 Grabban withAston Villa in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lewis James Grabban[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-01-12)12 January 1988 (age 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Croydon, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Crystal Palace | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2008 | Crystal Palace | 10 | (1) |
| 2006 | →Oldham Athletic (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | →Motherwell (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2008–2011 | Millwall | 56 | (9) |
| 2010 | →Brentford (loan) | 7 | (2) |
| 2010 | →Brentford (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2011 | Brentford | 18 | (4) |
| 2011–2012 | Rotherham United | 43 | (18) |
| 2012–2014 | AFC Bournemouth | 87 | (35) |
| 2014–2016 | Norwich City | 41 | (13) |
| 2016–2018 | AFC Bournemouth | 18 | (0) |
| 2017 | →Reading (loan) | 16 | (3) |
| 2017–2018 | →Sunderland (loan) | 19 | (12) |
| 2018 | →Aston Villa (loan) | 15 | (8) |
| 2018–2022 | Nottingham Forest | 144 | (54) |
| 2022 | Al-Ahli | 5 | (1) |
| Total | 497 | (161) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Lewis James Grabban (born 12 January 1988) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as astriker. Since retiring from football Lewis has returned to Nottingham Forest as an academy coach.[3]
He was called up to theJamaica squad in 2015 but remained uncapped.[4]
Grabban's maternal grandparents wereWindrush migrants from Jamaica. He converted to Islam at the age of 18.[5]
After joiningCrystal Palace at the age of 13, he was handed his debut in a 3–0 home win againstWalsall in theLeague Cup on 23 August 2005.[6] He made his second appearance in the following round, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 win againstCoventry City on 20 September.[7] In May 2006, he was named 'Academy Player of the Year'.[8]
On 16 August 2006, he joinedOldham Athletic on an initial one-month loan deal.[9] He made his debut on 19 August in a 1–0 loss against future clubMillwall.[10] The loan deal was extended a day before it was due to expire on 15 September, keeping Grabban at Oldham for another month.[11] After making 10 appearances for the club, he was recalled by Crystal Palace on 10 October 2006.[12]
He returned to Crystal Palace and made his league debut on 20 February 2007, in a 1–0 away win againstSouthend United.[13] On 14 March 2007, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 win againstWest Brom.[14]
On 31 August 2007, he joined Scottish sideMotherwell on loan until January 2008.[15] He made his debut on 3 September in a 2–0 defeat toHearts.[16] His loan ended on 2 January and he returned to Crystal Palace, playing in a 3–0 win againstWolves 10 days later.[17] A week later he played in his final game before joining Millwall, a 2–0 win againstBristol City atSelhurst Park.[18]
On 21 January 2008, Grabban signed for Palace'sLondon rivalsMillwall for £150,000 on a three-and-a-half-year contract, and he was assigned the shirt number 10.[19] He made his debut on 23 January in a 2–2 draw againstNottingham Forest atThe Den.[20] He scored his first goal for Millwall on 23 February in a 3–0 home win againstPort Vale.[21] He then scored in the following two games, scoring an equaliser to earn Millwall a 1–1 draw away toLuton Town, and opening the scoring in the first minute of a 2–1 win againstSwansea City.[22][23]
On the opening day of the 2008–09 season, Grabban scored in a 4–3 defeat toOldham Athletic. His goal at the time had given Millwall a 3–1 lead, however Oldham sensationally managed to come back and win the game 4–3.[24] On 30 August, he scored in a 2–1 win againstHuddersfield Town, and scored again the following game which was a 2–0 win againstHartlepool United.[25][26]
He began to find form as he scored four goals in nine matches, all of which were wins, againstSwindon Town,Colchester United,Hereford United andChester.[27][28][29][30] Millwall finished fifth in the table, and after defeatingLeeds United in the play-off semi-finals,[31] they lost 3–2 toScunthorpe United in the final atWembley.[32] Millwall and Grabban did gain promotion via the playoffs during the 2009–10 season after winning the2010 Football League One play-off final againstSwindon Town.[33]
On 25 March 2010, Grabban signed forBrentford on loan until the end of the season.[34] On 27 March he made his debut and scored as Brentford beatLeyton Orient 1–0 atGriffin Park.[35] His next and final goal of the loan spell came in a 3–0 home victory againstHuddersfield Town on 10 April.[36] He scored twice in 7 appearances[37] before being recalled by parent clubMillwall on 21 April. Brentford managerAndy Scott said: "He's done really well for us and we are very disappointed to lose him".[38] The following season, he re-joined Brentford on loan for one month on 8 October 2010.[39] He made his second debut the following day, in a 3–1 home defeat toOldham Athletic.[40] He scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw againstAFC Bournemouth on 2 November, scoring a penalty just eight minutes after coming on as a substitute.[41] The following day his loan spell was extended for another two months, keeping him at the club until 4 January.[42] On 24 January 2011, Grabban signed permanently for Brentford on a free transfer, with his contract lasting until the end of the season.[43] After scoring in games againstMK Dons andWalsall, he scored twice in a 4–4 draw with Huddersfield Town on 7 May 2011, which was also his last appearances for the club.[44][45][46] Grabban made 32 appearances and scored 7 goals across his three spells with the Bees.[47]
On 4 July 2011, Grabban signed forLeague Two sideRotherham United, on a two-year deal.[48] He had previously worked with managerAndy Scott during his time at Brentford.[49]
He made his debut on 6 August, and scored a stunning volley with the outside of his foot from the edge of the box, as Rotherham beatOxford United 1–0 atDon Valley Stadium.[50] He scored his second goal for the club on 27 August in a 3–0 home win againstGillingham, taking Rotherham to the top of the league in the process.[51] On 10 September he scored twice as Rotherham beatDagenham & Redbridge 3–1.[52] A week later he scored twice in one game again, in a 3–3 draw withTorquay United.[53] In October he scored in back to back games in the space of three days, in draws toShrewsbury andMorecambe.[54][55] In November, he scored in three consecutive wins, including two league wins againstAldershot andBradford City, and twice in anFA Cup win againstBarrow.[56][57][58] He scored his third FA Cup goal of the season on 3 December, however Rotherham were eliminated as they lost 2–1 to Shrewsbury.[59]
He scored his first goals of 2012 on 2 January, as Rotherham beat Bradford 3–0 at home.[60] On 5 JanuaryCrawley Town bid £100,000 for Grabban, who had scored 12 goals in 24 appearances so far for Rotherham.[61] The bid was rejected, and Rotherham managerAndy Scott labelled the bid as "embarrassing", saying it would take big money for them to accept any offers.[62][63]
On 6 March he scored in a 1–1 draw withCrewe, and scored again the following game as Rotherham beatPlymouth Argyle 1–0.[64][65] He followed this up with a goal in a 2–1 loss to Oxford on 17 March, and scoring the winner on 31 March againstHereford United.[66][67] On 21 April he scored his 20th & 21st goals of the season in a 3–2 home win against Morecambe.[68] On 21 May 2012 reports came in thatCrawley Town had agreed a deal with the striker, it was later confirmed that Grabban had agreed a deal after announced bySky Sports News andBBC Sport butRotherham bossSteve Evans denied the deal being agreed.[69]
On 31 May 2012, Grabban signed forLeague One team AFC Bournemouth for a fee believed to be around £300,000.[70] He made his debut on 14 August 2012, in a 0–0 draw againstOxford United in theLeague Cup. Oxford won the game on penalties, although Grabban scored his penalty in the shoot-out.[71] He made his league debut four days later, in a 1–1 draw againstPortsmouth.[72] He scored on his home debut on 21 August, opening the scoring in a 1–1 draw againstMK Dons.[73] On 13 October, he scored his second goal for the club in a 2–0 win at home toLeyton Orient.[74] On 27 October, he scored again in a 4–2 win againstCarlisle United.[75] On 17 November, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win againstOldham Athletic.[76]
He scored twice on the opening day of the new season, now in theChampionship after Bournemouth won promotion in the previous season, in a 2–1 win againstCharlton Athletic.[77] He then scored in the following game, a 6–1 defeat toWatford.[78] He also scored again in the following game, a 1–0 win againstWigan Athletic, meaning he had scored four goals in the opening three matches.[79] After scoring in defeats toBlackpool[80] andLeeds United,[81] Grabban scored in a 5–2 win againstMillwall on 5 October, maintaining his excellent start to the season.[82] Grabban then scored in consecutive away wins for Bournemouth againstReading andSheffield Wednesday in December.[83]
On 18 January 2014, Grabban signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal to end speculation with him to a move toBrighton & Hove Albion.[84] Later that day, he celebrated signing his new deal by scoring in a 1–1 draw againstWatford.[85] Later in January, he scored in a 2–1 win againstHuddersfield Town,[86] and began February well by scoring in a 2–2 draw againstBolton Wanderers.[87] In March, he took his tally for the season to 15 by scoring in back-to-back wins againstBlackpool andBlackburn Rovers.[88][89] Later that month, he ended a three-game goal drought by scoring twice in a 4–1 win againstLeeds United. The win was also the first time that Bournemouth had ever beaten Leeds.[90] Grabban scored 35 goals during his two-year stay with the Cherries.
On 5 June 2014, Grabban completed a transfer toNorwich City for an undisclosed fee which was reported to be around £3million.[91] After making his debut in a 1–0 loss toWolves in the opening game of the season,[92] Grabban scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance, helping Norwich to beatWatford 3–0 atCarrow Road.[93] On 23 August, Grabban scored the game's only goal as Norwich beat rivalsIpswich Town in theEast Anglian derby, his fourth goal in his first four games for the club.[94] He went on to score 13 goals in 44 games for the club, the first 12 of which played an integral part in the club gaining promotion to the Premier League.
In August 2015, Grabban was suspended by Norwich after he did not report for their League Cup fixture againstRotherham United, despite being named as a substitute for the match.[95] It emerged that Grabban had fled Norwich's team hotel without permission from the club, with former club Bournemouth having made several bids to sign him.[96] Grabban later apologised to Norwich supporters following the incident, reaffirming his commitment to the club.[97]
On 11 January 2016, Grabban re-signed for nowPremier League side AFC Bournemouth from Norwich City on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[98]
Grabban struggled to make an impact for Bournemouth on returning to the club, failing to score in 16 appearances in the second half of the 2015–16 season.[99]
Grabban fell out of favour at Bournemouth in the 2016–17 season, making only six appearances for the club without scoring.[100]
On 31 January 2017, Grabban signed for Championship sideReading on loan for the remainder of the2016–17 season.[101]
Grabban scored three goals in 17 appearances for Reading throughout his loan spell, and he featured in their Championship play-off final defeat toHuddersfield Town.[102]
On 26 July 2017, Grabban signed for Sunderland on a season long loan.[103][104] He scored his first goal for Sunderland on his debut in a 1–1 draw withDerby County on 4 August 2017.[105] The following weekend Grabban scored two goals and an own goal in a 3–1 victory over his former club Norwich.[106]
Grabban's impressive form for a struggling Sunderland side saw him request to be recalled to parent club Bournemouth, and they activated this option on 5 January 2018, with Grabban returning as Sunderland's top scorer for the season with 12 goals in 20 games throughout his loan spell.[107]
Grabban joinedChampionship sideAston Villa on 31 January 2018, on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.[108] His first goal for the club was an equalising penalty againstPreston North End on 20 February 2018.[109]
During his loan spell he scored 8 goals in 15 games, to help Villa secure a play-off place and defeatMiddlesbrough in the two semi finals to reachthe final,[110] playing in the final, as Villa lost 1–0 toFulham in the final and thus missed out on promotion to thePremier League.[111]
Grabban also finished the runner up to Sky Bet Championship Golden Boot winnerMatěj Vydra after scoring 20 goals in the competition (for bothAston Villa andSunderland combined) during the 2017–18 season.[112]
Grabban then joinedChampionship sideNottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee (believed to be £6 million) on 6 July 2018 on a four-year deal. ManagerAitor Karanka revealed that it took two to three weeks of persuasion before Grabban chose to move to Forest, but eventually he was convinced of the club's ambition.[113] He started slowly at Forest, going six games without scoring, but then scored 15 in 15 games in all competitions, the first of which being in a 2–1 win overSheffield Wednesday.[114] Grabban then did not score in his next five games and picked up a few niggling injuries, before Karanka was sacked and replaced with Forest club legendMartin O'Neill.[115] Under O'Neill's management and subsequent style of play, Grabban struggled with form, scoring just twice in 14 games,[114] with the forward having to drop deep into his own half to get the ball due to Forest relying more on scoring from set-pieces than goals from open play. In total, Grabban scored 17 goals in 41 games for Forest in the 2018–19 season, 16 of which came in theChampionship. This made him Forest's top scorer in an individual league season for the decade commencing 2010, beatingBritt Assombalonga's total of 15 in the 2014–15 season.[116][circular reference]
On 28 June, Forest made the decision to sack Martin O'Neill and replace him with former France internationalSabri Lamouchi,[117] which offered Grabban a reprieve as Lamouchi chose to put his faith in Grabban as a lone striker. This paid off with Grabban once again finishing as Forest's top scorer, becoming the first Forest striker to score 20 goals in a single season sinceDavid Johnson andMarlon Harewood both achieved that feat during the2002–03 season.[118] He received particular praise for the increase in his work rate, with Lamouchi saying "Lewis is so crucial for us. If he is running like that, fighting like that and working hard for the team ... we can achieve anything".[119]
Grabban was made vice-captain of Nottingham Forest ahead of the new season, following the departure ofBen Watson toCharlton Athletic.[120] Grabban was offered the chance to move to Qatar and join former manager Sabri Lamouchi's new team,Al-Duhail. Grabban turned down the move after the Forest hierarchy convinced him of his worth to the team.[120]
The 2020–21 season proved to be a much more difficult one for Grabban than his previous years at Forest. He scored no goals in the first seven games of the season[121] before an injury kept him sidelined until December.[120] Although he did manage to score on his return in a 2–0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday,[122] he struggled to get a consistent run of games in the Forest team due to competition with strikersLyle Taylor andGlenn Murray. He was Forest's top scorer for the third season in a row, scoring 6 goals.[121]
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Grabban inherited the Captain's armband for Forest ahead of the 2021–22 season, followingMichael Dawson's retirement. The season started slowly for Grabban as he failed to score in the first five matches of the campaign.
The season started to look up for Forest and Grabban after the arrival ofSteve Cooper as head coach. Grabban was considered the main striker under the new coach and started to score consistently as Forest climbed the table. By January, Grabban had doubled his tally of the previous season, including a goal against local rivalsDerby County in the East Midland's Derby, his second against Forest's rivals in his time at the club.
Grabban finished the season with 13 goals in 34 appearances, with an ankle injury keeping him out of the side for much of the second half of the campaign. During that time, he was given credit for acting as a mentor toKeinan Davis and helping the loanee to improve his movement and positioning. As club captain, Grabban lifted the play-off trophy alongsideJoe Worrall as Forest were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years.[123] Grabban's Forest contract ran out on 30 June and his time at the club came to an end when it was announced he had turned down the offer of a new one.[124]
On 24 August 2022, Grabban joinedSaudi First Division League sideAl-Ahli on a one-year deal.[125] However within three months of signing Grabban, Al-Ahli terminated his contract in November 2022 after Grabban formally requested he be paid his wages for the two months that they had not been received.[126] On 8 March 2023 Al-Ahli was ordered by the FIFA Football Tribunal to pay Grabban $500,000 in due wages on top of $700,000 in compensation for breach of contract.[127]
Although born in London, Grabban is eligible to play forJamaica in addition to England. In May 2014, it was reported onTV Jamaica that he was called up by German coachWinfried Schäfer to play againstSerbia on 26 May 2014 in an international friendly.[128] However the player was not named in the squad due to passport issues. Grabban was later called up to theJamaica national football team on 27 February 2015 for friendly games against Venezuela and Cuba.[4]
On 7 August 2024, Nottingham Forest FC announced that Grabban had returned to the club, working as a Professional Development Phase coach with the U18 team with time also spent with the B team.[129]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2005–06[130] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006–07[131] | Championship | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08[132] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Oldham Athletic (loan) | 2006–07[131] | League One | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Motherwell (loan) | 2007–08[132] | Scottish Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| Millwall | 2007–08[132] | League One | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 2008–09[133] | League One | 31 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 39 | 7 | |
| 2009–10[134] | League One | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2010–11[135] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 56 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 70 | 11 | ||
| Brentford (loan) | 2009–10[134] | League One | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 2010–11[135] | League One | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||
| Brentford | 2010–11[135] | League One | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 20 | 4 |
| Rotherham United | 2011–12[136] | League Two | 43 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 47 | 21 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 2012–13[137] | League One | 42 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 47 | 13 |
| 2013–14[138] | Championship | 44 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 46 | 22 | ||
| Total | 86 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 93 | 35 | ||
| Norwich City | 2014–15[139] | Championship | 35 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 36 | 12 |
| 2015–16[99] | Premier League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | ||
| Total | 41 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 13 | ||
| AFC Bournemouth | 2015–16[99] | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[140] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | ||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Reading (loan) | 2016–17[140] | Championship | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 19 | 3 |
| Sunderland (loan) | 2017–18[141] | Championship | 19 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 12 |
| Aston Villa (loan) | 2017–18[141] | Championship | 15 | 8 | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 18 | 8 | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2018–19[142] | Championship | 39 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 41 | 17 | |
| 2019–20[143] | Championship | 45 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 45 | 20 | ||
| 2020–21[121] | Championship | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 6 | ||
| 2021–22[144] | Championship | 32 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 13 | ||
| Total | 144 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 149 | 56 | |||
| Career total | 491 | 160 | 20 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 540 | 168 | ||
Brentford
Norwich City
Nottingham Forest
Individual
At the age of 18, Grabban, whose Jamaican maternal grandparents were part of the Windrush generation, converted to Islam. He is a former student of Gresham Primary School in Sanderstead, South Croydon
