Craig Brian Raymond Stone (born 29 December 1988) is an English

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 for Ashford United. He came through the Gillingham youth ranks, making his league debut as a 16-year-old in the 2005–06 season, and plays in central midfield or at right-back.

Career

Stone joined Gillingham at the age of 10 and made his first appearance for the club in a 3–1 victory over

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

on 1 November 2005. He signed his first professional contract in May 2007, a one-year deal with an option of another year. On 17 January 2008, Stone joined

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

on a one-month loan, which was later extended for a second month. On his return to Priestfield Stadium he still could not command a regular place in the team and he was released at the end of his contract and joined non-League club Ebbsfleet United in time for the 2008–09 season. On 21 February 2009, he broke his leg in a match against Wrexham and was expected to miss the remainder of the season. A group of Ebbsfleet supporters got together to help Stone pass the time whilst out injured by purchasing a PlayStation 3. In February 2010, Stone joined

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 ...

club

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

in a bid to regain fitness before returning to the professional game. He joined up with The Stones' caretaker management team of Pete Nott and Tony Cornwell, who coached him as a youngster. In August of the same year, he re-joined Ebbsfleet United. In June 2015, Stone signed a two-year deal to join Eastbourne Borough of the

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 ...

. He was released at the end of his contract and dropped back down to the Isthmian League Premier Division to join

Tonbridge Angels Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The club was founded as Tonbridge Football Club in 1947 and became known as "The Angels" in 1949 when they started playing at the Angel Ground. S ...

in May 2017. He left Tonbridge at the end of the 2018–19 season, having helped them to achieve promotion to the

. On leaving Tonbridge, he was scheduled to take up a player-coach role at Hastings United, but he was subsequently offered the role of manager of the U18 and U23 teams at Gillingham, where he had already been coaching at the girls' academy. He departed Gillingham in October 2021. In May 2023, Stone was promoted to the role of player-assistant manager at Hastings United. In November 2023, he dropped down a division to sign for

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

. In May 2024, Stone joined Ashford United.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Craig 1988 births Living people Footballers from Gravesend, Kent English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Gillingham F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. players Tonbridge Angels F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Hastings United F.C. players Ramsgate F.C. players Ashford United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Gillingham F.C. non-playing staff