Roger Freestone

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Roger Freestone
Personal information
Full name Roger Freestone
Date of birth (1968-08-19) 19 August 1968 (age 55)
Place of birth Caerleon, Wales
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1986–1987 Newport County 13 (0)
1987–1991 Chelsea 42 (0)
1989 → Swansea City (loan) 14 (0)
1990 → Hereford United (loan) 8 (0)
1991–2004 Swansea City 552 (3)
2004 Newport County 14 (0)
Total643(3)
International career
1990 Wales U21 1 (0)
2000 Wales 1 (0)
Managerial career
2002 Swansea City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roger Freestone (born 19 August 1968) is a former Wales international goalkeeper. He has the distinction of being one of a relatively small group of British footballers to play 500 English Football League matches for one club, the only other Welshmen being Ryan Giggs, Neville Southall and Len Weare.

Contents

Club career

Born in Caerleon, near Newport, Monmouthshire, Freestone began his career at Newport County as a trainee before moving to Chelsea in 1987 for £95,000. During his time there he was never the established first choice, being behind Eddie Niedzwiecki, Kevin Hitchcock and Dave Beasant, and was loaned out to Swansea City and Hereford United. He eventually joined Swansea on a permanent deal in 1991, for a fee of £45,000, and went on to spend over a decade, the majority of his career, at the Welsh club.

In 2001 a rumoured move to rivals Cardiff City was met with anger from Swansea fans as they did not want to lose him. [2] He left the club after thirteen years and went on to sign for Newport County in 2004, but his contract was cancelled several months later by mutual consent owing to recurring injury problems [3] and he eventually retired.

The way in which he left Swansea City angered a lot of fans. Then-manager Kenny Jackett said he made a tough choice in releasing Roger Freestone and the supporters felt they had missed an opportunity to give a proper send-off that he deserved for his contribution. [4]

Freestone is considered a legend among Swansea fans. In 1995, he briefly became the clubs penalty taker, where he converted three out of three spot-kicks. His talent as a shot stopper lead to him keeping 22 clean sheets in a season, which was a club record, [5] until Dorus de Vries broke the record in the 2009–10 season. [6]

International career

Freestone played for Wales at schoolboy, under-21 and B level before winning his first and only cap against Brazil in 2000. [7]

Management career

Freestone had a short-lived stint as manager at Swansea along with Nick Cusack. [8] He currently manages youth side, Risca & Gelli United in the Islwyn Youth League.

Career statistics

Club performanceLeagueCupTotal
SeasonClubLeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
EnglandLeague FA Cup League CupTotal
1986–87 Newport County Division 3 130--130
1986–87 Chelsea Division 1 60--60
1987–88 15020170
1988–89 Division 2 210--20230
1989–90 Division 1 00--00
1989–90 Hereford United (Loan) Division 4 80--80
1989–90 Swansea City (Loan) Division 3 140--140
1990–91 Chelsea Division 1 00--00
1991–92 Swansea City Division 3 420--420
1992–93 Division 2 460--460
1993–94 460--460
1994–95 451--20471
1995–96 452--–-452
1996–97 Division 3 4500020470
1997–98 4301020460
1998–99 3805020450
1999–2000 4602040520
2000–01 Division 2 4301020460
2001–02 Division 3 4302010460
2002–03 3301010350
2003–04 3705000420
2004–05 Newport County Conference South 140--140
TotalEngland64331901806803
Career total64331901806803

Honours

Chelsea

Swansea City

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References

  1. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 122. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. ↑ "Hollins hits out" BBC Sport Retrieved on 3 November 2007
  3. ↑ "Keeper Freestone leaves Newport" BBC Sport Retrieved on 3 November 2007
  4. ↑ "Swansea City - 18 - Roger Freestone". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  5. ↑ "Centurion de Vries loving Swansea". BBC News. 23 October 2009.
  6. ↑ "Swansea 3–0 Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  7. ↑ "Wales vs Brazil match report" Dragonsoccer Retrieved on 3 November 2007
  8. ↑ "Mark Aizlewood:"No cause for celebration" BBC Sport Retrieved on 3 November 2007
  9. ↑ Fox, Norman (25 May 1997). "Football: Swansea run over by Frain". The Independent. Independent Digital News & Media. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
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