Laurence David Craker (1 March 1953 – 16 May 2020) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. As a player, Craker played in the Third Division and the Fourth Division with

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Early life

Craker was born in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

Playing career

As a player, Craker started his career at Chelsea, but did not make an appearance for the club and left to join

Jewish Guild The Jewish Guild is a social and sporting club in suburban Johannesburg, South Africa, founded in the late 19th century. They once fielded a football side that was runner-up in the South African cup competition and fielded the player George Bes ...

in 1971, where he played for nine months. He returned to England, joining

in 1972. Craker went on to make 66 league appearances for Watford, scoring 4, between 1972 and 1977 in the Third Division and the Fourth Division. He suffered multiple injuries while at Watford, including a broken leg. Towards the end of his spell at Watford, Craker had a three-month loan spell at

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

. After leaving Watford, Craker joined

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

in August 1977, where he made 184 appearances, scoring 8, before being released by the club in August 1981. Following his release by Hayes, Craker played for

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. Founded in 1892, it last competed in the Isthmian League, until it was dissolved in 2022. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known ...

, Chesham United,

Maidenhead United Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. Affiliated to the Berks & Bucks FA, they are currently members of the . The club were established in October 1870 and have played at ...

, Northwood and

Chalfont St Peter Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe a ...

Managerial career

Craker's first managerial role came when he was offered the manager role at Windsor & Eton in 1984, before later managing

across the 1986–87 season. In 1990, he was appointed as assistant manager at Marlow with Dave Russell, and helped guide Marlow to the FA Cup third round in the 1992–93 season, before Craker and Russell moved on to Slough Town. Craker was manager of Walton & Hersham across the 1996–97 season. In January 1999, Craker became the assistant manager of Chesham United, before becoming their manager in April 1999 following the departure of

Alan Cork Alan Graham Cork (born 4 March 1959) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a striker for several clubs, most notably Wimbledon (where he spent 14 years, played in all four divisions of the Football League and gained an FA Cu ...

. He later became the manager of

Flackwell Heath Flackwell Heath is a village in the civil parish of Chepping Wycombe on the outskirts of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. With an elevation of about , in the Chiltern Hills. It has a population of around 6000. History The name 'Flac ...

in 2000 before resigning in August of the following year. Craker was appointed as a coach at Kingstonian in 2003, before returning to Flackwell Heath as manager in 2004. Craker became assistant manager at Burnham before resigning in 2014.

Personal life

Craker also worked as a thatcher alongside his father. His son Lewis was also a footballer and played for multiple clubs, including

, and is now manager of Thame Rangers. Craker died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on 16 May 2020, aged 67.

References

External links

*
Laurie Craker
at Neil Brown Newcastle Fans {{DEFAULTSORT:Craker, Laurie 1953 births 2020 deaths English men's footballers English football managers Footballers from Aylesbury Men's association football midfielders Deaths from cancer in England Chelsea F.C. players Jewish Guild players Watford F.C. players Hayes F.C. players Staines Town F.C. players Chesham United F.C. players Maidenhead United F.C. players Northwood F.C. players Chalfont St Peter A.F.C. players English Football League players Windsor & Eton F.C. managers Chalfont St Peter A.F.C. managers Marlow F.C. non-playing staff Slough Town F.C. non-playing staff Walton & Hersham F.C. managers Chesham United F.C. non-playing staff Chesham United F.C. managers Flackwell Heath F.C. managers Burnham F.C. non-playing staff English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa