later, other options at left back. Crainey later regained his place, but then was dropped again before suffering an injury. Crainey's recovery coincided with the return to fitness of loan player Robbie Elliott who was regarded as Dennis Wise's first choice left-back. Elliott featured on the bench for the game against Leicester City on 13 March 2007, in his first outing since returning from injury, but Crainey was not even included in the squad as Wise chose to start Armando Sá in that role. His last appearance was on 30 January 2007, in a 2–1 win over Hull City. Crainey was eventually released at the end of his Leeds contract on 15 May 2007 as the Whites were relegated to League One. Blackpool On 9 July 2007, Crainey signed for Blackpool in a one-year deal with an option for a further year. On 13 August 2007, he was named in the Press Association's Championship "Team of the Week". Crainey scored his first-ever league goal on 19 September 2007, in a 2–2 draw with Bryan Robson's Sheffield United at Bloomfield Road. On 3 December 2007, he was again named in the Press Association's Championship "Team of the Week". Crainey was also named in the Press Association's Championship "Team of the Week" on 4 February 2008. He made a total of 43 appearances (scoring one League goal) in the 2007–08 season as the Seasiders finished nineteenth in the Championship, the club's highest-place finish in the Football League in 27 years. In June 2008 newspaper reports linked Crainey with a £250,000 move to fellow Championship club Burnley, but he instead signed a new contract with Blackpool. He missed the start of the 2008–09 season with a groin injury and Blackpool brought in Mohammed Camara on loan to cover for him. On 9 September the club confirmed that Crainey had undergone an operation the day before which would keep him out of action for a further four to six weeks. He made his comeback on 24 January 2009 as an 87th-minute substitute in a 2–0 win over Birmingham City at Bloomfield Road. That season he made a total of 17 appearances. Crainey was named in the Championship "Team of the Week", along with teammates Matthew Gilks and Marcel Seip, following his performance in Blackpool's 0–0 draw with Swansea City on 24 October at the Liberty Stadium. On 22 January 2011, in a home defeat