Player in Focus: Joe Cracknell

JOE CRACKNELL

Hull-born and raised but now playing in the Football League with Harrogate Town, Joe Cracknell just loves Yorkshire. The goalkeeper has been a key part of Simon Weaver’s squad for the last four years and now, the 26-year-old tells us his story.

By Henry Whitaker

Cracknell was born and raised in the East Yorkshire port city of Kingston upon Hull and lived just a short walk away from the Tigers’ training ground and stadium.

He was brought up a supporter of his local club and would go to the games with his dad, who would sit him on the barriers at Boothferry Park to give him the best possible view.

A young Joe Cracknell witnessed Hull’s back to back promotions between 2003-2005 and was at Wembley in 2008 to see Dean Windass volley the ball into the top corner, which would earn Hull their first stint in the Premier League.

By that year, Cracknell was already a part of Hull City’s academy set-up after being scouted during an indoor tournament at the age of 10 years old.

From the very beginning, Cracknell loved being in goal, “diving around and getting in the way of the ball”.

At the age of just 14 years old, Cracknell had already played for the reserve side against North Ferriby in what was a surprising moment for the keeper.

“I rocked up expecting to be on the bench and all of the sudden they told me I was playing and it was a huge surprise,” Cracknell explains. “That was an early experience of men’s football and it was a bit of a shock and daunting, to be honest, being thrown right into the deep end.”

Cracknell vaguely remembers playing with now Leeds United captain Liam Cooper during his youth days and recalls more vividly seeing a young Ryan Fallowfield running around the Hull City training ground.

“I tried to keep an eye on him the best I could and he was then as he is now, someone who has so much energy,” Cracknell says with a grin.

The goalkeeper’s youth team competed at a good level and were involved in some big tournaments, including the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. The Hull youngsters came up against Premier League academies and narrowly lost out to Chelsea on penalties in the knockout stages.

His development was moving along nicely and the dream of becoming a professional began to seem “reachable”.

At 16, Cracknell made the next step after signing a two-year youth scholarship and he was thrown straight into the action. The young goalkeeper had just finished school but suddenly found himself fast-tracked to the first team for a pre-season tour in Slovenia. However, Cracknell so nearly missed out on the trip, as he explains.

“I started with the youth team on a Monday and then on the Tuesday afternoon, the youth team manager pulled me in and said the first team is going away and they want to go with me. I got home, told my mum and she was delighted for me but gave me the news that my passport had expired. I had to travel up to Durham to get my passport on the Thursday and then flew out that Saturday.”

Cracknell was now up in the mountains with the first team, being put through his paces in a gruelling pre-season camp. However, one of the main issues the Hull lad had was the lack of English TV channels in the hotel room.

“I remember being sat in the hotel room with basically no English TV. I think we had the Euro Sport channel so watched the Tour de France. It was roasting hot in Slovenia so the training sessions were really hard work,” he goes on to add. “We had 4-5 different types of sessions a day. We’d be in

the gym and doing lots of running at the earliest and latest points of the day. It felt like we just slept, trained and then repeated. I had gone from being an under-16 player to joining the first team. I was looking around seeing all these professionals that had been around for years. It made it such a good experience but also a strange one from being a Hull fan just watching to suddenly feeling a real part of the club.”

Two successful years with the youth team saw Cracknell offered a pro deal at 18 years old. As a local lad from a family full of Hull supporters, it made for a very proud and happy Cracknell household.

“It was a proud moment for my family to watch me go through the academy all the way up to the first team at our local club. It took me and my family back a bit and there was a bit of disbelief, to be honest.”

Cracknell joined an experienced goalkeepers’ union of Allan McGregor, Steve Harper and Eldin Jakupović but it meant playing opportunities for the youngster were incredibly slim.

The Hull keeper spent a lot of time playing for the reserve team before spending a month on loan with Scarborough Athletic.

The next season he re-joined Scarborough on another loan but this time for the season and that allowed him to get a good amount of game time, something Cracknell thought was “important” to have at a young age.

Unfortunately for Cracknell, no first-team opportunities with The Tigers then arose and at the end of the season, he had a sit down with manager Steve Bruce who told him it would be best for him to move on.

It was the news Cracknell didn’t want to hear.

“It was deflating to leave as I’d been at the club for so long and progressed nicely through the ranks,” Cracknell admits. “My last day at the club was the day we got relegated from the Premier League so that was a tough time to leave. It then just hit me quickly and there were a lot of thoughts going on in my head about where I could end up next but fortunately, I moved on to Bradford and that settled me down.”

Cracknell’s time at The Bantams began in the 2015/16 season under Phil Parkinson. The keeper was heavily involved with the first team but was the second choice and spent all his time on the bench.

Nonetheless, in his first season, Bradford finished fifth in League One and came up against Millwall in the play-off semi-finals.

The first leg saw The Bantams lose 3-1 at home, putting the Lions in control for the second leg and it led to a hostile atmosphere at The Den in which the two sides drew 1-1.

“Being involved with that at Millwall’s ground was an interesting atmosphere,” Cracknell says. “By the time the referee had blown the full-time whistle, there were 5000 fans on the pitch and we raced down the tunnel. There were a few rushing down there, I included. In the first game, we set off quite well but it went from 1-1 after they scored a

free-kick to 3-1. It got away from us really quickly. That campaign was my first time on the bench for a whole season and I felt a real part of that squad, it was just a shame that we fell short.”

Unable to force himself into the starting XI come the start of his second season, Cracknell went on loan to National League North team Bradford Park Avenue for a month.

The keeper made a handful of appearances before being recalled by The Bantams where he spent time on the bench and in the stands watching the League One side look for promotion.

Stuart McCall was now the manager and when the season ended, Bradford had again successfully secured their spot in the playoffs.

Victory over Fleetwood Town in the semi-finals set up the tie with, funnily enough, Millwall.

It was a chance for revenge but the Yorkshire side failed in their attempt, losing 1-0 to the Lions at Wembley Stadium.

At the end of that 2016/17 campaign, Cracknell’s time at Bradford came to an end and he moved on to join Harrogate Town in their first season as a full-time club.

“I remember coming on trial in the preseason and think I had a week at Notts County the week before,” Cracknell remembers. “I signed on the Friday, just in time for our first match of the season the following day.”

Acting as Town’s number two keeper, Cracknell has featured predominantly in cup competitions, including last season’s FA Trophy in which he helped secure another date at Wembley for the club.

The keeper also became the first goalie in Town history to play in the Football League, producing a heroic performance against Tranmere Rovers in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The two sides couldn’t be split after 90 minutes, leading to a penalty shootout in which Cracknell shone.

“It’s something I look back on with really fond memories,” he says with a big smile. “I don’t remember another game where I’ve finished and seen so many messages pop up on my phone. It was a crazy time and the lads were so happy for me, I really enjoyed it. Playing in previous cup games, I’ve always seen it as an opportunity to show what I can do. I try to be reliable in my performances and the good run last season gave me confidence that when I did come into the team, I could play my game and enjoy it.”

What followed was a string of strong performances in League Two, Papa John’s Trophy and the Carabao Cup - where Cracknell came up against Premier League side West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

“For me, it went so quickly but I had a good run and some good results. There were some big moments for the club early on in the season and fortunately I was involved in them.”

The return to full fitness of James Belshaw meant Cracknell’s time in the starting XI for league games was over and then just after Christmas, Cracknell suffered a freak knee injury while training.

After leaping to catch a high ball, the goalkeeper let it pass him and he then landed awkwardly and found himself in agonising pain.

Scans revealed ligament damage and it would be three months before he could return to action.

Before this, Cracknell had never been injured while at Harrogate and he was an ever-present in the matchday squad. Having that routine ripped up made for a frustrating period on the sidelines.

“It was tough not just physically but mentally as well,” Cracknell admits. “I was in a brace for the first six weeks and even going up the stairs at home was challenging. I was watching the games on the laptop and found it strange not being able to turn up to train with the lads for six weeks, it was hard.”

The keeper began training in March and then returned to the matchday squad for the first time in 2021 against Bolton Wanderers. Being back on duty for the 3 o’clock was a moment Cracknell had been looking forward to. “It felt like a normal weekend again. I was excited to get up early, travel to the match and be a part of it again. It was a big moment for me.”

Now in his fourth season with Town, Cracknell has been one of a core group of players to have been on this remarkable journey from the National League North to the Football League.

Looking back on the success, the goalkeeper only has positive things to say about his time at the club and being part of the GK’s union.

“You look back from joining the club in the Conference North to where we are now, a lot has happened in such a short space of time. For a lot of clubs, it can take years to get promoted. I’ve been fortunate to be part of the journey from the start and be a part of a great group. Our goalkeeping coach Phil [Priestley] is really good with us and speaks to us at the right times and we’ve got a good working relationship. It’s important it’s a closeknit group and Phil is a vital part of that.”

With a trip to Wembley on the horizon and Cracknell breaking into the starting XI against Bradford last time out, he’s hoping the opportunity to play at Wembley will come his way.

“We’ll see what comes on the day. Of course, it’s in the back of my mind that now I’m back training, I can make sure I’m ready for that if called upon. The aim will be to make it a memorable day again. I’ll just keep cracking on, train how I am and just aim to play as much as I can. It’s a great squad, both staff and players, and I enjoy being a part of that. I’ll give it my all and hopefully, more opportunities will come my way.”