Craig Hignett

Craig Hignett (born 12 January 1970), is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and later in his career as a midfielder.

Born in Whiston, he started his senior club career with Crewe Alexandra in 1988.

Born in Whiston and previously a trainee at Liverpool, Hignett began his senior career with Crewe Alexandra in 1988, making his debut in a goal-less Fourth Division match at Wrexham on 8 October 1988.

During the 1989–90 season, he scored his first league goal in a 3–2 defeat by Swansea City at Gresty Road on 7 October 1989, and began to make more regular appearances, notching six more goals.

On 30 April 1991, he scored his first hat-trick as Crewe beat Rotherham United 3–0 at Gresty Road, and on 14 November 1992 he hit four in his penultimate club appearance as Crewe beat Wrexham 6–1 in an FA Cup first round tie, also at Gresty Road.

After making 150 appearances for Crewe, he moved to Middlesbrough in 1992.

He made 150 first team appearances for Crewe, scoring 57 goals, before being sold to Middlesbrough for £500,000 on 27 November 1992.

The club rejected a £350,000 offer from Port Vale in 1994.

After the club were relegated in his first season with Middlesbrough, he helped them back up two seasons later.

He had however made sure of a place in the club's history by scoring the first goal at the Riverside Stadium, their new ground, in a 2–0 win over Chelsea at the start of 1995–96 Season.

Hignett also took a pay cut to stay at the club at one point, in stark contrast to the many big-name signings Middlesbrough were bringing in at the time.

He played for Middlesbrough in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1996–97 as Boro finished as runners-up on both occasions.

Hignett was the first player to score at Middlesbrough's new ground, the Riverside Stadium and also won two promotions to the Premier League with the club.

In 1996–97 Hignett again suffered relegation with Middlesbrough and was part of the team that lost in the FA Cup final and League Cup final the same season.

He left Middlesbrough in 1998 and had a brief spell with Aberdeen before moving to Barnsley.

In his second season, Hignett was named as Barnsley's Player of the Season as well as being named in the First Division PFA Team of the Year.

In 1998 he left Middlesbrough to sign for Aberdeen on a free transfer, having made 194 appearances and 48 goals for Boro.

His stay at Aberdeen was short lived, only lasting six months, before signing for Barnsley for £800,000 in 1999.

After suffering relegation from the Premiership, Barnsley were looking for a quick return to the top flight and Hignett's 20 goals in his second season at Oakwell helped them reach the play-off final of the 1999–2000 season.

Hignett scored once in the final but Barnsley lost 4–2 to Ipswich Town.

It was initially thought Hignett had scored twice but the other goal was eventually attributed to an own goal by Richard Wright after Hignett's shot rebounded off the crossbar and in off Wright.

He was named as Barnsley's Player of the Season at the end of the 1999–2000 season.

Additionally, Hignett was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the First Division.

He signed for Blackburn Rovers in 2000 and was a member of the team that won the League Cup in 2001–02.

Hignett left Barnsley in 2000 after 66 appearances and 35 goals for the club; he signed for Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £2.2 million.

He helped Rovers regain their Premiership status and won a League Cup winners medal when Blackburn beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in the 2002 final, with Hignett coming off the bench in the 77th minute.

However, in the 2002–03 season he only played three league games and one UEFA Cup game; Hignett was sent on loan to Coventry City halfway through the season but suffered a hairline fracture of his leg at Bramall Lane on 28 December 2002 which ended his loan spell.

After returning, he scored on the final day of the season which was to prove to be his last appearance for Blackburn Rovers.

He played 68 times and scored 14 goals for Rovers before being released.

After a loan spell with Coventry City, he moved to Leicester City in 2003.

In 2003, he signed for Leicester City but struggled to get in the side, making only 15 appearances before going on loan back to Crewe Alexandra at the end of the 2003–04 season and playing another 15 games.

He only scored once during his time at Leicester but it was a memorable goal: a crucial injury time equaliser against Arsenal.

He returned to Crewe Alexandra on loan in 2004.

Hignett subsequently had brief spells with Leeds United, Darlington, Apollon Limassol, Spennymoor United, Hartlepool United and Billingham Synthonia.

In 2004 he had a brief stint at Leeds United before signing for Darlington, where he scored on his debut.

He began his coaching career at Middlesbrough's academy in 2008.

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, he was named as Hartlepool United's assistant manager but moved to Middlesbrough to become their assistant manager later that season.

He left Middlesbrough in December 2014.

Hignett was named as Hartlepool's first-team manager in February 2016 but was sacked in January 2017.

He returned to the club again as Director of Football in 2018 and became manager again in January 2019 before departing in October 2019.