Jack Grimmer

Jack Grimmer

Grimmer playing for Shrewsbury Town in 2014
Personal information
Full nameJack Grimmer[1]
Date of birth25 January 1994
Place of birthAberdeen, Scotland
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Fulham
Number37
Youth career
Aberdeen
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2012Aberdeen4(0)
2012–Fulham8(0)
2014→ Port Vale (loan)13(1)
2014→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)6(0)
National team
2009Scotland U152(0)
2008–2009Scotland U167(2)
2009–2010Scotland U179(0)
2012Scotland U182(0)
2011–2013Scotland U1913(0)
2014–Scotland U211(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:51, 29 November 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Jack Grimmer (born 25 January 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championship club Fulham.

A Scotland under-21 international, he began his career at Aberdeen, becoming the club's youngest ever player at the age of 16. He was sold to Fulham in January 2012. In 2014, he was loaned out to Port Vale in January and Shrewsbury Town in October.

Club career

Aberdeen

Grimmer made his debut for Aberdeen under Mark McGhee on 7 April 2010, becoming the youngest ever Aberdeen player when he came on as a substitute for Steve MacLean in a 3–1 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox at the age of 16 years, 2 months and 13 days.[3][4] Four days later he made his Pittodrie debut in a 3–1 defeat to St. Johnstone.[5]

His next taste of first team football came in the last two SPL games of the 2010–11 season, which included his first start in professional football in a 1–0 home defeat to St. Mirren on 10 May.[6]

In January 2012, Aberdeen manager Craig Brown confirmed that English Premier League club Fulham had expressed interest in signing Grimmer.[7] Brown also stated his belief that Grimmer would best develop his career by staying with the "Dons".[7] Despite this, Grimmer agreed to join Fulham on 18 January, with Aberdeen receiving a £200,000 fee plus incentives.[8] Following his move to Fulham, Aberdeen chief executive Duncan Fraser claimed Grimmer's decision to quit Pittodrie for Fulham showed how young Scottish talent was being lured south of the border by wealthy English clubs and was therefore a bad indication for the future of Scottish football.[9]

"It did get quite personal. When people say certain things you have to try and take it in your stride. But because it was my home-town team, it was harder to take. I'd been one of them when I was younger sitting in the stands with my season-ticket. But I just had to get on with it. There were fans who agreed with my decision and others who didn't but supported me anyway, knowing I was just a young player making a tough choice. Like everyone who is criticised, I want to go out and try to prove the doubters wrong."

— Grimmer speaking in May 2013 about the abuse and criticism he received on Twitter following his move to Fulham.[10]

Fulham

Grimmer signed a three-year contract with Fulham and initially joined the club's Academy team.[8][11] On 7 January 2014, he joined League One side Port Vale on a one-month loan.[12] Manager Micky Adams stated that: "We have a lot of experienced defenders making mistakes and we have been looking to strengthen in that area for a while."[13] Four days later and an injury crisis meant that he started in an inexperienced centre-back partnership with 20 year-old Joe Davis as Vale lost 2–0 to league leaders Brentford at Griffin Park.[14] He was publicly praised by Adams for his performance in the match.[15] He scored his first professional goal with a header in a 1–0 win over Oldham Athletic at Vale Park on 18 January.[16] He impressed in his first four appearances for the "Valiants", and his loan deal was extended until the end of the season.[17] Fulham recalled Grimmer on 27 March 2014 by exercising a clause in the loan agreement, as manager Felix Magath wanted cover for some defensive injuries.[18][19]

He joined League Two club Shrewsbury Town on a one-month loan on 18 October 2014.[20] He was persuaded to join the "Shrews" after hearing good things aboutt the club from his friend Fraser Fyvie and being told by manager Micky Mellon that he would fit in with the style of football at New Meadow.[21] Grimmer played seven matches for Shrewsbury, including five consecutive league victories and their 2–1 defeat to Chelsea in the League Cup. Although the loan had been extended to 3 January 2015, he was recalled to Fulham on 24 November[22] and made his Fulham league debut on 29 November against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Falmer Stadium.[23]

International career

Grimmer was a key player for Scotland youth teams as a teenager, winning caps for the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-19s. He was called up to the Scotland under-21 side for the first time in August 2013 for a qualifier for the 2013 UEFA U-21 Championship.[24] He did not play a game before he withdrew from the squad due to injury.[25] His first cap for the under-21s came in a 2–2 draw with Hungary at Tannadice Park on 5 March 2014.[26]

Style of play

Grimmer was described as "tenacious, aggressive, intelligent, accomplished on the ball and rarely makes a mistake" by the Staffordshire Sentinel in February 2014.[27]

Statistics

Season Club Division League FA Cup League Cup Other[28] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2009–10[29]AberdeenSPL2000000020
2010–11[30]2000000020
2011–12[31]0000000000
Total 4000000040
2012–13[32]FulhamPremier League0000000000
2013–14[33]0000000000
2013–14[33]Port Vale (loan)League One131100000141
2014–15[34]FulhamChampionship0000000000
2014–15[34]Shrewsbury Town (loan)League Two6000100070
Career total 231101000251

References

  1. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 470. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  3. ↑ "Grimmer becomes an Aberdeen FC record breaker". Evening Express. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  4. ↑ Bailey, Graeme (6 January 2012). "Dons starlet set for England". Sky Sports (BSkyB). Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Miller, Stevie (11 April 2010). "Aberdeen 1 - 3 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Aberdeen 0 - 1 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Fulham keep eye on Aberdeen teenager Jack Grimmer". BBC Sport (BBC). 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Fulham sign Jack Grimmer from Aberdeen". BBC Sport (BBC). 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Aberdeen starlet Jack Grimmer quitting for Fulham is bad news for Scottish football, says club chief exec". Daily Record. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  10. ↑ McDermott, Scott (26 May 2013). "It was Grimmer up north; Jack:twitter pests wrote me off when I quit Dons... now I'm training with Berbatov every day I'm out to prove the snipers wrong.". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Fulham sign Jack Grimmer from Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Grimmer Joins Vale". Fulham FC. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Jack Grimmer: Port Vale sign Fulham defender on loan". BBC Sport. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (11 January 2014). "Micky Adams targets loan signings after Gavin Tomlin joins Vale injury list". The Sentinel. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Micky Adams praises Joe Davis and Jack Grimmer". The Sentinel. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  16. ↑ "Port Vale 1 - 0 Oldham Athletic". BBC Sport. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  17. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (8 February 2014). "Port Vale extend Fulham defender Jack Grimmer's loan until end of season". The Sentinel. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  18. ↑ "Jack Back In SW6". Fulham F.C. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  19. ↑ Murtagh, Jacob (29 March 2014). "Fulham boss explains why he recalled Grimmer from Port Vale loan". Get West London. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Fulham defender joins Shrewsbury on loan". BBC Sport. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  21. ↑ "Shrewsbury sneak in Jack Grimmer signing". Shropshire Star. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "Grimmer Recalled". Fulham F.C. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Brighton & Hove Albion v Fulham". BBC Sport. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "Scotland Under-21s call for Danny Handling and Jack Grimmer". BBC Sport. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Scotland Under-21: Billy Stark backs players to bounce back". BBC Sport. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  26. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (5 March 2014). "Port Vale defender Jack Grimmer makes Scotland U-21 debut". The Sentinel. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  27. ↑ "Port Vale pen pics". The Sentinel. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  28. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Football League Trophy.
  29. ↑ "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  31. ↑ "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  32. ↑ "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.

External links