Chris O'Grady

For the baseball player, see Chris O'Grady (baseball).

Chris O'Grady
O'Grady playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2015
Personal information
Full name Christopher James O'Grady[1]
Date of birth (1986-01-25) 25 January 1986 (age 38)[1]
Place of birth Nottingham, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Nottingham Forest
2000–2003 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2007 Leicester City 24 (1)
2004–2005 → Notts County (loan) 9 (0)
2005–2006 → Rushden & Diamonds (loan) 22 (4)
2007–2008 Rotherham United 51 (13)
2008–2010 Oldham Athletic 13 (0)
2008 → Bury (loan) 6 (0)
2009 → Bradford City (loan) 2 (0)
2009 → Stockport County (loan) 18 (2)
2009–2010 → Rochdale (loan) 24 (15)
2010–2011 Rochdale 69 (19)
2011–2013 Sheffield Wednesday 53 (9)
2013 → Barnsley (loan) 16 (6)
2013–2014 Barnsley 40 (15)
2014–2017 Brighton & Hove Albion 31 (1)
2014 → Sheffield United (loan) 4 (1)
2015–2016 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 21 (2)
2016–2017 → Burton Albion (loan) 26 (1)
2017–2018 Chesterfield 35 (2)
2018–2019 Oldham Athletic 38 (7)
2019–2020 Bolton Wanderers 20 (2)
2022 Ilkeston Town 16 (6)
2023 Grantham Town 7 (1)
International career
2002 England U17 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:13, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

Christopher James O'Grady (born 25 January 1986) is an English football striker.

O'Grady notably played professionally for Leicester City, Rotherham United, Oldham Athletic, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chesterfield and Bolton Wanderers. He has also spent time on loan with Notts County, Rushden & Diamonds, Bury, Bradford City, Stockport County, Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and Burton Albion.

Club career

Leicester City

Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire,[1] O'Grady originally caught the eye of former Leicester City boss Micky Adams as he was prolific in front of goal for the under 18s and reserves. O'Grady was handed his debut when coming off the bench in Leicester's 2–0 victory over Grimsby Town in April 2003, but failed to break through into the first team the following season.

He made 11 appearances during a loan spell at Notts County in late 2004, gaining some much needed league experience, and ended the 2004–05 campaign on a high, winning a place on the bench in City's final game of the season against Plymouth Argyle.

After scoring from the penalty spot against Inter Milan in pre-season, O'Grady had a successful spell on loan at Rushden & Diamonds at the end of 2005, before returning to Leicester to compete for a place in the first team line-up. He grabbed his first Championship goal at Luton Town in March 2006, a late strike which earned City a 2–1 away win.[2]

In his first start for Leicester City, he scored the first goal in a 2–0 win over Macclesfield Town in the League Cup first round.[3] His second start saw Leicester win 1–0 at home to Southend United.

Rotherham United

On 18 January 2007, O'Grady signed for Rotherham United on a two-and-a-half-year deal for £65,000. His first goal for Rotherham was a penalty against Huddersfield Town in February 2007. O'Grady altogether scored four goals in his first season with Rotherham.[4]

O'Grady (right) at Bury with teammates Ben Futcher and Glynn Hurst

Oldham Athletic

O'Grady transferred to Oldham Athletic for an undisclosed fee on 28 May 2008,[5] making his debut in the following season on 9 August in a 4–3 win over Millwall.[6] After ten appearances for the Latics without a goal, he was loaned out to Bury.[7]

O'Grady signed on loan for Bradford City on 2 January 2009 on a month's loan.[8] His debut for Bradford came the following day when he was a second-half substitute for Michael Boulding in a 0–0 draw with Shrewsbury Town.[9] O'Grady played just two games with Bradford,[10] before he returned to Oldham and immediately joining another League One side Stockport County on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season.[11] His debut for the Hatters came on 4 February, coming on at half-time in a 1–0 loss to Milton Keynes Dons.[12] O'Grady's first goal for Stockport was in his seventh game to give the side a 1–1 draw with Leicester City on 3 March 2009.[13]

Rochdale

O'Grady signed for Rochdale on loan on 21 August 2009 and impressed, scoring 12 league goals in 21 games. On 14 January 2010 O'Grady signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Rochdale for an undisclosed fee.[14]

On 23 January 2010 he scored his first hat-trick, against Cheltenham. In the same season he helped Rochdale gain promotion from League Two.

Sheffield Wednesday

O'Grady playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2012

On 14 July 2011 Rochdale confirmed that a bid by Sheffield Wednesday for O'Grady had been rejected.[15] On 9 August 2011 Wednesday confirmed the signing of O'Grady from Rochdale for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £350,000,[16][17] with the striker putting pen to paper on a three-year contract at Hillsborough. Chris scored his first goal for the Owls in a 2–2 draw against fierce rivals Sheffield United. His next goal came away at Morecambe in the FA Cup. His third, a spectacular headed lob, came against local rivals and promotion candidates Huddersfield Town. He was considered the work horse of the Wednesday frontline by many an Owls fan. Despite having not scored many goals for the club, he cemented himself as first-choice forward alongside Gary Madine. O'Grady also formed a solid partnership with fellow frontman Ryan Lowe, when Madine was either suspended or out injured.

On 26 February 2012, O'Grady scored once again against derby rivals Sheffield United with a header from a Lewis Buxton cross in a 1–0 win for the Owls at Hillsborough.

At the start of the 2012–13 season, O'Grady scored three goals in two games, the first two against one of his previous clubs Oldham Athletic in the League Cup, and then, in the first league game, he scored a stunner against Derby County. He received the ball from Lewis Buxton, turned and smashed a shot with his left foot into the top left corner.

Loan at Barnsley

On January transfer deadline day in 2013, O'Grady joined Wednesday's South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley on loan for the remainder of the season.[18]

Barnsley

After a successful loan spell at Barnsley, O'Grady joined them on a permanent basis on 19 June 2013 from Sheffield Wednesday on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be around £300,000.[19]

Brighton & Hove Albion

Following Barnsley's relegation from the Championship at the end of the 2013–14 season, O'Grady transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion on 18 July 2014, signing a three-year contract for an undisclosed six figure fee believed to be £500,000.[20] He scored his first goal for Brighton in an FA Cup tie against Brentford 3 January 2015.[21]

Loan spells

On 27 November 2014 O'Grady went on loan to Sheffield United until the end of January 2015.[22] He scored once for Sheffield United; his goal coming in a 1–1 draw with Walsall.[23] On 29 December, Brighton & Hove recalled O'Grady from his loan spell at United due to a striker shortage.[24]

On 1 September 2015, O'Grady joined Nottingham Forest on loan for the remainder of the season.[25]

O'Grady joined Burton Albion in July 2016 on loan for the 2016–17 season.[26] He scored his first goal for Burton in a 2–1 win over former club Rotherham United on 29 December 2016.[27]

Chesterfield

In June 2017, O'Grady signed a two-year contract with EFL League Two side Chesterfield. Upon signing O'Grady told the club website, "It's the type of club and the type of project that is just perfect for me. The objective is to get the club back to where it belongs - in League One...I had other offers but Chesterfield were the first to come in for me and it just felt right."[28] At the end of Chesterfield's dismal league 2 campaign in 2017/18, O'Grady was ironically voted player of the season by disgruntled fans before the club decided to not award the 'honour' at all.[29]

Oldham Athletic

On 30 July 2018, O'Grady rejoined League Two club Oldham Athletic on a one-year deal.[30]

Bolton Wanderers

On 2 September 2019, O'Grady signed a contract until the end of the season with League One side Bolton Wanderers, following the termination of his contract at Oldham Athletic.[31] Due to injury, his debut didn't come until 19 October, when he came on as a late substitute in a 1–3 defeat against Rochdale[32] with his first start coming three days later, when he played the full 90 minutes in Bolton's first win of the season, a 2–0 away win against Bristol Rovers.[33] His first goals came on 29 October when he scored twice in a 3–1 win against Manchester City U21 in the EFL Trophy,[34] with his first league goal coming in Bolton's next match, as he opened the scoring against Fleetwood Town, Bolton winning 2–1, their third win in a row.[35] On 26 June it was announced O'Grady would be one of 14 senior players released at the end of his contract on 30 June.[36]

Ilkeston Town

On 24 May 2022, he signed for Ilkeston Town.[37]

Grantham Town

On 11 February 2023, he joined Grantham Town.[38]

International career

O'Grady was capped by England at youth international level.[1]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 March 2023
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Leicester City 2002–03[39] Division One 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
2003–04[40] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2004–05[41] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2005–06[42] Championship 13 1 0 0 0 0 — 13 1
2006–07[43] Championship 10 0 0 0 1 1 — 11 1
Total 24 1 0 0 1 1 — 25 2
Notts County (loan) 2004–05[41] League Two 9 0 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 11 0
Rushden & Diamonds (loan) 2005–06[42] League Two 22 4 0 0 1 0 2[a] 0 25 4
Rotherham United 2006–07[43] League One 13 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 4
2007–08[43] League Two 38 9 2 1 1 0 1[a] 1 42 11
Total 51 13 2 1 1 0 1 1 55 15
Oldham Athletic 2008–09[44] League One 13 0 0 0 2 0 1[a] 0 16 0
2009–10[45] League One 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 13 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 17 0
Bury (loan) 2008–09[44] League Two 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Bradford City (loan) 2008–09[44] League Two 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Stockport County (loan) 2008–09[45] League One 18 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 2
Rochdale (loan)
2009–10[45]
 League Two 24 15 2 0 0 0 0 0 26 15
Rochdale 19 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 7
2010–11[46] League One 46 9 1 0 2 0 0 0 49 9
2011–12[47] League One 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 90 31 3 0 2 0 0 0 95 31
Sheffield Wednesday 2011–12[47] League One 32 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 36 7
2012–13[47] Championship 21 4 1 0 2 2 — 24 6
Total 53 9 5 2 2 2 0 0 60 13
Barnsley (loan) 2012–13[47] Championship 16 6 0 0 0 0 — 16 6
Barnsley 2013–14[47] Championship 40 15 1 0 2 0 — 43 15
Total 56 21 1 0 2 0 — 59 21
Brighton & Hove Albion 2014–15[47] Championship 28 1 2 2 3 0 — 33 3
2015–16[47] Championship 3 0 0 0 2 0 — 5 0
Total 31 1 2 2 5 0 — 38 3
Sheffield United (loan) 2014–15[47] League One 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2015–16[47] Championship 21 2 0 0 0 0 — 21 2
Burton Albion (loan) 2016–17[48] Championship 26 1 0 0 0 0 --- 26 1
Chesterfield 2017–18[49] League Two 35 2 1 0 1 0 4[a] 1 41 3
Oldham Athletic 2018–19[50] League Two 38 7 4 1 1 0 4[a] 0 47 8
Bolton Wanderers 2019–20[51] League One 20 2 1 0 0 0 2[a] 2 23 4
Ilkeston Town 2022–23[52] SFL Premier Central 16 6 3 1 — 0 0 19 7
Grantham Town 2022–23[53] NPL D1 East 7 1 — — 1[b] 0 8 1
Career total 541 96 19 6 18 3 12 4 599 110
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy.
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup.

Honours

Rochdale
Sheffield Wednesday

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 317. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ "Luton 1–2 Leicester". bbc.co.uk. 11 March 2006. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Leicester 2–0 Macclesfield". bbc.co.uk. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Rotherham snap up Foxes striker". bbc.co.uk. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
  5. ^ "Millers' O'Grady makes Latics switch". oldhamathletic.premiumtv.co.uk. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Oldham 4–3 Millwall". bbc.co.uk. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  7. ^ "O'Grady Seals Shakers Switch". skysports.com. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Bradford sign O'Grady from Oldham". bbc.co.uk. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Bradford 0–0 Shrewsbury". bbc.co.uk. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
  10. ^ "Chris O'Grady". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  11. ^ "Hatters Land O'Grady". skysports.com. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  12. ^ "Stockport 0–1 MK Dons". bbc.co.uk. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  13. ^ "Leicester 1–1 Stockport". bbc.co.uk. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  14. ^ "O'Grady signs". rochdaleafc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  15. ^ "Owls Fail with Striker Bid". skysports.com. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  16. ^ "O'Grady Deal Done". swfc.co.uk. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Owls clinch striker deal". thestar.co.uk. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  18. ^ "Barnsley 2-0 Leicester". bbc.co.uk. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  19. ^ "O'Grady signs for Barnsley". www.swfc.co.uk. 19 June 2013.
  20. ^ "O'Grady signs for Albion". seagulls.co.uk. 18 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Brentford 0–2 Brighton". bbc.co.uk. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  22. ^ "Chris O'Grady: Sheffield United bring in Brighton striker". bbc.co.uk. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  23. ^ "Sheff Utd 1–1 Walsall". bbc.co.uk. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Sheffield United: Blades hope to re-sign O'Grady after Seagulls recall". thestar.co.uk. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  25. ^ "O'Grady joins Forest". seagulls.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  26. ^ "Chris O'Grady: Burton Albion sign Brighton striker on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Rotherham 1–2 Burton". bbc.co.uk. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  28. ^ "Chris O'Grady: Chesterfield sign striker on two-year deal after Brighton exit". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  29. ^ "Record wage earner agrees to leave the Proact". derbyshiretimes.co.uk. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Chris O'Grady and Sam Surridge: Oldham Athletic sign strikers". BBC Sport. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  31. ^ "O'Grady signs for Wanderers". Bolton Wanderers. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  32. ^ "Bolton Wanderers 1-3 Rochdale". BBC Sport.
  33. ^ "Bristol Rovers 0-2 Bolton Wanderers: Keith Hill's Trotters earn first win of season". BBC Sport.
  34. ^ "Report: Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Manchester City U21s".
  35. ^ "Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport.
  36. ^ theboltonnews "Bolton announce retained list with 14 players out of contract"
  37. ^ "Former Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest, Chesterfield and Bolton Wanderers striker joins Ilkeston Town". Derbyshire Times. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  38. ^ @granthamtownfc 𝙉𝙀𝙒 𝙎𝙏𝙍𝙄𝙆𝙀𝙍 A hugely experienced 6ft 1" striker, who has played and scored goals for Leicester, Rotherham, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Forest and many more! Welcome to #thegingerbreads Chris O'Grady!
  39. ^ "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  40. ^ "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  41. ^ a b "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  42. ^ a b "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  43. ^ a b c "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  44. ^ a b c "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  45. ^ a b c "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  46. ^ "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  47. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  48. ^ "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  49. ^ "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  50. ^ "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  51. ^ "Games played by Chris O'Grady in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  52. ^ jobs4football: "Christopher James O'Grady"
  53. ^ Football Webpages: "Grantham Town – Appearances – Christopher O'Grady"
  54. ^ "Barnsley Player of the Season". Barnsley FC. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
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