Neil Grayson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Neil Grayson | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Grayson | |
| Date of birth | 1 November 1964 | |
| Place of birth | York, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Stafford Rangers | |
| Number | 9 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1989–1990 1990–1991 1991 1991–1992 1992 1992–1994 1994–1997 1997–1998 1998–2002 2002–2004 2004– |
Rowntree Mackintosh Doncaster Rovers York City Chesterfield Gateshead Boston United Northampton Town Hereford United Cheltenham Town Forest Green Rovers Stafford Rangers |
? (?) 29 (6) 1 (0) 15 (0) 14 (3) 80 (31) 120 (32) 24 (11) 108 (24) 64 (24) 170 (54) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1998–1999 | England National Game XI | 4 (3) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Neil Grayson (born 1 November 1964 in York) is an English footballer who currently plays for Conference side Stafford Rangers, in the position of striker. He started his career relatively late and, at the age of 43, still regularly features for Stafford.
Grayson's first club was local outfit Rowntree Mackintosh, playing in the Northern Counties East Football League Division One. He was snapped up by Doncaster Rovers in March 1990 where he stayed for just over a year. He has had spells at a number of clubs at various tiers, including York City, Chesterfield and Northampton Town in the Football League. Whilst at Northampton he scored the fastest ever hatrick by a Northampton player, in five minutes against Hartlepool, and also helped the Cobblers win the Division Three playoffs.
In 1997 he dropped back into non-league football with Hereford United who paid £20,000 for him. He quickly became a fans favourite, scoring his first ever FA Cup goals in Hereford's 2-1 revenge win over Brighton, and went on to score a goal in every two games for the Edgar Street side. This was enough for Cheltenham Town to make a £15,000 bid that the financially-troubled Bulls couldn't refuse in March 1998. He was instrumental in Cheltenham's promotion to the Football League in 1998-99, scoring a spectacular goal against Morecambe, the winner against Rushden & Diamonds in a Conference Championship showdown. He was subsequently named Conference Player of the Year. During the 2001-2002 season, he scored one of his most memorable goals, a volley from at least 30 yards at Whaddon Road in the Division 3 game against Plymouth. His last appearances for the club were in the successful 2001-02 playoff campaign where he scored a vital equaliser in the semi-finals first leg and scored his penalty in the shootout in the second leg. For his final game for the Robins, at the Millenium Stadium he came on as a substitute and smashed a shot against the post, with recent signing John Finnigan netting the re-bound. He then left Town for local non-league side Forest Green Rovers in the Conference.
He spent two seasons at Forest Green Rovers, and then signed for Stafford Rangers in March 2004, scoring twice on his league debut against Moor Green. He has since played over 100 times for Stafford, notably scoring in the 2006 Conference North playoff final against Droylsden.
Neil was named as an all-time cult hero both at Northampton and Cheltenham, in a Four-Four-Two magazine poll. He has also played several times for the England National Game XI, notably scoring on his debut against the Netherlands.
