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First posted on Facebook on June 22nd, 2016

Happy 35th Birthday to Stephen Crainey. Stephen gained 12 caps in total. Does it say something about him that he gained them under Berti Vogts and then Craig Levein? He was first capped as a Celtic player in the horror show that was the Stade De France in 2002 where the French lets us off easy with only a 5-0 drubbing in Berti’s first game.
It didn’t get too much better for Stephen as he played in a few more friendly defeats before an appearance in his only competitive game,unfortunately this was in Toftir in the Faroes as a woeful Scotland scraped by with a 2-2 draw.
Cap number five would come in March 2004, under rather tragic circumstances as he replaced the injured John Kennedy in only 17 minutes of Kennedy’s one and only Scotland appearance against Romania at Hampden. Scotland would lose 2-1.
However, by this time Stephen was a Southampton player as he was, for his sixth cap which was another friendly defeat only this time away to Denmark.
Cap number 7 would come a whole six years later as a Blackpool player as the Seasiders enjoyed a revival under Ian Holloway and with Charlie Adam in tantalising form. Finally Stephen would enjoy victory as Scotland dispatched the Faroes up at Pittodrie in friendly in November 2010 with goals from Danny Wilson, Kris Commons and James Mackie.
However, Crainey would remain nothing more than a squad player filling in for the absence of the likes of Phil Bardsley and others. His last cap would come in the 2-1 victory over Cyprus in Larnaca coming on for Bardsley in the 74th minute.
Happy Birthday Stephen and all the best with AFC Fylde in the National League North next season.

David Stuart