Chris Freestone (born 4 September 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Freestone | ||
| Date of birth | 4 September 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1994 | Arnold Town | 60 | (67) |
| 1994–1997 | Middlesbrough | 9 | (2) |
| 1997 | → Carlisle United (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 1997 | → Northampton Town (loan) | 2 | (2) |
| 1997–1999 | Northampton Town | 58 | (28) |
| 1999–2000 | Hartlepool United | 37 | (18) |
| 2000 | → Cheltenham Town (loan) | 5 | (3) |
| 2000–2001 | Shrewsbury Town | 27 | (2) |
| 2001–2003 | Forest Green Rovers | 1 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Dundalk (loan) | ||
| 2002 | Rugby United | ||
| 2002 | King's Lynn | ||
| 2002 | Leek Town | ||
| 2002–2004 | Ilkeston Town | ||
| 2004–2005 | Gresley Rovers | ||
| 2005 | → Long Eaton United (loan) | ||
| 2005–2012 | Arnold Town | 165 | (52) |
| 2013 | Hucknall Town | ||
| 2018 | Gedling Miners Welfare | 1 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2012 | Arnold Town | ||
| 2012 - 2014 | England Learning Disabilities team | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editFreestone joined Middlesbrough from Nottinghamshire club Arnold Town of the Northern Counties (East) League midway through the 1994–95 season. Before joining Boro for a small fee he had netted 54 goals for Arnold Town and had trials with Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Notts County and Chesterfield. Fast and confident, he had averaged almost a goal a game for Boro reserves in two seasons since joining. Freestone scored on his full first team debut in the 3–1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in April 1996.[1] His only other goal for Boro came in the League Cup against Barnet in September 1997.[2] He was also on the pitch as a late substitute as Boro confirmed their spot in the 1997 FA Cup Final with a semi final replay victory over Chesterfield,[3] however he was left out of the final match day squad altogether as they lost 2–0 to Chelsea. After a loan spell, Freestone joined Northampton in December 1997 scoring 20 goals including a hat trick against Plymouth Argyle. The highlight of his time at Northampton was scoring two goals against Premier League side West Ham United in the 1998–99 League Cup. Freestone's brace in the first leg gave Northampton a 2–0 lead going into the second leg,[4] in which West Ham were only able to muster a 1–0 win with a Frank Lampard goal meaning that Northampton knocked out their illustrious opponents.[5] After leaving Northampton, Freestone signed for Hartlepool United and scored the 2 goals against Scarborough that kept them in the Football League. He also had a loan spell at Cheltenham Town where he scored 3 goals in 5 games and earned himself 3 man of the matc awards in that time, before signing for Shrewsbury Town. At Shrewsbury although he scored against Man United during Pre-season he failed to score in the league but did score once in the League Cup against Preston North End[6] and once in the FA Cup against former club Cheltenham.[7]
After leaving Shrewsbury he subsequently played Dundalk, Airdrie and Forest Green Rovers before dropping back and playing for several non-League clubs, including King's Lynn, Leek Town, Ilkeston Town,[8] Gresley Rovers, Long Eaton United, Arnold Town and Hucknall Town.[9][10]
He was appointed joint manager of Arnold Town alongside Martin Carruthers two games into the 2009–10 season.[11] They both left the club in June 2012. In 2012 Whilst working for the FA he was appointed Head Coach for the England Learning Disabilities team where they finished 3rd in the European Championships in Sweden and 1st in the Tri-Nations Tournament in England in 2014. [12] He was later appointed Assistant Manager of Basford United in 2014.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Wednesday not out of trouble yet". The Independent. 6 April 1996. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "Hateley's Hull look forward to trip to the Palace". The Independent. 18 September 1997. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Moore, Glenn (22 April 1997). "Foreign legion go back to Wembley". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Northampton 2 West Ham 0". Sporting Life. 15 September 1998. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "Hammer horror for Old Lady". The Guardian. 22 September 1998. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "Worthington Cup 2000-2001 Season Round 1 Fixtures & Results". Sky Sports. 22 August 2000. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "Cheltenham 4-1 Shrewsbury". BBC. 18 November 2000. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Player Archive Leek Town F.C.
- ^ a b Player Database - Chris Freestone Gresley F.C.
- ^ Veteran Freestone in kind act to help out crisis-hit Yellows[permanent dead link] Nottingham Post, 5 January 2013
- ^ Ghandi & Freeo's 142 game reign Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine The all new Arnold Who, 3 July 2012
- ^ Management Duo Leave Eagle Valley Northern Counties East League, 19 June 2012
External links
edit- Chris Freestone at Soccerbase
