Craig Flannigan Player Profile

Biography

Craig Flannigan formed part of what was probably the last great striking partnership that Kilbowie Park ever saw. He struck up a wonderful understanding with Ken Eadie, and for one season in particular the two of them were irresistible in the First Division

Larnach, McCallan and Cooper, Millar and McDougall, Coyne and Williamson, Coyle, Eadie and Bryce were amongst the greatest for the Bankies. It could almost bring a tear to the eye thinking back about the joy those players brought to Clydebank fans.

You can add Flannigan and Eadie to that canon of Bankies striking partnerships, with the two of them scoring 48 goals between them in 1992-93, and had Flanny not been hampered with injuries in his subsequent years he could have went on to bag a much higher total of goals than he did.

Clydebank signed Craig from Rangers in March 1991, just after he turned 18 years of age. He had been at Ibrox since 1989, and despite being seen as a promising prospect, his chances of getting anywhere near the first team were fairly remote in the days of big-money signings under Graeme Souness.

Despite having 15 months remaining on his contract, Craig took the understandable decision to accept the move to Clydebank in order to further his career, and he was thrown in for his debut against Montrose within a week of joining up at Kilbowie.

The first thing that you would notice about Flannigan was his blistering pace, and he was an instant hit with the Bankies faithful netting the opening goal at Links Park from a Ken Eadie knockdown from 12 yards. This gave early signs of what this partnership could deliver.

Clydebank had been playing without a second recognised striker for most of the season with John Henry who was more an attacking midfielder more often than not filling in that role. Craig didn’t score again for the remainder if the season and he finished 1991-2 with one goal from eight appearances.

With a proper pre-season behind him with his new team-mates, Flannigan got off to a the perfect start netting an 89th minute equaliser away at Cowdenbeath in the first day of the season. The line-up of the Bankies switched around initially with the signing of now Hurlford boss, Darren Henderson and the return of Tommy Bryce to the club. This meant Craig was not in the starting eleven for the first four or five games.

However, with the Bankies starting the season poorly the turning point was his substitute appearance at Dunfermline when he come off the bench to score the Bankies final goal in a fine 3-1 win at East End Park.

He would subsequently go on a run of scoring in seven consecutive games, and alongside Ken Eadie the pair would be neck and neck in the scoring charts throughout the season.
It was to be a memorable year for the youngster as he played his part in the Bankies fantastic run to the quarter final of the Scottish Cup before losing to Aberdeen by four goals to three at Kilbowie in the classic replay encounter at Kilbowie Park.

He couldn’t quite get ahead of the old head Ken Eadie in the scoring charts, despite finishing the season with a fine hat trick over League champions Raith Rovers (pictured). His first full season with the Bankies saw the hit-man net 23 goals in 46 games. This would be the last time any Clydebank player would score over 20 goals in a season in the senior leagues.

Craig started the 1993-94 season in sparkling form as the Bankies won their first seven league matches with the striker scoring in sensational wins over Falkirk, Dunfermline and Hamilton Accies.

Unfortunately, both Craig and the now veteran Ken Eadie were injured and spent a considerable amount of time on the sidelines leading to a huge decline in the club’s form.

Craig was dogged with a groin problem and it was January before he returned to action and despite a difficult end to the season he was selected for the Scotland U-21 squad alongside John Henry. The young striker made his debut against Iceland coming of the bench in a 2-1 win for the Scots.

Flannigan ended the season with 14 goals ahead of Ken Eadie who had been the Bankies’ top scorer over the previous five seasons

Craig delighted the Clydebank support by signing a new three year deal, but despite being just 21 years of age, Craig’s career went into decline due to recurring injuries.

He would, in fact, last only two more seasons at Kilbowie making just 26 starts scoring just six goals. The emergence of James Grady as Ken Eadie’s striking partner further hampered him.
Many believed that he was never the same player after his injury problems, and the statistics tend to bear that out. He had such a dramatic rise, bursting on the scene as a teenager, making his international debut and then a fall just as marked.

We would see the odd glimpse of his initial promise like when he scored a stunning brace of goals in the 5-2 demolition of Dundee at Kilbowie, but it was all too fleeting in his last two seasons.

At the end of 1995-96 as Clydebank bade farewell to Kilbowie Park it was also the end of the road for Craig as he was given a free transfer at the age of 23.

Craig would sign for Queen of the South in an attempt to stay in full-time football, but the move never really worked out for him. He subsequently played for Partick Thistle, Albion Rovers and his last club was Queens Park when he was just 28 years old.

During his injury spells, Craig used his time wisely and qualified as a fitness coach, and took his first job outside of football before working as a freelance fitness coach with St Johnstone.
It all came full circle for Craig when he returned to Ibrox where he is head of performance, a role which he has held since 2015.

Craig Flannigan had the potential to be a Bankies all-time great or move on to much better things, but it wasn’t to be for him as a player. He was a great Clydebank player and the fans loved him. Fortunately, he took the steps to look beyond playing and he ended up with a much more fulfilling career.