{{Short description|English footballer}} {{Use British English|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Greg Strong | image = | caption = | fullname = Gregory Strong<ref>{{Hugman|18985|accessdate=25 March 2017}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|9|5|df=y}} | birth_place = Bolton, England | height = | position = Defender | years1 = 1992–1995 |clubs1 = Wigan Athletic |caps1 = 35 |goals1 = 3 | years2 = 1995–2000 |clubs2 = Bolton Wanderers |caps2 = 12 |goals2 = 1 | years3 = 1997–1998 |clubs3 = → Blackpool (loan) |caps3 = 11 |goals3 = 1 | years4 = 1999 |clubs4 = → Stoke City (loan) |caps4 = 5 |goals4 = 1 | years5 = 2000 |clubs5 = → Motherwell (loan) |caps5 = 10 |goals5 = 0 | years6 = 2000–2002 |clubs6 = Motherwell |caps6 = 64 |goals6 = 3 | years7 = 2002–2004 |clubs7 = Hull City |caps7 = 3 |goals7 = 0 | years8 = 2003 |clubs8 = → Cheltenham Town (loan) |caps8 = 4 |goals8 = 0 | years9 = 2003 |clubs9 = → Scunthorpe United (loan) |caps9 = 7 |goals9 = 0 | years10 = 2003 |clubs10 = → Bury (loan) |caps10 = 10 |goals10 = 0 | years11 = 2004–2005 |clubs11 = Boston United |caps11 = 9 |goals11 = 0 | years12 = 2004–2005 |clubs12 = → Macclesfield Town (loan) |caps12 = 4 |goals12 = 0 | years13 = 2005–2006 |clubs13 = Livingston |caps13 = 39 |goals13 = 1 | years14 = 2006–2007 |clubs14 = Dundee |caps14 = 16 |goals14 = 1 | years15 = 2007 |clubs15 = Halifax Town |caps15 = 8 |goals15 = 1 | years16 = 2007–2008 |clubs16 = Northwich Victoria |caps16 = 17 |goals16 = 0 | years17 = 2008 |clubs17 = Droylsden |caps17 = 14 |goals17 = 0 | years18 = 2008–2015 |clubs18 = Rhyl |caps18 = 64 |goals18 = 10 | totalcaps = 332 | totalgoals = 22 | manageryears1 = 2009–2015 |managerclubs1 = Rhyl (player-manager) | club-update = 4 May 2010 }}
'''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. He is currently the Head of Recruitment at Ross County FC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greg Strong appointed as new Head of Recruitment |url=https://www.rosscountyfootballclub.co.uk/news-items/greg-strong-appointed-as-new-head-of-recruitment |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Ross County F.C. |language=en}}</ref>
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.
==Playing 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ex-Motherwell star Greg Strong: I know what Rangers players are going through.. facing administrator's axe was brutal|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/ex-motherwell-star-greg-strong-i-know-1117380|work=Daily Record|date=21 February 2012|accessdate=22 April 2013}}</ref>
He returned to England in 2002 when he was signed up by Hull City.<ref>{{cite news|title=Strong joins Hull|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/2017252.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=30 May 2002|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> After struggling to get games with Hull, Strong had loan spells with Cheltenham Town,<ref>{{cite news|title=Strong signs for Robins|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/cheltenham_town/2724153.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=4 February 2003|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> Scunthorpe United,<ref>{{cite news|title=Laws wants Strong support|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/scunthorpe_utd/2884447.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=25 March 2003|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> and Bury before moving on to Boston United.<ref>{{cite news|title=Boston capture defender|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/boston_united/3498268.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=10 March 2004|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> He spent a short loan at Macclesfield Town before moving to Scotland again to sign for Livingston in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Livingston sign up two defenders|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/livingston/4224341.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=31 January 2005|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Halifax snap up defender Strong|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/halifax_town/6430517.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=8 March 2007|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Northwich bag Strong and Maylett|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/northwich_victoria/6900541.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=16 July 2007|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rhyl FC manager Greg Strong determined to reach Welsh Premier League|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/welsh-football-league/2012/08/31/rhyl-fc-manager-greg-strong-determined-to-reach-welsh-premier-league-55578-31731620/|work=Daily Post|accessdate=22 April 2013}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In May 2015 Strong left Rhyl FC by "mutual consent".<ref>{{cite web|title=Greg Strong steps down as Rhyl FC boss after seven years at Corbett Sport Stadium|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/greg-strong-steps-down-rhyl-9188670|work=Daily Post|date=5 May 2015|accessdate=13 February 2016}}</ref>
==Post-playing career== In July 2016, after the appointment of former Motherwell teammate Derek Adams as manager, Strong joined Plymouth Argyle as chief scout.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former Rhyl FC manager Greg Strong joins Plymouth Argyle as chief scout |last=Jones |first=Dave |work=Daily Post |location=North Wales |date=9 July 2015 |accessdate=2 December 2018 |url= https://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-rhyl-fc-manager-greg-9624006}}</ref> He remained in the role until November 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chief scout Strong quits Argyle ahead of January transfer window |last=Ball |first=Jak |work=Plymouth Herald |date=23 November 2018 |accessdate=2 December 2018 |url= https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chief-scout-greg-strong-quits-2252714}}</ref>
Strong was appointed Chief Scout of Morecambe in 2022 after a spell with Salford City in a similar role.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greg Strong joins as Head of Recruitment|website=Morecambe FC|date=1 June 2022 |url= https://www.morecambefc.com/news/2022/june/greg-strong-joins-as-head-of-recruitment/}}</ref>
==Career statistics== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref> |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|League Cup !colspan="2"|Other{{ref label|Other|A|}} !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- | rowspan="3" |Wigan Athletic |1993–94 |Third Division |18||1||0||0||1||0||1||0||20||1 |- |1994–95 |Third Division |17||2||1||0||4||0||3||0||25||2 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !35 !3 !1 !0 !5 !0 !4 !0 !45 !3 |- | rowspan="6" |Bolton Wanderers |1995–96 |Premier League |1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0 |- |1996–97 |First Division |0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |1997–98 |Premier League |0||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||2||0 |- |1998–99 |First Division |5||1||0||0||4||0||0||0||9||1 |- |1999–2000 |First Division |6||0||0||0||4||0||0||0||10||0 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !12 !1 !0 !0 !10 !0 !0 !0 !22 !1 |- |Blackpool (loan) |1997–98 |Second Division |11||1||0||0||0||0||1||0||12||1 |- |Stoke City (loan) |1998–99 |Second Division |5||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||5||1 |- | rowspan="4" |Motherwell |1999–00 |Scottish Premier League |10||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||10||0 |- |2000–01 |Scottish Premier League |32||1||1||0||1||1||0||0||34||2 |- |2001–02 |Scottish Premier League |32||2||1||0||0||0||0||0||33||2 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !74 !3 !2 !0 !1 !1 !0 !0 !77 !4 |- | rowspan="3" |Hull City |2002–03 |Third Division |3||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||0 |- |2003–04 |Third Division |3||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||5||0 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !6 !0 !0 !0 !0 !0 !2 !0 !8 !0 |- |Cheltenham Town (loan) |2002–03 |Second Division |4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||4||0 |- |Scunthorpe United (loan) |2002–03 |Third Division |7||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||9||0 |- |Bury (loan) |2003–04 |Third Division |10||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||11||0 |- |Boston United |2004–05 |League Two |9||0||1||0||0||0||1||0||11||0 |- |Macclesfield Town (loan) |2004–05 |League Two |4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||4||0 |- | rowspan="3" |Livingston |2004–05 |Scottish Premier League |9||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||11||0 |- |2005–06 |Scottish Premier League |30||1||2||0||3||0||0||0||35||1 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !39 !1 !4 !0 !3 !0 !0 !0 !46 !1 |- |Dundee |2006–07 |Scottish First Division |16||1||0||0||1||0||1||0||18||1 |- |Halifax Town |2006–07 |Conference National |8||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||8||1 |- |Northwich Victoria |2007–08 |Conference National |17||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||17||0 |- |Droylsden |2007–08 |Conference National |14||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||14||0 |- !colspan="3"|Career Total !271!!12!!8!!0!!21!!1!!11!!0!!311!!13 |}
{{refbegin}} :A. {{note|Other}} The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs and Scottish Challenge Cup. {{refend}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Soccerbase}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Greg}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Footballers from Bolton Category:English men's footballers Category:Wigan Athletic F.C. players Category:Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Category:Blackpool F.C. players Category:Stoke City F.C. players Category:Motherwell F.C. players Category:Hull City A.F.C. players Category:Cheltenham Town F.C. players Category:Scunthorpe United F.C. players Category:Bury F.C. players Category:Boston United F.C. players Category:Macclesfield Town F.C. players Category:Livingston F.C. players Category:Dundee F.C. players Category:Halifax Town A.F.C. players Category:Northwich Victoria F.C. players Category:Rhyl F.C. players Category:Premier League players Category:English Football League players Category:National League (English football) players Category:Scottish Premier League players Category:English football managers Category:Rhyl F.C. managers Category:Cymru Premier managers Category:Droylsden F.C. players Category:Cymru Premier players Category:Plymouth Argyle F.C. non-playing staff Category:Men's association football defenders Category:Salford City F.C. non-playing staff Category:Morecambe F.C. non-playing staff