Mark Stuart Grew (born 15 February 1958) is an English former
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
player and coach who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...
.
His career started in 1976 with
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
, where he spent seven seasons as a back-up keeper before moving on to
Leicester City. After just a year with the "Foxes" he moved on to
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...
. In 1986, he signed for
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...
, where he became the first choice goalkeeper. He spent six years at
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
, making almost 200 the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
appearances, twice winning the club's
Player of the Year award and playing in the
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
Third Division play-off victory. He transferred to
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
in 1992, and won the Third Division title with the club in
1992–93, and also picked up two
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mo ...
winners medals. His final club was
Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park.
History
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top. , whom he signed for in 1994, and left in 1995. Over the years he also enjoyed short loan spells with
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
,
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
,
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
, and
Blackburn Rovers.
He remained in the game after retirement as a player, spending eight years as a coach at Port Vale before his sacking in 2002. He quickly returned to his coaching position at the club though, and remains a key member of the backroom staff. He has had three separate spells as caretaker-manager at the club.
Playing career
Early career
Grew grew up in
Bilston
Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...
, where he attended the goalkeeping academy ran by legendary
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club' ...
goalkeeper
Bert Williams after accepting that he "was probably too fat and lazy to play outfield".
He turned professional at
First Division club
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
in the
1976–77 season, having just starred in the 1976
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. I ...
final, which ended in a 5–0 aggregate victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
During the
1978–79 campaigned he was loaned out to
Fourth Division newcomers
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
, where he played four league games in the absence of
John Brown. He returned to
The Hawthorns, and played 33 league games for the "Baggies" as he faced competition from
Tony Godden, before he joined
Leicester City, also of the First Division, for a £60,000 fee.
He played five top-flight games for
Gordon Milne
Gordon Milne (born 29 March 1937) is an English former football player and manager.
Personal life
Gordon Milne was born in Preston, Lancashire, England and is the son of the Scottish former Preston player Jimmy Milne and Jesse Milne.
Club car ...
's "Foxes" in the absence of
Mark Wallington during the
1983–84 season.
He also played five
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
games on loan at
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
, before he moved to First Division club
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...
on a £60,000 transfer in March 1984.
He spent two seasons with the "Tractor Boys", but played just six league games. He also played four Second Division games on loan at
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
in 1985, and returned to West Brom on loan in 1986 to play one game.
Port Vale
In June 1986, he joined
Third Division Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...
; aged 28 years old, he was looking for first team football. His debut for the club came in a 2–2 draw against
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the ...
at
Victoria Park, who were at the time
close to folding. After he sustained an injury in the game, he suffered from damaged
knee ligaments
In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in ...
for much of the
1986–87 season.
However
Alex Williams retired from back injury in September 1987. As Grew took the #1 jersey he never looked back and played fifty games in
1987–88.
Grew was then voted the club's
Player of the Year for his performances over his 49 games in
1988–89.
He played both legs of Vale's
play-off Final victory over
Bristol Rovers, conceding just the one goal. He played 51 games in
1989–90, as Vale retained their Second Division status.
However, he lost his place to
Trevor Wood
Trevor John Wood (born 3 November 1968) is a former Northern Ireland international football goalkeeper. He played 130 league games in the English Football League, 100 league games in the League of Ireland, and won one cap for Northern Ireland i ...
in August 1990. In October, he went on to enjoy a successful two-month loan spell with league rivals
Blackburn Rovers, who had
Terry Gennoe injured and
Darren Collier out of form, playing thirteen league games. He won his first team spot back at Vale in February 1991, and played fourteen games for the "Valiants" in
1990–91. He became the club's Player of the Year once more in 1992 for his ever-presence in the 53 game
1991–92 season.
[ However, he left on a free transfer for ]Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
in May 1992.
Later career
He was between the posts for Cardiff City when they beat Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
1–0 in the FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
Fourth Round on 29 January 1994. He became an "instant hero" with the Cardiff supporters after saving a penalty
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penal ...
from Keith Curle. He joined non-League side Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park.
History
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top. in 1994 after leaving Cardiff and made one appearance during the 1994–95 season.
Style of play
He was a shot-stopping goalkeeper, who mostly remained on his line and relied on his defenders to deal with crosses.
Coaching career
Grew was appointed the Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...
youth coach in December 1994 and stayed with the club for the next eight years. He was appointed assistant manager under Brian Horton in 1999, until he was sacked in December 2002 by the club's administrators. In March 2003 he was appointed as assistant manager at Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...
, until he returned to Port Vale in a coaching capacity for the youth-team, after the club was taken over by Valiant 2001. Following a capitulation to Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road
Brisbane Road, originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F.C., ...
on 20 October 2007, Grew gave a memorable post-match interview, saying that the team was "gutless... spineless... the worst bunch of players I have seen at Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
in 17 years". On 8 October 2008, Grew rejected the opportunity to become assistant to recently appointed Port Vale manager Dean Glover
Dean Victor Glover (born 29 December 1963) is an English former football player and manager. A cultured and stylish defender, he had the ball control skills of a midfielder. He played 457 league games in a seventeen-year career in the English F ...
.
In December 2010, he was made joint caretaker manager
In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a care ...
at Vale, along with Geoff Horsfield, following the departure of Micky Adams
Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen-year professional career in the English ...
. Vale were hammered 5–0 by Rotherham United in his first game in charge, but rallied to beat Burton Albion 2–1, before Jim Gannon was appointed manager. During Adams' reign Grew had doubled up as a first team coach, but when Gannon arrived at the club Grew chose to focus solely on his role as youth team coach. Following Gannon's swift departure in March 2011, Grew was elevated to the position of caretaker-manager for the third time in twelve years. Assisted by Horsfield, Marc Richards told the press that "it's absolutely brilliant that Grewy and Geoff are in charge again". After his first match back in charge ended in a 1–1 draw, Grew stated that if offered the job first time he would "seriously consider it". Defeat to bottom club Stockport County all but ended the club's promotion campaign, as well as Grew's hopes of a permanent appointment. He slammed both his players and the directors, claiming that "I was never in the picture to become the next manager".
Upon Adams' return as manager he reshuffled the club's coaching set-up, and in July 2011 Grew was made assistant manager. In July 2014 his role changed to that of goalkeeping coach and scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, secti ...
ing co-ordinator. He left the club in May 2015 as part of new manager's Rob Page's reshuffle of his backroom staff, and decided to take time out of football to undergo a back operation.[ He left the club following his testimonial game to honour his 25 years of service to the club.
]
Personal life
Grew's daughter, Melissa (born 1992), is a model.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
as a player
Individual
* Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year: 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
& 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
West Bromwich Albion
*FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. I ...
: 1976
Port Vale
*Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
play-offs: 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
Cardiff City
*Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
: 1992–93
*Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mo ...
: 1992, 1993; runner-up: 1994
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grew, Mark
1958 births
Living people
People from Bilston
Association football goalkeepers
English footballers
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Notts County F.C. players
Leicester City F.C. players
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Ipswich Town F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Cardiff City F.C. players
Hednesford Town F.C. players
English Football League players
Southern Football League players
English football managers
Port Vale F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Association football coaches
Association football goalkeeping coaches
Association football scouts
Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff