 Griffin in August 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andrew Griffin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-03-17)17 March 1979 (age 46) | ||
| Place of birth | Higher End,Wigan, England[2] | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1996 | Stoke City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1998 | Stoke City | 57 | (2) |
| 1998–2004 | Newcastle United | 76 | (2) |
| 2004–2007 | Portsmouth | 43 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | →Stoke City (loan) | 33 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | Derby County | 15 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Stoke City | 35 | (0) |
| 2010 | →Reading (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Reading | 42 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Doncaster Rovers | 16 | (0) |
| 2014 | Chester | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 342 | (6) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–1998 | England U18 | 6 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | England U21 | 3 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Andrew Griffin (born 17 March 1979) is an English formerfootballer who played as aright-back.
Griffin began his career atStoke City,[3] where he established a reputation as a solid wing-back defender. His impressive performances for thePotters led to him being signed byNewcastle United for a fee of £1.5million in January 1998. He spent six years onTyneside, before moving south toPortsmouth in 2004. He was unable to establish himself as first-choice right-back atPompey and re-joined his old club Stoke on loan for the2006–07 season.
Stoke narrowly missed out on a play-off position and so Griffin decided to sign for newly promotedDerby County, however with Derby struggling to compete in thePremier League, he joined Stoke for a third time in January 2008. He helped Stoke to claim promotion and was made captain of the side for the2008–09 season. Griffin lost his place in the side, after an on the pitch altercation withRicardo Fuller atWest Ham United in December 2008. He joinedReading in 2010, helping them gain promotion at the second attempt after failing in the play-offs. He was released by Reading in May 2012 and joinedDoncaster Rovers in October 2012. He spent two years at Doncaster, before ending his career with a short spell atChester.
Griffin was born inWigan,Greater Manchester, and began his career withStoke City.[4] He impressed in the club'syouth ranks and he was handed a professional contract in July 1996.[4] He instantly became a regular in the side during the1996–97 season, playing in 36 matches including the final match at theVictoria Ground and in just his first season as a professional, he won the club'splayer of the year award.[4][5] In 1997, Stoke moved to theBritannia Stadium, but the team struggled all season and with relegation looming, Stoke decided to cash in on their most promising prospect, selling Griffin toNewcastle United for £1.5million in January 1998.[4]
Griffin settled quickly in Newcastle and earned call-ups to theEngland U21 team and also played in the1999 FA Cup final.[6] However, he picked up an injury in August 1999, ruling him out for the1999–2000 season. He made a comeback thefollowing season, but he again suffered ahernia injury, missing another season.[7] Griffin enjoyed something of a resurgence underBobby Robson and made several solid performances during the2002–03 season, including in theUEFA Champions League, when his winning goal againstJuventus rekindled his side's campaign.[8][9] Injuries and a failure to get a regular place in the side saw him not offered a new contract by Newcastle at the end of the2003–04 season.[10]
Griffin joinedPortsmouth in May 2004 on a free transfer.[11] After agreeing to join the club, Griffin revealed that he took the advice of former Newcastle teammateLomana LuaLua.[12] HisPompey career got off to a bad start as he conceded an own goal on his debut in a 2–0 home defeat againstTottenham Hotspur.[13] He played twenty-seven games in the2004–05 season and twenty-one games in the2005–06 season.[13][14]
By the summer of 2006, he dropped out ofHarry Redknapp's plans and in September of that year he was loaned to former clubStoke City.[15] He became first-choice right-back underTony Pulis as was a number of loan signings for Stoke in the2006–07 season, which helped turn around the club's fortunes. He scored two goals for Stoke, firstly againstLeeds United in a 4–0 victory, and then a "sensational 30-yard strike" againstCoventry City.[16][17] After the match, Pulis spoke of his delight at Griffin's goal and performance. "It was an absolutely fantastic goal. It was top drawer. He came through the ranks at Stoke as a kid and that will mean a lot to him. It will have been lovely for him to score because he's got family here. We're delighted that Portsmouth have allowed us to have him on loan."[18] He played thirty-four matches for Stoke in the 2006–07 season, as Stoke narrowly missed out on a play-off place and Pulis confirmed that he would like to sign Griffin permanently.[19][20][21]
On 31 July 2007, Griffin signed forPremier League sideDerby County on a three-year deal.[22] He was initially Derby's first-choice right-back, but whenTyrone Mears returned from injury andPaul Jewell replacedBilly Davies as Derby manager, he found his chances in the first team restricted.[23] Griffin was given permission to talk to Stoke City.[24]
On 11 January 2008, Griffin moved back to Stoke City for a fee of £300,000, signing a4+1⁄2-year contract.[25] In January 2008, Stoke soldcaptainJohn Eustace toWatford.[26] This move saw Griffin named Stoke's new captain despite only being back at the club for three weeks,[27] nonetheless Griffin was delighted describing it as a "proud moment in my career."[27] On 2 March 2008, he was controversially sent off againstQueens Park Rangers, as Stoke fell to a 3–0 defeat.[28] Stoke were successful in their appeal.[29] In a match against Watford, former teammate Eustace was sent off and Griffin branded the referee's decision as "pathetic".[30] Griffin missed the final two matches of Stoke's promotion winning2007–08 season, due to a torn hamstring.[31] After the season ended, Griffin admitted he made the wrong decision to join Derby rather than Stoke in the summer of 2007.[32]
Griffin began the2008–09 season as first-choice right-back, until he was involved in an on pitch altercation with strikerRicardo Fuller away atWest Ham United on 28 December 2008, which saw Fuller sent off.[33] Afterwards, the pair publicly apologised for the incident.[34][35][36][37] However, Griffin lost his place in the side andAbdoulaye Faye took over as captain for the remainder of the season.[38] He found himself out of the first team in the2009–10 season, but he did manage to score a dramatic 96th-minute winner in a 4–3 victory overBlackpool in theLeague Cup.[39]
On 11 January 2010, he joinedReading on loan for the remainder of the season.[40][41] He was instrumental in solidifying Reading's back line in the second half of the2009–10 season, which saw Reading rise from the relegation zone at the beginning of January to ninth place by the end of the season. Griffin signed on a permanent two-year deal on 1 July 2010 for an undisclosed fee.[42] On 2 May 2012, after Reading had won promotion to the Premier League and with Griffin having made only nine league appearances in the2011–12 season,[43] the club announced it would not be renewing Griffin's contract.[44]
On 22 October 2012, Griffin joined Doncaster Rovers on a non-contract basis.[45] He played eighteen matches for Doncaster in the2012–13 season, as the side won promotion to the Championship.[46] He was informed by managerPaul Dickov that he would not be getting a new contract with the club but allowed him to play with the reserves until he finds a new club.[47] Griffin joinedConference Premier sideChester on 27 March 2014.[48] He made just four appearances for Chester, before he decided to retire from playing.[49] After leaving Chester in the summer of 2014, Griffin became a coach atNewcastle-under-Lyme College.[50]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke City | 1996–97[5] | First Division | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 1 | ||
| 1997–98[51] | First Division | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | |||
| Total | 57 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 64 | 2 | ||||
| Newcastle United | 1997–98[51] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 1998–99[52] | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000[53] | Premier League | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01[54] | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02[55] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03[56] | Premier League | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | 40 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04[57] | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 76 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 1 | — | 104 | 3 | |||
| Portsmouth | 2004–05[13] | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06[14] | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07[19] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 48 | 0 | ||||
| Stoke City (loan) | 2006–07[19] | Championship | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||
| Derby County | 2007–08[58] | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City | 2007–08[58] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09[59] | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10[39] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 1 | ||||
| Reading | 2009–10[39] | Championship | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11[60] | Championship | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[43] | Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Total | 63 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 72 | 0 | |||
| Doncaster Rovers | 2012–13[46] | League One | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Chester | 2013–14[61] | Conference Premier | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 342 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 398 | 8 | ||
