Stephen Crawford (born 9 January 1974) is a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

coach and former player. Crawford started his career with Raith Rovers, with whom he won the

1994 Scottish League Cup final The 1994 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 27 November 1994, at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow and was the final of the 49th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Raith Rovers and Celtic. Raith Rovers won the final on a pen ...

and played in the

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. This earned him a move to English football with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

, but Crawford returned to Scotland after just one year. He had a mixed spell with Hibernian, suffering relegation but then winning promotion. Crawford then had the most productive spell of his career with Dunfermline Athletic, during which time he became a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

regular, amassing 25 caps in total. Crawford played in three Scottish Cup Finals (two for Dunfermline and one for Dundee United) in the mid-2000s, losing all three to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

. Crawford's stint with Dundee United came after a short-lived return to English football with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

. After short spells with

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

and Dunfermline Athletic, Crawford signed for lower division club East Fife in 2008. He served East Fife as player/manager for just over a year before resigning as manager in October 2010. After stints as an assistant manager at

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had ...

, Hearts and Milton Keynes Dons, he managed Dunfermline Athletic for two years. After a second spell as East Fife manager, Crawford joined Dundee United as assistant manager in September 2022.

Domestic career

1990s

Crawford, who plays as a striker, began his career with Raith Rovers in 1992. Raith beat

in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

in the

1994 Scottish League Cup Final The 1994 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 27 November 1994, at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow and was the final of the 49th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Raith Rovers and Celtic. Raith Rovers won the final on a pen ...

and Crawford scored one of Raith's goals in the final. Raith also played in the

against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. After the 1995–96 season, Crawford moved on to

, where he spent a single season and scored 11 goals. Hibernian signed Crawford in 1997, but were relegated from the top division before winning promotion back to the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

in 1999. Crawford moved to Dunfermline Athletic on loan for the 1999–2000 season, scoring 16 goals in 25 games.

Dunfermline Athletic

Crawford signed for the

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

side permanently in July 2000 after a successful loan in the previous season. His first goal for the Pars came on 12 August 2000 against St Johnstone. Crawford was Dunfermline's top scorer in his first season at

East End Park East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of . The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Championship sid ...

, scoring 9 goals in 37 league matches. The next season was just as successful for Crawford in goalscoring terms and his goals elevated Dunfermline to finishing sixth in the league. His goal in the final game of the season against Rangers earned his side a 1–1 draw. The 2002–03 season was perhaps Crawford's best season with the Pars. The third game of the season saw him score a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...

against

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

leading to him challenging for top scorer of the season with 19 goals in 35 games. Crawford's goals again helped the Pars move up the league, helping them finish fifth overall. His final season at Dunfermline was the club most successful season in a number of years, which saw them finish 4th thanks to Crawford's 13 goals. This not only saw his side qualify for the

, but he also helped the Pars reach the 2004 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 3–1 to Celtic. It was at this time that Crawford decided he wanted to leave Dunfermline to sign for a club in England.

Plymouth and Dundee United

Crawford signed for

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

side

in 2004. He failed to settle in England due to his homesickness. After only six months he returned to Scotland, signing with Dundee United for a £80,000 fee. His time at

Tannadice Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in 1 ...

was equally short-lived, although he did earn another

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2005 Scottish Cup Final The 2005 Scottish Cup Final was played on 28 May 2005 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 120th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Celtic and Dundee United. Celtic won the match with an eleventh-minute goal from Alan Thom ...

Aberdeen and return to Dunfermline

After joining Aberdeen at the start of the 2005–06 season, Crawford returned to Dunfermline in August 2006, despite being a regular starter at Pittodrie and among the top league scorers at the time. He signed a two-year deal with his hometown team but failed to be as productive as he had been in his first spell with Dunfermline, scoring only 8 goals in two seasons. He helped Dunfermline reach the 2007 Scottish Cup Final in which he played as a substitute, however for the third time in four seasons Crawford ended up on the losing side in a Scottish Cup final against Celtic. In April 2008, Crawford was told he would not be offered a new contract and was free to find a new club.

International career

Over the course of his career Crawford won 25 caps for

, scoring 4 goals. He made his debut (and scored) in a

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

tie in 1995, but did not make another appearance until 2001. Crawford played regularly under the management of

Berti Vogts Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts (; born 30 December 1946) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga his whole professional club career and won the FIFA World Cup w ...

Coaching career

It was reported in July 2008 that Crawford had turned down a move to the

English Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

in favour of continuing his football in Scotland. Crawford signed a two-year-deal with Scottish Second Division side East Fife a few days later. After David Baikie resigned as manager on 14 April 2009, Crawford became caretaker player/manager, and he was given the job on a permanent basis later that month. After just over a year as manager, Crawford resigned as manager of East Fife, but remained with the club as a registered player. Crawford was appointed assistant manager of

in October 2011. He moved to a similar position at Hearts in May 2014, working with

Robbie Neilson Robbie Neilson (born 19 June 1980) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian. Neilson, who played as a right-back, started his senior career wit ...

. Neilson and Crawford both moved to

English League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side Milton Keynes Dons in December 2016. They both left MK Dons in January 2018, with the team in 21st place in League One. Crawford then joined Dunfermline Athletic as a coach. He was appointed

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

in January 2019, after

Allan Johnston Allan Johnston (born 14 December 1973) is a Scottish football player and coach, who was most recently the manager of Queen of the South. Johnston started his professional playing career with Heart of Midlothian and then followed on to French ...

left the club. After over two years in charge of the side, Crawford announced his resignation at the end of the 2020–21 season. On 30 November 2021, Crawford was announced as the new manager of East Fife. He left this position in September 2022 to become assistant manager to Liam Fox at Dundee United. Crawford left United in March 2023, following the appointment of Jim Goodwin as manager.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.''

Managerial

Honours

Club

Raith Rovers *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...

: 1994–95 * Scottish First Division:

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1994–95 Hibernian * Scottish First Division: 1998–99 Dunfermline Athletic *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2003–04, 2006–07 Dundee United * Scottish Cup runner-up: 2004–05

Individual

* Scottish First Division Player of the Year: 1999–2000

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Stevie 1974 births Living people Scottish footballers Scottish football managers Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Footballers from Dunfermline Raith Rovers F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. players Forfar Athletic F.C. players Association football forwards Scotland international footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Scotland B international footballers East Fife F.C. managers Falkirk F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football League managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. non-playing staff Dunfermline Athletic F.C. non-playing staff Dunfermline Athletic F.C. managers Scottish Professional Football League managers Dundee United F.C. non-playing staff