Craig Liddle
Encyclopedia
Craig George Liddle is an English former footballer who made more than 300 appearances in the Football League
playing for Middlesbrough
and Darlington
, where he spent most of his professional career. His predominant position was as a defender
.
, County Durham
, Liddle was a centre half who played professional football for Aston Villa
, Middlesbrough
and Darlington
Liddle started his professional career at Aston Villa back in 1990 where he signed his first professional contract at the club where he had been a trainee. The Chester-le-Street
-born star was released after just one season however after failing to impress. He joined local team Blyth Spartans
where he spent the next three seasons.
In 1994 he got a dream move to Middlesbrough when Bryan Robson
signed him at the start of the Boro revolution, he went on to make 25 first teams appearances in his four years at the Riverside
.
He joined Darlington on loan in February 1998. In 16 games he made a big impression playing not only in defence but also as a midfielder. On the 1 July 1998, David Hodgson
got 'Lidds' to put pen to paper and he joined Darlo for a nominal fee.
During his time at the Quakers Liddle showed just what a true professional footballer should be like and was a popular club captain. Not the biggest or the quickest Liddle was absolutely committed commanding his defence excellently, reading the game well and tackling excellently. Rated by the fans as one of the best defenders in the Third Division
, and attracting interest from other clubs. During some turbulent times in Darlington's history Liddle became a talisman for the club, showing commitment on and off the pitch that made him a fans favourite. Something demonstrated by him being voted Darlington's all-time cult hero by BBC Football Focus viewers with 70% of the vote.
His last seasons at the club were sadly marked by injury, as his committed approach took its toll. His 300th appearance for Darlington on the 1 May 2004 was marked by a commemorative beer brewed by the Darwen Brewery - Liddle's Best, as well as specially printed T-shirts going on sale. On the announcement on his retirement in May 2005 Liddle was granted a testimonial against his former club Middlesbrough in July 2005, sadly due to a hoax bomb threat the game had to be abandoned at half time.
from September 2005 up until June 2007.
In February 2008 after Mick Tait
had left Darlington, and Neil Maddison
took over his role as reserve team coach, Liddle came into the club taking over the role left by Maddison as youth team coach.
On 8 May 2009 it was revealed Darlington's administrators Brackenbury Clark and Company, in order to cut costs, had released the "majority of the first-team squad" from their contracts with immediate effect as well as the club's coaching staff and administrative staff including caretaker manager Martin Gray
, leaving Liddle and Maddison as joint caretaker manager
s.
With the appointment of Colin Todd
as manager on 20 May Liddle remained at the club as Darlington's head of youth. Todd departed on 26 September and Liddle took over as caretaker manager the following day, assisted by Maddison, until a replacement for Todd had been found. Liddle ruled himself out of taking the job full-time, saying he did not yet have the experience needed to run a club.
On 5 October it was announced that former Republic of Ireland
manager Steve Staunton
had been appointed as the new permanent manager. As well as Staunton, the club brought in former Sunderland
coach Kevin Richardson
as assistant to him on the same deal. The pair did not start their job roles until later that week, while Liddle finished off his caretaker manager role after the Football League Trophy
tie against Leeds United
on 6 October. On 21 March 2010 he joined Maddison as caretaker yet again after the sacking of Staunton, before Simon Davey
was appointed manager on 1 April. He started a fourth period as caretaker on 25 October 2011 after the sacking of Mark Cooper the previous day.
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
playing for Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
and Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
, where he spent most of his professional career. His predominant position was as a defender
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
.
Playing career
Born in Chester-le-StreetChester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, Liddle was a centre half who played professional football for Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
and Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
Liddle started his professional career at Aston Villa back in 1990 where he signed his first professional contract at the club where he had been a trainee. The Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
-born star was released after just one season however after failing to impress. He joined local team Blyth Spartans
Blyth Spartans A.F.C.
Blyth Spartans A.F.C. are a professional football club who play in the Conference North, and are based in the town of Blyth, Northumberland, England. They are often the most Northerly team in whichever league or cup they are playing in. They are managed by former Spartans player Steve Cuggy.They...
where he spent the next three seasons.
In 1994 he got a dream move to Middlesbrough when Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
signed him at the start of the Boro revolution, he went on to make 25 first teams appearances in his four years at the Riverside
Riverside Stadium
The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough F.C. since it opened in 1995...
.
He joined Darlington on loan in February 1998. In 16 games he made a big impression playing not only in defence but also as a midfielder. On the 1 July 1998, David Hodgson
David Hodgson (footballer)
David James Hodgson , is an English former footballer who played for Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Norwich City, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday, as well as lower division clubs and teams in France, Japan, and Spain....
got 'Lidds' to put pen to paper and he joined Darlo for a nominal fee.
During his time at the Quakers Liddle showed just what a true professional footballer should be like and was a popular club captain. Not the biggest or the quickest Liddle was absolutely committed commanding his defence excellently, reading the game well and tackling excellently. Rated by the fans as one of the best defenders in the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
, and attracting interest from other clubs. During some turbulent times in Darlington's history Liddle became a talisman for the club, showing commitment on and off the pitch that made him a fans favourite. Something demonstrated by him being voted Darlington's all-time cult hero by BBC Football Focus viewers with 70% of the vote.
His last seasons at the club were sadly marked by injury, as his committed approach took its toll. His 300th appearance for Darlington on the 1 May 2004 was marked by a commemorative beer brewed by the Darwen Brewery - Liddle's Best, as well as specially printed T-shirts going on sale. On the announcement on his retirement in May 2005 Liddle was granted a testimonial against his former club Middlesbrough in July 2005, sadly due to a hoax bomb threat the game had to be abandoned at half time.
Coaching career
Craig Liddle worked as a football coach at Darlington CollegeDarlington College
Darlington College is a further education college in Darlington, County Durham, England. The college campus is located at Central Park, Haughton Road. With support from Darlington Borough Council and Tees Valley Regeneration the college was built by "Shepard Construction", starting in 2004...
from September 2005 up until June 2007.
In February 2008 after Mick Tait
Mick Tait
Michael 'Mick' Tait was an English footballer and later a manager at the end of his playing career. His 760 league games puts him 13th in the list of English footballers. His clubs were Oxford United, Carlisle United, Hull City, Portsmouth, Reading, Darlington and Hartlepool United as well as...
had left Darlington, and Neil Maddison
Neil Maddison
Neil Maddison is an English former footballer and is currently youth coach at Darlington. His main position was in midfield, but has played in all outfield positions during his career.-Playing career:...
took over his role as reserve team coach, Liddle came into the club taking over the role left by Maddison as youth team coach.
On 8 May 2009 it was revealed Darlington's administrators Brackenbury Clark and Company, in order to cut costs, had released the "majority of the first-team squad" from their contracts with immediate effect as well as the club's coaching staff and administrative staff including caretaker manager Martin Gray
Martin Gray (footballer)
Martin Gray is an English former footballer, on two occasions caretaker manager at Darlington and once at Oldham Athletic. He currently runs his own football academy.-Career:...
, leaving Liddle and Maddison as joint caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
s.
With the appointment of Colin Todd
Colin Todd
Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League...
as manager on 20 May Liddle remained at the club as Darlington's head of youth. Todd departed on 26 September and Liddle took over as caretaker manager the following day, assisted by Maddison, until a replacement for Todd had been found. Liddle ruled himself out of taking the job full-time, saying he did not yet have the experience needed to run a club.
On 5 October it was announced that former Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
manager Steve Staunton
Steve Staunton
Stephen "Steve" Staunton is an Irish association football manager and former professional footballer, who was most recently manager of Darlington...
had been appointed as the new permanent manager. As well as Staunton, the club brought in former Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
coach Kevin Richardson
Kevin Richardson (footballer)
Kevin Richardson is an English former footballer who made more than 500 appearances in the Football League and Premier League, playing for Everton, Watford, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Coventry City, Southampton, Barnsley and Blackpool, and also spent a season in La Liga with Real Sociedad. He was...
as assistant to him on the same deal. The pair did not start their job roles until later that week, while Liddle finished off his caretaker manager role after the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
tie against Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
on 6 October. On 21 March 2010 he joined Maddison as caretaker yet again after the sacking of Staunton, before Simon Davey
Simon Davey
Simon Davey is a Welsh former footballer and football manager. He played for Swansea City, Carlisle United and Preston North End and had a short loan spell with Darlington, making a total of 271 appearances in the Football League...
was appointed manager on 1 April. He started a fourth period as caretaker on 25 October 2011 after the sacking of Mark Cooper the previous day.
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003... (joint caretaker) |
8 May 2009 | 20 May 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003... (caretaker) |
27 September 2009 | 6 October 2009 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 | |
| Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003... (joint caretaker) |
21 March 2010 | 1 April 2010 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 | |
| Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003... (caretaker) |
25 October 2011 | Present | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | |
| Total | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 28.6 | |||
As a player
- DarlingtonDarlington F.C.Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
- Third DivisionFootball League Third DivisionThe Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
play-off FinalFinal (competition)The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided.In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between the winners of two semi-finals...
runner-up: 1999–20001999-2000 in English football-Premier League:Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World...
- Third Division