |
|
* Professional club appearances and goals |
||
Martin Grainger (born August 23, 1972 in Enfield, England) is a former English football player, he was a defender who ended his playing career with Birmingham City F.C. in December 2004. He was an attacking left back who could also play further up the field or even as a winger.
An experienced player, his career started in 1992 at Colchester United F.C., where he made 37 league starts between July 1992 and October 1993, before moving on to Brentford F.C. on October 21.
A fee of merely sixty thousand pounds was very well justified, as he continued to give himself the regular starting role he was very much capable of, making 100 league starts and scoring 12 goals. He joined Birmingham City F.C. on March 25, 1996, and quickly became an inspirational player due to his continued consistency, and set-piece brilliance.
He picked up the fans' Player of the Season award for 1999-2000, but as Birmingham climbed up, getting closer, and finally reaching the Premiership, Grainger's time was limited. He failed to appear during the 2003/04 season, and was loaned to Coventry City F.C. in February, for whom he made seven league appearances. On March 18, 2004, he was recalled to Birmingham's team due to an injury crisis, and got on the scoresheet in a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United F.C., but was himself injured and failed to appear in any matches for the rest of the season.
Grainger retired from football on January 1, 2005, having spent 13 years as a player. His final fixture, on April 10, 2004, a 1-2 defeat against Manchester United F.C., yielded a goal after an early substitution for Stan Lazaridis.
He retired as a player from football in the memory of Birmingham fans as a legend. He will never be forgotten by many as he epitomizes everything Birmingham City stands for.
