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Crainey joined Southampton when he first came into English football but was there for just six months and made just five appearances. He would have been a target for Stan Ternent in the summer of 2004 had he not left the club. Instead Ternent's assistant Sam Ellis persuaded Kevin Blackwell to take him to Leeds.
He spent three years at Leeds making 62 league appearances but last summer joined Blackpool on a Bosman. He played in 40 of their league games during the 2007/08 season and scored his first ever goal in a 2-2 home draw against Sheffield United.
Now, if the reports are correct, he could soon become a Burnley player at a cost of a quarter of a million as Coyle's replacement for Jon Harley who left the club days after the last game of the season at Crystal Palace.
However, only this month Crainey signed an extension to his contract with Blackpool to remain with the Bloomfield Road club for a further year. He said at the beginning of May: "I'm delighted. I've really enjoyed my first year here. I've had a great run of games and I think I've had a good season, and the club has had a good year with staying in the Championship."
Crainey had overcome an early season injury to establish himself in the side and he ended the season by winning the two main awards, the Player of the Year Award and the Players' Player of the Year Award.