Roger Freestone
Encyclopedia
Roger Freestone is a former Wales
international Goalkeeper.
, 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 Niedzwicki, 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. 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 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.
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, until Dorus de Vries
broke the record in the 2009–10 season. Such is his status as a Swans hero, when debutant replacement keeper Willy Guéret
conceded two goals, the fans started chanting their regular Roger Roger chant towards the Frenchman. In May 2003 Freestone was granted a testimonial for the Swans, against his former club Chelsea. Despite fielding a team of mainly youngsters, Chelsea won the game 2-1. Freestone played both in goal and, for a brief time, up front, with around 4,000 fans of both sides at the Vetch Field
.
at schoolboy, under-21 and B level before winning his first and only cap against Brazil
in 2000.
. He currently manages youth side, Risca & Gelli United in the Islwyn Youth League.
|1986/87||rowspan="1"|Newport County
||rowspan="1"|Division 3||13||0||-||-||13||0
|-
|1986/87||rowspan="4"|Chelsea
||rowspan="2"|Division 1||6||0||-||-||6||0
|-
|1987/88||15||0||-||-||15||0
|-
|1988/89||rowspan="1"|Division 2||21||0||-||-||21||0
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="1"|Division 1||0||0||-||-||0||0
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="1"|Hereford United (Loan)
||rowspan="1"|Division 4||8||0||-||-||8||0
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="1"|Swansea City (Loan)||rowspan="1"|Division 3||14||0||-||-||14||0
|-
|1990/91||Chelsea
||Division 1||0||0||-||-||0||0
|-
|1991/92||rowspan="13"|Swansea City||rowspan="1"|Division 3||42||0||-||-||42||0
|-
|1992/93||rowspan="4"|Division 2||46||0||-||-||46||0
|-
|1993/94||46||0||-||-||46||0
|-
|1994/95||45||1||-||-||45||1
|-
|1995/96||45||2||-||-||45||2
|-
|1996/97||rowspan="4"|Division 3||45||0||-||-||45||0
|-
|1997/98||43||0||-||-||43||0
|-
|1998/99||38||0||-||-||38||0
|-
|1999/2000||46||0||-||-||46||0
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="1"|Division 2||43||0||-||-||43||0
|-
|2001/02||rowspan="3"|Division 3||43||0||-||-||43||0
|-
|2002/03||33||0||-||-||33||0
|-
|2003/04||34||0||-||-||34||0
|-
|2004/05||rowspan="1"|Newport County
||rowspan="1"|Blue Square South||14||0||-||-||14||0
|-
640||3||-||-||640||3
640||3||-||-||640||3
Swansea City
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
international Goalkeeper.
Club career
Born in CaerleonCaerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
, near Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
, Freestone began his career at Newport County
Newport County A.F.C.
Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
as a trainee before moving to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in 1987 for £95,000. During his time there he was never the established first choice, being behind Eddie Niedzwicki, Kevin Hitchcock
Kevin Hitchcock
Kevin Hitchcock is an English former football goalkeeper who made nearly 300 appearances in the Football League and Premier League playing for Mansfield Town, Chelsea and Northampton Town.-Career:...
and Dave Beasant
Dave Beasant
David John "Dave" Beasant, is a retired English football goalkeeper who began his career in the late 1970s. A well-travelled player, Beasant's former clubs include Wimbledon, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion and Wigan...
, and was loaned out to Swansea City and Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
. 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
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
was met with anger from Swansea fans as they did not want to lose him. He left the club after thirteen years and went on to sign for Newport County
Newport County A.F.C.
Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
in 2004, but his contract was cancelled several months later by mutual consent owing to recurring injury problems 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.
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, until Dorus de Vries
Dorus de Vries
Dorus de Vries is a Dutch football goalkeeper signed to English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.De Vries began his professional career in his native Holland with Telstar, before spending three seasons with ADO Den Haag. He moved to Britain in 2006, when he spent a season at Scottish...
broke the record in the 2009–10 season. Such is his status as a Swans hero, when debutant replacement keeper Willy Guéret
Willy Guéret
Willy July Guéret is a French professional footballer with Kettering Town. He is a goalkeeper.-Playing career:...
conceded two goals, the fans started chanting their regular Roger Roger chant towards the Frenchman. In May 2003 Freestone was granted a testimonial for the Swans, against his former club Chelsea. Despite fielding a team of mainly youngsters, Chelsea won the game 2-1. Freestone played both in goal and, for a brief time, up front, with around 4,000 fans of both sides at the Vetch Field
Vetch Field
The Vetch Field was a multi-purpose stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the Liberty Stadium opened in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at the time of its closure, but upwards of 30,000 at its peak...
.
International career
Freestone played for WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
at schoolboy, under-21 and B level before winning his first and only cap against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
in 2000.
Management career
Freestone had a short-lived stint as manager at Swansea along with Nick CusackNick Cusack
Nicholas John Cusack is an English former footballer and, briefly, player-manager. He was for a time chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association .-Football career:...
. He currently manages youth side, Risca & Gelli United in the Islwyn Youth League.
Career statistics
|-|1986/87||rowspan="1"|Newport County
Newport County A.F.C.
Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
||rowspan="1"|Division 3||13||0||-||-||13||0
|-
|1986/87||rowspan="4"|Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
||rowspan="2"|Division 1||6||0||-||-||6||0
|-
|1987/88||15||0||-||-||15||0
|-
|1988/89||rowspan="1"|Division 2||21||0||-||-||21||0
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="1"|Division 1||0||0||-||-||0||0
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="1"|Hereford United (Loan)
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
||rowspan="1"|Division 4||8||0||-||-||8||0
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="1"|Swansea City (Loan)||rowspan="1"|Division 3||14||0||-||-||14||0
|-
|1990/91||Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
||Division 1||0||0||-||-||0||0
|-
|1991/92||rowspan="13"|Swansea City||rowspan="1"|Division 3||42||0||-||-||42||0
|-
|1992/93||rowspan="4"|Division 2||46||0||-||-||46||0
|-
|1993/94||46||0||-||-||46||0
|-
|1994/95||45||1||-||-||45||1
|-
|1995/96||45||2||-||-||45||2
|-
|1996/97||rowspan="4"|Division 3||45||0||-||-||45||0
|-
|1997/98||43||0||-||-||43||0
|-
|1998/99||38||0||-||-||38||0
|-
|1999/2000||46||0||-||-||46||0
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="1"|Division 2||43||0||-||-||43||0
|-
|2001/02||rowspan="3"|Division 3||43||0||-||-||43||0
|-
|2002/03||33||0||-||-||33||0
|-
|2003/04||34||0||-||-||34||0
|-
|2004/05||rowspan="1"|Newport County
Newport County A.F.C.
Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
||rowspan="1"|Blue Square South||14||0||-||-||14||0
|-
640||3||-||-||640||3
640||3||-||-||640||3
Honours
Chelsea- Football League Division 2 - 1988/1989 (Champions)
Swansea City
- Football League Division 3 - 1999/2000 (Champions)
- Autoglass TrophyFootball League TrophyThe Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
- 1994 (Champions) - FAW Premier CupFAW Premier CupThe FAW Premier Cup is a defunct Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008...
- 2001, 2002 (Runners-up)