| view Grant's match-by-match record |
| Anthony GRANT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nicknamed ‘The General’, former Chelsea youth teamer Grant joined Town from Shrewsbury Town in September 2019, initially on loan, and quickly became a key player in Richie Wellens’ upwardly mobile side. An experienced midfielder with more than 500 league appearances to his name before joining Town, Grant had the much needed ability to break up opposition play and control the tempo of a game. Grant dominated League Two midfields on the way to securing a permanent transfer in January 2020, and such was his impact and the impressive nature of his partnership with Michael Doughty in the heart of Town’s midfield that he pipped 30-goal Eoin Doyle to the club’s player of the year award. He also showed an ability to fill in at centre-back, which would be further explored the following season in Town’s return to League One. Before the 2020/21 season, Grant was one of several of Town’s champions - along with Doyle, Yates, Woolery and Keshi Anderson - involved in long running contract and transfer sagas, but despite rumours to the contrary, he became the only one of that group to re-sign. Unfortunately Town’s struggles with squad building - and a few strange decisions including the departure of Doughty and the loaning out of Matty Palmer - meant that Town started the season with only two central midfielders in the squad in Grant and Arsenal loanee Matt Smith. The two seemed a good partnership, but with no ability to rotate both dropped in form, with Grant in particular clearly playing through injuries and struggling with the step up to League One. With the departure of Wellens and the arrival of John Sheridan, Grant was dropped from the first team for the returning Palmer and spent much of January and February on the sidelines amongst rumours of a rift between him and the new manager. His return to the side came as a makeshift centre-back in a defensive three towards the end of the season, a position in which he acquitted himself well but with less impact on games than he had in central midfield the season before. At the end of the season, Grant was released along with twelve other out of contract players, receiving only a short and shared 'thank you for your efforts' from the club. That could easily have been that in terms of Grant’s Town career, and yet two and a half months later, he was back in red and white having reported for pre-season training and impressed enough to sign a one-year deal under the club’s new management. Grant’s third Town season got off to a decent start, with five league starts in August playing alongside new signing Louis Reed as part of a double-pivot in central midfield. It was then derailed by a surprise international call-up to the Jamaica national side, Grant’s first at the age of 34. He made his international debut against in a World Cup qualifier against Mexico on 2nd September and received five further caps during the season, but a combination of being away and long quarantine periods when he returned to the UK more or less ended Ben Garner’s interest in him as a member of the Town first team, despite regular calls for his inclusion on social media. Grant did not play again in the league and made only one further appearance in the Football League Trophy, before being allowed to join relegation strugglers Scunthorpe in January - the Town supporters showing their appreciation with a rousing reception when he returned to the County Ground with his new side the following month. PLAYING RECORD:
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date of birth
usual positions defensive central midfield youth career senior career |
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JAMAICA
ENGLAND