Joshua Lloyd Ginnelly (born 24 March 1997) is an English professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...
left winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, Ginnelly began his career in the
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
youth system before later joining
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
,
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
,
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
, and Heart of Midlothian. Only sporadically making first team appearances for his contracted club, Ginnelly has spent a number of years on loan at different clubs, including
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
, and
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
.
Club career
Shrewsbury Town
Born in
Nuneaton
Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...
, England, Ginnelly began his career at
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, where he spent seven years. Following his release from the
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
youth system, Ginnelly began a two-year scholarship with
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
in 2013.
At the start of his Shrewsbury Town career, Ginnelly was immediately assigned to the club's youth team. He quickly impressed for the youth side, and subsequently was called up to the first team by manager
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. Ginnelly appeared as an unused substitute in the last game of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Gillingham.
Ginnelly made his
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
debut under manager
Micky Mellon
Michael Joseph Mellon (born 18 March 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Tranmere Rovers. As a player, he was a midfielder for clubs including Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion, Blackpool, Tr ...
on 30 August 2014, coming on as a late substitute for James Collins in a 2–0 win over
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
at the
New Meadow
New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5 road (Great Britain) ...
. After the match, he said making his professional debut was a "dream come true". Local newspaper,
Shropshire Star
The ''Shropshire Star'' is reputedly the twelfth biggest-selling regional newspaper in the UK. It is based at Grosvenor House, Telford where it covers the whole of Shropshire plus parts of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Cheshire a ...
, praised Ginnelly's performance for his technical ability, quoting: "bringing down a long ball with his first touch before showing ambition by taking on two Luton defenders." However, Ginnelly only appeared two more times later in the 2014–15 season. He was awarded the club's Youth Player of the Year at the award ceremony.
He was offered his first professional contract in March 2015, but he failed to return to training the following pre-season with his contract situation unresolved.
Burnley
Ginnelly was reported to be having trials with
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, and
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, and joined the latter for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal on 10 August 2015.
Ginnelly was released by Burnley following the expiration of his contract after three years at the club, without making a first team appearance for the side.
Altrincham (loan)
On 8 January 2016, Ginnelly joined
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
side
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
on an initial one-month loan. He made his debut on 23 January 2016 in a 5–0 win over
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
, playing the entire game. Ginnelly scored his first goal for the club three days later in a 3–1 win over
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
. He then scored two goals in two matches between 9 February 2016 and 13 February 2016 against
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
and Lincoln City respectively. During a match against Barrow on 12 March 2016, Ginnelly was the subject of racist abuse by opposition fans, prompting a police investigation. Despite this, he had his loan spell at the club extended until the end of the season, having previously extended the previous month. Ginnelly scored two more goals later in the season as he went on to make twenty appearances and scored five times in all competitions – Altrincham were however still relegated from the division.
Walsall (loan)
On 28 July 2016, Ginnelly signed for
Football League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
on loan until January 2017. He made his Walsall debut on 30 August 2016, a 72nd-minute substitute, in a 5–2 win over Grimsby Town in the Football League Trophy. He spent much of the start of the season on the bench, finally making his league debut on 15 October 2016 in a 3–2 victory over his former club Shrewsbury. His performance earned him a run of games for the club, however he returned to Burnley in January 2017 having failed to make an appearance since November.
Lincoln City (loan)
On 30 January 2017, Ginnelly signed for National League leaders Lincoln City on loan until the end of the season. He made his Lincoln City debut, playing the whole game (and played a role that led to
Terell Thomas
Terell Mondasia Thomas (born 18 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender. He is currently a free agent. Born in England, he plays for the Saint Lucia national team.
Thomas started at Arsenal before signing his firs ...
scoring an own goal), in a 3–2 win over
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
on 11 February 2017. He made a total of seventeen appearances in all competitions as Lincoln finished as champions.
On 26 June 2017, Ginnelly re-joined Lincoln City on a season long loan for the 2017–18 season. Ginnelly scored his first goal for Lincoln on the first day of the following season in a 2–2 draw with
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...
on 5 August 2017. After suffering ankle injury that kept him out throughout August, he returned from injury on 9 September 2017, where he came on as a substitute, in a 2–1 win over
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...
. It wasn't until 7 November 2017 when he scored again in a 2–1 win over
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
in the Football League Trophy. A month later, on 26 December 2017, Ginnelly scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–0 win over Stevenage. However, he appeared in and out of the starting eleven, and faced competition from other players, including loanee signing Danny Rowe. As a result, he was recalled by Burnley, making nineteen total appearances and scoring three times in his second loan spell at Lincoln City.
Tranmere Rovers (loan)
On 12 January 2018, he signed a loan deal with
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
until the end of the season. Ginnelly scored on his Tranmere Rovers debut eight days after joining the club, in a 3–2 win over
Maidenhead United
Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. They are currently members of and have played at York Road since 1871, making it the 'oldest senior football ground continuously ...
. Despite losing his first team place between late–March and mid–April, he returned to the starting lineup on 21 April 2018, in a 2–0 win over
Halifax Town
FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...
Boreham Wood
Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
2–1 at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
and ensuring the club's return to the EFL after a three-year absence. He went on to make 12 appearances and scoring two times for the side.
Walsall
After being released by Burnley at the end of the 2017–18 season, it was announced on 5 June 2018 that Ginnelly signed a one–year contract at former loan club
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
. Upon joining the club, he revealed that Manager
Dean Keates
Dean Scott Keates (born 30 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Wrexham.
During his playing career, Keates played as a midfielder, making his professional debut for ...
convinced him to re-join Walsall, citing his style of management.
Ginnelly's first game after re-signing for the club came in the opening game of the season, where he started the match and played 84 minutes, in a 2–1 win over
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
. It wasn't until 14 August 2018 when he scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–1 win over Tranmere Rovers in the first round of the League Cup. A week later, on 25 August 2018, Ginnelly scored again, in a 3–1 win over
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
. Ginnelly quickly became a first team regular, playing in an attacking role, and formed a partnership with
Luke Leahy
Luke Leahy (born 19 November 1992) is an English footballer, who plays as a defender or midfielder for Shrewsbury Town. He started his career at Rugby Town and signed for Falkirk in 2012, where he played for five seasons.
Club career
Leahy ...
.
Preston North End
On 1 January 2019, he signed a two-and-a-half year contract with
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
for an undisclosed fee, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2020–21 season.
Bristol Rovers (loan)
Ginnelly joined
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
on a six-month loan deal on 16 January 2020.
Heart of Midlothian (loan)
On 2 September 2020, Ginnelly signed for then
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland
Scotland (, ...
In June 2021, Josh Ginnelly signed a two-year contract with newly-promoted Hearts after being released by previous club Preston.
Career statistics
Honours
Lincoln City
*
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
: 2016–17
Tranmere Rovers
*National League Playoffs: 2017-18
Hearts
*
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland
Scotland (, ...
:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
**
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2019–20