Mike Craven (born 20 November 1957,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

) is an English former professional footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He 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 ...

for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, where he won a

Debenhams Cup The Debenhams Cup was one of several short-lived football competitions introduced in the 1970s and 1980s, along with the Watney Cup, Texaco Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup, the Super Cup and Full Members' Cup. It lasted for just two seasons ( 1976–77 an ...

winners medal.

Playing career

Craven joined Chester as a youngster from local football and began the 1975–76 season as second choice goalkeeper at the club to

Grenville Millington Grenville Rodney Millington (born 10 December 1951 in Queensferry, Flintshire) is a former professional footballer who played in The Football League as a goalkeeper. He enjoyed a long career with Chester and was voted the club's BBC Cult Hero i ...

following the departure of John Taylor. He deputised for Millington away to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

on 13 September 1975, but had a debut to forget as Chester lost 6–0. Chester then signed

Barry Watling Barry Watling is a footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Bristol City, Notts County, Hartlepool United, Chester City, Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional ...

on loan from

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

until Millington returned to the side the following month and Craven had to wait until the start of the following season for his next first-team outing. He played in Chester's first three league games of the 1976–77 season and in a

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

defeat to

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 ...

on 31 August 1976 that marked the end of Ken Roberts' eight-year spell as Chester manager. He appeared in the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

tie against

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 ...

, and played in the game against Crewe in the Liverpool Senior Cup, with no further first-team appearances for Chester until the climax to the season. He played in both legs of the first

final against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

due to Millington being injured. Chester overturned a 2–0 deficit from the first-leg to win 4–3 on aggregate and present Craven with a winners medal. He made no more first-team appearances for Chester, who quickly signed the experienced

Brian Lloyd Brian William Lloyd (born 18 March 1948) is a Welsh former Association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played 545 times in the English Football League, Football League for five clubs and w ...

as competition for Millington. This marked the end of Craven's professional career, as he joined non-league side

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

. At Bangor he played over 50 games, including in the Welsh Cup Final against Wrexham, which was lost over a two-leg tie. Bangor defeated Shrewsbury Town and Newport, who were both League teams, in the run up to the final, with Craven playing in both games.

Honours

Chester *

winners: 1976–77

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Mike 1957 births Living people Footballers from Birkenhead English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers English men's footballers Chester City F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players