Nicholas David "Nicky" Maynard (born 11 December 1986 in
WinsfordWinsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
,
CheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bristol City.
Crewe Alexandra
Before joining Crewe Alexandra, he played for the Arsenal youths at the age of 7 before being released. Maynard began his footballing career as a youth trainee at Crewe Alexandra's academy, famous for producing players such as David Platt,
Neil LennonNeil Francis Lennon is a former footballer from Northern Ireland. He is the current manager and former captain of Celtic....
, Danny Murphy,
Rob HulseRobert William "Rob" Hulse is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a striker.He had primarily spent his career at second tier level, playing there with Crewe Alexandra. West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United, Sheffield United and Derby County...
and
Dean AshtonDean Ashton is a former English professional footballer. He made over 240 appearances as a forward in the Football League and Premier League for Crewe Alexandra, Norwich City and , and was also capped by England. He was highly praised as a talented centre forward, but had a career frustrated by...
, at the age of seven. Since then, he has represented Crewe at every age group level and scored 27 goals in one season at Under–18s level. As a reward for his form in the youth team, Maynard was offered his first professional contract of his career in the summer of 2005.
During the 2005–06 season, Maynard was loaned out to
Witton AlbionWitton Albion F.C. are a football club based in Northwich, England. They were founded in 1887. They have won the Cheshire Senior Cup 11 times since 1902. Their most recent success in this competition was in 2006, when they defeated Stalybridge Celtic in the final. They have also reached the FA Cup...
in January 2006, Maynard made a big impression at the non-league side, helping them to their most successful run of the season in the
Northern Premier LeagueThe Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
. After returning to Crewe, Maynard continued to show fine form in the reserves side; by the end of the season, young Maynard made his Crewe début as a substitute for
Michael HigdonMichael Higdon is an English association football player who plays as a striker for Scottish Premier League club Motherwell.-Crewe Alexandra:...
in a 4–2 win over
MillwallMillwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
at the end of the 2005–06 season. He scored with his first touch in professional football, in front of Scouts representing 20 different clubs, after Michael O'Connor's shot hit the post.
Eddie JohnsonEdward William "Eddie" Johnson is an English footballer who currently plays for Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer. He is a midfielder but has also played as a striker and has represented his country at under-20 level....
;
Luke VarneyLuke Ivan Varney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Portsmouth. He started his career with non-league Quorn, a club in his home county of Leicestershire, before moving to league football with Crewe Alexandra...
and Steve Jones scored the other three goals for Crewe.
It seemed likely that Maynard would get his full début for Crewe during the 2006–07 season, with players such as Steve Jones leaving relegated Crewe for Championship side
BurnleyBurnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
. However, some of Crewe's new signings, such as
Ryan LoweRyan Thomas Lowe is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Football League One side Sheffield Wednesday.-Playing career:...
and the return of former player
Rodney JackRodney Jack is a professional football player from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He is best known for his spells with Torquay United and Crewe Alexandra and also his long-term friendship with singer/songwriter Ash Cherrington...
, gave Maynard a bit of competition for a place in the first eleven. Maynard performed very well in his second year of professional football, forming a partnership with Varney where the two proved to be one of the most productive partnerships, in terms of goal scoring, in League One with a total of 33 league goals between them. During his first full season, the Englishman also picked up the "Player of the Month" award for September.
With
Luke VarneyLuke Ivan Varney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Portsmouth. He started his career with non-league Quorn, a club in his home county of Leicestershire, before moving to league football with Crewe Alexandra...
gone after a £2 million transfer to
Charlton AthleticCharlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
, Maynard was seen as the club's main goalscoring threat. His second full season at the club, however, was brought to a stand still for four months after he suffered a
bone fractureA bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone...
of his
fibula and also damaged his ankle ligaments during the club's season opener against . In an interview with
FourFourTwoFourFourTwo is a football magazine published by Haymarket. Published monthly, costing £4.50, and at about 164 pages long, it published its 200th edition in February 2011...
magazine, Maynard admitted that he had "
broke downMental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
a few times" during his four months of
rehabilitationPhysical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
, although he would later recover and return to fitness and soon featured as a non-used substitute in an away match against before playing the second 45 minutes of the FA cup tie versus on December.
The striker struggled to score a goal during his initial months back in the first team, with only two goals scored in his first two months back from injury. It wasn't until the following months of February and March that the young striker got back into form and soon showed his potential by scoring in seven consecutive games including a hat-trick at senior level, his first for the club, against relegation rivals , "I've scored a couple of doubles before" he said in an interview in 2008, "so I thought it was a long time coming. I got all the lads to sign the match ball for me." Crewe managed to avoid relegation for the second time in three seasons at the expense of , despite losing 4–1 to Oldham on the last day of the season.
Bristol City
On 30 July 2008, Crewe Alexandra reportedly accepted a bid in excess of £2,000,000 from
Bristol CityBristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
. However, the following day Crewe reported that no bid had been accepted and only negotiations between themselves and Bristol City are taking place.
On 31 July Maynard signed a 4 year contract for Bristol City for a fee of £2,250,000, becoming their record signing. He played his first game for his new club on 1 August against Royal Antwerp at
Ashton GateAshton Gate Stadium is a stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it has an all-seated capacity of 21,497, with an effective capacity for football matches of around 19,500, with an average...
, where he scored two goals in the first half before completing his hat-trick early in the second half. However, the first half of his season at City was difficult and despite scoring 3 games into his Bristol City career, against
Derby CountyDerby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
he failed to hold down a regular first team place, often appearing as a substitute. However, just before Christmas he started scoring with goals against the likes of
WatfordWatford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
(twice) and
Wolverhampton WanderersWolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
to put Bristol City into a good run of form in which they went unbeaten in eight, before being beaten 1–0 by
Doncaster RoversDoncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
.
Maynard made an explosive start to his second full campaign with City, scoring six times in his first seven games. He helped his side to three consecutive 1–0 victories, against
Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
,
Queens Park RangersQueens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
and away at
BrentfordBrentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
in the
Football League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. He also scored twice in a game to defeat
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
. Maynard's sixth goal of the season came on 12 September away at Coventry City, when he scored undoubtedly his best strike thus far for the club. After the ball was chested down by new signing and strike partner
Álvaro SaboríoÁlvaro Alberto Saborío Chacón is a Costa Rican footballer, who currently plays for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer and the Costa Rica national football team.-Deportivo Saprissa:...
, Maynard struck an unstoppable 25-yard half-volley in off the crossbar past Coventry keeper Kieran Westwood to cancel out
Leon BestLeon Julian Brendan Best is an English-born Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League team Newcastle United and the Republic of Ireland national football team. Best represented Ireland at under-21 level and won his first full international cap against Nigeria on 29 May 2009.Best...
's opener and give his side a share of the spoils at the
Ricoh ArenaThe Ricoh Arena , home to Coventry City F.C., is a stadium complex situated in the Rowleys Green district of the city of Coventry, England containing a 32,609 seater football stadium, a 6,000 square-metre exhibition hall, a hotel, a leisure club, and a casino...
. However, Maynard eclipsed this goal on Boxing day against QPR at Loftus Road; facing away from goal just outside the box, he collected a bouncing ball in the air, with one kick to control it and another to turn two defenders, and then smashed a stunning volley into the top corner past an unmoved Radek Cerny, all without the ball hitting the floor. The goal was voted the 'Football League goal of 2009', out of five selected goals from 2009.
Following a pre-season knee injury, his first appearance in the 2010–11 season was as a substitute in the game against Leeds United on 12 February 2011. He went on to start the next three games, scoring in each of them as City went on a winning run to pull themselves away from the relegation zone. On April 23, 2011 Maynard received the first red card of his career in a 3–2 defeat at Sheffield United. Maynard had a penalty saved by Andy Lonergan against Leeds United on 17 September which helped Leeds earn a 2-1 victory.
Career stats
Statistics correct as of matches played 26 November 2011
All-Time Club Performance
| Club |
Season |
Domestic
League |
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
|
League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
|
Other |
Total |
| App |
Goals |
App |
Goals |
App |
Goals |
App |
Goals |
App |
Goals |
| Crewe Alexandra |
05-06 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| 06-07 |
31 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
38 |
19 |
| 07-08 |
27 |
15 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
15 |
| Club Total |
|
59 |
32 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
67 |
35 |
| Bristol City |
08-09 |
42 |
11 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
45 |
11 |
| 09-10 |
42 |
20 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
45 |
21 |
| 10–11 |
13 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
6 |
| 11–12 |
19 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
19 |
7 |
| Club Total |
|
116 |
44 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
122 |
45 |
| Career Totals |
|
175 |
76 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
189 |
80 |
External links