David McCracken (born 16 October 1981) is a Scottish football player and coach, whose last role was as co-manager of

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 a ...

between 2019 and 2021. McCracken, who played as a central defender, was a Scotland under-21 internationalist, having made five appearances at that level between 2001 and 2003. McCracken started his career with Dundee United in 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 ...

and was a first team player there for seven years before leaving in May 2007. He subsequently played in England for

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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

clubs Wycombe Wanderers, Milton Keynes Dons and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

before returning to Scotland with

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an ol ...

in 2011. He joined Falkirk in August 2013, playing with the club for four seasons, before finishing his playing career with

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census ...

Career

Dundee United

McCracken made his competitive senior debut in a

(SPL) match against Celtic on 2 May 2000. In the 2000–01 season, he made nine appearances, mostly at full back, and scored his first goal in the opening day defeat to Celtic at Tannadice. McCracken made his debut for Scotland under-21s in a 1–0 win over

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. He played 22 times for the first team during season 2001–02. The 2002–03 season saw McCracken make 30 appearances and in 2003–04 he was part of the first team for all but seven games, to bring his total appearances to 99, during which he scored three times. He was then part of the side that finished fifth in the league to give Dundee United their best finish since 1996–97. McCracken had missed only two matches during the 2004–05 season, helping the side reach the semi-finals of the

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 exist ...

, when he was injured during a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Queen of the South. He only managed another two games before the end of the season, but was awarded a new two-year contract in July 2005. McCracken missed just five matches in the whole of the 2005–06 season, taking his total of appearances for Dundee United to 165, as the club finished in ninth place in the SPL for a second consecutive season. McCracken was told he was free to leave the club at the end of the 2006–07 season, making his final appearance in a last day 0–0 draw at home to

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

Wycombe Wanderers

On 13 June 2007, David McCracken joined Wycombe Wanderers on a two-year deal, playing his first English club. After the move, McCracken says joining Wycombe was good opportunities to work under manager compatriot Paul Lambert He was then announced as captain on 9 August 2007, and made his début two days later in the 1–0 loss at home to Accrington Stanley. In November, McCracken soon suffered an injury after tore his calf injury, that will left him on the sidelines for two weeks. He made his return for the club, on 14 December 2007, in a 2–0 win over

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), ...

His first goal arrived in the 1–0 home win over

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around ...

on 16 February 2008, which was his only goal in his first season at

Adams Park Adams Park is an association football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers in League One. It was also leased from 2002 to 2014 to the rugby union club London ...

. Having failed to reach the League One following the play-offs, McCracken was soon devastated following Lambert resignation and left the squad let down because of this. The next season was prove an impressive second season with the club culminated in Wycombe's promotion to

Football 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 Lea ...

, as well as McCracken being named in the PFA League Two Team of the Year for the 2008–09 season. In January, McCracken improved contract with the club was stalled, leading been the subject of transfer speculation. His second goal for the club came on the final day of the season, as part of a 1–2 home defeat to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

. After the season, McCracken was offered a new contract. However, McCracken turned down another deal with the club, which left him a difficult decision to turned down a new deal with Wycombe. Ahead of a match between MK Dons and Wycombe, on 22 September 2009, Manager Peter Taylor warned the club's supporter not to boo McCracken will only make the Scot more determined.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 20 June 2009 it was announced that he had signed for the Chairboys' neighbours Milton Keynes Dons on a two-year deal. On his first training with the club, McCracken says he never meet newly manager

Roberto Di Matteo Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. During his playing career as a midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau before joining Lazio of Italy and Che ...

. He made 41 appearances, scoring one goal. In his one year at stadium:mk (under Paul Ince), he made little impact and was sold on to Brentford.

Brentford

In July 2010, McCracken signed a two-year contract with another League One side

. Upon the move, McCracken says joining the club left him playing catch-up in terms of pre-season training. Like his time at Brentford, McCracken, once again, made a little impact. After making only two starts for the club, McCracken moved to

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

on 18 January 2011 on an initial one-month loan deal. On the last day of the transfer window, McCracken loan spell at Bristol Rovers was extended, until the end of the season. On 25 April 2011, McCracken then received a red card for a professional foul after elbowing Adam Smith in a 2–1 loss against AFC Bournemouth which he missed the entire match for the rest of the season. At the end of the season, McCracken was released by the club after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

St Johnstone

On 23 June 2011 McCracken signed a two-year contract with

, a few days after being released by the club. Teammate Peter Enckelman praised manager Derek McInnes for signing McCracken and

Frazer Wright Frazer Wright (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish former professional footballer and current assistant manager of club Stenhousemuir. Wright, who started his career with Stranraer played for Kilmarnock, St Johnstone, Dumbarton and Stirling ...

after losing Michael Duberry on a free transfer, where he returned to England. Having been an unused substitute in the matches or not in the starting line-up at the start of the season, McCracken soon have his playing time increased throughout the season. On 17 March 2012, McCracken scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–0 win over St Mirren. In 2012–13 season, McCracken start his season, appearing in all of their two UEFA Europa League qualifiers against Turkish side

Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in Eskişehir. Eskisehirspor has a total of six trophies, making them the sixth most trophies holders in Turkey. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division ...

. Soon after, McCracken soon suffered an illness from a virus. In mid-November, he fractured his cheek bone during a 1–1 draw against Celtic after clashing with

Victor Wanyama Victor Mugubi Wanyama (; born 25 June 1991) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club CF Montréal and the Kenyan national team. Wanyama became the first ever Kenyan player to scor ...

. Following a further diagnosis of the injury, it announced that he would miss up to six weeks and might require surgery. After a making a return against Heart of Midlothian, He scored his first goal two days later, in the fourth of Scottish Cup, in a 3–0 win over

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

. Later in the season, McCracken soon regained his place in the first team. At the end of the 2012–13 season, McCracken left the club after having his contract withdraw, but believes the club would have a change of heart and the main reason of his contract offer withdraw was his recurring of injuries.

Falkirk

Following his departure from St Johnstone, McCracken joined

on a one-year contract. After a brief struggle with an injury at the beginning of the season, McCracken quickly established himself in the Falkirk side. Following a successful season, on 1 May 2014, he agreed a new one-year contract with The Bairns, running until 2015. McCracken was released by Falkirk in May 2017.

Peterhead

On 2 July 2017, McCracken signed for

Coaching career

During his time with Peterhead, McCracken took on coaching responsibilities. He left Peterhead in November 2019 to take a coaching position at Falkirk, working with Lee Miller. After a few games in interim charge of the team, McCracken and Miller were given control until the end of the 2019–20 season. McCracken and Miller were sacked by Falkirk in April 2021.

Career statistics

Club

Managerial record

*initially caretaker. Made permanent on 13 December 2019. * statistics includes the 3-0 forfeit win over Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup on Tuesday 6 October 2020.

Honours

;Dundee United *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2004–05 ;Falkirk *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2014–15 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...

2008–09 Football League Two The Football League 2008–09, known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th season under its current league division format. It began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion play-off final ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCracken, David 1981 births Footballers from Glasgow Living people Men's association football defenders Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Dundee United F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Falkirk F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Peterhead F.C. players Falkirk F.C. non-playing staff Scottish football managers Scottish Professional Football League managers Falkirk F.C. managers