Ali Crawford

Alister Crawford (born 30 July 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for St Johnstone.

Ali Crawford
Personal information
Full name Alister Crawford[1]
Date of birth (1991-07-30) 30 July 1991[2][3]
Place of birth Lanark, Scotland[3]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[4]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 St Johnstone
Number 21
Youth career
1995–2000 Carluke Milton Rovers
2000–2006 Heart of Midlothian
2006–2009 Hamilton Academical
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2018 Hamilton Academical 227 (31)
2010 → Bo'ness United (loan)
2018–2019 Doncaster Rovers 36 (3)
2019–2022 Bolton Wanderers 33 (1)
2021 → Tranmere Rovers (loan) 9 (0)
2021–2022 → St Johnstone (loan) 14 (1)
2022– St Johnstone 30 (4)
2023 → Greenock Morton (loan) 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:04, 7 May 2023 (UTC)

Career

Hamilton Academical

Born in Lanark and brought up in nearby Carluke, Crawford played as a child with local club Milton Rovers[5] before joining the youth setup at Heart of Midlothian, but he was released in 2006 due to concerns over his slight build.[4] Picked up by Hamilton Academical, he progressed to the first team and made his league debut aged 18 on 13 January 2010 against Dundee United,[6] and spent a loan spell at Bo'ness United during the first half of the 2010–11 season. In May 2011, he signed a new two-year contract with Hamilton despite the club suffering relegation.[7][8]

In June 2012, Crawford announced that he was willing to prove his worth at the club following a spell of injury.[9] On 28 August 2012, Crawford scored the only goal of the game as Hamilton beat Partick Thistle 1–0 in extra time in the 2012–13 Scottish League Cup,[10] and he later spoke of his desire to help "kick-start" the season.[11] Crawford signed a new two-year contract in July 2013.[12] At the start of the 2013–14 season, Crawford publicly stated that the new synthetic pitch at New Douglas Park would give Hamilton an advantage over their opponents.[13]

In April 2014 he was selected to the 2013–14 Championship PFA Scotland Team of the Year, alongside teammates Ziggy Gordon and Anthony Andreu.[14] A month later, Crawford was part of the Hamilton team which won promotion back to the Premiership by defeating Hibernian in the play-off final.[15] In October 2014 he signed a new contract with the club, to last until the summer of 2018.[16] In August 2015, he scored a late winning goal against Hearts in the first match he had played against his former youth club.[17]

In September 2016 it was suggested by Hamilton manager Martin Canning that Crawford should play for the Scotland national team.[18] In November 2016 club captain Michael Devlin said that the team hoped that Crawford would not leave the club in the January 2017 transfer window.[19] In December 2016, Canning said they wished to keep Crawford until the end of the 2016–17 season.[20]

Crawford was one of seven first-team players who left Hamilton at the end of the 2017–18 season;[21] he stated that his preference was to play in England.[22]

Doncaster Rovers

On 10 July 2018, Crawford signed for League One side Doncaster Rovers on a two-year contract.[23]

Bolton Wanderers

On 2 September 2019, Crawford signed for fellow League One side Bolton Wanderers on a contract until the end of the season, after terminating his contract with Doncaster Rovers.[24] He made his debut on 14 September, starting against Rotherham United in a 6-1 defeat.[25] He scored his first goal for the club in the EFL Trophy game at Rochdale on 1 October, a game Bolton eventually lost on penalties.[26] On 26 June it was announced Crawford would be one of 14 senior players released at the end of his contract on 30 June,[27] but he returned to the club a few days later after signing a new two-year contract,[28] turning down League One teams in order to return.[29]

Tranmere Rovers (loan)

On 1 February 2021, he signed on loan for Tranmere Rovers until the end of the season.[30]

St Johnstone

On 31 August 2021, Crawford returned to Scotland to join St Johnstone on a six-month loan deal until January 2022.[31][32]

On 3 January 2022, Crawford signed a permanent deal with St Johnstone until 2024.[33]

On 24 February 2023, Crawford joined Greenock Morton on a loan until the end of the season.[34][35]

Career statistics
As of 28 January 2023[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hamilton Academical 2009–10[36] Scottish Premier League 700000—70
2010–11[37] 1400000—140
2011–12[38] Scottish First Division 19220104[lower-alpha 1]1263
2012–13[39] 33331311[lower-alpha 1]0405
2013–14[40] Scottish Championship 36210305[lower-alpha 2]0452
2014–15[41] Scottish Premiership 38101040—4310
2015–16[42] 3351010—355
2016–17[43] 33820522[lower-alpha 3]04210
2017–18[44] 1410052—193
Total 2273110122512127138
Bo'ness United (loan) 2010–11[3] East Superleague Unknown[lower-alpha 4]10—10
Doncaster Rovers 2018–19[45] EFL League One 353400030423
2019–20[25] EFL League One 1000100020
Total 363401030443
Bolton Wanderers 2019–20[25] EFL League One 12000002[lower-alpha 5]2142
2020–21[46] EFL League Two 21110101[lower-alpha 5]0241
2021–22[47] EFL League One 0000000000
Total 331101032383
Tranmere Rovers (loan) 2020–21[46] EFL League Two 9000000090
St Johnstone (loan) 2021–22[47] Scottish Premiership 141002100162
St Johnstone 2021–22[47] Scottish Premiership 142100000152
2022–23[48] Scottish Premiership 162002000182
Total 304102000334
Greenock Morton (loan) 2022–23[48] Scottish Championship 0000000000
Career total 3484017127618341050
  1. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup and four in the Premiership play-offs
  3. Appearances in the Premiership play-offs
  4. Bo'ness play in the Junior leagues, where player statistics are not recorded on a consistently reliable basis. Their regional champions qualify for the senior Scottish Cup.
  5. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy.

References
  1. "Club list of registered players: As at 18th May 2019: Doncaster Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 55. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. "Fixtures 2012/13". Hamilton Academical F.C. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  3. Ali Crawford at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  4. "Ali Crawford: I'm being given chance at Hamilton for my ability after Hearts binned me for being too small". Daily Record. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  5. "Accies ace Ali appearing at Youth Football Awards". Carluke Gazette. 25 May 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  6. "Hamilton 0–1 Dundee Utd". BBC Sport. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  7. "Grant Gillespie signs new Hamilton Accies contract". BBC Sport. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  8. Andrew McGilvray (26 May 2011). "Midfielder Ali Crawford signs two-year contract extension at Hamilton Accies". Hamilton Advertiser. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  9. Andrew McGilvray (28 June 2012). "Accies midfielder hopes to prove he can bounce back from injury". Hamilton Advertiser. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  10. Andrew McGilvray (30 August 2012). "Ali's wonder-strike wins cup tie". Hamilton Advertiser. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  11. Andrew McGilvray (13 September 2012). "Ali aims to kick-start season". Hamilton Advertiser. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  12. "Ali Crawford re-signs". Hamilton Academical F.C. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  13. Andrew McGilvray (11 July 2013). "Ali Crawford reckons astro pitch can help Accies bounce back to the big time". Hamilton Advertiser. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  14. "Falkirk and Rangers dominate team of the year voting". BBC Sport. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  15. "Hibernian 0 Hamilton Academical 2; Hamilton win 4-3 on penalties: match report". The Daily Telegraph. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  16. "Hamilton's Crawford and Gillespie agree new deals". BBC Sport. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  17. "Ali Crawford comes back to haunt Hearts after being shown the Tynecastle door for being too small". Daily Record. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  18. John Barnes (22 September 2016). "Hamilton's Martin Canning tips Ali Crawford for Scotland cap". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  19. Jane Lewis (30 November 2016). "Ali Crawford: Michael Devlin hopes Hamilton teammate will not exit in January". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  20. Alasdair Lamont (12 December 2016). "Ali Crawford: Hamilton aim to keep star man until the summer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  21. Craig Fowler (14 May 2018). "Hamilton Accies announce departure of seven first-team players". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  22. Jonathan Sutherland (14 May 2018). "Hamilton: Ali Crawford eyes move to England after Accies exit". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  23. "Ali Crawford: Doncaster sign Hamilton midfielder on two-year deal". BBC Sport. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  24. "Wanderers sign Doncaster midfielder". Bolton Wanderers. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  25. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  26. "Report: Rochdale vs. Bolton Wanderers (Leasing.com Trophy)". Bolton Wanderers. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  27. "Wanderers announce retained list - with 14 players out of contract this summer". The Bolton News.
  28. "Ali Crawford signs Two-Year Deal with Wanderers". www.bwfc.co.uk.
  29. "Bolton Wanderers re-sign midfielder Ali Crawford on two-year deal". The Bolton News.
  30. McDougall, John (1 February 2021). "Bolton midfielder Crawford joins League Two rivals Tranmere on loan". Manchester Evening News.
  31. "Crawford Joins St. Johnstone On Loan". www.bwfc.co.uk. 31 August 2021.
  32. "St Johnstone take Crawford from Bolton" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  33. "Crawford Signs Until 2024". St Johnstone Football Club. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  34. "Ali Crawford heads on loan". St Johnstone Football Club. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  35. "St Johnstone midfielder Ali Crawford joins Morton on loan until end of the season". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  36. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  37. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  38. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  39. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  40. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  41. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  42. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  43. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  44. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  45. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  46. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  47. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  48. "Games played by Ali Crawford in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
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