Stevie Crawford

For the American chemical engineer, see T. Stephen Crawford.
For other people named Steven Crawford, see Steven Crawford (disambiguation).
Stevie Crawford
Personal information
Full name Stephen Crawford
Date of birth (1974-01-09) 9 January 1974
Place of birth Dunfermline, Scotland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Milton Keynes Dons (assistant manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1996 Raith Rovers 115 (22)
1996–1997 Millwall 42 (11)
1997–2000 Hibernian 73 (23)
1999–2000 → Dunfermline Athletic (loan) 25 (16)
2000–2004 Dunfermline Athletic 144 (47)
2004–2005 Plymouth Argyle 26 (6)
2005 Dundee United 21 (3)
2005–2006 Aberdeen 34 (8)
2006–2008 Dunfermline Athletic 59 (8)
2008–2011 East Fife 50 (10)
2011 Cowdenbeath 18 (2)
2011 Forfar Athletic 11 (2)
Total 618 (158)
National team
1995–2004 Scotland 25 (4)
Teams managed
2009–2010 East Fife (player-manager)
2011–2014 Falkirk (assistant)
2014–2016 Heart of Midlothian (assistant)
2016– Milton Keynes Dons (assistant)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:42, 22 May 2014 (UTC).


Stephen "Stevie" Crawford (born 9 January 1974, in Dunfermline) is a former Scottish professional football player and manager. He is currently the assistant manager of English League One side Milton Keynes Dons.

Crawford started his career with Raith Rovers, with whom he won the 1994 Scottish League Cup Final and played in the UEFA Cup. This earned him a move to English football with Millwall, but Crawford returned to Scotland after just one year. He had a mixed spell with Hibernian, suffering relegation but then winning promotion. Crawford then had the most productive spell of his career with Dunfermline Athletic, during which time he became a Scotland regular, amassing 25 caps in total. Crawford played in Scottish Cup Finals for both Dunfermline and Dundee United in the mid-2000s, losing both to Celtic. Crawford's stint with Dundee United came after a short-lived return to English football with Plymouth Argyle.

After short spells with Aberdeen and Dunfermline Athletic, Crawford signed for lower division club East Fife in 2008. He served East Fife as player manager for just over a year before resigning as manager in October 2010.[1] In October 2011 Stevie was appointed assistant manager of Falkirk.

Domestic career

1990s

Crawford, who plays as a striker, began his career with Raith Rovers in 1992. Raith beat Celtic in a penalty shootout in the 1994 Scottish League Cup Final. Raith also played in the UEFA Cup against Bayern Munich.

After the 1995–96 season, Crawford moved on to Millwall, where he spent a single season and scored 11 goals. Hibernian signed Crawford in 1997, but were relegated from the top division before winning promotion back to the Scottish Premier League in 1999. Crawford moved to Dunfermline Athletic on loan for the 1999–2000 season, scoring 16 goals in 25 games.

Dunfermline Athletic

Crawford signed for the Fife side permanently in July 2000 after a successful loan in the previous season. His first goal for the Pars came on 12 August 2000 against St Johnstone.[2] Crawford was Dunfermline's top scorer in his first season at East End Park, scoring 9 goals in 37 league matches. The next season was just as successful for Crawford in goalscoring terms and his goals elevated Dunfermline to finishing sixth in the league. His goal in the final game of the season against Rangers earned his side a 1–1 draw.[3] The 2002–03 season was perhaps Crawford's best season with the Pars. The third game of the season saw him score a hat-trick against Dundee[4] leading to him challenging for top scorer of the season with 19 goals in 35 games. Crawford's goals again helped the Pars move up the league, helping them finish fifth overall.

His final season at Dunfermline was the club most successful season in a number of years, which saw them finish 4th thanks to Crawford's 13 goals. This not only saw his side qualify for the UEFA Cup, but he also helped the Pars reach the 2004 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 3–1 to Celtic. It was at this time that Crawford decided he wanted to leave Dunfermline to sign for a club in England.

Plymouth and Dundee United

Crawford signed for Football League Championship side Plymouth Argyle in 2004.[5] He failed to settle in England due to his lack of goals and his homesickness. After only six months he returned to Scotland, signing with Dundee United for a £80,000 fee.[6] His time at Tannadice was equally short-lived, although he did earn another Scottish Cup runners-up medal, as United lost the 2005 Scottish Cup Final to Celtic.

Aberdeen and return to Dunfermline

After joining Aberdeen at the start of the 2005–06 season, Crawford returned to Dunfermline in August 2006, despite being a regular starter at Pittodrie and among the top league scorers at the time. He signed a two-year deal with his hometown team[7] but failed to be as productive as he had been in his first spell with Dunfermline, scoring only 8 goals in two seasons. In April 2008, Crawford was told he would not be offered a new contract and was free to find a new club.[8]

Managerial career

It was reported in July 2008 that Crawford had turned down a move to the English Championship in favour of continuing his football in Scotland.[9] Crawford signed a two-year-deal with Scottish Second Division side East Fife a few days later.[10][11] After David Baikie resigned as manager on 14 April 2009, Crawford became caretaker player-manager,[12][13] and he was given the job on a permanent basis later that month.[14] After just over a year as manager, Crawford resigned as manager of East Fife, but remained with the club as a registered player.[1][15]

Crawford was appointed assistant manager of Falkirk in October 2011.[16] He moved to a similar position at Hearts in May 2014.[17] His move to Hearts were at odds, due to playing for Hibernian, Hearts rival.[18]

On 2 December 2016, Crawford was appointed as assistant manager alongside former Hearts colleague Robbie Neilson of English League One side Milton Keynes Dons.[19]

International career

Over the course of his career Crawford won 25 caps for Scotland, scoring 4 goals.[20] He made his debut (and scored) in a Kirin Cup tie in 1995, but did not make another appearance until 2001.[20] Crawford played regularly under the management of Berti Vogts.

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 May 1995 Toyama Park Stadium, Toyama  Ecuador 2–1 2–1 Kirin Cup
2 15 October 2002 Easter Road, Edinburgh  Canada 1–1 3–1 Friendly match
3 15 October 2002 Easter Road, Edinburgh  Canada 3–1 3–1 Friendly match
4 27 May 2003 Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh  New Zealand 1–0 1–1 Friendly match

Honours

Club

Raith Rovers
Hibernian
Dunfermline Athletic
Dundee United

Individual

Dunfermline

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Stewart, Craig (24 October 2010). "Crawford steps down as East Fife manager". The Scotsman. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  2. ↑ "Saints fight back for point". BBC News. 12 August 2000. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Pars hold Rangers". BBC News. 12 May 2002. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  4. ↑ "Crawford dumps Dundee". BBC News. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Plymouth land Crawford". BBC News. 14 June 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  6. ↑ "Dundee Utd seal Crawford transfer". BBC News. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  7. ↑ "Crawford returns to Dunfermline". BBC News. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  8. ↑ "No Dunfermline deal for Crawford". BBC News. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  9. ↑ "SPL clubs interested in Crawford". BBC News. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "Fifers sign "exceptional" Crawford". Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  11. ↑ "East Fife strike to sign Crawford". BBC News. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  12. ↑ "Stevie Crawford- new manager". Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  13. ↑ "Football: Crawford gets East Fife post". Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  14. ↑ "Crawford named East Fife manager". BBC News. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  15. ↑ "Stevie Crawford". East Fife F.C. official website. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  16. ↑ "Falkirk snap up Stevie Crawford as new assistant manager". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  17. ↑ Borthwick, Jamie (22 May 2014). "Stevie Crawford joins Hearts as assistant to head coach Robbie Neilson". STV Sport. STV. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Hearts legend Steven Pressley says that former Hibee Stevie Crawford is the perfect ft for Hearts". Daily Record. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Neilson named MK Dons manager". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  20. 1 2 Stevie Crawford at scottishfa.co.uk
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.