Grimshaw Hits 500th Charnock Goal
Thu 10th November 2022 | Charnock Richard | By Martin Fallon
When it comes to scoring a huge amount of goals for one club, certain players stick to mind. Lionel Messi scored 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona. Gerd Muller scored 563 in 605 games for Bayern Munich. In fact only eight players in football history have accomplished the feat of scoring over 500 goals at a single club.
Obviously this is at the very top level of the game. At our level of the game though, its unheard of for players to score over 500 goals for a single club. If a player scores 30 or 40 plus a season, teams from higher divisions often swarm around, offering high wages for such a prolific striker.
On Wednesday 9th November 2022, Charnock Richard striker Carl Grimshaw scored two goals in the North West Counties League Premier Division game at the Brian Addison Stadium against Squires Gate. In so doing he joined the accomplished club above with these two strikes taking him to 501 goals in competitive football for the club. Not only that, but he has achieved it in just 497 appearances, a ratio better than a goal per game!
Carl's story begins back at the start of the 2009/10 season, and it is indeed a remarkable story. He agreed to move to Charnock from West Lancashire League side Eagley where he had been a regular goalscorer for several seasons. It is unfortunate that we don't know how many Carl scored for Eagley, but it is certainly a couple of hundred.
Carl scored on his Charnock Richard debut at Mossie Park in the Goldline Trophy on the 21st July 2009 against Manchester League side Hindsford. Little did anyone realise at the time that this would be the start of a goal scoring journey that would see the Chorley born player would go on to knock in a further 500 goals for his beloved Charnock Richard in just over nine remarkable years from July 2009 to November 2022.
Along the way Carl has collected no less than four West Lancashire League Premier Division championship Winners’ medals with the Mossie Park side as well as two runners up medals. He also collected three Richardson Cup Winners medals, a North West Counties League Division 1 Runners Up medal, A North West Counties League, League Challenge Cup Winners Medal, two Lancashire FA Amateur Shield winners medals and a finalist medal, also he won an Association of Northern Counties Senior Cup winners medal.
He won the Golden Boot award in Charnock Richard’s last season in the West Lancashire League, scoring 42 times and followed this up with the North West Counties League Division 1 award in 2016-17 with 45 goals and the season after went one better winning the Premier Division’s leading marksman award with 51 goals; a remarkable 96 goals in his first two seasons in the Step 5 & 6 competition. He made it a hat-trick of NWCFL Premier Division Golden Boot awards in 2018/19, before collecting his fourth last season.
Thornton Cleveleys can bear testament to the goal scoring prowess of Charnock’s powerful striker. On the 7th February 2015 Carl netted FIVE goals against them in the 1st Round of the West Lancashire League Richardson Cup and a fortnight later ran in SEVEN more against the beleaguered Fylde side in the Premier Division; both games at Mossie Park.
Speaking to Carl, he is understandably elated to reach such a milestone. He says "I am over the moon to achieve 500 goals and to do it in less than 500 games was always my target as I neared the milestone. I am made up that I managed to hit the target with a better goals per game ratio!
"I have to thank everyone for all their kind messages offering congratulations. I must have got home from Squires Gate about midnight, and I had loads of messages then. When I looked at my phone this morning there are loads more, so thank you to everybody who has sent me through a message. It really does mean a lot".
Charnock Secretary Dave Rowlands paid tribute to his sides striker saying, "I have been in football as player and club administrator for the past 53 years and I have never come across a more potent striker than Carl Grimshaw. It has been, and will continue to be, a privilege to have been associated with such a wonderful character over these past few seasons.
"Loyalty in football is a dying virtue these days and especially for a striker of Carl’s undoubted quality and ability. The way that he has represented Charnock Richard on and off the field of play is a testament to his integrity. The phrase 'club legend' is often banded about these days by the media, but in his case, the saying is resoundingly apt".
Carl's loyalty isn't in question, but speaking to him, one of the main reasons he has been at Charnock so long is the loyalty coming the other way. Carl says "I never set out to stay at Charnock so long but I am a very loyal person in everything I do, family, work and football. I have really enjoyed my time at the club and it has always just sat perfectly with me, my family and my work.
"I've been in the game long enough to know that at every club volunteers give up their time, often for free, to allow clubs at this level to operate. At Charnock, the place is so welcoming, the people here are so lovely and that always sat really well with me over time. I have always been happy at the club that I never really wanted to go anywhere else.
Despite grabbing headlines for his goals, Secretary Dave sees more than that. He adds "To have scored 501 goals in competitive games for a club is a remarkable achievement by any standards. A striker is always at the blunt end of things, in the thick of battle and despite many a physical encounter with some of the hardiest central defenders, Carl has hardly missed a game through injury during his time at Mossie Park. Often described as an ‘old fashioned centre forward’, there is more to Carl than that.
"Indeed, Carl’s value to the Charnock cause goes a good deal further than his goal scoring prowess and he will often be seen clearing his lines at the heart of the ‘Villager’s defence. He is a natural leader, a skipper that leads by example. His determination, passion and enthusiasm, as much as his panache in front of goal, marks him out as a quite extraordinary footballer".
So what's next for Carl? We leave the last word to the main man, who reveals a new target... "I can't believe I am still playing and scoring at 38! But my job has kept me agile, fit, and active, and has definitely helped me along the way.
"Reaching the 500 target has been nice, but its time to just set a new target now. The immediate one is to keep going, to keep playing well, and to get Charnock up the league. Personally speaking though, a fifth Premier Division Leading Goalscorer trophy would be nice though!".
Congratulations Carl.
CARL'S CHARNOCK GOALS BY SEASON
| Season |
League |
Cup |
TOTAL |
| 2009-10 |
24 |
12 |
36 |
| 2010-11 |
29 |
21 |
50 |
| 2011-12 |
27 |
11 |
38 |
| 2012-13 |
37 |
13 |
50 |
| 2013-14 |
23 |
6 |
29 |
| 2014-15 |
34 |
11 |
45 |
| 2015-16 |
33 |
9 |
42 |
| 2016-17 |
38 |
7 |
45 |
| 2017-18 |
44 |
7 |
51 |
| 2018-19 |
40 |
2 |
42 |
| 2019-20 |
23 |
6 |
29 |
| 2020-21 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
| 2021-22 |
19 |
6 |
25 |
| 2022-23 |
8 |
4 |
12 |
| TOTALS |
381 |
120 |
501 |
Photo by Steven Taylor. Thanks to Dave Rowlands at Charnock Richard for the information.
Grimshaw Hits 500th Charnock Goal
Thu 10th November 2022 | Charnock Richard
By Martin Fallon
When it comes to scoring a huge amount of goals for one club, certain players stick to mind. Lionel Messi scored 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona. Gerd Muller scored 563 in 605 games for Bayern Munich. In fact only eight players in football history have accomplished the feat of scoring over 500 goals at a single club.
Obviously this is at the very top level of the game. At our level of the game though, its unheard of for players to score over 500 goals for a single club. If a player scores 30 or 40 plus a season, teams from higher divisions often swarm around, offering high wages for such a prolific striker.
On Wednesday 9th November 2022, Charnock Richard striker Carl Grimshaw scored two goals in the North West Counties League Premier Division game at the Brian Addison Stadium against Squires Gate. In so doing he joined the accomplished club above with these two strikes taking him to 501 goals in competitive football for the club. Not only that, but he has achieved it in just 497 appearances, a ratio better than a goal per game!
Carl's story begins back at the start of the 2009/10 season, and it is indeed a remarkable story. He agreed to move to Charnock from West Lancashire League side Eagley where he had been a regular goalscorer for several seasons. It is unfortunate that we don't know how many Carl scored for Eagley, but it is certainly a couple of hundred.
Carl scored on his Charnock Richard debut at Mossie Park in the Goldline Trophy on the 21st July 2009 against Manchester League side Hindsford. Little did anyone realise at the time that this would be the start of a goal scoring journey that would see the Chorley born player would go on to knock in a further 500 goals for his beloved Charnock Richard in just over nine remarkable years from July 2009 to November 2022.
Along the way Carl has collected no less than four West Lancashire League Premier Division championship Winners’ medals with the Mossie Park side as well as two runners up medals. He also collected three Richardson Cup Winners medals, a North West Counties League Division 1 Runners Up medal, A North West Counties League, League Challenge Cup Winners Medal, two Lancashire FA Amateur Shield winners medals and a finalist medal, also he won an Association of Northern Counties Senior Cup winners medal.
He won the Golden Boot award in Charnock Richard’s last season in the West Lancashire League, scoring 42 times and followed this up with the North West Counties League Division 1 award in 2016-17 with 45 goals and the season after went one better winning the Premier Division’s leading marksman award with 51 goals; a remarkable 96 goals in his first two seasons in the Step 5 & 6 competition. He made it a hat-trick of NWCFL Premier Division Golden Boot awards in 2018/19, before collecting his fourth last season.
Thornton Cleveleys can bear testament to the goal scoring prowess of Charnock’s powerful striker. On the 7th February 2015 Carl netted FIVE goals against them in the 1st Round of the West Lancashire League Richardson Cup and a fortnight later ran in SEVEN more against the beleaguered Fylde side in the Premier Division; both games at Mossie Park.
Speaking to Carl, he is understandably elated to reach such a milestone. He says "I am over the moon to achieve 500 goals and to do it in less than 500 games was always my target as I neared the milestone. I am made up that I managed to hit the target with a better goals per game ratio!
"I have to thank everyone for all their kind messages offering congratulations. I must have got home from Squires Gate about midnight, and I had loads of messages then. When I looked at my phone this morning there are loads more, so thank you to everybody who has sent me through a message. It really does mean a lot".
Charnock Secretary Dave Rowlands paid tribute to his sides striker saying, "I have been in football as player and club administrator for the past 53 years and I have never come across a more potent striker than Carl Grimshaw. It has been, and will continue to be, a privilege to have been associated with such a wonderful character over these past few seasons.
"Loyalty in football is a dying virtue these days and especially for a striker of Carl’s undoubted quality and ability. The way that he has represented Charnock Richard on and off the field of play is a testament to his integrity. The phrase 'club legend' is often banded about these days by the media, but in his case, the saying is resoundingly apt".
Carl's loyalty isn't in question, but speaking to him, one of the main reasons he has been at Charnock so long is the loyalty coming the other way. Carl says "I never set out to stay at Charnock so long but I am a very loyal person in everything I do, family, work and football. I have really enjoyed my time at the club and it has always just sat perfectly with me, my family and my work.
"I've been in the game long enough to know that at every club volunteers give up their time, often for free, to allow clubs at this level to operate. At Charnock, the place is so welcoming, the people here are so lovely and that always sat really well with me over time. I have always been happy at the club that I never really wanted to go anywhere else.
Despite grabbing headlines for his goals, Secretary Dave sees more than that. He adds "To have scored 501 goals in competitive games for a club is a remarkable achievement by any standards. A striker is always at the blunt end of things, in the thick of battle and despite many a physical encounter with some of the hardiest central defenders, Carl has hardly missed a game through injury during his time at Mossie Park. Often described as an ‘old fashioned centre forward’, there is more to Carl than that.
"Indeed, Carl’s value to the Charnock cause goes a good deal further than his goal scoring prowess and he will often be seen clearing his lines at the heart of the ‘Villager’s defence. He is a natural leader, a skipper that leads by example. His determination, passion and enthusiasm, as much as his panache in front of goal, marks him out as a quite extraordinary footballer".
So what's next for Carl? We leave the last word to the main man, who reveals a new target... "I can't believe I am still playing and scoring at 38! But my job has kept me agile, fit, and active, and has definitely helped me along the way.
"Reaching the 500 target has been nice, but its time to just set a new target now. The immediate one is to keep going, to keep playing well, and to get Charnock up the league. Personally speaking though, a fifth Premier Division Leading Goalscorer trophy would be nice though!".
Congratulations Carl.
CARL'S CHARNOCK GOALS BY SEASON
| Season |
League |
Cup |
TOTAL |
| 2009-10 |
24 |
12 |
36 |
| 2010-11 |
29 |
21 |
50 |
| 2011-12 |
27 |
11 |
38 |
| 2012-13 |
37 |
13 |
50 |
| 2013-14 |
23 |
6 |
29 |
| 2014-15 |
34 |
11 |
45 |
| 2015-16 |
33 |
9 |
42 |
| 2016-17 |
38 |
7 |
45 |
| 2017-18 |
44 |
7 |
51 |
| 2018-19 |
40 |
2 |
42 |
| 2019-20 |
23 |
6 |
29 |
| 2020-21 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
| 2021-22 |
19 |
6 |
25 |
| 2022-23 |
8 |
4 |
12 |
| TOTALS |
381 |
120 |
501 |
Photo by Steven Taylor. Thanks to Dave Rowlands at Charnock Richard for the information.
