A Champions League winner with Sir Alex Ferguson’s legendary Treble clinching Manchester United side is now managing a football club in National League North
A Champions League winner with Sir Alex Ferguson’s legendary Treble clinching Manchester United side now looks completely different as the manager of a non-league outfit.
Jonathan Greening is the boss of National League North club Scarborough Athletic. He took charge at the Flamingo Land Stadium – named for its sponsorship by the nearby theme park – in the summer of 2021. And he had a fantastic first season, leading the Seadogs to promotion from the Northern Premier League via the play-offs and also winning the North Riding Senior Cup.
Admittedly, the North Riding Senior Cup doesn’t carry quite the same prestige as the biggest prize in club football, which he lifted as an unused substitute on that famous night in Barcelona in 1999. During his first full season at United he was named on the bench during their Champions League final win over Bayern Munich, so picked up a winners’ medal, despite not playing a single minute in Europe that campaign.
Former England youth international Greening, who turns 47 today, Friday, January 2, had joined United from York City back in 1998 for an initial fee of £500,000. He signed a new contract the following season, but pushed for a move to get first-team opportunities and left for Steve McClaren’s Middlesborough.
Greening said back in 2001: “The club is more likely to spend millions than give fringe players the time to establish themselves. I have a Champions League winner’s medal after sitting on the bench when we beat Bayern. But I didn’t play a single minute of European football that season. I felt a bit of a fraud when I got the medal.”
The midfielder spent three seasons at Middlesbrough and five at West Brom, before joining Fulham where he helped them to the final of the inaugural Europa League. Having spent time with Nottingham Forest and Barnsley, he dropped down the divisions with Tadcaster Albion and York City before retiring at the age of 38 in 2017 and turning his hand to management.
After youth coaching spells with Nottingham Forest and York City, he joined phoenix club Scarborough. He took them to the sixth-tier of English football by finishing third in the Northern Premier League in the 2021-22 season.
It was their highest position in the pyramid since reforming from collapsed club Scarborough FC in 2007 and he capitalised on it by then beating Warrington Town 2–1 in the play-off final.
He now looks unrecognisable from his time as a player after swapping his long curls for a quiff and a beard since hanging up his boots.
Under his tenure, Scarborough have finished 8th and 13th twice in National League North and currently sit seventh in the table.
He made history in the 2023–24 FA Cup, when the Seadogs reached the first round of the tournament for the first time thanks to a win against Oxford City, only to be eliminated by League Two club Forest Green Rovers, losing 5–2 in a replay after a 1–1 draw.
The FA ordered the match to be replayed again after Forest Green had fielded an ineligible player, however, Scarborough lost this match 4–2 at home.