John Crabbe
Encyclopedia
Stephen Allan John Crabbe (born Weymouth, 20 October 1954) is an English
former professional football (soccer)
player. He played for six Football League clubs, with his most successful spell coming at Gillingham
.
, began his career with Southampton
where he graduated through the youth channels before making his debut in the FA Cup
match against West Ham United
on 4 January 1975, replacing David Peach
who had been dropped following a poor performance in the previous league match. Described as "a tenacious midfielder", Crabbe retained his place for the next few Division Two
matches before the arrival of Jim McCalliog
at the end of January. He made occasional appearances over the rest of the year but found it hard to break into the team on a permanent basis. In March 1976 he was loaned to Hellenic in South Africa
.
Upon his return to English football in January 1977 he was sold to Gillingham
for £10,000. He quickly became a first team regular at Priestfield Stadium
and went on to make over 180 Football League appearances, a figure which would have been higher had he not spent a long spell on the sidelines after breaking his arm in 1979.
In 1981 Crabbe moved to Carlisle United
, where he helped the team gain promotion to the Second Division
a year later. Shortly after this he moved to Hereford United
and later had spells with Crewe Alexandra
and Torquay United
before dropping into non-league football
in 1986 where he played for Crawley Town
, Canterbury City
, Ashford Town
and Whitstable Town
, serving as player-coach at the latter two clubs.
Summers 1984 and 1988 he played in Finland
.
in July 1997 under manager Neil Webb
. He was promoted to manager
upon Webb's departure just three months later, but was himself dismissed before the end of the year. He later had a spell as assistant manager at Lordswood
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former professional football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player. He played for six Football League clubs, with his most successful spell coming at Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
.
Playing career
Crabbe, nicknamed "Buster" after the actorBuster Crabbe
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
, began his career with Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
where he graduated through the youth channels before making his debut in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
match against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
on 4 January 1975, replacing David Peach
David Peach
David Sidney Peach is a former footballer, who played at left back for Southampton in the FA Cup Final 1976.-Chelsea & Gillingham:...
who had been dropped following a poor performance in the previous league match. Described as "a tenacious midfielder", Crabbe retained his place for the next few Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
matches before the arrival of Jim McCalliog
Jim McCalliog
James "Jim" McCalliog is a Scottish former footballer who played for Sheffield Wednesday, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester United and Southampton....
at the end of January. He made occasional appearances over the rest of the year but found it hard to break into the team on a permanent basis. In March 1976 he was loaned to Hellenic in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Upon his return to English football in January 1977 he was sold to Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
for £10,000. He quickly became a first team regular at Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent...
and went on to make over 180 Football League appearances, a figure which would have been higher had he not spent a long spell on the sidelines after breaking his arm in 1979.
In 1981 Crabbe moved to Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
, where he helped the team gain promotion to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
a year later. Shortly after this he moved to Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
and later had spells with Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
and Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
before dropping into non-league football
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
in 1986 where he played for Crawley Town
Crawley Town F.C.
Crawley Town Football Club is an English football club based in Crawley, West Sussex. They won the title of the Football Conference, by a record 15 point margin on second place, and with it promotion to The Football League, in April 2011.-1896–2009:...
, Canterbury City
Canterbury City F.C.
Canterbury City F.C. are a football club currently based in Herne Bay near Canterbury, England. Reformed in 2007, they are the first football club formed as a Community interest company. For the 2011–12 season they will compete in the Kent League Premier Division...
, Ashford Town
Ashford Town F.C. (Kent)
Ashford United F.C. are an English football club based in Ashford, Kent. The 'new' United was formed in 2011 . Between 1930 and 2010 the town was represented by Ashford Town FC, before it ultimately went into administration...
and Whitstable Town
Whitstable Town F.C.
Whitstable Town F.C. is a football club based in Whitstable, Kent, England. The club was established in 1885 and joined the Kent League in 1950. In the 1996-97 season, the team reached the 5th round of the FA Vase...
, serving as player-coach at the latter two clubs.
Summers 1984 and 1988 he played in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Managerial career
After hanging up his boots Crabbe returned to his hometown as coach of WeymouthWeymouth F.C.
Weymouth F.C. are an English football club based in the town of Weymouth, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September of that year...
in July 1997 under manager Neil Webb
Neil Webb
Neil John Webb is an English former footballer and television pundit. He played as a midfielder and defender between 1980 and 1997 notably for Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United...
. He was promoted to manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
upon Webb's departure just three months later, but was himself dismissed before the end of the year. He later had a spell as assistant manager at Lordswood
Lordswood F.C.
Lordswood F.C. is a football club based in Lordswood, which is a suburb of Chatham, England. They joined the Kent League in 1996 and are members of the Kent League Premier Division for the 2011-12 season.-History:...
.