 Noone playing forCardiff City in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Craig Stephen Noone[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-11-17)17 November 1987 (age 37)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Kirkby, England[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Warrington Town (player-coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2007 | Skelmersdale United | ||
| 2007–2008 | Burscough | 24 | (4) |
| 2008 | Southport | 1 | (0) |
| 2008–2011 | Plymouth Argyle | 55 | (5) |
| 2009 | →Exeter City (loan) | 7 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 59 | (4) |
| 2012–2017 | Cardiff City | 158 | (16) |
| 2017–2019 | Bolton Wanderers | 60 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | Melbourne City | 48 | (12) |
| 2021–2023 | Macarthur FC | 44 | (5) |
| 2025– | Warrington Town | 0 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2024 | Bulls FC Academy | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:42, 16 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
Craig Stephen Noone (born 17 November 1987) is an English professionalfootball manager andplayer who played as awinger forNational League North clubWarrington Town where he is a player-coach.[3] During his playing career, he played forPlymouth Argyle,Exeter City,Brighton & Hove Albion,Cardiff City,Bolton Wanderers, andMelbourne City andMacarthur FC.
Noone was born inKirkby. He joinedLiverpool when he was nine years old and was released 7 years later.[4][5] He then played junior and amateur football before signing withWrexham 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.[4][5]
He trained as aroofer while a non-league player and in 2008 worked on an extension at Liverpool captainSteven Gerrard's house.[4][6]
He joinedSkelmersdale United as a youth team player and made hisfirst team debut during the 2005–06 season. Noone had a trial with Belgian clubRoyal Antwerp in January 2007 and later that year joinedBurscough, which Skelmersdale manager Tommy Lawson described as a "great opportunity" for him.[7] Having been signed byLiam Watson,[8] Noone played regularly in theConference North in 2007–08. Watson left Burscough forSouthport in June 2008 and Noone joined him a few days later.[9][10] In August, he made his league debut before Southport received a club record offer of £110,000 for him fromPlymouth Argyle.[11]
Noone signed a two-year contract with Argyle the next day.[12] "I am very excited by this signing," said managerPaul Sturrock. "Craig comes to us with a glowing reputation. It is now up to him to prove that it is merited."[12] He made his debut at the end of the month in a 0–0 draw atBurnley,[13] and scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win atCoventry City in November.[14][15]
After 10 substitute appearances for Plymouth, Noone made his first start for the club in the league match versusSouthampton 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,Exeter City signed him on a 3-month loan deal.[16] He made his debut againstLeyton Orient and scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw. Noone scored in his final appearance for Exeter againstBrentford before being recalled on 2 November.
On 31 December 2010 it was confirmed that Noone had transferred toBrighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee.[17] He became a fan favourite at Brighton with his pace and his unerring ability to beat the defender. He scored twice for Brighton in theirLeague One title season, a great individual goal at home againstColchester United[18] and a volley at home againstHartlepool United.[19]
He was part of Brighton's first match of pre-season in preparation for the 2011–2012 season againstBurgess Hill. 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.[20]
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,Liverpool, in a third roundLeague Cup match atFalmer Stadium. 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 fromChampionship rivalsCardiff City, which was rejected by Albion.[21] Noone extended his contract at Brighton in March 2012, keeping him at the club until June 2015.[22][23]
In August 2012, Noone joinedCardiff City for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £1m, and signed a four-year contract.[24][25] He made his debut in a 3–1 win againstWolverhampton Wanderers at the start of September,[26] and scored his first goal for the club later in the month as Cardiff won 2–0 atMillwall.[27] Two months after joining the club, Noone scored in three consecutive games; a win againstBurnley in October, and defeats atBolton Wanderers andCharlton Athletic in November.[28][29][30] He was sent off for two bookable offences againstDerby County later that month.[31] Noone's goal against Bolton in April ensured that Cardiff avoided defeat in their final home game of the season,[32] which was followed by the club being presented withthe Football League title for winning theChampionship.[33] Noone made 32 appearances in his first season with Cardiff and scored seven goals.[34] Noone scored his first Premier League goal in January 2014 againstManchester City and was praised for his performance by Cardiff managerOle Gunnar Solskjær.[35] Cardiff however suffered relegation at the end of the season and returned to theChampionship, where he only managed to find one goal in 39 appearances.
The following season, Noone started off brightly, coming on to score the equaliser againstFulham and scoring the winner againstAFC Wimbledon.[36][37] However, he didn't manage to find another goal until December when he scored againstSheffield Wednesday in a 2–2 draw, before scoring againstMilton Keynes Dons.[38]
On 31 August 2017, Noone joinedBolton Wanderers on a two-year contract.[39]
On 17 June 2019, Noone signed a two-year contract withMelbourne City in theA-League.[40] He scored his first goal on debut againstCampbelltown City in the Round of 32 in the2019 FFA Cup.[41]
After leaving Melbourne, he played forMacarthur FC for two years playing 44 times and scoring 5 goals.
In January 2025, Noone came out of retirement, returning to England to joinNational League North clubWarrington Town as a player-coach.[42]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Plymouth Argyle | 2008–09[43] | Championship | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 2009–10[44] | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11[45] | League One | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | 21 | 4 | |
| Total | 55 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 62 | 6 | ||
| Exeter City (loan) | 2009–10[44] | League One | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2010–11[45] | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |
| 2011–12[46] | Championship | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| 2012–13[47] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 59 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 4 | ||
| Cardiff City | 2012–13[47] | Championship | 35 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 7 |
| 2013–14[48] | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | |
| 2014–15[49] | Championship | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| 2015–16[50] | 38 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17[51] | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | ||
| Total | 158 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 170 | 19 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 2017–18[52] | Championship | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| 2018–19[53] | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| Total | 60 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 2 | ||
| Melbourne City | 2019–20[54] | A-League | 27 | 5 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 32 | 9 | ||
| 2020–21[54] | 23 | 6 | — | — | — | 23 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 50 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 15 | ||
| Macarthur FC | 2021–22[54] | A-League Men | 23 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||
| 2022–23[54] | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 426 | 43 | 21 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 462 | 51 | ||
In 2023, Noone was appointed as the head coach to the Bulls FC Academy men's team.[55] He replaced the former coachZeljko Kalac.[56] 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."[56] 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.[57]
Brighton & Hove Albion
Cardiff City
Melbourne City
Macarthur FC
Individual
