| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Craig George Liddle | ||
| Date of birth | 21 October 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Chester-le-Street, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Darlington (caretaker manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1991 | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) |
| 1991–1994 | Blyth Spartans | ? | (?) |
| 1994–1998 | Middlesbrough | 25 | (0) |
| 1998 | → Darlington (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 1998–2005 | Darlington | 271 | (17) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2009 | Darlington (joint caretaker) | ||
| 2009 | Darlington (caretaker) | ||
| 2010 | Darlington (joint caretaker) | ||
| 2011– | Darlington (caretaker) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Craig George Liddle (born 21 October 1971)[2] is an English former footballer who made more than 300 appearances in the Football League playing for Middlesbrough and Darlington, where he spent most of his professional career.[2] His predominant position was as a defender.
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Born in Chester-le-Street, County Durham,[2] Liddle was a centre half who played professional football for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Darlington
Liddle started his professional career at Aston Villa back in 1990 where he signed his first professional contract at the club where he had been a trainee. The Chester-le-Street-born star was released after just one season however after failing to impress. He joined local team Blyth Spartans where he spent the next three seasons.
In 1994 he got a dream move to Middlesbrough when Bryan Robson signed him at the start of the Boro revolution, he went on to make 25 first teams appearances in his four years at the Riverside.
He joined Darlington on loan in February 1998. In 16 games he made a big impression playing not only in defence but also as a midfielder. On the 1 July 1998, David Hodgson got 'Lidds' to put pen to paper and he joined Darlo for a nominal fee.
During his time at the Quakers Liddle showed just what a true professional footballer should be like and was a popular club captain. Not the biggest or the quickest Liddle was absolutely committed commanding his defence excellently, reading the game well and tackling excellently. Rated by the fans as one of the best defenders in the Third Division, and attracting interest from other clubs. During some turbulent times in Darlington's history Liddle became a talisman for the club, showing commitment on and off the pitch that made him a fans favourite. Something demonstrated by him being voted Darlington's all-time cult hero by BBC Football Focus viewers with 70% of the vote.
His last seasons at the club were sadly marked by injury, as his committed approach took its toll. His 300th appearance for Darlington on the 1 May 2004 was marked by a commemorative beer brewed by the Darwen Brewery - Liddle's Best, as well as specially printed T-shirts going on sale. On the announcement on his retirement in May 2005 Liddle was granted a testimonial against his former club Middlesbrough in July 2005, sadly due to a hoax bomb threat the game had to be abandoned at half time.
Craig Liddle worked as a football coach at Darlington College from September 2005 up until June 2007.
In February 2008 after Mick Tait had left Darlington, and Neil Maddison took over his role as reserve team coach, Liddle came into the club taking over the role left by Maddison as youth team coach.
On 8 May 2009 it was revealed Darlington's administrators Brackenbury Clark and Company, in order to cut costs, had released the "majority of the first-team squad" from their contracts with immediate effect as well as the club's coaching staff and administrative staff including caretaker manager Martin Gray, leaving Liddle and Maddison as joint caretaker managers.[3]
With the appointment of Colin Todd as manager on 20 May Liddle remained at the club as Darlington's head of youth.[4] Todd departed on 26 September and Liddle took over as caretaker manager the following day, assisted by Maddison, until a replacement for Todd had been found.[5] Liddle ruled himself out of taking the job full-time, saying he did not yet have the experience needed to run a club.[6]
On 5 October it was announced that former Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton had been appointed as the new permanent manager. As well as Staunton, the club brought in former Sunderland coach Kevin Richardson as assistant to him on the same deal. The pair did not start their job roles until later that week, while Liddle finished off his caretaker manager role after the Football League Trophy tie against Leeds United on 6 October.[7] On 21 March 2010 he joined Maddison as caretaker yet again after the sacking of Staunton,[8] before Simon Davey was appointed manager on 1 April.[9] He started a fourth period as caretaker on 25 October 2011 after the sacking of Mark Cooper the previous day.[10]
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Darlington (joint caretaker) | England | 8 May 2009 | 20 May 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Darlington (caretaker) | England | 27 September 2009 | 6 October 2009 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Darlington (joint caretaker) | England | 21 March 2010 | 1 April 2010 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 |
| Darlington (caretaker) | England | 25 October 2011 | Present | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0 |
| Total | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 28.6 | |||
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