| Lenell John-Lewis | |
| Full Name: | Lenell Nicholas John-Lewis[1] |
| Birth Date: | 17 May 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Hammersmith, England |
| Height: | [2] |
| Position: | Striker, winger |
| Currentclub: | York City |
| Clubnumber: | 14 |
| Youthyears1: | –2006 |
| Youthclubs1: | Grantham Town |
| Years1: | 2006 |
| Clubs1: | Grantham Town |
| Caps1: | 4 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2006–2010 |
| Clubs2: | Lincoln City |
| Caps2: | 72 |
| Goals2: | 8 |
| Years3: | 2010–2013 |
| Clubs3: | Bury |
| Caps3: | 83 |
| Goals3: | 9 |
| Years4: | 2013–2015 |
| Clubs4: | Grimsby Town |
| Caps4: | 92 |
| Goals4: | 23 |
| Years5: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs5: | Newport County |
| Caps5: | 30 |
| Goals5: | 3 |
| Years6: | 2017–2020 |
| Clubs6: | Shrewsbury Town |
| Caps6: | 53 |
| Goals6: | 3 |
| Years7: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs7: | Hereford |
| Caps7: | 17 |
| Goals7: | 12 |
| Years8: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs8: | Grimsby Town |
| Caps8: | 29 |
| Goals8: | 5 |
| Years9: | 2022 |
| Clubs9: | → York City (loan) |
| Caps9: | 22 |
| Goals9: | 7 |
| Years10: | 2022– |
| Clubs10: | York City |
| Caps10: | 58 |
| Goals10: | 18 |
| Club-Update: | 19:30, 4 July 2024 (UTC) |
Lenell Nicholas John-Lewis (born 17 May 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker and captains club York City.
He began his career with non-league side Grantham Town before later turning professional with Lincoln City. He later took in spells with Bury, Grimsby Town, Newport County, Shrewsbury Town and Hereford.
John-Lewis started his career with Grantham Town. After going on trial for Middlesbrough, and being linked with Cardiff City, he joined Lincoln City where he was awarded a scholarship.[3] [4]
He made his Lincoln debut in the FA Cup against Port Vale on 11 November 2006.[5] He scored his first goal in his second league appearance, against Stockport County on 4 December 2007.[6] On 26 December 2007, John-Lewis scored an equaliser in the 51st minute, smashing the ball home off the bar into the top corner in the 2–1 defeat at Bradford City.[7]
On 7 May 2010 John-Lewis was placed on the transfer list by Lincoln City manager Chris Sutton.[8] Two weeks later, he departed the club by mutual consent.[9]
On 5 August 2010 he signed a twelve-month contract with Bury after impressing manager Alan Knill.[10] [11] John-Lewis was part of Bury's promotion winning side, playing in Bury's 3–2 victory over Chesterfield, coming on as a substitute in the final game of the season at Proact Stadium, seeing Bury promoted after a ten-year absence from League One.[12] In May 2011 he was offered a new 12-month contract,[13] which he signed in June 2011.[14]
On 31 January 2013 John-Lewis signed for Grimsby Town on an 18-month deal.[15] He scored his first goal for the club in the final league game of the 2012–13 season against Woking, a header on the line in the 75th minute, having already sealed a play-off spot.[16]
In May 2014 he activated a clause in his contract giving him another year with The Mariners.[17] On 25 October 2014 he scored a brace against Guiseley in the 3–0 victory of the FA Cup First Round, heading in the second goal from a blocked Nathan Arnold shot, the third goal of the game came when Arnold fired the ball across goal after cutting in from the left for John-Lewis to tap in at the far post.[18]
On 17 May 2015, John-Lewis scored the opening goal inside two minutes against Bristol Rovers, in the 2015 Conference Premier play-off final at Wembley, he forced the ball over the line from close range with a header, Rovers equalised later in the first half, the game went to extra-time, but with the game still at a stalemate, Grimsby ended up losing 5–3 on penalties, John-Lewis having scored his penalty kick.[19]
John-Lewis featured in 39 league games during the 2014–15 season, scoring 16 goals, 4 of which were from penalties, this was his best tally of his career so far.
On 29 May 2015, John-Lewis signed for League Two club Newport County on a two-year contract.[20] He made his debut for Newport on 8 August 2015 versus Cambridge United. He scored his first goal for Newport on 3 October 2015 in the League Two match versus Exeter City.[21]
His time at Newport County was blighted by injury. He missed half of the 2015–16 season due to a hamstring injury.[22] In July 2016 he suffered a knee injury in a pre-season friendly match causing him to miss most of the 2016–17 season.[23] Returning to the side for the last two matches of the season, he played a key role in securing the clubs Football League status by winning a penalty which was successfully converted by Mickey Demetriou to open the scoring in a final day victory over Notts County.[24]
On 26 May 2017, it was announced that John-Lewis had signed a one-year deal with League One side Shrewsbury Town, with the option of a further year.[25] He scored his first goal for Shrewsbury on his debut in a 1−0 win over Northampton Town on 5 August 2017.[26]
He was offered a new contract by Shrewsbury at the end of the 2017–18 season.[27]
He was injured in January 2019.[28] He signed a new six-month contract with the club in May 2019[29] but was released by Shrewsbury in January 2020
On 7 February 2020, John-Lewis signed for Shrewsbury's local rivals Hereford on a deal until the end of the 2019–20 season.[30]
On 1 February 2021, John-Lewis re-signed for Grimsby Town in EFL League Two, on a permanent deal until Summer 2022, joining up with former manager Paul Hurst whom he played under in his previous spell with Grimsby and at Shrewsbury.[31]
On 15 February 2022, John-Lewis signed for York City on a one-month loan.[32] He made his debut later that day, coming on as a 76th minute substitute in a 3-1 win against AFC Telford United.[33] The loan was further extended until the end of the 2021–22 season.[34]
John-Lewis scored a vital goal for York as they beat AFC Fylde to secure a play-off place in a 2-1 victory on 2 May 2022.[35] In the play-off quarter finals John-Lewis scored again in a 2-1 victory over Chorley to advance to the semi-finals.[36] On 14 May, John-Lewis would score the only goal in York's 1-0 win over Brackley Town to advance to the National League North play-off final.[37]
He capped off his final appearance of his loan spell by scoring the first goal in a 2-0 win over Boston United in the play-off final, which secured York's promotion to the National League.[38]
Grimsby secured promotion with victory in the play-off final, though John-Lewis was not in the matchday squad at London Stadium.[39]
On 11 June 2022, following Grimsby's promotion back to the Football League the club announced their retained list ahead of the 2022–23 season and confirmed that John-Lewis would be among those released when his contract expires on 30 June.[40]
Following the success of his loan spell, John-Lewis signed a permanent deal with York City on 29 June 2022.[41]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| Grantham Town | 2005–06 | Southern League Premier Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Lincoln City | 2006–07 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | League Two | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | ||
| 2008–09 | League Two | 27 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[42] | 0 | 31 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | League Two | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | ||
| Total | 72 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 81 | 9 | |||
| Bury | 2010–11 | League Two | 39 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | League One | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 2012–13 | League One | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| Total | 83 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 93 | 9 | |||
| Grimsby Town | 2012–13 | Conference Premier | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[43] | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | Conference Premier | 38 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6[44] | 2 | 47 | 9 | ||
| 2014–15 | Conference Premier | 39 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6[45] | 2 | 47 | 20 | ||
| Total | 92 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 111 | 30 | |||
| Newport County | 2015–16 | League Two | 28 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 5 | |
| 2016–17 | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 30 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 5 | |||
| Shrewsbury Town | 2017–18 | League One | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[46] | 1 | 45 | 3 | |
| 2018–19 | League One | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 53 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 75 | 5 | |||
| Hereford | 2019–20 | National League North | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2020–21 | National League North | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 11 | ||
| Total | 17 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 14 | |||
| Grimsby Town | 2020–21 | League Two | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | |
| 2021–22 | National League | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 | ||
| Total | 35 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 6 | |||
| York City (loan) | 2021–22 | National League North | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | ||
| York City | 2022–23 | National League | 41 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 3 | 45 | 17 | ||
| 2023–24 | National League | 17 | 4 | 5 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | 23 | 7 | |||
| Total | 80 | 21 | 6 | 2 | — | 4 | 4 | 90 | 27 | ||||
| Career total | 488 | 91 | 29 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 12 | 567 | 112 | |||
Bury
Grimsby Town
Shrewsbury Town
York City