Lee David Croft (born 21 June 1985) 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 ...
who played as a
right winger
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 ...
for
Manchester City,
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
,
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
,
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
and
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
. He also appears on ''
Soccer AM
''Soccer AM'' is a British football-based comedy/talk show, produced by Sky Sports.
First broadcast in 1995, the programme currently airs on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football at 10.30am on Saturdays during the f ...
'' as "Lee Croft, Story Teller", telling stories that end with the catch phrase "You can't handle the truth!"
Club career
Manchester City
Born in
Billinge Higher End
Higher End or Billinge Higher End is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
Governance
Billinge was a civil parish lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire on 2 February 1837 it was divide ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
, Croft began his career at
Manchester City, who he joined as a 12-year-old after scout Eric Mullenden spotted him playing for junior team Garswood United.
He was a talented youth player, representing
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at every level up to under-20, including captaining England under-18s.
Accumulating more than 40 caps in total, he is the most capped England youth player of all-time.
At club level, he was part of the Manchester City youth team which reached the semi-finals of the 2003
FA Youth Cup.
He made his first team debut for City on 7 March 2005 against
Bolton Wanderers, coming on as a substitute in
Kevin Keegan's final game as City manager, and made a further six substitute appearances that season. In April 2005 he signed a one-year contract extension.
Croft was a regular substitute at the start of the
2005–06 season. His first
English Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
start came on 31 October 2005 against
Aston Villa, and his first
Manchester City goal came a week later in a match against
Fulham. He also started the next two matches, but this run of four matches was to be the only period Croft formed part of the
Manchester City starting eleven. He was a frequent substitute in the remainder of the season, finishing with campaign with 25 appearances, 21 of these as a substitute.
Oldham Athletic (loan)
Croft turned professional aged seventeen, but did not break into the first team straight away. In November 2004 Croft went to Oldham Athletic on loan to gain first-team experience. He made his senior debut on 14 November 2004 in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
tie against
Thurrock
Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...
, in which he won his side a penalty.
He made his League debut the following week against
Barnsley. Later that month a
Football League 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
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
brought his first senior goal. An FA Cup third round draw between Oldham and Manchester City raised the possibility of Croft facing his employers as an opposing player, but competition rules prevented him from doing so. Croft's loan spell lasted three months, in which he made seventeen Oldham appearances and scored two goals.
Norwich City
On 28 July 2006 he signed for Norwich City for a fee of £600,000 and scored his first goal for the club on 12 August 2006 in a 3–2 win against
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
at
Carrow Road.
Croft continued his good start at
Carrow Road with another goal in the 5–1 demolition of
Barnsley on 26 August 2006 and was seen by many City fans as providing balance to the team on the right-hand side that had been missing for some time. On 28 October 2006, however, it was announced that Croft would be absent from first team duties for a possible 6 weeks following an injury during Norwich's 5–0 defeat at Stoke City. After making his return from injury, Croft went for a long period without scoring, but finally got on the scoresheet with a goal in another game against
Barnsley at
Oakwell on 3 March 2007. In the
2008–09 season, Croft became a key player for the side, and scored in the
East Anglian derby
The East Anglian derby is a sobriquet used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In rec ...
match against
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 ...
in December 2008 and went on to be voted the club's player of the season.
Derby County
2009–10 season
After Norwich City's relegation Croft decided against signing a new contract, which alerted
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
manager
Nigel Clough
Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was ...
. After entering into negotiations with Derby, Croft was released early from his contract by mutual consent. Croft signed for Derby on a three-year contract on 25 June 4 days after his 24th birthday.
As clubs who sign players under the age of 24 who move between clubs on a
free transfer have to pay compensation to the player's former club, by waiting until Croft turned 24, Derby avoided paying compensation to Norwich.
After making his debut in a 2–1 home win over
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
on 8 March 2009, Croft played a part in 13 of Derby's first 15 league fixtures and scored his first for the club in a 3–0 victory over
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
on 3 October 2009. However, as Derby struggled in the league Croft was unable to keep his place in the side as he struggled for form and this, alongside a hamstring injury suffered in late February 2010, saw Croft make only three appearances in the final 6 months of the campaign. Of Croft, Derby manager
Nigel Clough
Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was ...
said "He is on the fringe of the squad and at the moment and given the way he is sort of playing, we can't see him getting back involved. You get in the team on merit and there are quite a few players ahead of him."
Huddersfield Town (loan)
After just one appearance in 2010 for Derby, Croft moved to
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
on a six-month loan deal ahead of the 2010–11 season. He made his Terriers debut as a substitute in the 4–2 loss against
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
at
London Road Stadium
London Road, currently known as the Weston Homes Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Peterborough, England. The stadium is in Fletton, south of the River Nene. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is ...
on 21 August 2010 before making his full debut in a 5–1 defeat at
Everton in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. He got his first ever career red card on 9 October away at
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
, but
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
still managed to win 3–0, and inflict a first league defeat of the season on their opponents. Ahead of his return to his parent club, Derby manager Nigel Clough stated that Croft had no future at Pride Park and that he would look at loaning the player out again in 2011.
On the expiration of Croft's initial loan spell at Huddersfield he returned to Derby, ''Terriers'' boss
Lee Clark stating "Sadly, Lee Croft couldn't achieve the levels I know he can offer. I saw him during my last season with Norwich when he was in sensational form, but during his time with us he wasn't able to reproduce that.
Return to Derby
After failing to make an appearance for the club during the
2010–11 season, Croft vowed to regain his place in the first team ahead of the
2011–12 season after encouragement from Rams manager
Nigel Clough
Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was ...
. On 19 July 2011, Croft was allocated squad number 22, he was not allocated one during the 2010–11 season. He was in the starting line-up as Derby's first three games of the season (Championship victories over
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
and
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
sandwiching a League Cup home defeat to
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
) before dropping to the bench for the club's subsequent fixtures and then eventually losing his place in the matchday 16 as Clough switched to a formation without wide players.
St Johnstone (loan)
As a result, Croft loaned out to
Scottish Premier League side
St Johnstone until the end of 2011–12 season in January 2012. Croft scored 3 times in 13 appearances for St Johnstone before being ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury on 15 April 2012, Croft had hoped to return to the team despite being ruled out for 6 weeks. On 16 April 2012, Croft was told that he was allowed to leave Derby in the summer, despite having a year left on his contract with St Johnstone expressing an interest to extend Croft's stay
McDiarmid Park
McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of .
As well as St J ...
. Derby manager Nigel Clough, Croft was looking at his options for the 2012–13 season and was formally transfer listed on 22 May 2012.
Oldham Athletic (loan) and departure from Derby
On 3 July 2012, Croft joined former club Oldham Athletic on loan until the end of the 2012–13 season. Croft featured 35 times during his second loan spell at Latics with 34 start, which made him an ever-present however his loan spell was ended on 31 January 2013, when Derby County terminated Croft's contract five months early. Croft's last appearance during this spell was in a 3–2 win against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
in the FA Cup 4th round.
Oldham Athletic
![Lee Croft 21-07-2012 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Lee_Croft_21-07-2012_1.jpg)
Croft re-signed for Oldham Athletic on 1 February 2013, on a contract until the end of the 2012–13 season.
On 24 May 2013, it was announced that Croft was to leave Latics having rejected a contract offered by the club. This was at the end of a successful season-long spell which resulted in Croft winning the Fans Player of the Season award and playing in 53 out of Oldham's 54 games in all competitions.
St Johnstone
In November 2013, Croft signed a contract with
St Johnstone to the end of the 2013–14 season. He came on as a substitute as they won the
2014 Scottish Cup Final.
Oldham Athletic
Croft rejoined
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
on a one-year contract on 1 July 2015. On 17 July 2016, manager
Steve Robinson confirmed that Croft remained with the club on a monthly contract.
Southport
In September 2017 he joined
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
on a short-term contract.
International career
Croft has represented England at Under-16, Under-17, Under-18, Under-19 and Under-20 youth international levels, including captaining the Under-18 team.
He played in the
2003 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...
, making two appearances for
England Under-20 as they finished bottom of Group D.
Personal life
On 14 October 2012, Croft was the subject of a police investigation after he was accused of racially abusing a black ball boy. He admitted he "spoke inappropriately" to the boy and apologised. However it quickly transpired that "there was no accusation whatsoever from the ball boy of racist abuse", who accepted Croft's apology; Croft said that the false allegations (from those who did not witness the incident) damaged anti-racism efforts.
Career statistics
Notes
:A. Soccerbase's stats for the match between Nottingham Forest and Derby County on 17 September 2011 count a substitute appearance made by Croft, however it should be credited to
Russell Anderson
Russell Anderson (born 25 October 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He played in the Scottish Premier League for Aberdeen, the Premier League for Sunderland, and the Football League for Plymouth ...
.
Therefore, until and unless they correct it, he ''should'' have one less appearance for Derby than given on his Soccerbase page.
References
External links
* at canaries.co.uk
Lee Croft player profileat mcfc.co.uk
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Lee
1985 births
Living people
People from Higher End
English footballers
England youth international footballers
Association football midfielders
Derby County F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players
Norwich City F.C. players
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players
St Johnstone F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Scottish Premier League players
Scottish Professional Football League players
Southport F.C. players