Craig Hinton (born 26 November 1977 in
Wolverhampton, West Midlands) is an English former professional
footballer who played as a
defender.
He is the nephew of
Alan Hinton
Alan Thomas Hinton (born 6 October 1942) is an English former footballer who played at the top level of English football from 1961 to 1975. He famously wore white football boots.
Playing career Wolverhampton Wanderers
Hinton started his career ...
, who played for
Wolverhampton Wanderers,
Derby County and the
England national football team during the 1960s.
Career
Kidderminster Harriers
Hinton moved to the
Kidderminster Harriers in September 1998 after being a trainee with had a trial with AFC Hackleton but failed Birmingham and failing to break into the first team at
St Andrew's. When he first joined
Aggborough
Aggborough Stadium is a association football, football stadium in Kidderminster, England. It is the home ground of Kidderminster Harriers F.C., Kidderminster Harriers, and has a capacity of 7,000, of which 3,140 can be Seating capacity, seated. ...
he played at
right back until
Jan Mølby
Jan Mølby (; born 4 July 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1982 to 1998. After starting his career with Kolding, he moved on to Ajax before spending twelve years playing in ...
took over as manager and played him at
centre back. In 1999–2000 season Hinton only missed one game – this was the year Harriers clinched the Conference title. He was then ever present the year after Harriers first year of
League football. He made a total of 214 appearances in six years at Aggborough when he declined a new contract in the summer of 2004 and a number of clubs wanted to sign him. He chose to join former Birmingham City Youth Coach Broadhurst who was the assistant to
Ian Atkins at
Bristol Rovers.
Bristol Rovers
Hinton joined Bristol Rovers in the summer of 2004 where he played most of his 38 league appearances at right-back. In the summer of 2006 he signed a new deal keeping him at the
Memorial Stadium for a further two years. He made 36 appearances in his second season at the club and made a firm defensive partnership with
Steve Elliott in the centre of defence.
Hinton kept impressing with Rovers and in 2007, scored his first goals for the club in FA Cup matches against
Leyton Orient and
Rushden & Diamonds and then further goals against
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
,
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 ...
and
Cheltenham Town. Scoring these goals, gave Hinton the nickname 'Goal Machine'. Hinton has recently been used more as a substitute for Bristol Rovers with Byron Anthony, Steve Elliot and Danny Coles seemingly preferred to him in the centre back position. On 5 May 2009, it was announced that his contract will expire, along with
Joe Jacobson,
Ryan Green and
Craig Disley.
Northampton Town
Hinton joined League Two side
Northampton Town,
Cobblers clinch Hinton deal
Sky Sports and was made club captain ahead of the 2009–10 season. Hinton was sent on a one-month loan to Conference Premier side Luton Town on 26 November 2010.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 ...
games before returning to Northampton on 6 January 2011.
Bristol Rovers
On 17 March 2011, it was announced that Hinton will re-join Bristol Rovers as Stuart Campbell's assistant manager until the end of the 2010/2011 season. As Hinton had already played games during the 2010/2011 season for Northampton Town and Luton Town, he will not be allowed to play for the Gas.
Solihull Moors
In August 2011, he moved into non-League football
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
signing for Solihull Moors
Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Lea ...
.
References
* For Kidderminster Harriers 1998–99 infobox stats, not included by Soccerbase:
External links
Craig Hinton player profile
at ntfc.co.uk
at bristolrovers.co.uk
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinton, Craig
1977 births
Living people
Footballers from Wolverhampton
Men's association football defenders
English men's footballers
Birmingham City F.C. players
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players
Bristol Rovers F.C. players
Northampton Town F.C. players
Luton Town F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Solihull Moors F.C. players
Bristol Rovers F.C. non-playing staff