Martin Cranie Bio Send To Friend  

Cranie made his Pompey debut in the first home game of the 2007/08 season against Manchester United turning in a decent performance at right back.

After a couple more first team appearance the youngster was packed off to QPR on a three-month loan deal, but a broken leg after just six-appearances for the Loftus Road club cut short his time in London.

Cranie was handed a surprise professional debut, at the age of 17, in May 2004 as Southampton struggled with an injury crisis. But the former England youth international had a debut to forget as he scored an own goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The player was eligible for both Scotland and England as a youth, and was named in squads for both nations. But he chose England, and bagged a goal on his Under-17 debut against the Czech Republic.

He was loaned to AFC Bournemouth for first team experience at the end of October 2004. He made his debut in a 3-1 defeat at home to Barnsley and played three matches.

The defender was part of the Southampton team which reached the final of the FA Youth Cup in 2005, before losing out to Ipswich Town.

Another loan spell came in November 2006 when he joined Yeovil Town for two months - and he returned for a third month in March. In total, Cranie played 12 games for the League One promotion hopefuls.

It was a surprise when Cranie opted to join Portsmouth in the summer of 2007 as he had struggled to get a game in the Championship - his only appearance in the League in 2006/07 for Saints was as an injury time substitute in the very first game.

However, Harry Redknapp - who of course had managed him at Southampton - took a chance on the promising young defender.

Cranie played 25 games for Southampton.