Sheffield Wednesday keeper Lee Grant started out at Derby County, making over 75 appearances for the Rams and earning international recognition by representing England at Under-21 level.
He fell out of favour at Pride Park and after brief loan spells with Burnley and Oldham he signed for the Owls in the summer of 2007 on a free transfer. He has gone on to make the number one jersey his own and is fast approaching his 100th appearance for Brian Laws’ side.
He spoke to Ransacker’s Chris Galea about good old-fashioned boots and why he prefers to surf the web to get the right boots for him.
Q. What boots do you wear?
A. I wear Nike Zoom boots, which are pretty old and they don’t even make them anymore, so I’ve got to scour the internet for them when I need a new pair. I’ve got one pair left in the garage, so after that I might after to consider changing to a new pair because it’s getting more difficult to find them now.
Q. Have you always worn them?
A. No, it’s only been over the last two or three years that I have been wearing them really. I have got wide feet, so I struggle to find boots that I like and these are really good, but nothing lasts forever.
Q. What did you wear before them?
A. I wore some Umbros, but when I found the Nike Zooms I just preferred them and I have never changed 
since.
Q. How many pairs do you tend to go through in a season?
A. I manage to go through an entire season with the same pair of boots usually. Goalkeepers don’t tend to go through that many because they don’t get too much damage to them.
Q. Do keepers have different preferences when it comes to selecting boots?
A. Yeah I would say so because outfield players prefer to have light boots whereas keepers prefer something more sturdy and solid. Grip is a primary requirement for my game really because when a keeper slips it usually results in conceding a goal, so it’s important that those mistakes are kept to a minimum.
Q. You started out at Derby County, were you a boot boy there?
A. I did do boots when I was at Derby, but only for the first year because after that they stopped clubs making their academy kids doing those sorts of jobs. We did our own boots as did the academy lads. I don’t agree with it to be honest because I think that doing jobs helps with their discipline and keeps them grounded, but the powers above decided otherwise.
Other Recommended Reading
- Boot Room Banter: Blades man Danny Webber
- Boot Room Banter: Preston North End’s Jon Parkin
- Boot Room Banter: Jamel Campbell-Rice
- Boot Room Banter with Bristol City’s Nicky Maynard
- Boot Room Banter: MK Dons man Dean Lewington
About the author
James is an experienced football journalist who edits two leading Premier League club mags. He has worked for Sky Sports and is endlessly complaining about shin splints. And Mark Lawrenson. His favourite boot is the Adidas Predator Powerswerve. Although it's rumored that he once owned a pair of Nicks boots!
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