| Born in Coatbridge, Scotland, striker Gerry Creaney had spent seven
years with Glasgow Celtic, where he had scored 36 goals in 113
appearances for the club and earned Scotland Under-21 honours, before
heading south to join First Division Portsmouth in January 1994. After a
successful time at Pompey the 25-year old was transferred to Manchester
City for £1.5 million only a month after the start of the 1995/96
season, newly-appointed manager Alan Ball hoping to add more firepower
to his attack as his team sat bottom of the Premiership table with only
one point from the opening five games.
He made an immediate
impact, scoring on his debut in a 3-1 away defeat at Newcastle United on
September 16th 1995, but the team had to wait until the beginning of
November for their first win, a 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers at
Maine Road providing welcome relief. It had been a disastrous start to
manager Ball's reign - including two thrashings in four days by
Liverpool at Anfield as they were beaten 4-0 in the League Cup and 6-0
in the league - and after only three starts Gerry found himself on the
substitute's bench, his lack of match fitness becoming apparent as he
struggled to adapt to life in the higher division. With results and
confidence improving a dramatic turnaround in fortunes saw the team
finally crawl out of the relegation zone in early-December, Creaney
coming on to head the winner in a 1-0 victory at Leeds United for a
fourth win in five games.
The revival, however, was over as
suddenly as it had begun with only one more league win until February as
Gerry's only outings came when he was used as a substitute, more often
than not to play in midfield despite being an out-and-out striker. He
had notched a goal in a 5-0 third round FA Cup replay victory over
Leicester City in January, but a 2-1 fifth round defeat at Manchester
United a month later put paid to any cup hopes. With Creaney's first
team chances increasingly limited as he looked to displace Niall Quinn
and Uwe Rosler in the attack, he was given his first start since the
turn of the year at Arsenal in early March, once again getting on the
scoresheet in a 3-1 defeat. It was to be his final game of the season
for City, as he was allowed to go out on loan to Oldham Athletic on
transfer deadline day at the end of the month after scoring 3 goals in
his 15 league appearances, despite starting in only 6 of them with the
Blues being relegated on the final day of the season after a 2-2 home
draw with Liverpool.
On his return to Maine Road for the start of
the 1996/97 season Gerry again found himself frozen out of the
first-team picture, coming off the bench once again in a 2-1 win over
Charlton Athletic in early-September to bag another goal as a
substitute. With manager Ball having resigned in the meantime his days
at the club were clearly numbered as a succession of managers came and
went, and he was sent out on loan to Ipswich Town and Burnley before
returning to make a couple of appearances in January. Creaney then had
to wait until mid-November of the following season for his next (and
final) appearance in a sky-blue shirt, when he started in a 1-1 away
draw at Sheffield United. He was then sent out on loan once again, this
time to Chesterfield, and he eventually left the club in October 1998
when he returned to Scotland to join St Mirren on a free transfer,
having scored five goals in his 25 league and cup appearances (including
17 as a substitute).
He later went on to have spells with Notts
County, Finnish team Tampere United, Raith Rovers, Queen of the South,
Clydebank and Clyde before retiring at the end of December 2000. (David
Redshaw).
1995–1998 Manchester City 21 (4)
1996 Oldham Athletic (loan) 9 (2)
1996 Ipswich Town (loan) 6 (1)
1997 Burnley (loan) 10 (8)
1998 Chesterfield (loan) 4 (0)
1998–1999 St Mirren 12 (3)
1999 Notts County 16 (3)
1999 TPV 1 (0)
2000 Raith Rovers 6 (1)
2000 Queen of the South 1 (0)
2000 Clydebank 3 (0)
After retiring from playing football, Creaney became a qualified accountant.
In January 2010 Creaney returned to football when he was named as assistant
to manager Danny Drew at Bellshill Athletic.[8] On 12 October 2010, Creaney
become manager at Bellshill Athletic after Danny Drew resigned. He was
appointed head of youth development at Dundee in October 2014
|