John Crabbe
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| John Crabbe | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Allan John Crabbe | |
| Date of birth | October 20, 1954 [1] | |
| Place of birth | Weymouth, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | n/a | |
| Number | n/a | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1970–1972 | Southampton | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1972–1977 1976 1977–1981 1981–1982 1982–1983 1983–1985 1985–1986 1986–1987 1987–1990 1990–1992 1992–1997 |
Southampton → Hellenic (loan) Gillingham Carlisle United Hereford United Crewe Alexandra Torquay United Crawley Town Canterbury City Ashford Town Whitstable Town |
12 (0) unknown 181 (12) 26 (4) 16 (2)[2] 75 (7) 29 (2)[3] unknown unknown unknown unknown |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1997 | Weymouth[4] | |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
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.
[edit] Playing career
Crabbe, nicknamed "Buster" after the actor, 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",[5] 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.[1] 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.[1]
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.[1]
[edit] Managerial career
After hanging up his boots Crabbe returned to his hometown as coach of Weymouth 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.[4] He later had a spell as assistant manager at Lordswood.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd, 96. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
- ^ Hugman, Barry J. (1984). Canon League Football Players' Records 1946-1984. Newnes Books, p374. ISBN 0-6003-7318-5.
- ^ John Crabbe. Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ a b Nigel Biddlecombe (2006-05-03). Too long in the wilderness. The Dorset Echo. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk (2003). In That Number - A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology, p.498. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
