Steve Croudson
Encyclopedia
Steven "Steve" Croudson (born November 24, 1980 in Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

) is a former English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional footballer who played in the position of goalkeeper . He notably played for his home town club Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

 between 1998 and 2003. He retired from injury at the age of 26 and returned to Grimsby to serve as the clubs Goalkeeping Coach. On August 30, 2010 he registered as a player again for Grimsby due to the injuries of the club's first and second choice keepers.

He has also played for Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....

, Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...

, Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Borough F.C.
Stevenage Football Club is an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in League One, the third tier of English football, having won promotion from League Two in the 2010–11 season...

, Halifax Town, Kettering Town
Kettering Town F.C.
Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...

, Bangor City
Bangor City F.C.
Bangor City Football Club are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the City of Bangor. The club compete in the Welsh Premier League, being ever present since the league was founded in 1992....

, Rhyl
Rhyl F.C.
Rhyl Football Club is a Welsh football club, playing in the Cymru Alliance.The club was founded in 1882 and the team plays its home matches at Belle Vue, Rhyl, which can accommodate 3,000 spectators.- History :Few clubs in the Welsh Premier League have as distinguished a past as Rhyl's...

 and Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird F.C.
Cammell Laird Football Club is an English Semi Professional football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside. The club are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One North, The 8th Tier of English Football, and play at the Kirklands Stadium....

.

Grimsby Town

Croudson came through the ranks at his home town club of Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

 and was added to the first team squad during the 1998-1999 season as the clubs third choice keeper behind Aidan Davison
Aidan Davison
Aidan John Davison is an English-born Northern Irish former footballer and football coach who is Head Coach of American side FC JAX Destroyers.As a player he played as a goalkeeper from 1987 until 2008...

 and Andy Love
Andy Love (footballer)
Andrew "Andy" Love is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a goalkeeper for Grimsby Town.-Grimsby Town:...

 . During May 1999, injury put both Davison and Love on the sidelines and Croudson was handed his professional debut by Alan Buckley
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley is an English football manager. He was manager of League Two side Grimsby Town until his dismissal in September 2008...

. The match was against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

 on 4 May 1999 in the First Division. In an impressive performance, Croudson managed to pull off some fine saves and the game was drawn 0-0 with Croudson being awarded man of the match. 5 days later he played again in the clubs 1-0 defeat away against Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

.

During the 1999-2000 campaign Grimsby manager Alan Buckley
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley is an English football manager. He was manager of League Two side Grimsby Town until his dismissal in September 2008...

 made Croudson his second choice keeper and this would eventually see him firmly cement his place behind Town's new number one Danny Coyne
Danny Coyne
Daniel "Danny" Coyne is a Wales international footballer who plays for Middlesbrough as a goalkeeper. He has previously played for Tranmere Rovers, Grimsby Town, Leicester City and Burnley.-Tranmere Rovers:...

. Incidentally Croudson's step up in ranks would eventually go on to see Andy Love
Andy Love (footballer)
Andrew "Andy" Love is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a goalkeeper for Grimsby Town.-Grimsby Town:...

 depart for Blundell Park
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1898, but only one of the original stands remain. The current capacity of the ground is 9546, though with the introduction of all seating in the late...

 for Ilkeston Town
Ilkeston Town F.C.
Ilkeston Football Club is an English football club based at the New Manor Ground in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.-History:The club was established in 1894 as Ilkeston Town F.C.....

 midway through the season. Croudson went on to make 5 appearances in League and Cup that season. The 2000-2001 season came round and new manager Lennie Lawrence
Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, is a British football manager who is assistant manager of Crystal Palace. He has managed a number of English clubs and one Welsh club in a coaching career spanning over 30 years...

 although initially favouring Croudson as his back up keeper briefly replaced him with loanee Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 keeper Morten Hyldgaard
Morten Hyldgaard
Morten Hyldgaard Lauritsen is a Danish former professional football goalkeeper who played for a number of clubs in English football. He played four games for the Denmark national under-21 football team....

. Croudson would play no part in that particular season.

In the 2001-2002 campaign Croudson was made available for loan and was originally a target for Buckley's new team Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

, however Croudson made a move to Grimsby's local rivals Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....

 who were managed by former Town boss Brian Laws
Brian Laws
Brian Laws is an English former footballer and manager, most recently of Burnley.Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of Grimsby Town before taking a similar position with Scunthorpe...

. He signed for the Glanford Park
Glanford Park
Glanford Park is a football stadium in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, and the current home of Scunthorpe United. It is the smallest stadium by capacity in the Championship ....

 club in August 2001 and after a month with The Iron where he played in 4 games he returned to Grimsby to fight for his place in the team. Grimsby however now had four keepers under contract, Coyne, Croudson and newcomers Ronald Ermes and Morgan Cranley
Morgan Cranley
Morgan Cranley is an Irish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Tolka Rovers.-Career:Cranley originally played for Artane Beaumont before moving to Belvedere coming through the ranks before being scouted by English side Grimsby Town in August 2001...

. Croudson made 1 appearance that season, and this would be his last showing for The Mariners in his first spell with the club.

A management change at Grimsby again saw club captain Paul Groves step up to take over, and despite Croudson being the original choice for second choice keeper during the 2002-2003 season he would suffer an injury that ruled him out of the entire season, forcing Groves too sign Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

's Shaun Allaway on a season long loan to fill in on the bench. At the end of the season both Croudson and his goalkeeping companion Danny Coyne both left Grimsby, with Coyne joining Premier League Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

 and injury hampered Steve being released. Croudson played in 6 league matches for Grimsby in his five year stay.

Boston United

Croudson would remain in the county of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 and signed up with Third Division outfit Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...

. Steve would play second fiddle and understudy to Paul Bastock
Paul Bastock
Paul Anthony Bastock is an English football goalkeeper currently playing for Boston United. He has played professional and non-league football for over 20 years, making over 600 appearances for nine different clubs including Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Boston United, Dagenham & Redbridge...

 for the entire 2003-2004 season, and by the end of the season after failing to make a single appearance United boss Steve Evans deciding against extending his one year contract and he was released. Despite holding down a place on the bench, Croudson was deemed surplus to requirements and left the club in the summer of 2004.

Stevenage Borough

In the summer of 2004, Croudson returned to Grimsby to train with the club, who were now under the management of Russell Slade
Russell Slade
Russell Slade is an English football manager currently in charge of League One side Leyton Orient.-Notts County:Slade was assistant manager to Mick Walker at Notts County, and took over as caretaker manager when Walker was sacked in September 1994. When County appointed Howard Kendall as manager...

. He would provide cover for Town's new number 1 Anthony Williams as he was named as a substitute for the Town's pre-season friendlies against Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club are an English football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.Between 1896 and 1912 they were members of the Football League. They are currently in the Conference North, and play their home matches at The Northolme, which has a capacity of 4,304...

 and Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

. Despite this he failed to make an appearance in either game and failed to earn a contract with The Mariners, with Slade mentioning that the Croudson had only been with the club for a few weeks to keep his fitness levels up. Soon followed a move to Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 side Stevenage Borough for the 2004-2005 season. Steve would make two appearances for Borough, a 3-1 Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

 defeat at the hands of Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

 and a 2-0 home defeat in the league against Woking
Woking F.C.
Woking Football Club is a football club from in Woking, Surrey, England, formed in 1889. They are playing in the Conference South in the 2011–12 season. For the 2011/2012 season, Woking are sharing their ground with Conference National club Hayes & Yeading United.-Promotion to the...

. Steve left Borough in the January 2005 transfer window.

Halifax Town

Two months went by and he then signed for Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...

 in March 2003 but after a month as number 2 keeper to Ian Dunbavin
Ian Dunbavin
Ian Stuart Dunbavin is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Accrington Stanley F.C.....

 at The Shay
The Shay
The Shay is a multi-use sports stadium in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England near Shaw Hill. FC Halifax Town and Halifax both play their home games at the Shay....

, he was released by manager Chris Wilder
Chris Wilder
Christopher John "Chris" Wilder is an English former footballer, and current manager of Oxford United.Previously, he was the last manager of Halifax Town F.C., becoming their manager in July 2002 just after relegation from the Football League and remaining there until June 2008, when the club was...

.

Kettering Town

With injury problems still surrounding the player he moved to sign for Kettering Town
Kettering Town F.C.
Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...

 who were managed by former England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 international Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...

. Steve would remain with Kettering for the entire 2005-2006 season.

Bangor City

In July 2006, he moved to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and signed for Bangor City
Bangor City F.C.
Bangor City Football Club are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the City of Bangor. The club compete in the Welsh Premier League, being ever present since the league was founded in 1992....

 briefly in 2006.

Cammell Laird

He then returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with Non League Unibond Division One side Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...

 but Steve opted to retire due to injury in 2007.

Grimsby Town

Croudson retired in 2007 through ongoing injury woes aged only 26. He returned home to Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

 and was appointed part time Goalkeeping coach at Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

 during the 2007-2008 season by Alan Buckley
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley is an English football manager. He was manager of League Two side Grimsby Town until his dismissal in September 2008...

 who was now in his third spell with the club. Whilst a coach at Grimsby, Croudson has worked closeley with Phil Barnes
Phil Barnes
Philip Kenneth "Phil" Barnes is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Conference North side Gainsborough Trinity...

 and Nick Colgan
Nick Colgan
Nicholas Vincent "Nick" Colgan is an Irish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Football League One side Huddersfield Town...

 amongst others. On 9 July 2010 Croudson played the second half of Grimsby's 1-0 pre-season friendly victory over Non League side Brigg Town
Brigg Town F.C.
Brigg Town Football Club, formed in 1864, are a football team from Brigg, North Lincolnshire. They are the oldest football team in the county and one of the oldest in the world...

. On August 30, 2010 due to injuries to Grimsby keepers Kenny Arthur
Kenny Arthur
Kenneth James "Kenny" Arthur is a Scottish professional footballer who plays in England for Conference North side Gainsborough Trinity on loan from Conference National side Grimsby Town as a goalkeeper....

 and Nick Colgan
Nick Colgan
Nicholas Vincent "Nick" Colgan is an Irish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Football League One side Huddersfield Town...

, Croudson was considered to be in contention to make a shock return to the sport to play against Histon
Histon F.C.
Histon Football Club is an English football club based in the twin villages of Histon and Impington, approximately north of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. From the 2007–08 season they competed in the Conference National, the highest level that the club has ever reached in the English football league...

 in Town's Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 fixture. Manager Neil Woods
Neil Woods
Neil Stephen Woods is a former English footballer who played as a striker and former manager of Grimsby Town where he also played between 1990 and 1998. He now works as the Head of Youth at Football League One side Walsall...

 eventually confirmed he would play Croudson chosen over youth team keeper Rob Peet and Steve made his first appearance for his home town club since playing in a 2-0 defeat at home to Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...

 on 5 October 2001. The last time Steve had pulled his gloves on for Grimsby the club had been three division's higher than there current place inside the Conference. In a solid display, reminiscent of his professional debut for Town 11 years previously Steve pulled off some fine saves and Grimsby were victorious to the scoreline of 2-1 and was named the man of the match. On 23 October 2010 Croudson played once again in Grimsby's FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 tie with Tamworth
Tamworth F.C.
Tamworth Football Club are an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire. Nicknamed 'The Lambs', they are currently members of the Conference National, the fifth highest tier in the English league system....

 following Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

's decision not to late the Mariners use loanee Richard O'Donnell in a cup fixture.

Following his performances during the 10-11 season Croudson picked up four minor awards at the clubs annual player of the year award ceremony. In the summer of 2011 Grimsby brought in James McKeown
James McKeown
James Karl McKeown is an English born Irish footballer who plays for Grimsby Town as a goalkeeper.He has previously played for Walsall, Peterborough United, Kettering Town, Worcester City, Boston United and RSKV Leonidas....

 as a back up keeper to Kenny Arthur
Kenny Arthur
Kenneth James "Kenny" Arthur is a Scottish professional footballer who plays in England for Conference North side Gainsborough Trinity on loan from Conference National side Grimsby Town as a goalkeeper....

in order to ease the dependancy on Croudson.
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