| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian Cranson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1964-07-02)2 July 1964 (age 60)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Easington, England[1] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1986 | England U21 | 5 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ian Cranson (born 2 July 1964) is an English former professionalfootballer for played forIpswich Town,Sheffield Wednesday andStoke City.[1]
Born inEasington, County Durham, Cranson began his career withIpswich Town and made his professional debut away atAston Villa in1983–84. He soon became a regular atPortman Road under the management ofBobby Ferguson and was ever present in1985–86 as Ipswich suffered relegation from theFirst Division. He played 39 games in1986–87 and 35 in1987–88 before he joinedSheffield Wednesday in March 1988. Cranson as a regular in Wednesday's side until managerHoward Wilkinson was replaced byRon Atkinson and he lost his place in the side. In the summer of 1989 he joined former Ipswich Town teammateMick Mills atStoke City for a club record fee of £480,000. He was one of 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 byAlan Ball.[1] Cranson made 19 appearances in1989–90 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 in1990–91 and he managed only 13 appearances.[1]
Cranson finally recovered from his injury in 1991 and new managerLou Macari decided to use him as a sweeper and he became a consistent performer for the Potters.[1] He played in 57 matches in1991–92 helping Stoke to reach the play-offs where they lost toStockport County although they did beat County in the1992 Football League Trophy Final.[1] He played 55 times in1992–93 missing just one match as City claimed the Second Division title. He missed just two in1993–94 and his performances were rewarded with theplayer of the year award.[1] He made 47 appearances in1994–95 and played 27 times in1995–96 helping Stoke reach the play-offs. However Cranson injured his knee again and missed the play-offs as Stoke lost toLeicester City. He was made captain for the1996–97 but injured his knee for a fourth time againstBarnsley in September and retired on the advice of doctors. He was granted atestimonial at theVictoria Ground againstEverton.[1]
After retiring in 1996 Cranson took a year out of the sport before returning to Stoke to work as a coach at theStoke 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]
Cranson is currently the head coach of the men's senior football team atStaffordshire University.
Source:[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ipswich Town | 1983–84 | First Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 1984–85 | First Division | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 1985–86 | First Division | 42 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 1 | |
| 1986–87 | Second Division | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 39 | 2 | |
| 1987–88 | Second Division | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
| Total | 131 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 165 | 5 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1987–88 | First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1988–89 | First Division | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City | 1989–90 | Second Division | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| 1990–91 | Third Division | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 1991–92 | Third Division | 41 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10[c] | 0 | 57 | 3 | |
| 1992–93 | Second Division | 45 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 55 | 3 | |
| 1993–94 | First Division | 44 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6[d] | 1 | 57 | 2 | |
| 1994–95 | First Division | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
| 1995–96 | First Division | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| 1996–97 | First Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 223 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 281 | 12 | ||
| Career total | 384 | 14 | 28 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 481 | 17 | ||
Stoke City
