Daniel Joseph Griffin (born 10 August 1977) is a Northern Irish retired
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 ...
. He was primarily a defender, but could also play in
midfield
In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...
. He is a youth coach with his first professional club,
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...
.
Career
At age 15, Griffin left high school in Belfast six months early to join
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...
. He made his professional debut two years later. It was while he was with the
McDiarmid Park
McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...
club that Griffin made his international debut against
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in a 1–1 draw on 29 May 1996 in Belfast and scored his first international goal in a friendly against the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
three years, to the day, later.
In the following months, English club
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
offered St Johnstone £1,000,000 for their 18-year-old centre-back. Griffin was beginning to develop a good relationship with St Johnstone and he felt there was much more he could learn from
Paul Sturrock
Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player.
As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...
, so he turned down the move."Football memories keep the Perth player in the game ''
Perthshire Advertiser
The ''Perthshire Advertiser'' (originally the ''Perthshire Advertiser and Strathmore Journal'') is a tabloid newspaper, published by Reach plc, in Perth, Scotland
Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on th ...
own goal
An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net.
In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...
, the only goal of the game, in the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
.
After seven years in
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Griffin followed manager Paul Sturrock to
Tayside
Tayside () was one of the nine regions used for local government in Scotland from 16 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. The region was named after the River Tay.
History
Tayside region was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act ...
rivals
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
, for whom he would eventually become captain. Following injury problems, Griffin lost his regular place and joined English side
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 2004 as a free agent. After being released by Stockport, in December 2005 he signed for
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
. Just four months later, however, he was informed that the club would not renew his contract at the end of the season.
In June 2006, Griffin became one of new Dundee manager Alex Rae's first signings, agreeing a two-year contract. On 8 January 2007 he left the club by mutual consent and joined Ross County a week later. Griffin was
released
Released may refer to:
* Released (Jade Warrior album), ''Released'' (Jade Warrior album), 1971
* Released (Patti LaBelle album), ''Released'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1980
* ''Released: 1985–1995'', an album by Kronos Quartet, 1995
* ''Released'' ...
by Ross County after suffering more injuries.Griffin and Winters move to Livi
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...
, 16 January 2009. He then joined Livingston in January 2009. After winning the third division championship with Livingston, Griffin joined Arbroath in June 2010 on a one-year deal where he won the third division title for a second successive season.
International goals
''Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first. ''
Career statistics
Honours
;St Johnstone
*
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,1996–97
*
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
Scottish Third Division
The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013.
History
The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...
Scottish Third Division
The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013.
History
The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...
winner: 1
::
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 ...