Grimsby Town will look at Plymouth Argyle, Swindon Town with envy after 2021 disaster: View | OneFootball

Jamaican international forward Joel Grant had a reasonably successful EFL career, but his time with Grimsby Town was wholly forgettable.

When Paul Hurst added experienced Jamaican international Joel Grant to his Grimsby Town squad for the 2021/22 National League season, it looked a very shrewd piece of business.

But despite a solid career in the EFL with the likes of Wycombe Wanderers, Plymouth Argyle and Crewe Alexandra, the wide player surprisingly failed to make any impact at all at Blundell Park, much to the disappointment of the Mariners fanbase.

Grant, who came through the Watford youth setup before going on to feature 10 times for the Hornets first-team in all competitions, operated mainly as a winger, but was capable of playing as a main striker through the middle, too.

August 2006 saw a 19-year-old Grant head out on a four-month loan with National League side Aldershot Town. Earlier that summer, the youngster had received his first call-up to the Jamaican Under-20 squad, for whom he performed well and scored prolifically.

The attacker suitably impressed during his time with the Shots to join the club permanently the following season after being released from Vicarage Road.

A strong season for Grant and Aldershot saw the latter promoted to the EFL while the former caught the eye of higher league clubs, the winger ultimately choosing to join League One's Crewe Alexandra for a fee of £130k - a record sale for the Shots.

While the Railwaymen would suffer relegation to the fourth-tier in Grant's first season with the club, the Jamaican was one of the better performers, and remained with the Gresty Road (now known as The Mornflake Stadium) outfit for three years overall, making over 100 appearances in total.

Wycombe Wanderers picked Grant up after his release from Crewe, with the wide player spending two seasons at Adams Park between 2011 and 2013 and scoring 16 goals in 77 games for the Buckinghamshire outfit.

Steady, consistent two-year stays at Yeovil Town and Exeter City respectively followed, before a 30-year-old Grant, now a seasoned Football League player, signed for newly promoted League One club Plymouth Argyle ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.

Grant did well for the Pilgrims, where he became well thought of by the club's supporters. The Jamaican spent three seasons with Argyle, scoring 15 times in 85 appearances.

Well into his thirties, the winger's stock was still high in the lower reaches of the EFL, with third-tier Swindon Town signing him on a one-year deal in 2020. Grant played a somewhat bit-part role in a struggling Robins side and was released after spending just one season at the County Ground.

When he signed for National League side Grimsby in 2021, it was hoped he could bring his experience and quality to a Mariners side looking to bounce back to the Football League at the first attempt. But things didn't work out for Grant in North East Lincolnshire.

Injuries saw Grant become a forgotten man at Blundell Park

Hurst assembled a strong looking Mariners squad over the summer of 2021, one that would ultimately be promoted back to the EFL the following June, and the addition of the 33-year-old Jamaican international was, on the face of it, another exciting one alongside the likes of John McAtee and Ben Fox.

However, while the latter pair and their teammates started the season on fire, Grant began it on the treatment table, and his bad luck with injuries and fitness issues would keep the physios busy over the next eight months.

The former Plymouth man would only make two appearances for Grimsby, both in Cup exits at the hands of Kidderminster Harriers and Stockport County respectively.

As the Mariners fought at the top end of the National League, Grant's contract was cancelled by mutual consent at the start of April 2022, bringing an end to a spell that didn't go as planned for all concerned.

Upon the forwards exit, Hurst told GrimsbyLive that it was just one of those things and that Grant had acted as an exemplary professional while at the club - “He’s been good with his teammates, there was no sulking around, no talking behind corners or behind peoples backs, he is what everybody told me he was before signing him, he is a good guy."

Car crash saw winger retire after just a few months with Nantwich Town

After regaining fitness over the summer of 2022, Grant signed for Northern Premier League side Nantwich Town.

However, a serious car crash just a few months into his time with the Dabbers led to the attacker being forced to hang up his boots and retrain for another line of work.

Grant is now a fully qualified barber after earning a diploma at Stoke-on-Trent College, and told the BBC that it's something that had been on his mind for some time - “It’s something I wanted to do during my career but maybe didn’t have the guts to step out of my comfort zone."

The former footballer, who played 14 times for the full Jamaican national side, had a decent career in the game overall.

However, while his character and attitude were spot on during his time with their club, supporters of Grimsby can't help but wish they'd seen more of the talented wide man, casting envy at supporters of his previous clubs such as Plymouth, who saw the best of the Jamaican on a regular basis.