Charlie Griffin
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Charles John Griffin (born 25 June 1979) is an English former 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 lea ...
. Griffin started his career with
Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...
, spending two years at the club and progressing through the club's
youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...
. He was released at the age of 18 and played part-time football with Chippenham Town for a season. He attracted the attention of
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...
in February 1999, signing for the club for a transfer fee of £10,000. He made the majority of his appearances for the club off the bench, and was loaned out to both Yeovil Town and
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
respectively the following season. He joined Woking permanently in 2001, and spent one and a half years with the club – although he had a short loan spell at Havant & Waterlooville in December 2001. He was released by Woking in 2003, and re-joined Chippenham Town ahead of the 2003–04 season. He impressed during his second tenure at the club, and earned a move back into the highest tier of non-league football in the summer of 2004; signing for
Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...
. His impressive form for a struggling side earned him a move back into
the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
; this time with
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...
, although he was loaned back out to Forest Green in July 2006 on a season long loan. His loan spell was cut short, and he signed for Newport County in February 2007; spending a season and a half with the Welsh side. He rejected a contract offer from the club in July 2008, and instead joined Salisbury City after a successful trial period with the
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
outfit. His successful spell at Salisbury during the club's 2008–09 campaign earned him a move to Stevenage on a free transfer in May 2009. Griffin helped the club earn promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history in his first season at the club. , Griffin had joined the Melksham Town veterans' squad.


Career

Griffin began his league career with
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...
in February 1999, having signed from non-league neighbours Chippenham Town for £10,000. After only starting eight games for the Robins though he stepped down to the Conference with
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
having enjoyed a fruitful loan spell there whilst still at the County Ground. He then joined Chippenham Town on loan before making the move permanent in 2002. In the summer of 2004 Griffin moved to Forest Green Rovers. Since then an impressive scoring record has seen his name touted around various league clubs but it was not until his 20 league and cup goals for
Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...
during the 2004–05 season that a serious move was made for the talisman. Griffin was given another shot at League football with
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...
when he became John Gorman's first summer signing for the 2005–06 season. In early July 2006, Griffin turned down
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
to re-join
Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...
on a season-long loan with an option for recall to Wycombe in the January
transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...
. This did not materialise and he signed for Newport County on 14 February 2007. During his time at Newport they twice narrowly missed out on the promotion play-offs and twice appeared in the
FAW Premier Cup The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Wales, Welsh association football, football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English fo ...
final, winning the 2008 final. Griffin was top scorer for Newport County in the 2007–08 season but in July 2008 he left Newport after turning down the offer of a new contract. In the same month he joined Salisbury City on trial but was let go after not being needed. However, Nick Holmes soon went back on his decision and signed him just in time to be in the squad for Salisbury's first game of the season. He made his debut for Salisbury in a game against his former employers, Forest Green Rovers, which ended 2–1 to Salisbury. In the following game, Griffin scored his first goals for the club; scoring a brace in a 4–1 victory against
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
. In total, he scored 23 goals in 48 appearances throughout the 2008–09 season. In May 2009, Griffin signed for
Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a 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, Stevenage w ...
on a free transfer. He made his Stevenage debut in a 1–1 draw against Tamworth in the first game of the 2009–10 season. Following a brief spell out of the first team, Griffin scored his first goal for the
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
side in a 3–2 victory away at
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
; slamming the ball into the back of the net to score Stevenage's third, a goal that ultimately ended Mansfield's nine-month unbeaten home record. Griffin followed the goal up with a hat-trick against Hayes & Yeading, and goals against Salisbury City, Chelmsford City, and
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...
, the latter two coming in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
. The following week, he scored his second hat-trick of the season against
Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
at
Broadhall Way Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage (formerly Stevenage Borough and Stevenage Town) since the early 1960s, a ...
. Griffin scored a vital goal for Stevenage in a 1–0 victory against
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...
in April 2010, coming on a substitute in the 78th minute and scoring the only goal of the game five minutes later. He scored yet another important goal just three days later, scoring the first goal in a 2–0 win against
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...
in a game that witnessed Stevenage secure promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history. Griffin played a total of 32 times in his debut season with the Hertfordshire side, scoring an instrumental 15 times. Ahead of the
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
season, Griffin scored in pre-season friendlies against both Chelmsford City and Hitchin Town respectively. He subsequently started in the club's first ever Football League fixture against Macclesfield Town, assisting Peter Vincenti's goal before scoring the equalising goal for Stevenage in the 89th minute. In Stevenage's next home league fixture, Griffin scored twice as Stevenage secured their first three points of the season after beating
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
3–1. In September 2010, Griffin signed an extended contract with the club that keeps him at Stevenage until 2012. In January 2011, Griffin signed for Conference National side Newport County on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season. After being released by Stevenage at the end of the season, Griffin re-joined former club, Forest Green Rovers. Griffin made his third 'debut' for Forest Green on 12 August 2011 in a 1–1 draw with
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
in a match that was televised live on
Premier Sports Premier Sports is a group of pay sports television channels owned by SSBL Limited that are available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Premier Sports holds exclusive live rights to La Liga, Scottish League Cup, Elite Ice Hockey League, NHL a ...
. Four days later, he scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in a 1–1 draw at
Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...
against
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
, giving Forest Green the lead just after half-time. On 20 February 2012, Griffin re-joined Salisbury City on loan from Forest Green until the end of the season. On his return to Forest Green at the end of the season Griffin was released by the club and in July 2012 it was announced that he had signed for Bath City. Griffin made a promising start for Bath City, with 9 goals in 14 games for the
Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...
side and would go on to finish the season as the club's top goal scorer. Despite this he was released by the club in May 2013. Following his release from Bath, Griffin joined
Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
side
Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...
in June 2013. Griffin then joined
Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
club Gloucester City until the end of the 2013/2014 season. On Thursday 26 February 2015, it was announced that Griffin had signed for Chippenham Town. He joined fellow
Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...
Premier Division members Cirencester Town during the summer of 2015. He became manager of the club in September the following year, remaining in post until November 2019.John Brough succeeds his own successor at Cirencester Town
The Non-League Football Paper, 4 December 2019


Honours

;Newport County *
FAW Premier Cup The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Wales, Welsh association football, football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English fo ...
(1): 2007–08 ;Stevenage *
Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
(1): 2009–10


Career statistics

:A.  The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in
the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
,
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
and
Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...
. :B.  The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
and
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Charlie Living people 1979 births Footballers from Bath, Somerset English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Chippenham Town F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Woking F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Brackley Town F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Cirencester Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players English football managers Cirencester Town F.C. managers