John Craggs, IMHO, one of the best right backs to have never played for England

Erimus74

Well-known member
Scored his 1st ever Boro goal, on his 11th Boro appearence, on this day the 23rd October 1971 in a 2-1 home win over Watford, Ironically, Joe Laidlaw scored his final Boro home goal in this game, infront of a healthy attendance of 19,947
Boro had started off the season in very good form, Stans team had played 14 games, won 9, drew 1 & lost 4, goals scored 21, against 16, the only game we failed to score in was a 0-0 draw, our only draw so far

Stans team
Jim Platt - 5th league game
John Craggs
Gordon Jones
Alex Smith - penultimate Boro game
Stuey Boam - 12th Boro league game
Bill Gates
Joe Laidlaw
Eric McMordie
Willie Maddren - Ever present
John Hickton - Ever present
Johnny Vincent - Ever present
Screenshot_20201023_081540.jpgScreenshot_20201023_081511.jpgScreenshot_20201023_081528.jpgScreenshot_20201023_081451.jpg
 
Scored his 1st ever Boro goal, on his 11th Boro appearence, on this day the 23rd October 1971 in a 2-1 home win over Watford, Ironically, Joe Laidlaw scored his final Boro home goal in this game, infront of a healthy attendance of 19,947
Boro had started off the season in very good form, Stans team had played 14 games, won 9, drew 1 & lost 4, goals scored 21, against 16, the only game we failed to score in was a 0-0 draw, our only draw so far

Stans team
Jim Platt - 5th league game
John Craggs
Gordon Jones
Alex Smith - penultimate Boro game
Stuey Boam - 12th Boro league game
Bill Gates
Joe Laidlaw
Eric McMordie
Willie Maddren - Ever present
John Hickton - Ever present
Johnny Vincent - Ever present
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Agreed, Craggs was a great player.
 
Craggs was arguably the most hard done by Boro player re England selection. Players that were picked ahead of him included Steve Whitworth (who indeed) and the QPR r/b (was it Clemence or Gillard? They were that memorable).

It did not help that the media, who didn't warm to Jack Charlton, promoted a 'northern stereotype'. For example, one journo wrote about Boro's 'onomatopoeic back four : Craggs, Boam, Maddren and Spraggon'. Witty, but unfair. They had quality.
 
Craggsy had a hell of a shot on him.
The crowd used to get very excited when he had the ball just outside the box.
Didn’t get too many goals but he put the eeby jeebers up goalkeepers.
Good solid player.
Think he got a U23 cap or two before he came to Boro from Newcastle.
John worked at the big sports shop at Teesside Park, and I always went in and bought something just to see him.
John would have been worth a fortune on todays transfer market.

Unfortunately, Gateshead born Joe Joe Joe Laidlaw, had a rather sorry end to his football career.
A coach under Alan Ball’s management at Portsmouth saw him jailed for 9 months I believe he got, for nicking money from players jacket pockets after he had sent them out to train.
 
Craggsy had a hell of a shot on him.
The crowd used to get very excited when he had the ball just outside the box.
Didn’t get too many goals but he put the eeby jeebers up goalkeepers.
Good solid player.
Think he got a U23 cap or two before he came to Boro from Newcastle.
John worked at the big sports shop at Teesside Park, and I always went in and bought something just to see him.
John would have been worth a fortune on todays transfer market.

Unfortunately, Gateshead born Joe Joe Joe Laidlaw, had a rather sorry end to his football career.
A coach under Alan Ball’s management at Portsmouth saw him jailed for 9 months I believe he got, for nicking money from players jacket pockets after he had sent them out to train.
I didnt know about Joe Laidlaws geeting jailed
 
Loved Craggsy, We had him, Willie, who really should have been capped and Spike who deserved far more caps than he ever got, and David Mills deserves a mention and was imho deserving of some caps. It saddens me that some of our team never got a look in especially when you look at how caps are seemingly given away like confetti nowadays. I genuinely hold Don Revie responsible, had they been at any other club, they would have made the squad at least, imho.
 
Loved Craggsy, We had him, Willie, who really should have been capped and Spike who deserved far more caps than he ever got, and David Mills deserves a mention and was imho deserving of some caps. It saddens me that some of our team never got a look in especially when you look at how caps are seemingly given away like confetti nowadays. I genuinely hold Don Revie responsible, had they been at any other club, they would have made the squad at least, imho.
Agreed. I wonder if Don Revie had a grudge, or something, about us. From his Wikipedia entry:
"In September 1958, he rejected the opportunity to sign for hometown club Middlesbrough – had he joined the club then he would have played alongside captain Brian Clough and goalkeeper Peter Taylor."
 
Agreed. I wonder if Don Revie had a grudge, or something, about us. From his Wikipedia entry:
"In September 1958, he rejected the opportunity to sign for hometown club Middlesbrough – had he joined the club then he would have played alongside captain Brian Clough and goalkeeper Peter Taylor."

I believe he had issues with not just the club but the town also. He had a very tough upbringing, losing his mum when young, his dad was a carpenter I think but struggled for work. He was brought up in relative poverty and he carried that resentment around with him as far as I was told, by my father. I was led to believe he had an unhealthy love of £££ too and was an old school man in more ways than one. My dad said he was a difficult man to appreciate as a result of what he regarded as his baggage.
 
Revie is quite possibly the worst manager England ever appointed. Worse than Steve Mac and Kevin Keegan. The unseemly flight to the Middle East after quitting The England job suddenly was dishonourable.
 
Touching on an earlier post.
I’m sure Revie was responsible for giving more players ONE cap than anybody else.
If you had a good game on the Saturday you played for England on the Wednesday.
Then they were dropped and discarded.
England went through some spuds that period.

I’m also sure that Cloughie made a reference to Revie’s hatred of Boro in that famous televised head to head.

I don’t know the reason why it was.
Revie played for Leicester Swifts as a kid, so I whether he was overlooked by Boro hence the hatred.

I wasn’t aware he lost his mother early in life.
Stuff like that might make you despise the surroundings in which it all happened.
 
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