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Position: Attacking midfielder/Striker
Years at Crewe: 1988-1992
Crewe appearances: 150
Crewe goals: 57
Other clubs: Middlesbrough (1992-1998), Aberdeen (1998), Barnsley (1998-2000), Blackburn Rovers (2000-2003), Leicester City (2003-present)
When boyhood Evertonian Craig Hignett was released by Liverpool in 1988, Dario Gradi pounced to bring him to Gresty Road, where he became one of the greatest and most popular strikers to wear the red and white of Crewe Alexandra.
In his first season he made only one appearance, before being loaned out to Stafford Rangers as his talent began to take shape. Crewe did not desperately need him, being successfully promoted from the old Fourth Division. The 1989-90 season saw his career really begin to take shape, with a healthy return of eight goals from thirty-five appearances as Crewe consolidated their first season in their return to the old Division 3 with a comfortable mid-table finish (12th).
The following season, he proved to be a highlight in a depressing season, recording 13 goals from 38 appearances but Crewe were relegated back to the basement division.
On the return to Division Four, expectations were high for both Hignett and Crewe to take the league by storm, but when Middlesbrough came in with a £500,000 offer for the striker, we could not refuse and after scoring eight goals in fourteen games, he made the long trip north to join Boro.
Ayresome Park chief Lennie Lawrence splashed the cash in November of 1992. Boro were newly promoted to the Premier League in its inaugural season. The transfer proved to be a shrewd piece of business for Dario Gradi, who by now had a great reputation for recognising talent in youth and selling them on to bigger clubs for a good price.
"Higgy's" first season in the top flight did not go as he hoped it would. The Teesiders were relegated back to the first division and Craig only making nine appearances, scoring one solitary goal in a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Aston Villa.
Heavily fancied 'Boro were expected to go straight back up to the Premier League in 1993-94, but a mediocre season in which they barely finished in the top half meant that Lennie Lawrence was replaced with Bryan Robson in the close season. Former England captain Robson guided Middlesbrough to the Division One Championship in his debut season, and Hignett was given his chance to be a first choice striker for 'Boro. A meagre return of five goals promised little for the forthcoming return to the top flight.
Hignett was a fringe player, and did not get a regular place despite being a good supplier of goals. After promotion he was told that if any club came in with the right amount, he could leave. But that wasn't his nature. He stayed to give the Premier League a second chance - taking a pay cut in the process to help accommodate the likes of Juninho Paulista, Nick Barmby and Emerson. This gesture endeared him to the Middlesbrough faithful, as did his first goal of the season - the opening strike at their new Riverside Stadium.
He worked his way into the side and formed a partnership with Nick Barmby, becoming known as the 'midget gems', and his impressive season helped the Teesiders retain their Premiership status. The arrival of Fabrizio Ravenelli, Paul Merson and eventually Paul Gascoigne forced him out of the Riverside despite the fans pleading with him not to go. His last goals for the club sent them back into the Premiership before he left for Aberdeen and a new challenge over the border.
Fifteen appearances and only two goals in six months showed that Higgy's Scottish adventure just wasn't working out. Personal reasons were affecting his game - his family were still living in England, so when Barnsley offered £800,000 for him in 1998, he was well on his way back to the First Division. Two goals on his Tykes debut against fierce rivals Huddersfield in a 7-1 win promised much, and thirty-five goals in his one and a half years at Oakwell probably coincided with his most prolific form over his career.
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When Blackburn Rovers offered £2.5 million for Hignett, Barnsley bit their hand off, and he couldn't really turn down big-spending Rovers' offer. He was on a big wage and after scoring 21 goals in the previous season; he was expected to record a similar amount again. Five goals in Blackburn's promotion winning campaign followed by a more promising eight Premiership goals showed he
With the acquisitions of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole along with the emergence of Damien Duff, Higgers was frozen out at Rovers, and after making only two appearances in 2002-03, he was shipped out to Coventry City on loan. Two goals and a sending-off meant he went back to Blackburn with little to show.
Over the summer, Blackburn spent heavily and disillusioned with Graeme Souness' running of the club, he left for Micky Adams' newly promoted Leicester City, where he has yet to make an impression despite him probably being the most gifted player there.
Craig remains one of, if not the most popular ex-Crewe man out there and is regularly thought of as a very gifted player who has never really fulfilled the potential he showed at Gresty Road. A lot of votes asking for Craig's inclusion in the Hall of Fame are testament to his popularity at the Alex, and would always be welcomed back with open arms should he return.