He subsequently played in England for Football League clubs Wycombe Wanderers, Milton Keynes Dons and Brentford before returning to Scotland with St Johnstone in 2011.
[2] McCracken made his competitive senior debut in a Scottish Premier League (SPL) match against Celtic on 2 May 2000, as Dundee United loss 1–0.
[3] In a follow–up match against Motherwell, however, he received a straight red card in the 28th minute for a professional foul on John Spencer, as the Tangerines loss 2–1.
[14] McCracken had to wait until on 23 February 2002 to make his first team return, starting the whole game, in a 2–2 draw against Ayr United in the quarter–finals of the Scottish Cup to earn a replay.
[21] McCracken was subjected to a transfer move when manager McCall offered cash sum plus him, in exchange for Hibernian’s Mathias Kouo-Doumbé.
[29] He captained Dundee United for the first time in his career and helped the club beat Stranraer in the second round of the Scottish League Cup.
[31] Despite this, McCracken came on as a 82nd minute substitute and played through extra time, as he helped the Tangerines beat Hibernian 2–1 to reach the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup.
[35] However, during the fourth round of the Scottish Cup tie against Queen of the South, McCracken suffered a foot injury and was substituted in the 36th minute, as Dundee United won 3–0.
[62] Following the Chairboys’ defeat against Peterborough United on 14 October 2007, his performance along with the defenders were criticised by manager Lambert for lacking courage, which McCracken agreed with his words in response.
[68] In a match against Bury on 12 February 2008, he made a mistake that led to the opposition team scoring an equaliser, costing the Chairboys a win, in a 2–2 draw.
[73] He successfully predicted that the season would be a failure if Wycombe Wanderers didn’t make it to the Football League Two play-off final.
[74] Following the resignation of manager Lambert, McCracken said he was devastated to hear the news, having persuaded him to make a move to the Chairboys and felt the squad let him because of this.
[84] Following his return from injury, McCracken regained his first team place, as he led the Chairboys maintain their good form in League Two.
[85] However, in a match against Lincoln City on 10 March 2009, he suffered a groin injury and was substituted in the 54th minute, as Wycombe Wanderers loss 1–0.
[87] On the last game of the season against Notts County, he scored an equalising goal from a six yards, as the match ended in a 1–2 home defeat, but Wycombe Wanderers were automatically promoted to Football League One nevertheless.
[93] McCracken made his Milton Keynes Dons' debut in the opening game of the season, in a 0–0 draw against Hartlepool United.
[97] Since joining the Dons, McCracken quickly became a first team regular under Paul Ince and formed a centre–back partnership with Dean Lewington.
[99] After serving a one match suspension, McCracken made his return to the starting line–up, in a 4–1 win against Hereford United in the quarter–finals of the Football League Trophy.
[100] However, in a match against Stockport County on 6 February 2010, he suffered a calf injury and was substituted, as Milton Keynes Dons won 3–1.
[104] In a follow–up match against Leeds United, he received a straight red card in the 85th minute for a foul on Jermaine Beckford, as Milton Keynes Dons loss 4–1.
[2] After making only two starts for the club, McCracken moved to Bristol Rovers on 18 January 2011 on an initial one-month loan deal.
[119] However, in a match against AFC Bournemouth on 25 April 2011, McCracken then received a red card for a professional foul after elbowing Adam Smith in a 2–1 loss, in what turns out to be his appearance for Bristol Rovers.
[121] Teammate Peter Enckelman praised manager Derek McInnes for signing McCracken and Frazer Wright after losing Michael Duberry on a free transfer, where he returned to England.
[125] But McCracken made his return from injury, coming on as a 20th-minute substitute for the injured Frazer Wright, in a 2–0 loss against St Mirren in the last 16 of the Scottish League Cup.
[127] It wasn’t until on 3 December 2012 when McCracken made his return from injury, coming on as a 11th-minute substitute for the injured Wright again, in a 2–1 win against Hearts.
At the start of the 2012–13 season, McCracken played in both legs of the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round against Turkish side Eskişehirspor, as St Johnstone went on to lose 4–1 on aggregate and was eliminated in the tournament.
[140] In a match against Kilmarnock on 9 March 2013, McCracken set up a goal for Murray Davidson to score the opener, in a 2–0 win, in what turns out to be his last appearance for the Saints.
[147] In the fifth round of the Scottish Cup against Rangers on 30 November 2013, however, he received a straight red card in the 57th minute for a foul on Nicky Clark, in a 2–0 loss.
[162] In the final, he started the match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but made a mistake in the build-up to the late goal from James Vincent that saw the Bairns loss 2–1.
[177] He made his debut for the club as captain, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win against East Fife in the Scottish League Cup.