Roy Cross

Roy Cross (born 4 December 1947) is an English former footballer who played as a central defender. He played 161 games in a nine-year career in the Football League and 182 games in four seasons of play in the Southern League. He made 54 appearances in two Alliance Premier League campaigns.

He began his career at Walsall, debuting in the 1966–67 season. However, he featured just 13 times in four seasons before he moved on to Port Vale in July 1970. He was an ever-present in the 1971–72 season and made 134 consecutive appearances from his debut until he twisted his knee in March 1973. Another knee injury seven months later then caused him to be sidelined for 17 months. He took a free transfer to Nuneaton Borough at the end of the 1974–75 season. He made 236 league and cup appearances over the next six seasons at Nuneaton, lifting the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1980 before he retired due to other work commitments the following year.

Career Walsall Cross entered the world of football at 19, having stuck to further education before then. He began his career at Walsall, who finished 12th in the Third Division in 1966–67 under the stewardship of Ray Shaw. New boss Ron Lewin then took the "Saddlers" to a seventh-place finish in 1967–68. After a 13th-place finish in 1968–69, Bill Moore returned to lead Walsall to 12th place in 1969–70. Cross played just 12 league games in his four years at Fellows Park as he was unable to dislodge club favourite Stan Jones. he was signed to replace retiring number five Roy Sproson, who had been with the club for over 20 years. He made his debut on 5 September, in a 1–0 win over Preston North End at Vale Park. He scored his second – and final – career goal on 26 March 1979, the fourth goal of a 4–0 win over Wealdstone at Manor Park. He featured 25 times in the 1980–81 season, which saw the club relegated into the Southern League Midland Division.

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1966–67 Third Division

1967–68 Third Division

1968–69 Third Division

1969–70 Third Division

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1970–71 Third Division

1971–72 Third Division

1972–73 Third Division

1973–74 Third Division

1974–75 Third Division

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1975–76 Southern League Premier Division

1976–77 Southern League Premier Division

1977–78 Southern League Premier Division

1978–79 Southern League Premier Division

1979–80 Alliance Premier League

1980–81 Alliance Premier League

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Honours Nuneaton Borough Birmingham Senior Cup: 1980