Ian Cranson

Ian Cranson
Personal information
Full name Ian Cranson[1]
Date of birth (1964-07-02) 2 July 1964[1]
Place of birth Easington, England [1]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position Defender
Youth career
Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1988 Ipswich Town 131 (5)
1988–1989 Sheffield Wednesday 30 (0)
1989–1996 Stoke City 223 (9)
Total 384 (14)
National team
1984–1986 England U21 5 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Ian Cranson (born 2 July 1964) is an English former professional footballer for played for Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City.[1]

Playing career

Born in Easington, County Durham Cranson began his career with Ipswich Town and made his professional debut away at Aston Villa in 1983–84. He soon began a regular at Portman Road under the management of Bobby Ferguson and was ever present in 1985–86 as Ipswich suffered relegation from the First Division. He played 39 games in 1986–87 and 35 in 1987–88 before he joined Sheffield Wednesday in March 1988. Cranson as a regular in Wednesday's side until manager Howard Wilkinson was replaced by Ron Atkinson and he lost his place in the side. In the summer of 1989 he joined former Ipswich Town team-mate Mick Mills at Stoke City for a club record fee of £480,000. He was a number of expensive signings that summer as Stoke looked to mount a push for promotion.[1] However the new signings never gelled and Stoke ended up being relegated and Mills being replaced by Alan Ball.[1] Cranson made 19 appearances in 1989–90 missing most of the campaign due to a knee injury. He had surgery to rebuild his knee in the summer of 1990 only for the problem to flare up again in 1990–91 and he managed only 13 appearances.[1]

Cranson finally recovered from his injury in 1991 and new manager Lou Macari decided to use him as a sweeper and he became a consistent performer for the Potters.[1] He played in 57 matches in 1991–92 helping Stoke to reach the play-offs where they lost to Stockport County although they did beat County in the 1992 Football League Trophy Final.[1] He played 55 times in 1992–93 missing just one match as City claimed the Second Division title. He missed just two in 1993–94 and his performances were rewarded with the player of the year award.[1] He made 47 appearances in 1994–95 and played 27 times in 1995–96 helping Stoke reach the play-offs. However Cranson injured his knee again and missed the play-offs as Stoke lost to Leicester City. He was made captain for the 1996–97 but injured his knee for a fourth time against Barnsley in September and retired on the advice of doctors. He was granted a testimonial at the Victoria Ground against Everton.[1]

After retirement

After retiring in 1996 Cranson took a year out of the sport before returning to Stoke to work as a coach at the Stoke City Academy before becoming reserve team manager a position he held until he left in 2003. As of November 2010 Cranson is a self-employed coach working for the Wolverhampton Wanderers Academy, for Stafford Borough Council and for the City of Stoke Sixth-Form College at Fenton.[2]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ipswich Town 1983–84 First Division 8000000080
1984–85 First Division 201506000311
1985–86 First Division 421505000521
1986–87 Second Division 322101050392
1987–88 Second Division 291103020351
Total 1315120150701655
Sheffield Wednesday 1987–88 First Division 4000000040
1988–89 First Division 260202010310
Total 300202010350
Stoke City 1989–90 Second Division 172002000192
1990–91 Third Division 90300010130
1991–92 Third Division 4122041100573
1992–93 Second Division 453204040553
1993–94 First Division 440413061572
1994–95 First Division 371203050471
1995–96 First Division 241101010271
1996–97 First Division 6000000060
Total 223914117126128112
Career Total 3841428134134148017
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs and Full Members Cup.

Honours

Club

Stoke City

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287554.
  2. "Legend Ian Cranson puts Stoke on Baggies alert". The Sentinel. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
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