Greening pictured in 2007 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Greening[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 January 1979 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Scarborough, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1996 | York City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–1998 | York City | 25 | (2) |
| 1998–2001 | Manchester United | 14 | (0) |
| 2001–2004 | Middlesbrough | 99 | (4) |
| 2004–2010 | West Bromwich Albion | 196 | (7) |
| 2009–2010 | → Fulham (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Fulham | 10 | (0) |
| 2011– | Nottingham Forest | 19 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999–2001 | England U21 | 17 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 04:06, 17 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Jonathan Greening (born 2 January 1979) is an English footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest as a midfielder.
Greening began his career in 1996 with York City, but moved to Manchester United in 1998, with whom he won the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League as a non-playing substitute in the Final. However, he failed to make a breakthrough in the Manchester United first team and followed United assistant manager Steve McClaren to Middlesbrough in 2001. During his time at Middlesbrough, Greening earned his first call-up to the England national team, but he did not make an appearance. In 2004, he joined West Bromwich Albion for £1.25 million, and, in 2008, captained the team to the Football League Championship title. After West Brom turned down an offer from Fulham for Greening in July 2009, the two sides agreed a loan move the following month.
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Born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Greening joined the York City youth system at the age of 15.[3] He signed with the club's Youth Training Scheme in December 1996 and broke into the first team towards the end of the 1996–97 season, making his debut as subsitute in a 1–1 draw away at Bournemouth on 22 March 1997.[4]
Following a four-day trial with Manchester United in February,[3] he signed for the FA Premier League team on 25 March 1998 for what was understood to be an initial fee of £500,000, which could have potentially risen to £2 million dependent on appearances and international recognition, with a sell-on clause.[5] Greening gained England under-21 recognition despite his failure to gain a regular first team place at Old Trafford. As an attacking midfielder, he faced massive competition from more established players in both positions and his first-team opportunities were restricted, although he did make the substitute's bench in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final. He later admitted that he "felt a bit of a fraud" for picking up his winner's medal, having not played a single minute of European football that season.[6] He did however make a contribution to their victorious FA Cup campaign, coming on as a substitute at half-time in their fifth round tie with future club Fulham.[7]
Greening signed a new contract with United at the end of the 1999–2000 season, but by 2001 he had become frustrated by the lack of first team opportunities, and conceded that he would need to leave the club in order to play regularly.[8]
On 9 August 2001, Greening joined Middlesbrough for a combined fee of £3 million which saw both him and United teammate Mark Wilson head to Teeside to rejoin former Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren, who was by now the manager of Middlesbrough.[9] Greening remained on Teesside for three seasons, being voted Club Player of the Year for 2002–03 and also being selected for the full England squad (though he did not play).[10] But his first team chances were more limited during the 2003–04 season, after which he signed for West Bromwich Albion for an initial fee of £1.25 million.[11]
Greening made his Albion debut in a 1–1 draw away at Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the 2004–05 Premier League season,[12] and quickly established himself as a key player in the Baggies' midfield, helping to secure their Premier League survival in his first season. In his first three years at the club he made a total of 125 appearances, only seven of which were as a substitute.
He signed a new three-year contract with West Brom in August 2007,[13] and was made club captain for the 2007–08 season.[14] His performances during the campaign led to him being named in the Championship Team of the Week on several occasions.[15][16][17] Greening missed the fifth round FA Cup match at Coventry City due to suspension,[18] but it was the only match he missed during the campaign; he started all 46 league matches and also participated in eight out of nine cup games. He captained Albion in the FA Cup semi-final, where they lost 1–0 to Portsmouth,[19] and one month later led the team to promotion as winners of the Championship.[20] Greening was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year, alongside teammates Paul Robinson and Kevin Phillips.[21] During the last two months of the season Greening suffered from a double hernia problem but played on until the end of the campaign, when he had an operation to rectify the injury.[22][23]
Towards the end of the 2008–09 season, Greening said he was looking to sign a new contract with Albion.[24] He was offered a new four-year contract by the club, but instead handed in a transfer request in July 2009.[25]
On 14 July, West Brom rejected a "derisory" bid from Fulham for Greening.[26] Nevertheless, on 24 August, Greening joined Fulham on a season-long loan for the 2009–10 season, with a view to a permanent move upon completion of the loan period.[27] He scored his first and only league goal for Fulham against Portsmouth on 3 February 2010.[28] He also came off the bench in the UEFA Europa League Final defeat against Atlético Madrid.[29]
Greening signed a two-year contract with Fulham on 1 July after a successful loan spell the previous season.[30] After signing, he was mainly used as a substitute and was seen as a 'fringe' player. Under new manager Mark Hughes, he rarely featured, making only 10 league appearances in the 2010–11 season.
On 18 July 2011, Greening signed a three-year contract with Championship club Nottingham Forest, with Fulham receiving an undisclosed fee, reuniting with manager Steve McClaren for the second time after working with him at both Manchester United and Middlesbrough.[31] Greening said the move met his desire to seek regular football.[32]
Although naturally right-sided, Greening can operate anywhere across the midfield.[33] Initially an attacking wide midfielder, he later moved to a central midfield holding role. Team mate Dean Kiely once described how Greening "sprays passes around like a quarterback" in Albion's style of attacking football under Tony Mowbray.[34]
| Club | Season | League[A] | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe[B] | Other[C] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| York City | 1996–97[35] | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1997–98[36] | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 | ||
| Total | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
| Manchester United | 1997–98[37] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99[38] | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000[39] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2000–01[40] | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| Middlesbrough | 2001–02[41] | 36 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2002–03[42] | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2003–04[43] | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 1 | |||
| Total | 99 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 109 | 4 | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | 2004–05[44] | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06[45] | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2006–07[46] | 42 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | 0 | 52 | 3 | ||
| 2007–08[47] | 46 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 54 | 1 | |||
| 2008–09[48] | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2009–10[49] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 196 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 1 | – | 3 | 0 | 224 | 8 | ||
| Fulham (loan) | 2009–10[49] | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 34 | 1 | |
| Fulham | 2010–11[50] | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12[51] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 33 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 49 | 2 | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2011–12[51] | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 0 | ||
| Career totals | 386 | 14 | 27 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 458 | 16 | |
Middlesbrough F.C.
West Bromwich Albion
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