Ian Thomas William Craney (born 21 July 1982) is an English former 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 played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He was most recently a first-team coach at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. He had five spells with Accrington Stanley during his career, the latest ending at the end of the 2011–12 season. He also played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

, Huddersfield Town,

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, as well as spells in

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 ...

with

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

and

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

Club career

After starting his career as a junior at Everton, he got his first break in senior football at

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

side

. He joined Accrington Stanley in June 2004 for a fee of £15,000, plus a further £2,500 after twenty appearances and a 50% sell-on clause. He was part of the Stanley team which won the

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

title in 2005–06, gaining promotion to the

. He signed for

on 9 January 2007 for £150,000, having been on loan since 23 November 2006. He returned to Accrington in early 2008, after an initial loan spell. Fellow League Two side

saw two bids rejected for the midfielder in July 2008. But just two games into the 2008-09 season, Accrington accepted an undisclosed fee from League One side Huddersfield Town for the midfielder. He took up the vacant number 5 shirt following the sale of

David Mirfin David Matthew Mirfin (born 18 April 1985) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a centre back. Career Huddersfield Town Mirfin was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He graduated from the Huddersfield Town Academy in the ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

. He made his Town debut in their 3–1 defeat by Milton Keynes Dons at the Kirklees Stadium on 23 August 2008. His first goal for the Terriers was the winning goal in their 2–1 win over

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

Whaddon Road Whaddon Road, known as the Completely-Suzuki Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Cheltenham, England. It is the home ground of Cheltenham Town F.C. It has a total capacity of 7,066, with a mixture of seating and terracing. T ...

on 6 September 2008. Whilst playing for his previous club, Accrington Stanley, he was an

England National Game XI The England national football C team (previously known as the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Pro national team) is the football team that represents England at non-league level. Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it f ...

international. On 22 July 2009, Craney joined

Football 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 ...

side

on a season-long loan along with teammate

Phil Jevons Phillip Jevons (born 1 August 1979) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a forward who played between 1996 and 2014 for Everton, Grimsby Town, Hull City, Yeovil Town, Bristol City, Huddersfield ...

. He got his first goal for the Shrimps in their 5–2 defeat by Burton Albion on 15 August 2009. Injury cut short half of Craney's season, and he returned to Huddersfield on 20 April 2010. The following day, his contract was terminated. He joined

for the 2010/11 season. On 25 November 2010 he rejoined former club Accrington Stanley for a third spell, on a short-term loan deal until the start of 2011. He returned to

on 7 January as the clubs failed to agree an extension to his loan deal. On 31 January he rejoined Stanley on a permanent basis, for his third full-time spell with the club. He was released at the end of the 2011–12 season and in July 2012 he began training with Grimsby Town. In August 2012 he joined

on non-contract terms along with Ray Putterill, but the pair were released in January 2013. He then joined AFC Telford United in February 2013 for the rest of the season, becoming the first signing under new manager Mark Cooper. On 2 May 2013 he was released by the club. On 31 May 2013 he joined Stockport County on a free transfer, but fell out of favour and joined

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...

for the remainder of the season on 17 January 2014. At the expiry of his Stockport contract, Craney joined Conwy Borough of the

Cymru Alliance The Cymru Alliance League (known for sponsorship reasons as Huws Gray Alliance) was a football league in north and central Wales which formed the second level of the Welsh football league system. From the 2019/20 season onwards, it was replaced ...

league on 7 July 2014.

International career

Whilst playing for his previous club, Accrington Stanley, he was an England National Game XI international.

Coaching career

While studying for his coaching badges Craney worked as kitman of

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, who were managed by former Accrington Stanley teammate Paul Cook. In May 2021, Craney joined Cook's coaching staff at

as a first-team coach. Craney left the club in December following the sacking of Cook as manager.

Career statistics

Honours

Accrington Stanley *

: 2005–06 *

Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy The Lancashire Football Association Challenge Trophy is an English football competition for senior non-league clubs who are members of the Lancashire County Football Association. The trophy was first played for in 1885, when it was known as the L ...

: 2004–05 Individual * Northern Premier League Premier Division Player of the Season: 2002–03 *Conference National Player of the Season: 2005–06 *

Player of the Season: 2002–03, 2003–04 * Accrington Stanley Player of the Season: 2005–06

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Craney, Ian 1982 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Liverpool Men's association football midfielders Altrincham F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players AFC Telford United players Stockport County F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Conwy Borough F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players England men's semi-pro international footballers Wigan Athletic F.C. non-playing staff Ipswich Town F.C. non-playing staff