Blackburn Rovers Born in
Blackburn, Garner started his career at then
Premier League club
Blackburn Rovers and playing as a striker played in the same position as his namesake
Simon Garner, Blackburn's highest-ever goalscorer and club legend during the 1980s and early 1990s. Contrary to some stories, the two are not related. He played for the youth and reserve teams at
Ewood Park and was a prolific scorer at youth level, his record including scoring two hat tricks in one game against
Manchester United U16. Despite Blackburn having high hopes for the player, Garner did not make the breakthrough into the Blackburn Rovers senior squad due to competition for places in the Blackburn line up with players such as
Paul Dickov,
Paul Gallagher,
Craig Bellamy,
Benni McCarthy and
Roque Santa Cruz forcing Garner to drop down two divisions in search of regular first team football.
Carlisle United On 19 January 2007, Garner joined
Carlisle United on loan until the end of the
2006–07 season. Garner scored his first ever league goal for Carlisle United at
Brunton Park on 10 February 2007, in a game against
Yeovil Town, which Carlisle went on to lose 4–1. On 17 March 2007, he scored and was sent off in a 1–1 draw with
Huddersfield Town at Brunton Park, receiving a second yellow card for diving after a tackle from former United
goalkeeper Matt Glennon. His powerful shot, from well outside the box, at
Port Vale on 7 April 2007 was voted goal of the season by United fans. Despite initial resistance to a permanent deal from the
Blackburn Rovers management, Garner eventually signed permanently for
Carlisle United on 10 August 2007 for a club record fee of £140,000, which could rise to £150,000 if United gain promotion to the
Championship.
Scottish Premier League side
Dundee United were also interested in signing Garner, before he joined Carlisle United.
Nottingham Forest On 25 July 2008, less than a year after joining Carlisle, Garner was sold to
Nottingham Forest for a fee of £1.14m. He signed a four-year contract, keeping him at the Reds until 2012. He was recovering from a knee ligament operation at the time of the transfer. Garner returned from his injury in late October 2008, when he started in a 1–0 home defeat to
Cardiff City. He then scored his first goal for the club three weeks later, scoring the first goal in a 2–2 draw at
Bristol City. A further two weeks later, he scored his first goal at the
City Ground in Forest's 1–0 victory against
Barnsley, and followed this up with another goal at
Coventry City. He then netted a 'majestic' 35-yard chip in a 2–0 victory at
Southampton, before scoring his fifth of the season in the 4–2 home loss against
Doncaster Rovers, a result which cost the Forest manager
Colin Calderwood his job. The beginning of the 2009–10 season saw Garner forge his way into Davies' plans, playing on the right side of midfield occasionally. He scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season on 17 April 2010 against
Blackpool. His second and last of the season was a 'cool finish' against
Scunthorpe United, in a game that finished in a 2–2 draw. He made 14 league starts during the season. Due to then Forest manager
Billy Davies preferring other striking options, Garner spent almost the entire 2010–11 season out on loan with a spell at
Huddersfield Town and then Scunthorpe United. On 21 July 2010, Garner joined League One side
Huddersfield Town on a six-month loan deal. He made his Terriers debut in the 3–0 win over
Notts County at
Meadow Lane on 7 August 2010. He failed to score during his time at Huddersfield, and on 5 January 2011, he returned to Forest. After making no appearances for Forest upon his return, Garner joined
Scunthorpe United on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season on 31 January 2011. Davies went on record stating that the move to United was to give Garner playing time. He scored twice in Scunthorpe's 4–1 win against league leaders
Queens Park Rangers on 9 April 2011. Scunthorpe finished bottom of the Championship league table and were relegated, and Garner returned to Forest at the end of the 2010–11 season. The following season, with a depleted number of striking options available to new manager
Steve McClaren, Garner made his first appearance for Forest in over a year coming on as a second-half substitute against
Barnsley.
Watford On 31 August 2011, Garner signed for
Watford for an undisclosed fee believed to be £200,000. Garner stated that he was 'desperate for first-team football', while manager
Sean Dyche said that he hoped he could 'revitalise' his new striker. Garner made his Watford debut as a substitute in a 2–0 away win against
Reading, replacing
Marvin Sordell, on 10 September 2011. His first start came on 24 September 2011 against his old club Nottingham Forest, a game which Watford lost 1–0. His first and only goal for the Hertfordshire club came in a 2–0 away win at
Millwall on 31 January 2012. Garner signed a one-month loan deal with
Carlisle United on 18 September 2012, confirming his second spell with the club. Garner scored his first goal after his return to
The Cumbrians in a 2–1 victory away at
Walsall. Carlisle manager
Greg Abbott stated his desire to extend Garner's stay at the club, and a deal was agreed soon after. On 16 October, Garner scored a late equaliser for Carlisle in a 1–1 away draw at
Bury. He then scored two against
Oldham Athletic to help his side win 3–1 on 23 October. After a goal in the 4–2
FA Cup win over
Ebbsfleet United, Garner opened the scoring in a 1–1 draw against
Preston North End with a penalty. Later that week, Garner scored against
Brentford and had a penalty saved by Brentford goalkeeper
Simon Moore.
Preston North End On 8 January 2013, Garner agreed an 18-month contract with Preston with an option for a further year. Garner supported Preston as a boy, attending games in the Town End stand. This came after he was released by Watford. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win away at Notts County on 12 March 2013. On 27 November 2013, in an away fixture at Port Vale, Garner was involved in a scuffle with Vale's Anthony Griffith, but the referee Andy Madley sent off Neil Kilkenny by accident instead. Garner controversially went on to score both goals in a 2–0 victory at Vale Park. Following the debacle the red card was switched from Kilkenny to Garner and a 3 match ban followed, despite Vale player Anthony Griffith stating that he was never struck by Garner. On 20 December 2013, Preston exercised the option of the further year contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2015, after he had hit a rich vein of form which began with a late header against Tranmere at Deepdale. On 14 January 2014, Garner came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute of Preston's FA Cup game against Ipswich and scored a hat-trick, including 2 goals in the space of 1 minute to help them to a 3–2 win. He scored a "terrific 25-yard volley" to equalise against
Rotherham United in the
play-off semi-final first leg, but Rotherham won the second leg to progress to the final. On 14 March 2015, Garner scored 4 goals for Preston in a 5–1 rout of Crewe. On 16 June 2015, Garner signed a further three-year contract with Preston North End. In the following 2015–2016 season, with Preston North End now back in the Championship, Garner grabbed his 100th career goal in a 2–1 victory at home to
Charlton Athletic.
Rangers On 20 August 2016, Garner signed a three-year contract with
Scottish Premiership side
Rangers. The fee for the move was estimated to be around £1.8 million. He made his debut on 26 August 2016, away to
Kilmarnock, coming on as a substitute after an injury to
Joe Dodoo. On 10 September 2016, he scored his first goal for the club, albeit only a consolation, in a 5–1 defeat against Celtic. Despite a debut
Old Firm goal, Garner failed to net again for the club in over six weeks until he headed an equaliser in Rangers' 1–1 draw at home to
St Johnstone in the
Scottish Premiership on 26 October 2016. He followed this with his third Rangers goal in the next match, scoring the third in a 3–0 win over
Kilmarnock three days later. His scoring streak would not continue and Garner failed to score in the succeeding matches which led to criticism from Rangers fans over his goal return while Neil McCann, a media commentator and former Rangers player, questioned his suitability with the starting formation. However, by mid-December 2016, Garner's energetic performances managed to win over the Rangers fans and they adopted the song
Glad All Over by band
The Dave Clark Five as a tribute to him then launched a late campaign to make the song the
Christmas number one, with it eventually reaching number 31. Garner started his third
Old Firm match on
Hogmanay 2016 but left the field after being injured in the buildup to Rangers' goal, being replaced by
Martyn Waghorn after sixteen minutes. On 3 January 2017, it was reported he would be sidelined for one to three months with a
dislocated shoulder, although later reports indicated Garner could return in early February 2017. Garner scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 6–0 victory over
Hamilton Academical in a
Scottish Cup quarter-final match on 4 March 2017.
Ipswich Town On 16 June 2017, Garner left Rangers to join
EFL Championship side
Ipswich Town with the fee reported to be £1m. He scored his first goal for Ipswich on his debut in a 1–0 win over
Birmingham City on 5 August 2017. He scored 10 goals in 32 appearances during his debut season at Ipswich. He left by mutual consent on 30 December 2020.
APOEL On 1 January 2021, Garner signed for
APOEL on an 18-month contract. he made his debut for APOEL coming on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against
Anorthosis Famagusta. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away win over
Olympiakos Nicosia making the score 1–3 . He also scored a hattrick against
Nea Salamis Famagusta in a 3–1 victory.
Fleetwood Town On 30 August 2021, Garner signed for
Fleetwood Town on a free transfer, linking up with his former boss
Simon Grayson. He scored his first league goal for the club on 30 October in a 3–3 draw against
Wycombe Wanderers.
Carlisle United On 19 January 2023, Garner returned to Carlisle United on an eighteen-month deal.
Oldham Athletic On 31 January 2024, Garner joined
National League club
Oldham Athletic on an eighteen-month contract. ==International career==