Cod Almighty | Article

by Chris Mills

28 July 2005

"Six foot two, eyes of blue, Tony Crane is after you."

You think I'm kidding? Built like the proverbial brick outhouse, Town's number five makes it all too easy for the cynics among us to jump to conclusions when watching him for the first time. 

At six foot five Crane is GTFC's very own Big Friendly Giant, reminding me of the alsatian down the street that barks madly when you're delivering the paper, but its owner always reminds you: "He won't bite! He's a big softie really!"

Crazy Legs' height was first noticed when, on the day of signing, he was pictured in the Grimsby Telegraph leaning against the John Smith's stand. Ingenious. Not only does he have height on his side, but also strength, all twelve stone of it. It's not fat, pure muscle, honest. Described as a stereotypical, no-nonsense centre-half, some may think Crane is just tall, fat and slow and they'd be right. But a town is divided in its opinions; and I believe it's what's inside that counts, right?

Take a second to look beyond the physical appearance and you'll discover several different sides to Craney, a Jekyll and Hyde personality. There's the soft Liverpudlian heart-on-sleeve side, the never-say-die, determined side and finally the passionate, win-at-all-costs side. At some point or another, since TC became Paul Groves' first summer signing in 2003, we have seen all of the above - and to be honest, you never really know which is going to appear next.

Take the 2003-04 season, when big Tony was sent off twice (followed by a red card in the reserves) and yellow-carded fifteen times. His short fuse was lit all too often, with opposing strikers easily winding him up, sparking choice words and the occasional brawl. During the same period, though, we also saw Craney turn in several gutsy performances, none more so than against his ex-employers Sheffield Wednesday, when he marshalled the back four to a clean sheet as well as bagging at the opposite end and celebrating comically in front of 2,000 irate Yorkies. As an Owl, Crane made over 60 appearances, scoring five goals. He was played in varying positions, including as a target man up front. For Town he is usually played at the back - the safest place for him.

Having now been at the club for two whole seasons (although his 2004-05 campaign was forestalled by injury: he played only twice), Crane is regarded as something of a veteran and familiar face at the heart of the GTFC defence. A defence which, over the same period, has resembled the revolving doors at Asda. Therefore I won't bore you with the rest, including comparisons with Mark Lever. The similarities are apparently obvious, especially the back-clutching stance. In my opinion, after 20 minutes, Craney isn't in pain; he's simply knackered. 

With the right guidance we could well have a promising player on our hands. Love him or hate him, you'll never keep a simply misunderstood Tony Crane down.