Jonathan Greening

York City

Born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Greening joined the York City youth system at the age of 15. He signed with the club's Youth Training Scheme in December 1996 and broke into the first team towards the end of the 1996–97 season, making his debut as substitute in a 1–1 draw away to AFC Bournemouth on 22 March 1997.

Manchester United

Following a four-day trial with Manchester United in February, he signed for the Premier League team on 25 March 1998 for what was understood to be an initial fee of £500,000, which could have potentially risen to £2 million dependent on appearances and international recognition, with a sell-on clause. He later admitted that he signed for United on £400 a week without looking at the contract. As an attacking midfielder, he faced massive competition from more established players in both positions and his first-team opportunities were restricted, although he did make the substitute's bench in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final. He later admitted that he "felt a bit of a fraud" for picking up his winner's medal, having not played a single minute of European football that season. He did however make a contribution to their victorious FA Cup campaign, coming on as a substitute at half-time in their fifth round tie with future club Fulham. Greening signed a new contract with United at the end of 1999–2000, but by 2001 he had become frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities, and conceded that he would need to…

Greening made his only appearance for the England national under-18 team as a substitute for Danny Cadamarteri in a 1–0 home defeat to France on 23 April 1998. His first cap for the under-21 team came after starting the 2–2 away draw with Hungary on 27 April 1999, with his first goal coming in the 61st minute of a 6–1 home win over Georgia on 31 August 2000. Greening was drafted into the England squad for the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship as a replacement for the injured Michael Carrick, two days prior to their first match of the tournament. He played in the final Group A match, a 3–1 loss to Portugal on 22 May 2002, with England being eliminated from the tournament after finishing bottom of Group A. This proved to be the final of his 17 appearances for the under-21s, for whom he scored three goals. Greening was also called up to the full England squad by Sven Goran Eriksson but failed to make an appearance.

Although naturally right-sided, Greening could operate anywhere across the midfield. Initially an attacking wide midfielder, he later moved to a central midfield holding role. Teammate Dean Kiely described how Greening "sprays passes around like a quarterback" in Albion's style of attacking football under Tony Mowbray.

Greening began assisting with coaching the academy team of his former club York, then in League Two, during the summer of 2014, before retiring from playing professionally during September 2014. He signed for Northern Counties East League Premier Division club Tadcaster Albion on 19 September 2014, where his younger brother Josh played, making his debut the next day in a 6–0 away win over Maltby Main. Greening was appointed as Development Phase Coach at York's Academy on 22 December 2014, a role focusing on the development of the team's players aged 16 to 18. He registered as a player with York on non-contract terms on 13 November 2015, to provide cover with a number of midfielders unavailable. His second York debut came two days later as a half-time substitute for Rhys Turner in a 2–1 home defeat to Plymouth Argyle; according to The Press, he "inspired an improved second-half display ". Greening was sent off for violent conduct after elbowing Michael Doyle on his third appearance, in a 6–0 away defeat to Portsmouth on 24 November 2015, for which he received a three-match suspension. He left the club by mutual consent on 16 December 2015, despite offering only days earlier to carry on playing for the rest of 2015–16. Greening rejoined Tadcaster on 30 December 2015. He made 21 appearances and scored one goal in 2015–16 as Tadcaster won the Northern Counties East League Premier Division title, and thus promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One North. He has worked…