Greg Strong

Gregory Strong (born 5 September 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was the manager of Rhyl from 2009 until 2015, and chief scout of Plymouth Argyle between 2015 and 2018.

Greg Strong
Personal information
Full name Gregory Strong[1]
Date of birth (1975-09-05) 5 September 1975
Place of birth Bolton, England
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 Wigan Athletic 35 (3)
1995–2000 Bolton Wanderers 12 (1)
1997–1998Blackpool (loan) 11 (1)
1999Stoke City (loan) 5 (1)
2000Motherwell (loan) 10 (0)
2000–2002 Motherwell 64 (3)
2002–2004 Hull City 3 (0)
2003Cheltenham Town (loan) 4 (0)
2003Scunthorpe United (loan) 7 (0)
2003Bury (loan) 10 (0)
2004–2005 Boston United 9 (0)
2004–2005Macclesfield Town (loan) 4 (0)
2005–2006 Livingston 39 (1)
2006–2007 Dundee 16 (1)
2007 Halifax Town 8 (1)
2007–2008 Northwich Victoria 17 (0)
2008 Droylsden 14 (0)
2008–2015 Rhyl 64 (10)
Teams managed
2009–2015 Rhyl (player-manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 May 2010

Strong had a 20-year-long career in professional football where he was a typical journeyman playing for a large number of clubs. Strong played for Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, Blackpool, Stoke City, Motherwell, Hull City, Cheltenham Town, Scunthorpe United, Bury, Boston United, Macclesfield Town, Livingston, Dundee, Halifax Town, Northwich Victoria, Droylsden and Rhyl.

Career

Strong was born in Bolton and started his footballing career with Wigan Athletic in 1992 after playing for England schoolboys and youth international. He played two seasons with Wigan and then moved to his hometown club Bolton Wanderers in August 1995. He struggled to establish himself at Bolton making just 22 appearances for the club in four seasons. During that time he was loaned out to Blackpool where he made 12 appearances scoring one goal and Stoke City where he played five times in 1998–99 scoring once against his former club Wigan Athletic. He then moved to Scottish side Motherwell in the summer of 1999 where he became a popular player in two seasons at Fir Park.[2]

He returned to England in 2002 when he was signed up by Hull City.[3] After struggling to get games with Hull, Strong had loan spells with Cheltenham Town,[4] Scunthorpe United,[5] and Bury before moving on to Boston United.[6] He spent a short loan at Macclesfield Town before moving to Scotland again to sign for Livingston in 2005.[7]

After a season and a half at Livingston Strong joined Dundee in August 2006. However, he was released by Dundee in late 2006, and on 8 March 2007, he was signed by Conference side Halifax Town.[8] He scored a goal on his debut for the Shaymen after just four minutes, but was released by the club at the end of the season, joining league rivals Northwich Victoria.[9] Strong left Northwich in January 2008 joining Droylsden where he played for the rest of the season.

In the summer of 2008 he joined Welsh League side, Rhyl and he was appointed as player-manager at Rhyl in the summer of 2009.[10] In May 2015 Strong left Rhyl FC by "mutual consent".[11]

In July 2016, after the appointment of former Motherwell teammate Derek Adams as manager, Strong joined Plymouth Argyle as chief scout.[12] He remained in the role until November 2018.[13]

Honours

Rhyl

Career statistics

Source:[14]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wigan Athletic 1993–94 Third Division 181001010201
1994–95 Third Division 172104030252
Bolton Wanderers 1995–96 Premier League 1000000010
1996–97 First Division 0000000000
1997–98 Premier League 0000200020
1998–99 First Division 5100400091
1999–2000 First Division 60004000100
Blackpool (loan) 1997–98 Second Division 111000010121
Stoke City (loan) 1998–99 Second Division 5100000051
Motherwell 1999–00 Scottish Premier League 100000000100
2000–01 Scottish Premier League 321101100342
2001–02 Scottish Premier League 322100000332
Hull City 2002–03 Third Division 3000000030
2003–04 Third Division 3000002020
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2002–03 Second Division 4000000040
Scunthorpe United (loan) 2002–03 Third Division 7000002090
Bury (loan) 2003–04 Third Division 100001000110
Boston United 2004–05 League Two 90100010110
Macclesfield Town (loan) 2004–05 League Two 4000000040
Livingston 2004–05 Scottish Premier League 90200000110
2005–06 Scottish Premier League 301203000351
Dundee 2006–07 Scottish First Division 161001010181
Halifax Town 2006–07 Conference National 8100000081
Northwich Victoria 2007–08 Conference National 170000000170
Droylsden 2007–08 Conference National 140000000140
Career Total 271128021111031113
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs and Scottish Challenge Cup.

References

  1. "Greg Strong". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  2. "Ex-Motherwell star Greg Strong: I know what Rangers players are going through.. facing administrator's axe was brutal". Daily Record. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  3. "Strong joins Hull". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  4. "Strong signs for Robins". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  5. "Laws wants Strong support". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  6. "Boston capture defender". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  7. "Livingston sign up two defenders". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  8. "Halifax snap up defender Strong". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  9. "Northwich bag Strong and Maylett". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  10. "Rhyl FC manager Greg Strong determined to reach Welsh Premier League". Daily Post. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  11. "Greg Strong steps down as Rhyl FC boss after seven years at Corbett Sport Stadium". Daily Post. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  12. Jones, Dave (9 July 2015). "Former Rhyl FC manager Greg Strong joins Plymouth Argyle as chief scout". Daily Post. North Wales. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  13. Ball, Jak (23 November 2018). "Chief scout Strong quits Argyle ahead of January transfer window". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  14. Greg Strong at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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