Craig Fleming

Craig Fleming
Personnel
Surname	Craig Fleming
birthday	October 6, 1971
place of birth	Halifax ,  England
position	Defender
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1990-1991	Halifax Town	57 0(0)
1991-1997	Oldham Athletic	164 0(1)
1997-2007	Norwich City	343 (12)
2007	→  Wolverhampton Wanderers  (loan)	1 0(0)
2007	Rotherham United	17 0(0)
2007-2008	King's Lynn FC
1 Only league games are given.

Craig Fleming (born October 6, 1971 in Halifax ) is a retired English football player . Both in central defense as applicable also on the right side defender disputed between 1991 and 2007 over 500 league appearances for Oldham Athletic and Norwich City and is a member of the "Hall of Fame" at the latter club.

Athletic career

Fleming began his professional career in the late 1980s at his home club Halifax Town , where he made his debut in the first team at the age of 16. After a total of 69 competitive games, he moved to Oldham Athletic in the summer of 1991 , where he not only played 192 more times, but also enjoyed three years of English top division football. During this time he made a name for himself with his strengths in guarding opponents and after a particularly successful game against the young Ryan Giggs from Manchester United , the coach Alex Ferguson called him "the best man marketer in the country". In the 1992/93 season he was part of the team that just managed to keep the league after catching up and distanced Crystal Palace due to the better goal difference. After relegation in 1994, he played for three years for the "Latics", was promoted to team captain at the end of the 1996/97 season and left Boundary Park after relegation to the third-rate Second Division in the direction of Norwich City .

Despite some setbacks in injuries at the beginning of his time with the "Canaries", Fleming developed into a long-term constant in the defensive network of Norwich City in the following ten years; in addition, he was at times team captain. He was instrumental in the club's rise to the Premier League by winning the second division championship in 2004 and received the club's internal award for best player of the season before Darren Huckerby and Robert Green - the year before he was already in the “Hall of Fame ”from Norwich City. In the top English league, he played his 300th competitive game for the "Canaries" against Everton and was the only Norwich City field player to miss a Premier League minute on the pitch in the 2004/05 season . After the immediate relegation to the second division in 2005, Fleming received for his long service to the club a charity match ("Testimonial Match"), which took place on July 26, 2006 against Newcastle United and the proceeds of Fleming of the Christian drug aid organization "The Matthew Project" “Provided. In the 2006/07 season Fleming lost his regular place under coach Peter Grant and so the speculation increased about a possible club change, especially in the direction of AFC Bournemouth .

This development took shape in January 2007. Fleming joined the Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan for a month , but was only used in one game and was hired on January 31, 2007 at third division club Rotherham United . The 2006/07 season ended for Fleming with relegation to fourth-rate Football League Two and the new coach Mark Robins informed Fleming that the veteran would no longer play a role in his plans. The parties involved agreed on August 30, 2007 on an early termination of the contract and Fleming then let his active career end at the lower-class FC King's Lynn . On March 12, 2008, he officially announced the end of his career, citing a persistent ankle injury and a possible permanent deterioration in the event of further stress as the reason.

After the end of his football career, Fleming switched to coaching and gained his first experience as an assistant coach at Lowestoft Town. He also works as a personal trainer and owns his own fitness business. He was also named Norfolk Sports Ambassador in January 2009 . In this function he is the contact person for schools and youth organizations in the region.

Web links

• Craig Fleming in the soccerbase.com database
• Profile at "Flown From the Nest"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Miller's swoop for veteran Fleming" (BBC Sport)
2. ↑ Craig Fleming: Personal Trainer ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (craigflemingfitness.co.uk)