William David Cracknell (born 19 January 2002) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defender for club

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

Career

Born in

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the East of England. It is in the London commuter belt, situated 20 miles (30 km) east-north-east of Charing Cross and close by the M25 motorway. In 2017, the popula ...

, Cracknell joined Maldon & Tiptree on a work experience loan towards the end of the 2018–19 season. He made one appearance as a substitute in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

North Division. During the 2019–20 season, Cracknell scored twice in 32 appearances for Maldon & Tiptree. He also made appearances during the 2020–21 campaign for them. On 29 September 2020, Cracknell was named on the first-team bench for the first time during Colchester's

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

match against West Ham United under-21s. He made his professional debut on 2 March 2021, coming on as a late substitute for

Frank Nouble Frank Herman Nouble (born 24 September 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for League Two club Colchester United. Nouble started his career with the youth team at Chelsea before signing for West Ham United. Whil ...

during Colchester's 2–1

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

win against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. He signed his first professional contract with Colchester on 4 June 2021, agreeing a one-year deal. On 12 August 2021, he joined

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

Concord Rangers Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Canvey Island in Essex, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road ...

on loan until January 2022. He made his debut on 30 August in Concord's 2–1 defeat at Welling United. On 26 November 2021,

Premier Division side

signed Crackell in a month-long loan deal. He made his debut in their 5–1

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

win over Leiston on 27 November. At the end of the 2022–23 season, Cracknell was released by Colchester United. Following his release, he returned to newly promoted National League North club Bishop's Stortford on a permanent basis.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cracknell, Billy 2002 births Living people Sportspeople from Brentwood, Essex English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Colchester United F.C. players Maldon & Tiptree F.C. players Concord Rangers F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Cheshunt F.C. players Isthmian League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Footballers from Essex