Jonathan Greening (born 2 January 1979) is an English professional football coach and former player who is currently the manager of Scarborough Athletic of the National League North.
As a player, Greening played as a midfielder. He began his career in 1996 with York City, but moved to Manchester United in 1998, with whom he won the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League as a non-playing substitute in the final. However, he failed to make a breakthrough in the Manchester United first team and followed United assistant manager Steve McClaren to Middlesbrough in 2001. During his time at Middlesbrough, Greening earned his first call-up to the England national team, but he did not make an appearance. In 2004, he joined West Bromwich Albion for £1.25 million, and, in 2008, captained the team to the Championship title. Greening signed for Fulham in 2009 and helped them to the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final, before signing permanently the following summer. He signed for Nottingham Forest in 2011 and had a three-year spell with the club.
Greening made his only appearance for the England national under-18 team as a substitute for Danny Cadamarteri in a 1–0 home defeat to France on 23 April 1998. His first cap for the under-21 team came after starting the 2–2 away draw with Hungary on 27 April 1999, with his first goal coming in the 61st minute of a 6–1 home win over Georgia on 31 August 2000. Greening was drafted into the England squad for the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship as a replacement for the injured Michael Carrick, two days prior to their first match of the tournament. He played in the final Group A match, a 3–1 loss to Portugal on 22 May 2002, with England being eliminated from the tournament after finishing bottom of Group A. This proved to be the final of his 17 appearances for the under-21s, for whom he scored three goals. Greening was also called up to the full England squad by Sven Goran Eriksson but failed to make an appearance.
Greening began assisting with coaching the Academy team of his former club York, then in League Two, during the summer of 2014, before retiring from playing professionally during September 2014. He signed for Northern Counties East League Premier Division club Tadcaster Albion on 19 September 2014, where his younger brother Josh played, making his debut the next day in a 6–0 away win over Maltby Main. Greening was appointed as Development Phase Coach at York's Academy on 22 December 2014, a role focusing on the development of the team's players aged 16 to 18.
He registered as a player with York on non-contract terms on 13 November 2015, to provide cover with a number of midfielders unavailable. His second York debut came two days later as a half-time substitute for Rhys Turner in a 2–1 home defeat to Plymouth Argyle; according to The Press, he "inspired an improved second-half display ". Greening was sent off for violent conduct after elbowing Michael Doyle on his third appearance, in a 6–0 away defeat to Portsmouth on 24 November 2015, for which he received a three-match suspension. He left the club by mutual consent on 16 December 2015, despite offering only days earlier to carry on playing for the rest of 2015–16. Greening rejoined Tadcaster on 30 December 2015. He made 21 appearances and scored one goal in 2015–16 as Tadcaster won the Northern Counties East League Premier Division title, and thus promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One North.
He has worked as a coach alongside Richard Cresswell at i2i International Soccer Academy, which is based in York, England.
His first managerial appointment was as head coach/manager of Northern Premier League side Scarborough Athletic, on 21 May 2021. During his first season with the club, he led them to promotion from the Northern Premier League and also won the North Riding Senior Cup. His impressive start to management continued into the new season, Scarborough finishing 2022 in third position, just two points off top spot, which lead to Greening winning the December 2022 Manager of the Month Award.
Greening married Anna Stubbings, in North Yorkshire, during the second quarter of 2002. He was the joint best man at former York City teammate Richard Cresswell's wedding held June 2003.
English Championship 2007-2008 West Brom | English PFA Championship Team of the Year 2007-2008 West Brom | English Football League Cup 2003-2004 Middlesbrough | UEFA Champions League 1998-1999 Manchester United |
1994-1996 |
1996-1998 |
1998-2001 |
2001-2004 |
2004-2010 |
2009-2010 (Loan) |
2010-2011 |
2011-2014 |
2014-2017 |
| Manchester United | Appearances | UEFA Champions League | 2000-2001 | 2 |
| Manchester United | Appearances | English Premier League | 2000-2001 | 7 |