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Nicholas David Maynard (born 11 December 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He began his career at Crewe Alexandra, following over a decade in the club's Academy, and scored on his senior debut in April 2006 following a successful loan spell at Witton Albion He was named as League One Player of the Month for September 2006 and would score 31 goals in 58 League One games for the club. He was sold to Bristol City for a fee of £2.25m in July 2008. He won the Football League Goal of the Year award for 2009 and would score 45 goals in 124 EFL Championship matches across just under four seasons, becoming the division's joint-top-scorer in 2010. He was sold to West Ham United for an undisclosed fee in January 2012 and was an unused substitute in the club's play-off final, though did not feature in a Premier League match. He joined Cardiff City for a reported £2.75m fee in August 2012. He picked up a serious injury early in the 2012–13 promotion season and was limited to eight Premier League appearances in the following campaign. He spent the second half of the 2013–14 season on loan at Wigan Athletic. He signed with Milton Keynes Dons in September 2015 and would go on to spend two seasons at the club. He spent the 2017–18 campaign at Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen and the 2018–19 season with Bury. He joined Mansfield Town in July 2019.
Maynard was loaned out to Northern Premier League Premier Division club Witton Albion in November 2005, scoring two goals in nine games, before returning to Crewe in January. He made his Crewe debut in the last game of the 2005–06 EFL Championship season, coming on as a substitute for Michael Higdon in a 4–2 win over Millwall at the Alexandra Stadium on 30 April 2006. He scored with his first touch in professional football, in front of scouts representing 20 different clubs, They're watching us.... Crewealex.PremiumTV.co.uk . Retrieved 9 August 2006 after Michael O'Connor's shot hit the post.
Maynard performed well in his second year of professional football, forming a productive goal-scoring partnership with Luke Varney, with the pair claiming a total of 33 League One goals between them. During his first full season, Maynard also picked up the "Player of the Month" award for September, scoring four goals in seven games, including one in the 2–0 win over Premier League side Wigan Athletic in the EFL Cup.
However his second full season was brought to a standstill for four months after he suffered a bone fracture of his fibula and also damaged his ankle during the season opener against Brighton & Hove Albion. In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Maynard admitted that he had "Mental breakdown a few times" during his four months of Physical therapy,FourFourTwo, 167: "I broke down a few times during my rehap, but managed to get back" although he would later recover and return to fitness. Maynard initially struggled to score upon his return to the first team, with only two goals scored in his first two months back from injury. But in February and March, the young striker showed his potential by scoring in seven consecutive games, including a first senior level hat-trick, against relegation rivals Cheltenham Town. "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."FourFourTwo, 167: "I've scored a couple of doubles before, 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 AFC Bournemouth, despite losing 4–1 to Oldham Athletic on the last day of the season. He was the subject of a £1 million transfer bid from Ipswich Town, whilst numerous other clubs were also linked with a move for the 21-year old. The bid was rejected as Crewe manager Steve Holland stated that it was half what the "Railwaymen" believed his current valuation to be.
Maynard made an explosive start to his second season with City, scoring six times in his first seven games. He helped his side to three consecutive 1–0 victories, against Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers and away at Brentford in the League Cup. He also scored twice in a 2–1 defeat of Middlesbrough. Maynard's sixth goal of the season came on 12 September away at Coventry City; after the ball was chested down by new signing and strike partner Álvaro Saborío, Maynard struck a 25-yard half-volley in off the crossbar past Coventry keeper Keiren Westwood. "Robins" manager Gary Johnson said that "he's got some good ones this season but that might just be his best one." However, Maynard bettered this goal on Boxing day against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road; facing away from goal just outside the box, he collected a bouncing ball in the air, controlled it with one touch, turned two defenders with a second touch, and then smashed a volley into the top corner past an unmoved Radek Černý, all without the ball hitting the ground. 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 against Leeds United on 12 February. He scored six goals in eight games and entered negotiations with the club on a new contract, with manager Keith Millen saying that the player was "happy to be back playing again, fit and scoring goals and we're delighted to have him". On 23 April, Maynard received the first red card of his career for a two-footed tackle in a 3–2 defeat at Sheffield United. In May 2011, it was reported that Guyana had approached Maynard for a possible call-up to the senior side, whom he qualifies for through his grandparents. He had previously been tipped to represent England by Crewe manager Dario Gradi, who felt it unlikely that he would be selected "from a club like Bristol City".
Bristol City rejected a transfer bid from Leicester City in June 2011, whilst Nottingham Forest and Southampton also made enquiries. However as negotiations failed to produce a new contract he sought to ease fans concerns, saying that he was committed to the club and that "my aim is to be the top scorer in the league and get Bristol City into the Premier League"; he set a target of 20 goals for the coming season. Maynard was put up for sale in the January 2012 transfer window after failing to negotiate a new contract at Ashton Gate. He stated in an interview with BBC Radio Bristol that fans had thrown bottles at his family, which made him even more reluctant to sign a new deal.
Maynard scored his second goal for the "Bluebirds" in a 2–0 League Cup win at Accrington Stanley on 28 August 2013. On 16 January 2014, Maynard joined Wigan Athletic on loan until the end of the 2013–14 season. He scored his first goals for Wigan when he struck twice in a 3–0 win against Sheffield Wednesday on 11 February. Manager Uwe Rösler enthused that "he was excellent, not only his goals, but his all-round play... he looks sharp, motivated and knowledgeable about the game". Maynard scored four goals in 18 games for the "Latics", who qualified for the play-offs with a fifth-place finish in the Championship. However he played just 15 minutes of the play-off semi-finals as Wigan were beaten 2–1 on aggregate by Queens Park Rangers.
Cardiff returned to the Championship after being relegated in his absence and though Maynard only featured five times under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær, he described the Norwegian as "a breath of fresh air" and that he was "devastated" by Solskjær's departure from the Cardiff City Stadium. He was limited to one goal from 12 games during the 2014–15 season and was released by manager Russell Slade upon the expiry of his contract, having been sidelined from November to April with a back injury.
On 2 July 2016, Maynard re-signed for the club on a new one-year deal. Upon re-signing, Maynard said " I'm pleased to be back. I enjoyed my time here last season and I got to know the players and staff well. I wanted to be somewhere where I felt wanted and having spoken to the gaffer quite a bit over the summer, he let me know how much he wanted me here." He struggled for goals during the 2016–17 season, though manager Karl Robinson blamed the team's lack of service. Maynard volunteered to play under-21 games in order to rediscover his scoring touch. His first goal of the campaign, and hundredth career goal, came in a 3–2 win over Swindon Town at Stadium MK on 30 December; manager Robbie Neilson reiterated his predeseccors words that the rest of the team had to work harder to provide Maynard with more scoring opportunities. Maynard left the club again on 2 May 2017, following a disappointing season.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||||
| Crewe Alexandra | 2005–06 | EFL Championship | 1 | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | League One | 19 | ||||||||||
| 2007–08 | League One | 15 | ||||||||||
| Witton Albion (loan) | 2005–06 | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 2 | |||||||||
| Bristol City | 2008–09 | Championship | 11 | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | Championship | 21 | ||||||||||
| 2010–11 | Championship | 6 | ||||||||||
| 2011–12 | Championship | 8 | ||||||||||
| West Ham United | 2011–12 | Championship | 3 | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 1 | ||||||||||
| Cardiff City | 2012–13 | Championship | 1 | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 1 | ||||||||||
| 2014–15 | Championship | 1 | ||||||||||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2013–14 | Championship | 4 | |||||||||
| Milton Keynes Dons | 2015–16 | Championship | 7 | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | League One | 2 | ||||||||||
| Aberdeen | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | |||||||||
| Bury | 2018–19 | League Two | 22 | |||||||||
| Mansfield Town | 2019–20 | League Two | 15 | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | League Two | 4 | ||||||||||
| Newport County (loan) | 2020–21 | League Two | 3 | |||||||||
| Tranmere Rovers | 2021–22 | League Two | 5 | |||||||||
| Macclesfield | 2022–23 | Northern Premier League West Division | 21 | 11 | 4 | 1 | – | 5 | 4 | 30 | 16 | |
Individual
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