Biography
Striker Craig Dudley joined the Tigers on loan in November 1998 and remained at the Tigers for just two months, but witnessed tumultuous times. He made his debut in a horrendous 0-2 home defeat against a Brighton side reduced to nine men, a defeat that prompted the dismissal of Mark Hateley. With Warren Joyce installed as manager Dudley scored in the new boss’s first two games, a narrow defeat at Scunthorpe and an important 1-0 win over Carlisle. He didn’t score in his next four league games, all of which were lost, and left the club at the end of December.
Dudley was born in Ollerton, a Nottinghamshire town at the centre of a triangle cornered by Mansfield, Worksop and Newark-on-Trent built on hop growing and coal mining. Dudley was a trainee at Notts County and made his Magpies debut as a seventeen year old in March 1997 as the Meadow Lane side dropped into the fourth tier. He was mainly used as a substitute in 1997/98 and had a spell on loan at Shrewsbury. He had fallen out of first team favour in 1998/99 when he joined the Tigers on loan.
Dudley had a short loan spell at Telford United after his two months at Hull City, then signed for Oldham Athletic in March 1999. He spent three years at Boundary Park starting 1999/00 season as a first choice, although as time progressed injuries affected his form and he drifted out of the first team picture. In 2002 he dropped into the Conference with newly promoted Burton Albion and spent three successful years with the Brewers making 100 appearances. In the 2005/06 season he had spells at Hyde United and Ashton United before ending his playing days in 2006 due to injuries. He subsequently became a driving instructor in the Oldham area.
In April 1999 Dudley was part of an England under-20s squad competing in the World Youth Championship in Nigeria, making three appearances. He had previous involvement with the England youth setup while at Notts County, but did not make an appearance for the national youth side.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 12 September 1979, Ollerton
Hull City First Game: 10 November 1998, Brighton & Hove Albion H (League Division 3), 19 years, 59 days old
Hull City Final Game: 28 December 1998, Shrewsbury Town A (League Division 3), 19 years, 107 days old
Clubs
Notts County (1995-1999), Shrewsbury Town (1998, loan), Hull City (1998, loan), Telford United (1999, loan), Oldham Athletic (1999-2002), Chesterfield (1999, loan), Scunthorpe United (2002, loan), Burton Albion (2002-2005), Hyde United (2005), Ashton United (2005-2006)
Hull City Record
Career: 7 apps, 2 goals
Craig Dudley| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998/99 | 4 (3) | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |