Liam Craig (born 27 December 1986) is a Scottish 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 ...
. He is an attack-minded creative midfield player who operates on the left side of midfield or in a central position. He has played for Falkirk, St Johnstone and Hibernian during a sixteen-year career. Upon retiring at the end of the 2020 –21 season, he will become a coach with St Johnstone.
Career
Craig began his career 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 ...
and skippered the youth side to victory in the 2005 FA Youth Cup final. However, after finding it difficult to break into the first team he joined Falkirk in January 2006.
Craig moved to St Johnstone on a month's loan in December 2007 and scored on his home debut against Livingston. He then signed on loan until the end of the season with the Saints and then signed on a permanent basis in July 2008. A transfer tribunal ruled that Saints would pay Falkirk £25,000 for his services, with a further £12,000 if the club was promoted to the SPL during his time at
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 ...
and also 25% of any future transfer received by Saints from another club. Craig made over 200 appearances for St. Johnstone in his first spell. In his last game for St. Johnstone, Craig scored a goal which would help seal third position in the Scottish Premier League and qualification for the
2013–14 UEFA Europa League
The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title.
The 2014 UEFA Europa League Final was played between Sevilla and Benfica at th ...
.
Craig signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibernian in January 2013. He scored his first goal for Hibs on 24 August, scoring twice in a 2–1 victory against Kilmarnock. Craig scored his first ever career
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
on 24 September, in a
2013–14 Scottish League Cup
The 2013–14 Scottish League Cup was the 68th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition.
Format
The competition is a single elimination knock-out competition. In each round, fixtures are determined by random dr ...
tie against Stranraer. Craig was appointed Hibs captain in November 2013 by new manager
Terry Butcher
Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town.
During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...
. Shortly after this, on 2 January 2014, Craig scored the winner in the Edinburgh derby against city rivals Hearts from the penalty spot. Craig was not offered a new contract by Hibs at the end of the 2014–15 season, after they failed to secure promotion from the
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...
.
In July 2015, Craig signed a one-year contract with St Johnstone. On 27 March 2017, he signed a new two-year contract, keeping him at McDiarmid Park until the summer of 2019.
On 29 December 2018, Craig played his 362nd game for St Johnstone and scored in a 2–0 away win over Dundee; This put him second place behind teammate Steven Anderson in the club's all-time appearances list. In the same week, he was also appointed as chairman of the
PFA Scotland
The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland (PFA Scotland) is the association for professional footballers in Scotland. It was known as the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association (SPFA), but that organisation was dissolved and repl ...
(players' union) management committee.
Craig was one of three St Johnstone players to sign a short-term six-month contract extension in May 2020, as the club formulated plans amid the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
.
He announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2020 –21 season, at which point he will become a coach with St Johnstone.
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2020–21
*
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...