Andy Griffin

Andy Griffin

Personal information
Full name	Andrew Griffin
Date of birth	17 March 1979 (1979-03-17)
Place of birth	Wigan, England
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Full back
Club information
Current club	Reading
Number	2
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–1998	Stoke City	57	(2)
1998–2004	Newcastle United	76	(2)
2004–2007	Portsmouth	43	(0)
2006–2007	→ Stoke City (loan)	33	(2)
2007–2008	Derby County	15	(0)
2008–2010	Stoke City	35	(0)
2010	→ Reading (loan)	21	(0)
2010–	Reading	36	(0)
National team
1997–1998	England U18	6	(0)
1999–2001	England U21	3	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:12, 24 August 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Andrew "Andy" Griffin (born 17 March 1979) is an English footballer, who currently plays for Reading as a full back.

Griffin began his career at Stoke City, where he established a reputation as a solid wing-back defender. His impressive performances for the Potters led to him being signed by Newcastle United for a fee of £1.5million in January 1998.

Club career

Newcastle United

Griffin settled quickly into the Newcastle side, earning call-ups to the England Under-21 team.

Griffin enjoyed something of a resurgence under Sir Bobby Robson and made several solid performances during the 2002–03 season,^{[citation needed]} including in the UEFA Champions League, when his winning goal against Juventus rekindled his side's campaign. Whilst at Newcastle he played in the 1999 FA Cup Final.

Portsmouth

However, strong competition for places^{[citation needed]} and yet another niggling injury took their toll in 2003–04, and when his contract expired at the end of the season he moved to Portsmouth on a free transfer, having played 97 games for Newcastle, scoring three goals.^{[citation needed]}

By the summer of 2006 he appeared to be out of Harry Redknapp's plans and in September of that year he was loaned to Stoke.

Griffin again joined Stoke City on loan on 19 January 2007 until June 2007, with a view to making his move permanent. He returned to Portsmouth at the close of the 2006/07 season, however Stoke City manager Tony Pulis admitted he was keen to bring Griffin back to the club.

Derby County

Griffin in action for Derby County.

On 31 July 2007 Griffin signed for Derby County on a three year deal. He was initially Derby's first choice right back, but when Tyrone Mears returned from injury and Paul Jewell replaced Billy Davies as Derby manager, he found his chances in the first team restricted. In January 2008, he moved back to Stoke City.

Return to Stoke City

On 11 January 2008 Griffin moved back to Stoke City for a fee of £300,000, signing a 4 and a half year contract. He was handed the number 2 squad number. On January 31, 2008, Stoke City sold captain John Eustace to Watford. This move saw Griffin named Stoke's new captain despite only being back at the club for three weeks, nonetheless Griffin was delighted describing it as a "proud moment in my career." Griffin fell foul of an unsavoury on pitch spat with teammate Ricardo Fuller after Griffin failed to clear the ball, leading to a Carlton Cole goal against stoke. Before the centre could be taken Fuller walked over to Griffin and they had an argument that led to Fuller slapping the unfortunate fullback, who was skippering the club at the time. This forced the referee to send off the Jamaican international, who had to be held back from Griffin who criticised his lack of discipline while Fuller was being dragged from the pitch.

Reading

On 11 January 2010, he joined Reading on loan for the remainder of the season. He was instrumental in solidifying Reading's back line in the second half of the 09–10 season which saw Reading rise from the relegation zone at the beginning of January to 9th place by the end of the season.

Griffin signed on a permanent 2 year deal on 1 July 2010 for an undisclosed fee.

Career statistics

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	1996–97	34	1	1	0	1	0	–		–		36	1
	1997–98	23	1	1	0	4	0	–		–		28	1
	Total	57	2	2	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	64	2
Newcastle United	1997–98	4	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		4	0
	1998–99	14	0	3	0	1	0	–		–		18	0
	1999–2000	3	1	0	0	0	0	–		–		3	1
	2000–01	19	0	2	0	4	0	–		–		25	0
	2001–02	4	0	0	0	1	0	–		–		5	0
	2002–03	27	1	1	0	1	0	11	1	–		40	2
	2003–04	5	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	–		8	0
	Total	76	2	6	0	8	0	13	1	0	0	103	0
Portsmouth	2004–05	22	0	1	0	4	0	–		–		27	0
	2005–06	21	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		21	0
	Total	43	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	48	0
Stoke City (loan)	2006–07	33	2	1	0	0	0	–		–		34	2
	Total	33	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	2
Derby County	2007–08	15	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		15	0
	Total	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
Stoke City	2007–08	15	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		15	0
	2008–09	20	0	0	0	1	0	–		–		21	0
	2009–10	0	0	0	0	3	1	–		–		3	1
	Total	35	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	39	1
Reading	2009–10	21	0	4	0	0	0	–		–		25	0
	2010–11	33	0	1	0	1	0	–		3	0	38	0
	Total	54	0	5	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	63	0
Career total		313	6	15	0	22	1	13	1	3	0	366	8

Footnotes

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League play-offs.

External links

• Andy Griffin career stats at Soccerbase
• BBC profile

Sporting positions
Preceded by Dominic Matteo	Stoke City F.C. captain 2008–2009	Succeeded by Abdoulaye Faye