Roger Cross is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former footballer who played as a forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

.

Player

As well as being a professional footballer he could have made a living as a first class cricketer having been on the books of Essex County Cricket Club.

Cross' association with West Ham began with his signing as an apprentice in July 1964. He was the reserve team top scorer in two consecutive seasons, but he failed to establish himself in the Hammers first team, and was loaned

Loan (football)

In sports, a loan involves a particular player being allowed to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long....

 to Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient F.C.

Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

 during the 1968-1969 season. In 1969, after 8 appearances and a single goal, he moved to Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 for £12,000. Cross went on to play for Fulham

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

, who signed him for £30,000, and he scored ten goals in 46 league and cup appearances for the west London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 club. He had a second spell at Griffin Park

Griffin Park

Griffin Park is a football ground situated in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It has been the home ground of League One side Brentford since it was built in 1904. It is known for being the only English league football ground to have a pub on each corner, and is situated in a...

, and took his Bee's tally to 228 appearances and 79 goals. He then joined Millwall

Millwall F.C.

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...

 for £8,000. In 1977, Cross moved to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to play for the Seattle Sounders

Seattle Sounders (NASL)

The Seattle Sounders were a U.S. professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1974, the team belonged to the North American Soccer League where it played both indoor and outdoor soccer. The team folded after the 1983 NASL outdoor season.-Stadium:The Sounders played at Memorial...

 of the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

.

Manager

In 1979, he became youth team manager at Millwall. After a period on the coaching staff at Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

, he moved to Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

, where he later became assistant manager to Gerry Francis

Gerry Francis

Gerald Charles James Francis is an English former footballer and manager, now working as First Team coach at Stoke City.-Playing career:Francis made his debut for Queens Park Rangers v Liverpool in March 1969...

. He rejoined West Ham as reserve team coach in the summer of 2001 later going on to become chief scout

Scout (sport)

In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

. In April 2011 West Ham sacked Cross from this role.

External links

• Roger Cross at westhamstats.info
• Seattle Sounders stats
• Roger Cross career