Simon Grayson

He started playing football for Bedale FC after going through high school at Bedale High School. In June 1988 Grayson began his career with the club he had supported as a boy, Leeds United. At Leeds he played as either a defender or midfielder, however, he did not manage to become a first-team regular, playing just twice in four years. He signed for Leicester City in March 1992 and went on to make 229 appearances in five years. During his time at Filbert Street the team won the League Cup in 1997, with Grayson scoring the goal against Wimbledon which put them in the final, and was voted the club's player of the season in the same year. Grayson moved to Brian Little's Aston Villa in 1997 and made another 49 Premier League appearances at Villa Park, scoring two goals, both of which came in Villa's 1997–98 FA Cup campaign against Portsmouth and West Bromwich Albion. He then signed for Blackburn Rovers in July 1999, where he made 34 appearances in his first season. He lost his place in the team the following season and spent most of the next two years on loan, with spells at Sheffield Wednesday, Stockport County, Notts County (where he scored once against Reading) and Bradford City. Grayson signed for Blackpool on a free transfer on 19 July 2002. He made more than 100 appearances for the Seasiders and captained the side. He started his career at Blackpool in the right-back berth, but was moved to midfield by former boss Colin Hendry to bolster an area of weakness. In 2004 he…

Blackpool

Grayson moved into coaching in the 2004–05 season, managing the reserve squad at Bloomfield Road with some success. He was named caretaker manager of the first team in November 2005, following the departure of Colin Hendry. After diverting Blackpool away from relegation that season he was given the job on a permanent basis for the start of the 2006–07 season. Grayson retired from playing at the end of the 2005–06 season to focus purely on the managerial side of the game. In late 2006, he led Blackpool to only one defeat in fourteen league games, a sequence that included five wins out of six, resulting in their appearance in the four play-off positions. The run also brought attendances of more than 7,000 to Bloomfield Road. This led to Grayson being awarded the Manager of the Month award for December. On 6 January 2007, he guided Blackpool to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 17 years, after beating Aldershot Town 4–2 at Bloomfield Road. They were knocked out by Norwich City, who beat them 3–2 after extra time, in a replay at Carrow Road on 13 February, narrowly missing out on a trip to London to face Chelsea in the last sixteen. Grayson received his second League One Manager of the Month award of the 2006–07 season in May 2007. Two days later, on 5 May 2007, Grayson guided Blackpool to a final placing of third, and thus a place in the play-offs. Blackpool beat Oldham Athletic 5–2 on aggregate over the two legs of the play-off semi-final.…

Grayson's son, Joe, made his competitive debut for Blackburn Rovers on 28 August 2018. In doing so the pair became the third father-son duo to play for the club. He is brother to former professional cricketer Paul Grayson.

Player

Leicester City

Football League First Division play-offs: 1994, 1996 Football League Cup: 1996–97 Blackpool

Football League Trophy: 2003–04 Individual

Leicester City Player of the Season: 1993–94, 1996–97

Manager

Blackpool

Football League One play-offs: 2007 Leeds United

Football League One second-place promotion: 2009–10 Huddersfield Town

Football League One play-offs: 2012 Preston North End

Football League One play-offs: 2015 Bengaluru

Durand Cup: 2022 Indian Super League runner-up: 2022–23 Indian Super Cup runner-up: 2023 Lalitpur City

Nepal Super League: 2025 Individual

Football League Championship Manager of the Month: December 2010 Football League One Manager of the Month: December 2006, April 2007, September 2013, October 2014, February 2015