Former England under-21s star ready for Ricoh Arena encounter

Added: (Mon Sep 28 2009)

Pressbox (Press Release) -
When the England under-21 side line-up against Macedonia at the Ricoh Arena on October 9, one member of the crowd could be forgiven for feeling he should be in the thick of the action.
Versatile Coventry City defender Martin Cranie had been involved with the England under-21 squad for over two years and played a pivotal role in the team’s progress to the European under-21 Championship Final in Sweden this June and even netted against the host nation in the semi-final.
At 23-years-old, Cranie is now too old to feature for England’s young lions but he will always look back fondly on what proved to be a hectic summer and his final tournament with Stuart Pearce’s men – despite Germany denying him a fairytale ending after dishing out a 4-0 drubbing in the final.
“I didn’t really get any time off, most of the summer was spent qualifying for the European Championships and obviously we did well and got all the way to the final,” said Cranie.
“I don’t score many to be fair, but in the semi-final I popped up with a goal which was nice.
“We were a bit unlucky at the end but it was a good experience for me.”
The heavy defeat to Germany was a cruel way for the tournament and Cranie’s under-21 career to come to an end, especially as he had experienced it all before.
“It was a shame it ended that way, we had such a good tournament and obviously we wanted to win it, but on the day we just didn’t really turn up.
“This has happened all the way through my career, in the under-17s we were beaten in the semi-final and in the under-19s we were beaten in the final, so I have never actually won it.
“Pushing for the senior team will be the next step but at the moment I just want to concentrate on playing regular football and helping Coventry do the best they can.”
Yeovil-born Cranie has barely had time to relax since returning from that fateful night in Malmo and within days of resuming pre-season training with Portsmouth he was packing his bags again after completing a move to Coventry City.
“I had only been back for a couple of weeks but then I was up and off again. I was settled at Portsmouth but I didn’t really get the games I wanted.
“But now I’m at Coventry and I’m happy, I’ve got an apartment sorted and once I have settled down I’ll hopefully play regular football.”
The Southampton academy graduate has made a steady start to his Sky Blues’ career and has continued his new found talent for goal-scoring by netting his first career league goal during the 3-2 victory over Sheffield United at the Ricoh Arena.
“We have got good players at Coventry from what I have seen so far. I wouldn’t say we have one of the biggest squads in the league, but we have added a few new faces and brought in some quality players.
“All we can do is try to pick up as many points as possible in the run up to Christmas and hopefully we can do well.”
But Cranie will always have a special place in his heart for international football, and plans to visit the Ricoh Arena for the under-21s clash with Macedonia.
“I’ll definitely be going along to see how they do.
“It is a different style of football to club football, you see different players from different teams so you can see how football is played in different places.
“There are a lot of quality players in the squad who are playing week in, week out in the Premier League and playing with them can only have benefited me.”
Tickets for England under-21s against Macedonia under-21s at the Ricoh Arena on Friday 9th October are available by ringing 0871 220 0260 or online at www.seetickets.com.

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