Jonathan Greening

Jonathan Greening, (born January 2 1979 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England), is an England Football (soccer). He began his career in 1996 with York City F.C., has also played for Manchester United F.C. and Middlesbrough F.C., and since 2004 he has played for West Bromwich Albion F.C.. His favoured position is as an attacking left sided midfielder (soccer) though he can also play effectively in more central positions.

Career

York City

He broke into the York side towards the end of the 1996-97 in English football, and helped to keep them in Football League Second Division, but on 26 March 1998 he signed for Manchester United F.C..

Manchester United

Greening gained England U-21 recognition despite his failure to gain a regular first-team place at Old Trafford. As an attacking midfielder, he faced massive competition from more established players in both positions and his first-team opportunities were restricted, although he did make the substitute's bench in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final UEFA Champions League final. He later admitted that he "felt a bit of a fraud" for picking up his winner's medal, having not played a single minute of European football that season.

Greening signed a new contract with United at the end of the 1999-2000 in English football season, but by 2001 he had become frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities, and conceded that he would need to leave the club in order to play regularly.

Middlesbrough

In the summer of 2001, Greening joined Middlesbrough F.C. for a combined fee of £3million with saw both him and United teammate Mark Wilson (English footballer) head to Teeside to rejoin former assistant Steve McClaren, now Middlesbrough's manager. Greening remained on Teesside for three seasons, being voted Club Player of the Year for 2002-03 in English football and also being selected for the full England squad (though he did not play). But his first-team chances were more limited during the 2003-04 in English football season, after which he signed for West Bromwich Albion F.C. for an initial £1.25m.

West Bromwich Albion

Greening made his Albion debut in a 1–1 draw away at Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the 2004-05 in English football Premiership season, and quickly established himself as a key player in the Baggies' midfield, helping to secure their Premier League survival in his first season. In his first three years at the club he made a total of 125 appearances, only seven of which were as a substitute.

In the summer of 2007 he signed a new three-year contract with West Brom, and was made club captain for the 2007-08 in English football season. His performances during the campaign led to him being named in the Football League Championship Team of the Week on several occasions. Greening missed the fifth round FA Cup match at Coventry City due to suspension, but it was the only match he missed during the campaign; he started all 46 league matches and also participated in eight out of nine cup games. He captained Albion in the FA Cup semi-final, where they lost 1–0 to Portsmouth F.C., and one month later led the team to promotion as winners of the Football League Championship. Greening was named in the Professional Footballers' Association Championship Team of the Year, alongside team mates Paul Robinson (defender born 1978) and Kevin Phillips (footballer). During the last two months of the season Greening suffered from a double hernia problem but played on until the end of the campaign, when he had an operation to rectify the injury.

Style of play

Although naturally right-sided, Greening can operate anywhere across the midfield. Initially an attacking wide midfielder, he later moved to a central midfield holding role. Team mate Dean Kiely has said that Greening "sprays passes around like a quarterback" as part of Albion's ethos of attacking football under Tony Mowbray.

Honours

- UEFA Champions League: 1999
- Football League Championship (II): 2008