Craig Stephen Noone (born 17 November 1987) is an English professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who plays as a winger for club Warrington Town where he is a player-coach. During his playing career, he played for Plymouth Argyle,

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, and Melbourne City and

Macarthur FC Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under Professional sports league organi ...

Early life

Noone was born in

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...

. He joined

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

when he was nine years old and was released 7 years later. He then played junior and amateur football before signing with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

when he was 15. Having been released after a year there, Noone played non-league football and went to Myerscough football college for six months. He trained as a

roofer A roofer, roof mechanic, or roofing contractor is a tradesman who specializes in roof construction. Roofers replace, repair, and install the roofs of buildings, using a variety of materials, including shingles, single-ply, bitumen, and met ...

while a non-league player and in 2008 worked on an extension at Liverpool captain

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,

Playing career

Non-League football

He joined Skelmersdale United as a youth team player and made his first team debut during the 2005–06 season. Noone had a trial with Belgian club Royal Antwerp in January 2007 and later that year joined

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. The town is located approximately north-northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Its north ...

, which Skelmersdale manager Tommy Lawson described as a "great opportunity" for him. Having been signed by Liam Watson, Noone played regularly in the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

in 2007–08. Watson left Burscough for

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

in June 2008 and Noone joined him a few days later. In August, he made his league debut before Southport received a club record offer of £110,000 for him from Plymouth Argyle.

Plymouth Argyle

Noone signed a two-year contract with Argyle the next day. "I am very excited by this signing," said manager

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

. "Craig comes to us with a glowing reputation. It is now up to him to prove that it is merited." He made his debut at the end of the month in a 0–0 draw at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, and scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win at Coventry City in November. After 10 substitute appearances for Plymouth, Noone made his first start for the club in the league match versus

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on Boxing Day 2008, where his team won 2–0. On 3 January 2009, Noone made his FA Cup debut coming off the bench during a 3–1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. On 10 September 2009, after Noone had only made two league substitute appearances so far in the 2009/10 season,

signed him on a 3-month loan deal. He made his debut against Leyton Orient and scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw. Noone scored in his final appearance for Exeter against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

before being recalled on 2 November.

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 31 December 2010 it was confirmed that Noone had transferred to

for an undisclosed fee. He became a fan favourite at Brighton with his pace and his unerring ability to beat the defender. He scored twice for Brighton in their League One title season, a great individual goal at home against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

and a volley at home against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

. He was part of Brighton's first match of pre-season in preparation for the 2011–2012 season against

Burgess Hill Burgess Hill () is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. ...

. He played 45 minutes and impressed, having a long range effort well saved and he earned a penalty which he subsequently scored to make it 2–0. On 21 September 2011, Noone was announced as the stadium sponsor's man of the match in a 1–2 defeat against his former employers and boyhood club,

, in a third round League Cup match at

Falmer Stadium Falmer Stadium, currently known as the American Express Stadium for sponsorship reasons and more commonly referred to as the Amex, is a association football, football stadium in Falmer, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. With a capacity o ...

. The Liverpool-born player hit the crossbar from a long-range shot during the game and was praised by his boyhood hero Steven Gerrard. In January 2012, Noone was subject to a £500,000 bid from

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

rivals

, which was rejected by Albion. Noone extended his contract at Brighton in March 2012, keeping him at the club until June 2015.

Cardiff City

In August 2012, Noone joined

for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £1m, and signed a four-year contract. He made his debut in a 3–1 win against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

at the start of September, and scored his first goal for the club later in the month as Cardiff won 2–0 at

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. Two months after joining the club, Noone scored in three consecutive games; a win against

in October, and defeats at

and Charlton Athletic in November. He was sent off for two bookable offences against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

later that month. Noone's goal against Bolton in April ensured that Cardiff avoided defeat in their final home game of the season, which was followed by the club being presented with

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

title for winning the

. Noone made 32 appearances in his first season with Cardiff and scored seven goals. Noone scored his first Premier League goal in January 2014 against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and was praised for his performance by Cardiff manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Süper Lig club Beşiktaş. He spent the majority of his playing career with Manchester United and made 67 appea ...

. Cardiff however suffered relegation at the end of the season and returned to the

, where he only managed to find one goal in 39 appearances. The following season, Noone started off brightly, coming on to score the equaliser against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and scoring the winner against

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

. However, he didn't manage to find another goal until December when he scored against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in a 2–2 draw, before scoring against Milton Keynes Dons.

Bolton Wanderers

On 31 August 2017, Noone joined

on a two-year contract.

Melbourne City

On 17 June 2019, Noone signed a two-year contract with Melbourne City in the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

. He scored his first goal on debut against Campbelltown City in the Round of 32 in the 2019 FFA Cup.

Macarthur FC

After leaving Melbourne, he played for

for two years playing 44 times and scoring 5 goals.

Warrington Town

In January 2025, Noone came out of retirement, returning to England to join

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

club Warrington Town as a player-coach.

Career statistics

Coaching career

In 2023, Noone was appointed as the head coach to the Bulls FC Academy men's team. He replaced the former coach

Zeljko Kalac Zeljko Kalac (born 16 December 1972) is an Australian association football, soccer coach and former player who is currently the goalkeeping coach for the Iraq national football team. Standing at 2.02 m, Kalac is the tallest player to have ...

. Noone said upon receiving the position, "Coaching is something that I have always been passionate about and I started my coaching badges back in 2016." The Macarthur Bulls announced the departure of Noone as Bulls FC Academy Men's Coach on 31 October 2024, stating he was returning to the UK for personal reasons.

Honours

Brighton & Hove Albion *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

: 2010–11 Cardiff City *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

: 2012–13 Melbourne City *

Premiership: 2020–21 *

Championship:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Macarthur FC *

Australia Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national association football, soccer single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Fo ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *2020-21

PFA Team Of The Season

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noone, Craig 1987 births Sportspeople from Kirkby Footballers from Merseyside Living people English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Skelmersdale United F.C. players Burscough F.C. players Southport F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Melbourne City FC players Macarthur FC players Warrington Town F.C. players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players English Football League players Premier League players Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Australia 21st-century English sportsmen