Ian Crook
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian Stuart Crook | ||
| Date of birth | 18 January 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Romford, England | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1980 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1980–1986 | Tottenham Hotspur | 39 | (1) |
| 1986–1997 | Norwich City | 418 | (24) |
| 1997–1998 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 24 | (4) |
| 1998–2000 | Northern Spirit | 34 | (6) |
| Total | 515 | (35) | |
| National team | |||
| 1989–1994 | England B | 3 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1999–2001 | Northern Spirit (asst.) | ||
| 2001–2004 | Newcastle Jets | ||
| 2004 | American Samoa | ||
| 2004 | Australia U-20 (asst.) | ||
| 2005–2006 | Sydney FC (asst.) | ||
| 2007–2008 | Avispa Fukuoka (asst.) | ||
| 2008 | Newcastle Jets (technical director) | ||
| 2009–2010 | Norwich City (first team coach) | ||
| 2010 | Sydney Olympic (director of coaching) | ||
| 2010–2012 | NSWIS | ||
| 2011–2012 | Sydney FC (asst.) | ||
| 2012 | Sydney FC | ||
| 2014– | Western Sydney Wanderers (asst.) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ian Stuart Crook, (born 18 January 1963) is a football coach and former professional player, who began his career with Tottenham Hotspur before making 418 appearances for Norwich City.
A central midfield player, who won three caps as an England B international, Crook made a lasting impression at Norwich. Notably, he was elected to be a member of the club's Hall of Fame.
After his playing career Crook went into coaching, mostly in Australia. He was serving as manager of A-League club Sydney FC in 2012, before joining the Western Sydney Wanderers football club as Assistant Manager.
Crook began his football career at Tottenham Hotspur signing with the club as a schoolboy in 1976. He made his debut in 1980 against Liverpool and stayed with the North London club for another six years. He found it difficult to break into the first team, as the Tottenham midfield at the time contained Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles. He would, however, receive a UEFA Cup Medal in 1984 as an unused substitute for the final, in which Tottenham beat R.S.C. Anderlecht on penalties.
In 1986 Crook moved to Norwich City for a fee of £80,000, which would prove to be one of the best bargain buys for the club. He was at the hub of the most successful team in Norwich's history. During his eleven seasons at the club, he helped them to three top five finishes in England's top division and played in the club's UEFA Cup run in the 1993-94 season, though he missed the match in which Norwich were eliminated from the competition - against Inter Milan in the San Siro - through suspension after collecting two yellow cards in the tournament. He was a midfielder noted for his passing ability and accuracy from set-pieces. Many experts in the game believe that had Crook played for a so-called bigger club, he would have played for the full England team. In a 2001 poll for Four Four Two magazine, Crook was voted as one of the best players never to have played for England, along with his former Norwich team-mate Steve Bruce.
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