Craig Hignett
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| Craig Hignett | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 January 1970 | |
| Place of birth | Prescot, England | |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder, Striker (retired) | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Youth career | ||
| 1986–1988 | Liverpool | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1988–1992 1992–1998 1998 1998–2000 2000–2003 2002 2003–2004 2004 2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007 |
Crewe Alexandra Middlesbrough Aberdeen Barnsley Blackburn Rovers → Coventry City (loan) Leicester City → Crewe Alexandra (loan) Leeds United Darlington Apollon Limassol Spennymoor United Hartlepool United |
121 (42) 155 (33) 13 (2) 66 (28) 53 (8) 8 (2) 13 (1) 15 (0) 0 (0) 19 (9) 0 (0) 0 (0) 2 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Craig Hignett, (born 12 January 1970 in Prescot), is an English former professional footballer who now works as an agent and a commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live. He started his career as a striker but later moved into midfield.
Contents |
[edit] Football career
After attending school at Page Moss secondary, now known as Bowring Community Sports College, in Huyton, Hignett started his career in the youth team at Liverpool before moving to Crewe Alexandra in 1988, making his debut on 8 October 1988 against Wrexham.
In his first spell with Crewe he made 150 appearances and scored 57 goals, helping them to promotion from the old division four in the 1988–89 season and to the play-offs in the 2001–02 season—his last season at Gresty Road—before moving to the Premier League with Middlesbrough in November 1992.
After the club were relegated in his first season with Middlesbrough, he helped them back up two seasons later. In 1996–97 Hignett again suffered relegation with Middlesbrough and was part of the team that lost in the FA Cup final and League Cup final the same season. He had however made sure of a place in the club's history by scoring the first goal at the Riverside Stadium, their new ground, in a 2–0 win over Chelsea at the start of 1995–96 Season.[1]
Hignett also famously took a pay cut in order to stay at the club at one point, in stark contrast to the many big-name signings Middlesbrough were bringing in at the time.[1] In 1998 he left Middlesbrough to sign for Aberdeen on a free transfer, having made 194 appearances and 48 goals for Boro. His stay at Aberdeen was short lived, only lasting six months, before signing for Barnsley for £800,000 in 1999.
After suffering relegation from the Premiership, Barnsley were looking for a quick return to the top flight and Hignett's 20 goals in his second season at Oakwell helped them reach the play-off final of the 1999–2000 season. Hignett scored once in the final but Barnsley lost 4–2 to Ipswich Town.
Hignett finally left Barnsley in 2000 after 66 appearances and 35 goals for the club; he signed for Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £2.2. million. He helped Rovers regain their Premiership status and won a League Cup winners medal in 2002 when Blackburn beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in the final, with Hignett coming off the bench.
However, in the 2002–03 season he only played three league games and one UEFA Cup game; Hignett was sent on loan to Coventry City halfway through the season. After returning, he scored on the final day of the season which was to prove to be his last appearance for Blackburn Rovers. He played 68 times and scored 14 goals for Rovers before being released.
In 2003 he signed for Leicester City but struggled to get in the side, making only 15 appearances before going on loan back to Crewe Alexandra at the end of the 2003–04 season and playing another 15 games.
In 2004 he had a brief stint at Leeds United before signing for Darlington, where he scored on his debut. He then moved to Cyprus to apparently end his professional playing days with Apollon Limassol.
In late August 2006, Hignett signed for Arngrove Northern League Two side Spennymoor United on a part-time contract. He made an impressive debut for Spennymoor, scoring in a 3–1 win over title challengers, South Shields. Hignett played his second game in an FA Cup 1st Round Qualifying game against Northern Premier League Division One South side Goole A.F.C.. Hignett made limited appearances for Spennymoor due to other commitments, and in fact as of January 2007 had yet to make an appearance at Spennymoor's Home Ground, The Brewery Field.
On 22 March 2007, Hartlepool United signed Hignett on a short-term contract. Hignett had been training with the club and had taken part in Reserve Team fixtures prior to signing up permanently.[2] He left the club in May 2007.
He has recently starred in Sky TV's Premier League All Stars, in which he helped Middlesbrough beat Newcastle, and represented England in the 2009 Home Nations Masters Cup despite having not won a full international cap. As of April 2008 he was part of the Academy coaching staff at Middlesbrough.[3]
[edit] Honours
- Middlesbrough
- FA Cup runner-up: 1996-97
- League Cup runner-up: 1996-97
- Blackburn Rovers
- League Cup winner: 2002
[edit] References
- ^ a b ,Northern Echo - Interview with Craig Hignett, 02/10/04, Accessed 26/01/07
- ^ Official Hartlepool United Site article on signing of Craig Hignett, 22/03/07, Accessed 22/03/07
- ^ "MATCH PACK: Bolton Wanderers". mfc.co.uk. 2008-04-18. http://www.mfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,1~1292398,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
