Bobby Grant (footballer)

Bobby Grant

Personal information
Full name	Robert Grant[1]
Date of birth	1 July 1990[1]
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Striker
Club information
Current team	Fleetwood Town
Number	14
Youth career
0000–2006	Accrington Stanley
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2006–2010	Accrington Stanley	65	(15)
2010–2012	Scunthorpe United	59	(7)
2010–2011	→ Rochdale (loan)	6	(2)
2012	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	8	(3)
2012–2013	Rochdale	36	(15)
2013–2015	Blackpool	6	(0)
2014	→ Fleetwood Town (loan)	1	(0)
2014–2015	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	32	(6)
2015–	Fleetwood Town	18	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:16, 16 December 2015 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

Robert "Bobby" Grant (born 1 July 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays for Fleetwood Town as a striker.

Career

Accrington Stanley

Born in Liverpool, Merseyside, Grant came through Accrington Stanley's youth system^[1] and made his first team on 5 May 2007 in the League Two clash with Milton Keynes Dons at the National Hockey Stadium which ended in 3–1 defeat for Stanley. In that game, at the age of 16 years 309 days, he became the second youngest player to appear in The Football League for Stanley and the youngest since February 1959. At the beginning of the 2007–08 season he suffered a knee injury which kept him out until January 2008, soon after he signed professional terms. His first goal for Stanley came in a 1–0 home win against Chesterfield on 25 April 2009.^[2]

Grant was one of five men arrested alongside Steven Gerrard after an alleged assault on Lounge Inn DJ and businessman Mark McGee during a fracas inside the Southport night club in December 2008. Gerrard and two others were charged with assault, while Grant was released on bail without charge.^[3]

Scunthorpe United

On 24 June 2010 Grant signed for Scunthorpe United for the fee up to £260,000 and signed a two-year deal at the club. He was awarded a one-year contract extension by the club in May 2012.^[4]

Rochdale

In the summer of 2012 Grant signed a two-year deal at Rochdale for an undisclosed fee and rejoined John Coleman who was his manager while he was at Accrington Stanley. On 17 June 2013 Grant had a transfer request accepted by Rochdale after a successful season at Spotland in which he scored 16 goals from 28 appearances.^[5]

Blackpool

On 18 July 2013, Grant signed for Blackpool for an undisclosed fee, on a two-year contract with an option of a further year.^[6] He was released in May 2015.^[7]

Fleetwood Town (loan)

On 28 February 2014, Grant joined League Two side Fleetwood Town for the remainder of the 2013–14 season but was injured 38 minutes into his debut.^[8]

Shrewsbury Town (loan)

Having not featured for his parent club since December 2013, Grant signed on an initial one-month loan with Shrewsbury Town in League Two on 9 October 2014, linking up with former Blackpool team-mates James Caton and Mark Halstead.^[9] He made his debut a week later, playing an hour as Shrewsbury picked up their first away win of the season against York City.^[10] His loan was later extended until the New Year,^[11] and he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win over Mansfield Town on 15 November.^[12] Grant made a brief return Blackpool in January 2015, before extending his loan period at Shrewsbury to the end of the 2014–15 season.^[13][14]

After scoring a brace in two matches – in a 2–1 away win at his former club Accrington,^[15] and also in Shrewsbury's first ever win at Fratton Park against Portsmouth,^[16][17] as well as a further goal against Cambridge United,^[18] Grant won the Football League Two Player of the Month award for March 2015.^[19]

Having featured regularly as the club were promoted back to League One at the first attempt, Grant subsequently returned to Blackpool at the end of the season, although he expressed his interest in a permanent transfer to Shrewsbury should the opportunity arise.^[20]

Style of play

Grant is able to play as a striker, but has often been utilised as an attacking midfielder or winger.^[21] He is left footed, and known for his ability to shoot accurately from distance.^[22]

Career statistics

As of 16 December 2015.^[23]

Club	Season	League^[A]			FA Cup		League Cup		Other^[B]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Accrington Stanley	2006–07	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2007–08		7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	2008–09		15	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	16	1
	2009–10		42	14	5	2	2	1	4	1	53	18
	Total		65	15	5	2	3	1	4	1	77	19
Scunthorpe United	2010–11	Championship	27	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	30	0
	2011–12	League One	29	7	2	0	2	0	2	2	35	9
	2012–13		3	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	5	2
	Total		59	7	2	0	7	2	2	2	70	11
Rochdale (loan)	2010–11	League One	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2011–12	League Two	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
Rochdale	2012–13		36	15	1	0	0	0	1	1	38	16
Blackpool	2013–14	Championship	6	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
	2014–15		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		6	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
Fleetwood Town (loan)	2013–14	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2014–15		33	6	3	0	1	0	0	0	37	6
Fleetwood Town	2015–16	League One	18	6	0	0	1	0	3	1	22	7
Career totals			232	54	11	2	13	3	10	5	266	64

A. ^ The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League.

B. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy.

Honours

Shrewsbury Town

• League Two runner-up, second-place promotion: 2014–15

Individual

• Football League Two Player of the Month: March 2015^[19]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
2. Accrington 1–0 Chesterfield
3. "Stanley Player Bailed", Accrington Observer, 31 December 2008
4. "Cliff Byrne heads Scunthorpe United departures". BBC. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
5. Statement: Bobby Grant
6. "Rochdale's Grant joins Blackpool". BBC Sport. 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
7. "Retained List Announced" – Blackpool F.C.'s official website, 19 May 2015
8. "Bobby joins Cod Army". Fleetwood Town FC. 28 February 2014.
9. "Bobbby Grant: Shrewsbury Town sign Blackpool striker on loan". BBC Sport. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
10. "York City 0–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
11. "Shrewsbury Town: Jack Grimmer and Bobby Grant extend loan deals". BBC Sport. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
12. "Shrewsbury Town 2–0 Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
13. "LOAN NEWS: Grant, Passley and McAllister". Shrewsweb. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
14. "Bobby Grant: Blackpool winger extends Shrewsbury Town loan". BBC Sport. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
15. "Accrington 1–2 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
16. "Portsmouth 0–2 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
17. "Portsmouth 0 Town 2 – Report and pictures". Shropshire Star. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
18. "Shrewsbury Town 1–1 Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
19. "Bobby Grant Wins Award". Shrewsweb. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
20. "Shrewsbury Town's Bobby Grant gets tips from Steven Gerrard". Shropshire Star. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
21. "Bobby Grant tippied to get Town firing again". Shropshire Star. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
22. "Bobby Grant tipped to make his mark at Town". Shropshire Star. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
23. "Bobby Grant career statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2012-08-11.

External links

• Robert Grant career statistics at Soccerbase