Stephen Crainey, born on 22 June 1981 in Scotland, was a defender who primarily played as a left back. A stalwart of the pitch, Crainey stood at 5ft 8in (1.75m) and tipped the scales at a lean 9st 6lb (60kg). After his initial foray into football, he joined Celtic as a trainee in July 1997, anchoring his place in the team by the 1999-2000 season, during which he made nine first team appearances.
Crainey's tenure at Celtic saw him grow in skill and keenness, with a noticeable increase in appearances during the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons, as he featured 15 and 13 times respectively. Despite limited appearances in the 2000-2001 and 2003-2004 seasons, Crainey's impact in the Scottish Premiership stage was unarguable. In total, across his six seasons with Celtic, he accumulated 41 first team appearances.
In January 2004, Crainey paddled across the waters from Celtic to Southampton, a move that cost the English Premier League club around £500k. However, his stretch with Southampton was brief, awarding him only five first team appearances for the remainder of the season.
Crainey's next move was to Leeds United in August 2004, for a fee of about £250k. Here, his performances burgeoned over three seasons with 52 appearances to his name.
In July 2007, Crainey transferred from Leeds United to Blackpool. His time in this seaside town was substantial, spanning six seasons with a total of 214 first team appearances and scoring four goals.
His journey continued in June 2013 when he made his move to Wigan Athletic, where he completed 20 first team appearances in the singular season he spent there.
August 2014 marked his transfer to Fleetwood Town, resulting in him making 28 first team appearances during the season.
Crainey's last recorded move in May 2015 saw him move out from Fleetwood Town, with his destination and details of the subsequent seasons remaining elusive.
