Jack Grimmer

Jack Grimmer
Personal information
Full name Jack Grimmer[1]
Date of birth (1994-01-25) 25 January 1994
Place of birth Aberdeen, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
Shrewsbury Town
(on loan from Fulham)
Number 14
Youth career
Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Aberdeen 4 (0)
2012– Fulham 13 (0)
2014Port Vale (loan) 13 (1)
2014Shrewsbury Town (loan) 6 (0)
2016Shrewsbury Town (loan) 21 (1)
2016–Shrewsbury Town (loan) 13 (0)
National team
2009 Scotland U15 2 (0)
2008–2009 Scotland U16 8 (2)
2009–2010 Scotland U17 10 (0)
2012 Scotland U18 2 (0)
2011–2013 Scotland U19 15 (0)
2014 Scotland U21 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:42, 27 November 2016 (UTC).


Jack Grimmer (born 25 January 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for League One side Shrewsbury Town, on loan from 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 and has since been loaned out to Port Vale and Shrewsbury Town (in three separate spells).

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 about 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] He made a total of 17 appearances for Kit Symons's "Cottagers" during the 2014–15 campaign, and signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract in March.[24]

On 5 January 2016, Grimmer returned to Shrewsbury on loan until the end of the season.[25] He made his second debut for the club five days later, as he helped Shrewsbury to keep a clean sheet as they beat Cardiff City 1–0 in the FA Cup third round.[26] On 30 January, in the next round at home to Sheffield Wednesday, he headed an added-time winner in a 3–2 victory, after Shrewsbury had trailed 2–1 with five minutes remaining.[27] He was ever-present for the duration of his second loan spell at the club, helping them avoid relegation with a 20th-placed finish in their first season back in League One.[28]

On 31 August 2016, he returned to Shrewsbury Town on a loan deal to run until the end of the 2016–17 season.[29]

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.[30] He did not play a game before he withdrew from the squad due to injury.[31] His first cap for the under-21s came in a 2–2 draw with Hungary at Tannadice Park on 5 March 2014.[32]

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.[33]

Personal life

Grimmer is a Manchester United supporter.[34]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 November 2016.
Club Season Division League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aberdeen2009–10[35] SPL 2000000020
2010–11[36] SPL 2000000020
2011–12[37] SPL 0000000000
Total 4000000040
Fulham2012–13[38] Premier League 0000000000
2013–14[39] Premier League 0000000000
2014–15[40] Championship 130400000170
2015–16[41] Championship 0000100010
2016–17[42] Championship 0000100010
Total 130402000190
Port Vale (loan)2013–14[39]League One131100000141
Shrewsbury Town (loans)2014–15[40] League Two 6000100070
2015–16[41] League One 2113100242
2016–17[42] League One 1301120161
Total 411421020483
Career total 712923020844

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. 1 2 "Fulham keep eye on Aberdeen teenager Jack Grimmer". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  8. 1 2 "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. "Fulham full-back Jack Grimmer signs new contract with club". BBC Sport. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  25. "Fulham pair Jack Grimmer & Larnell Cole in Shrewsbury deals". BBC Sport. 6 January 2016.
  26. "Cardiff City 0–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  27. "FA Cup: Shrewsbury 3–2 Sheffield Wednesday highlights". 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  28. "Jack Grimmer a treat for Shrewsbury Town". Shropshire Star. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  29. "DEAL: Shrewsbury sign loan duo Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Jack Grimmer « Shropshire Star". Shropshire Star. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  30. "Scotland Under-21s call for Danny Handling and Jack Grimmer". BBC Sport. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  31. "Scotland Under-21: Billy Stark backs players to bounce back". BBC Sport. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  32. Baggaley, Mike (5 March 2014). "Port Vale defender Jack Grimmer makes Scotland U-21 debut". The Sentinel. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  33. "Port Vale pen pics". The Sentinel. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  34. Law, Dan (22 February 2016). "Former Aberdeen youngster Jack Grimmer gearing up to face Manchester United". Press & Journal. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  35. "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  36. "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  37. "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  38. "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  39. 1 2 "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  40. 1 2 "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  41. 1 2 "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  42. 1 2 "Games played by Jack Grimmer in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
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