Craig George Pead is a former professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

. He announced his retirement from football on 21 May 2009, following his release from Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

, and a knee injury.

Pead began his career at Coventry

Coventry City F.C.

Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

, where he made 42 league appearances, memorably scoring a spectacular goal against Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

. His father remains at Coventry as kit-man.

Pead was named in the PFA League Two

Football League Two

Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 Team of the Year for the 2006-07

2006-07 in English football

The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

 season. Pead was released by Walsall

Walsall F.C.

Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

 at the end of the 2006–07

2006-07 in English football

The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

 season on 15 May 2007. He became Brentford manager Terry Butcher

Terry Butcher

Terence Ian "Terry" Butcher is an English football manager and former player. He was a highly successful football player and made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town and Rangers in the 1980s. He was also a captain of England and won 77 caps in a ten-year international career...

's fourth summer signing on 2 July 2007 following a recommendation from former Brentford captain Michael Dobson

Michael Dobson (footballer)

Michael Dobson is an English former professional footballer.Dobson came through the youth ranks at Brentford, a club whom his father George had played for, and spent six years at the club, including a couple of years as club captain...

. Pead was named in the PFA League Two

Football League Two

Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 Team of the Year for the second year running at the end of the 2007–08

2007-08 in English football

The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...

 season.

Despite his awards, Craig Pead was made available for a free transfer by Brentford manager, Andy Scott

Andy Scott (English footballer)

Andrew "Andy" Scott is an English former professional footballer whose clubs included Sheffield United, Brentford, Oxford United and Leyton Orient. He is currently manager of League Two team Rotherham United, after being sacked from Brentford in February 2011. During his playing career, Scott was...

 at the conclusion of the 2007–08 season. However, Pead turned down a contract offer from Port Vale

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 and decided to stay at Brentford for the final year of his contract. He retired at the end of the 2008–09 season due to a ongoing knee injury and now runs football coaching courses for children in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.

Throughout his career, Pead was known by the nickname 'Peado' by supporters of both his own and opposition clubs.

Honours

Coventry

• FA Youth Cup
  FA Youth Cup
  The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...
  
  : Runner-up 1999

Walsall

• League Two
  Football League Two
  Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
  
   2006-07

Brentford

• League Two
  Football League Two
  Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
  
   2008-09

External links