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Date and Place of Birth 26th April 1962 - Leicester
Transfers to and from Burnley from Shepshed Charterhouse - June 1984 released - May 1991
First and Last Burnley Games Plymouth Argyle (h) - 25th August 1984
Wrexham (h) - 11th May 1991
Other Clubs Leicester City, Gillingham |
Burnley Career Stats
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Others | Total | |||||
| apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | |
| 1984/85 | 44(2) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | - | 55(2) | 9 |
| 1985/86 | 36(2) | 7 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | 42(2) | 7 |
| 1986/87 | 35(1) | 9 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | 39(1) | 9 |
| 1987/88 | 28(4) | - | 1 | - | 4 | - | 4 | 2 | 37(4) | 2 |
| 1988/89 | 12(1) | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12(1) | 1 |
| 1989/90 | 4(3) | 2 | - | - | 0(1) | - | - | - | 4(4) | 2 |
| 1990/91 | 21(9) | 2 | 3 | - | 1 | - | 4 | - | 29(9) | 2 |
| Total | 180(22) | 27 | 10 | 1 | 12(1) | 2 | 16 | 2 | 218(23) | 32 |
Profile by Tony Scholes
He had a Burnley career of over 240 games, scoring 32 goals, but there is no doubt that one of those goals scored by Neil Grewcock will be remembered for ever, the first on that dramatic day in May 1987 when we beat Orient at Turf Moor to retain our Football League status.
Neil had, without any shadow of doubt, been our best player in that almost disastrous season, but without that goal, and the one from Ian Britton, his excellent form and some of those crucial goals would not have been remembered.
It brought to an end his third season at Turf Moor and by then he'd already played for five different managers having been signed from non-league football by John Bond at the age of 22.
His career had started with Leicester City, his local club, and he made quick progress coming through the ranks at Filbert Street and made his first team debut in March 1979 against Cardiff City whilst just 16 years of age.
He scored too in the game but it was a losing start; Cardiff won the game at Leicester 2-1, and it wasn't the start of a long fruitful career with his first club. He made just eight league appearances for them before being released at the end of the 1981/82 season.
He was quickly snapped up by Gillingham and he became a first team regular immediately in a central midfield role. He played 34 league games, and scored four goals, but was surprisingly released at the end of his first season.
A second release in two seasons left him dropping into non-league football and, as Bond rode into Burnley, Grewcock started the 1983/84 season with Kettering Town before moving to Shepshed Charterhouse.
He was spotted by Bond who, having already swooped into non-league football to sign Wayne Biggins from Matlock Town, made him one of his first signings in the summer of 1984.
By the time the league season started it was John Benson in charge and Neil Grewcock went straight into the first team and was the name on everyone's lips as he turned in some top performances on the right wing.
He played in every game that season, all but two of those appearances being starts, as the Clarets plummeted into the basement division without us every realising things were going to get even worse.
He scored a total of nine goals that season in league and cup and bettered it by one in the following season as he continued to perform as well as any other Burnley player.
Then came the 'Orient' season. By now he really was one of the few shining lights and it is worth looking at his league goals that season that added to some more good performances. He scored nine in total; four of them came in draws and four in one goal wins, including goals on each of the last two Saturdays as we beat both Southend and Orient 2-1. Only one of his goals, in a 5-2 home defeat to Wolves, counted for nothing.
Perhaps Neil Grewcock showed his best form for Burnley as the revival got underway in the next season. He was still a regular in the side despite all the changes and was in really good form throughout the season.
We had a much better season in the league and then, of course, there was a run to Wembley in the Sherpa Van Trophy. We beat Halifax at home in a penalty shoot out in the Northern semi-final but that night Neil suffered a serious injury following a heavy tackle.
It ruled him out for the rest of the season, thus he missed the Wembley game. It was over a year before he played again and even in the 1989/90 season he hardly featured as he struggled to fully recover from the injury.
He did get his place back in the side during the 1990/91 season and started almost half of the league games as we reached the play offs. There were only two starts in the last fourteen games, the last coming in the final league game against Wrexham.
In the first leg of the play off semi-final against Torquay at Plainmoor he was on the bench but came on for Ray Deakin. Neither played in the second leg and neither played for the club again.
Both were released and for Grewcock it brought to an end a seven year career as a Burnley player when he had, without doubt, been one of our better players during the club's darkest period.
He's remembered by many with some affection, by many because of that Orient goal, but during the club's least productive period he should always be remembered as one of the players who shed some light.
His release from Burnley saw his professional career end at 29, and he played for Burnley Bank Hall for a time before hanging up his boots and leaving the area to return to his native Leicestershire.