Simon Grand

Simon Grand (born 23 February 1984) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Bamber Bridge.

Simon Grand

Personal information
Full name	Simon Grand
Date of birth	(1984-02-23) 23 February 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Chorley, England
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Bamber Bridge
Youth career
	Rochdale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2004	Rochdale	40	(2)
2004–2007	Carlisle United	35	(4)
2007	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	2	(0)
2007	Grimsby Town	5	(0)
2007–2008	Morecambe	6	(1)
2008–2010	Northwich Victoria	63	(9)
2010–2011	Fleetwood Town	10	(1)
2010–2011	→ Mansfield Town (loan)	6	(0)
2011	→ Aldershot Town (loan)	6	(0)
2011–2013	Southport	83	(11)
2013–2014	AFC Telford United	35	(4)
2014–2016	Barrow	80	(6)
2016–2017	Salford City	40	(9)
2017–2018	AFC Fylde	35	(4)
2018–2022	Chester	121	(9)
2022–2023	Charnock Richard	43	(10)
2023–2024	Lancaster City	24	(3)
2024–	Bamber Bridge	9	(0)
Managerial career
2024	Lancaster City (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:01, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

He notably played in the Football League for Rochdale, Carlisle United, Grimsby Town, Morecambe and Aldershot Town, and in non-league football for Northwich Victoria, Fleetwood Town, Southport, Mansfield Town, AFC Telford United, Barrow, Salford City, AFC Fylde and Chester.

Career

Rochdale

Born in Chorley, Grand started his career at Rochdale as a trainee in August 2001 and won the club's Young Player of the Year award in May 2002.^[1][2] He made his debut in a 2nd round FA Cup tie against Bristol Rovers in December 2002 and established himself in the first team, making 28 appearances in all competitions in the remainder of the 2002–03 season and helping Rochdale to the 5th round of the FA Cup in February 2003 where they were beaten by Wolves.^[1][3] He began the 2003–04 season in the first team and was a regular until January 2004 when, having made 21 appearances in all competition, he was dropped from the side following the arrival of new manager Steve Parkin.^[1][4] He made no further appearances for Rochdale and was released by the club in May 2004.^[1][5]

Carlisle United

Grand joined Conference National club, Carlisle United, in August 2004, after a successful trial.^[1][6] He scored on his debut against Tamworth in September 2004 and made 29 appearances in all competitions in the 2004–05 season as Carlisle won promotion to the Football League.^[1][7][8] Shortly before the end of the season, he signed a two-year contract keeping him at the club until 2007.^[9] In December 2005, he scored the match winning penalty as Carlisle beat Tranmere Rovers 11–10 on penalties in the Football League Trophy.^[10] However, he found it hard to get ahead of Kevin Gray, Danny Livesey and Peter Murphy in the centre back position and made only 14 appearances in the 2005–06 season as Carlisle clinched a second successive promotion as League Two champions.^[1][11] At the end of the season, Carlisle were willing to listen to offers for Grand and, after making a further six appearances for Carlisle in the 2006–07 season, he joined Grimsby Town.^[1][12]

Grimsby Town

Grand joined Grimsby Town in January 2007, initially on loan until the end of the 2006–07 season but signing a permanent 18-month deal two weeks later.^[13][14] However, after making only seven appearances for Grimsby, he was released in May 2007.^[15]

Morecambe

Grand joined Football League newcomers Morecambe in August 2007 on a 12-month deal, after a successful trial with the Christie Park club.^[15]

Non-League

After leaving Morecambe in the close season, Grand signed for Northwich Victoria on non-contract terms in August 2008.^[16] He signed a permanent contract until the end of the 2008–09 season in October.^[17] Grand signed for Fleetwood Town prior to the start of the 2010–11 season. In October 2010, he joined Mansfield Town on loan making 9 appearances in the Conference League and FA Cup. In January 2011, he joined Aldershot Town on loan.^[18]

Prior to the start of the 2011–12 season Grand moved down the west coast of England to join Southport on a free transfer^[19] and made his competitive club debut on 13 August 2011 on the first day of the 2011–12 season.^[20] He scored his first Southport goal, heading their second goal in a 3–2 away win over Forest Green. Grand scored 3 more goals for Southport in the 2011–12 season, also captaining the side on occasion in the absence of club captain, Alan Moogan. On 28 June 2012, Grand was appointed Southport's new club captain, following Moogan's move to becoming player/coach.

Following his release from Southport, it was announced on the club site he joined Telford on 10 May 2013, linking up again with Liam Watson. On 26 April 2014 he won promotion to the Conference Premier with Telford after they clinched the Conference North title on the final game of the season.

On 20 May 2014, Grand joined Barrow, and was named as team captain in August 2014 for the upcoming 2014–15 season.

In July 2016 he joined Salford City.^[21]

He subsequently joined AFC Fylde.^[22]

Chester

In July 2018, 34-year-old Grand signed for Chester linking up with his former joint managers at Salford City Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley^[23] and extended his contract for further year in May 2019.^[24] He restored strong partnership with experienced centre back Danny Livesey, formed earlier at Carlisle United in 2004–06, and rebuilt at Barrow in 2014–16.

Grand played every minute of every regular season game in his second year at Chester but not ruled out his retirement as the season was cut short due to pandemic and future was uncertain.^[25] After Chester lost his playoff game he agreed new contract ahead of the season 2020–21 season.^[26]

Grand made a 100th appearance for Chester on 2 January 2021^[27] and agreed terms to remain for the 2021/22 campaign.^[28] He was released at the end of the 2021–22 season.^[29]

Further career

In July 2022, Grand signed on for North West Counties Premier Division side Charnock Richard, and scored an equaliser against Padiham on his debut.

In January 2024, Grand joined Bamber Bridge.^[30]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 April 2024^[31]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rochdale	2002–03[32]	Third Division	23	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	28	2
	2003–04[33]	Third Division	17	0	2	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	21	0
	Total		40	2	7	0	1	0	1	0	49	2
Carlisle United	2004–05[34]	Conference Premier	23	2	4	0	—		2[lower-alpha 2]	1	29	3
	2005–06[35]	League Two	8	2	1	0	1	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	1	14	3
	2006–07[36]	League One	4	0	0	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	6	0
	Total		35	4	5	0	2	0	7	2	49	6
Grimsby Town	2006–07[36]	League Two	7	0	0	0	—		0	0	7	0
Morecambe	2007–08[37]	League Two	6	1	1	0	1	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	0	12	1
Northwich Victoria	2008–09[38]	Conference Premier	34	5	0	0	—		0	0	34	5
	2009–10	Conference North	29	4	1	0	—		0	0	30	4
	Total		63	9	1	0	—		0	0	64	9
Fleetwood Town	2009–10	Conference North	6	1	0	0	—		0	0	6	1
	2010–11	Conference Premier	4	0	0	0	—		0	0	4	0
	Total		10	1	0	0	—		0	0	10	1
Mansfield Town (loan)	2010–11	Conference Premier	6	0	2	0	—		1[lower-alpha 3]	0	9	0
Aldershot Town (loan)	2010–11	League Two	6	0	—		0	0	0	0	6	0
Southport	2011–12	Conference Premier	42	4	1	0	—		1[lower-alpha 3]	0	44	4
	2012–13	Conference Premier	41	7	1	0	—		2[lower-alpha 3]	0	44	7
	Total		83	11	2	0	—		3	0	88	11
Telford United	2013–14	Conference North	35	4	0	0	—		2[lower-alpha 3]	0	37	4
Barrow	2014–15	Conference North	40	4	0	0	—		0	0	40	4
	2015–16	National League	40	2	0	0	—		2[lower-alpha 3]	0	42	2
	Total		80	6	0	0	—		2	0	82	6
Salford City	2016–17	National League North	40	9	0	0	—		2[lower-alpha 4]	0	42	9
AFC Fylde	2017–18	National League	35	4	4	1	—		2[lower-alpha 5]	0	41	5
Chester	2018–19[39]	National League North	36	4	2	0	—		3[lower-alpha 6]	0	41	4
	2019–20[40]	National League North	32	3	2	0	—		5[lower-alpha 7]	0	39	3
	2020–21[40]	National League North	17	1	3	0	—		2[lower-alpha 3]	0	22	1
	2021–22[40]	National League North	36	1	2	0	—		0	0	38	1
	total		121	9	9	0	—		10	0	140	9
Charnock Richard	2022–23[41]	NWCFL Premier Division	41	10	5	1	—		7[lower-alpha 8]	1	53	11
	2023–24[42]	NWCFL Premier Division	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
	Total		43	10	5	1	—		7	1	55	12
Lancaster City	2023–24[43]	NPL Premier Division	24	3	3	3	—		2[lower-alpha 9]	0	29	6
Bamber Bridge	2023–24[44]	NPL Premier Division	11	0	—		—		0	0	11	0
Career total			645	73	39	5	4	0	43	3	731	81

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. One appearance in Football League Trophy and one appearance in FA Trophy
3. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
4. Appearances in National League North play-offs
5. One appearance in National League North play-offs and one appearance in FA Trophy
6. Two appearances in the FA Trophy and one in Cheshire Senior Cup
7. One appearance in National League North play-offs and four appearances in FA Trophy
8. Three appearances in FA Vase, three appearance and one goal in Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy, one appearance in the North West Counties Football League Challenge Cup
9. One appearance in FA Trophy, one appearance in Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy

Managerial statistics

As of match played 9 April 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Lancaster City (caretaker)	5 January 2024	26 January 2024	3	1	0	2	033.3	[45][46][47]
Total			3	1	0	2	033.3

Honours

Carlisle United

• Football League Trophy runner-up: 2005–06^[48]

Individual

• Conference North Team of the Year: 2014–15^[49]

References

1. "Simon Grand". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
2. "End of Season Bash". Rochdale AFC Official Site. 13 May 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
3. "Wolves end Rochdale run". BBC. 18 February 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
4. "Manager History for Rochdale". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
5. "Eight to leave Rochdale". BBC Sport. 10 May 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
6. "More trialists for Carlisle". BBC Sport. 11 August 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
7. "Grand's debut delight". BBC. 19 September 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
8. "Stevenage 0–1 Carlisle". BBC. 14 May 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
9. "Cumbrians trio sign new contracts". BBC. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
10. "Tranmere 0–0 Carlisle (aet)". BBC. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
11. "Ups and downs". BBC. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
12. "Carlisle offer duo new contracts". BBC. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
13. "Defender Grand loaned to Mariners". BBC. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
14. "Mariners complete Thorpe capture". BBC. 24 January 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
15. "Morecambe capture Lewis & Grand". BBC. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
16. "Grand signing by Vics". Non League Daily. International Publishing Group. 8 September 2008. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
17. Simpson, Andrew (8 October 2008). "Defensive duo pen deals". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
18. "Defender Joins". theshots.co.uk. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
19. "Southport snap up defender Simon Grand". BBC Sport. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
20. "Southport 2–2 Lincoln City". BBC Sport. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
21. "Grand Signing for Salford". Salford City FC. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
22. "Coasters Make Grand Signing". 31 July 2017.
23. "Chester FC make Grand swoop for Simon". 20 July 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
24. "Simon Grand puts pen to paper on new deal at Chester FC". Cheshire Live. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
25. "Chester FC defender Simon Grand doesn't yet know if he'll continue career into next season". Cheshire Live. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
26. "Key players sign new deals at Chester FC". 18 August 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
27. "Simon Grand: 100 games for Chester FC". 2 January 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
28. "Simon Grand remains with Chester FC for 2021/22". 14 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
29. "Chester FC Retained List 2021/22". 20 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
30. @BamberBridgeFC (25 January 2024). "📝Welcom, Simon Grand! We are delighted to announce the signing of Simon Grand from @LancasterCityFC #UptheBrig" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via Twitter.
31. Simon Grand at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
32. "Games played by Simon Grand in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
33. "Games played by Simon Grand in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
34. "Games played by Simon Grand in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
35. "Games played by Simon Grand in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
36. "Games played by Simon Grand in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
37. "Games played by Simon Grand in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
38. "Games played by Simon Grand in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
39. Games played by Simon Grand in 2018/2019 at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
40. "England – S. Grand – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
41. "Simon Grand Match List (First Team) – Charnock Richard Football Club". charnockrichardfc.co.71. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
42. "Simon Grand Match List (First Team) - Charnock Richard Football Club".
43. https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/lancaster-city/appearances/simon-grand/953747 ^{[bare URL]}
44. "Bamber Bridge | Appearances | Simon Grand | Football Web Pages".
45. "Lancaster City caretaker manager and captain leaves club".
46. "Defender Simon Grand leaves Lancaster City to join Bamber Bridge".
47. "Lancaster City fixtures & results".
48. "Carlisle 1–2 Swansea". BBC Sport. 2 April 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
49. Lomas, John (8 June 2015). "Conference North Team of the Year". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. London: Johnston Press. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

External links

• Simon Grand at Soccerbase