Jody Craddock

Jody Darryl Craddock ( born July 25 1975 in Redditch ) is a former English footballer. The central defender was 2003-2013 at the Wolverhampton Wanderers under contract, after he had already completed the AFC Sunderland for Cambridge United and almost 150 each league games. Away from the sport itself Craddock made ​​a name as a painter.

Sports career

Craddock began his athletic career outside of professional football at FC Christchurch before the age of 18 in August 1993 the then third division side Cambridge United joined. His first professional game, he completed there on December 11, 1993 during a goalless draw against Stockport County. The career of the central defender was initially without special highlights; but the next step was when he moved to four years for a transfer fee of £ 300,000 for second division Sunderland AFC. In the 1998/99 season Craddock rose with his new club in the Premier League on, without even much help - just six league games he was able to record on the credit side.

The demand for league football was not initially meet as loaned him the "Black Cats" from August to October 1999 to the second division Sheffield United. Only after he announced on November 20, 1999 his debut in the English top flight and played from then on more and more often to the root formation. Over the next three Premier League years between 2000 and 2003, he completed a total of 90 championship games and was characterized by resistance, speed and a good positional play. Nevertheless, his six -year stay at AFC Sunderland ended in a bitter relegation to the Football League Championship.

That Craddock could continue playing first-class football, he owed to directly subsequent transfer to newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers, which primarily sought a replacement player for the injured Joleon Lescott duration on the central defense position for 1.75 million pounds. Although he suffered his second Premier League relegation in a row as Table there, Craddock consolidated with the " Wolves " fast its status as a reliable center-back and earlier in the season 2006/ 07 promoted him the new coach Mick McCarthy, under the Craddock already had worked at Sunderland AFC, as the new team captain. Go to the top of the season 2007 /08 he found himself in the short term on loan at second division rivals Stoke City again. There he remained from August to September 2007, and returned prematurely returned to his hometown club, as there had aggravated the injury situation.

In the second game of the season 2008/09 Craddock suffered a broken foot and fell by several months. The club management thought during the recovery time for a new loan deal before a form of weakness of the young Richard Stearman made ​​sure that the experienced ones, " Old Master " was back in the team. In the crucial period, he helped so that the Wolves returned as second division champions in the Premier League. Last but not least in recognition of this achievement his club furnished him with a new one-year contract until 2010. This was extended in June 2010 after the league for another year until the end of the 2010/11 season. After failing completely due to an injury in the 2012/13 season, he finished in June 2013 at the age of 37 years, his active career.

Art works ( " Craddock Art" )

Unusually for a professional player, dedicated to the self- designating as shy Craddock since early childhood to painting. He was convinced as a young footballer of not being able to live from the sport, and so he spent a lot of time in his artistic training, to secure his future. His works include portraits of prominent (former) Premier League players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard, to rock and film stars such as Noel Gallagher, Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix and Al Pacino, as well as landscape paintings, including preferred exotic seascapes. On display were the works in numerous galleries in the Midlands and the North East - the proceeds of his works start from £ 500 upwards.

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