Johnny Crossan

Johnny Crossan

Personal information
Full name	John Andrew Crossan
Date of birth	29 November 1938
Place of birth	Derry, Northern Ireland
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Inside forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1954–1958	Derry City	?	(5)
1958	Coleraine	0	(0)
1958–1959	Bristol City	0	(0)
1959–1961	Sparta Rotterdam	20	(5)
1961–1962	Standard Liège	33	(6)
1962–1965	Sunderland	82	(39)
1965–1967	Manchester City	94	(24)
1967–1970	Middlesbrough	56	(7)
1970–1975	KSK Tongeren	105	(4)
Total		370 +	(80 +)
National team
1959	Northern Ireland B	1	(0)
1959–1967	Northern Ireland	24	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

John Andrew Crossan (born 29 November 1938), commonly known as Jobby or Johnny Crossan, is a Northern Irish author, radio sports analyst, entrepreneur, and former football player. His brother Eddie was also a player.

Club career

Crossan began his career playing for Derry City, where he played as an inside forward. His talent was spotted by several leading English clubs, including Arsenal FC and Sunderland FC. When the latter made a substantial offer, Derry City offered Jobby a payment deal which he rejected, offering his own. When the Sunderland negotiations broke down, Derry City dropped Jobby, who signed for Coleraine. Derry City, still aggrieved by Jobby's actions, reported themselves to the Football League authorities for technical breaches of regulations, thus ensuring that Jobby would face disciplinary action.

In January 1959, a commission of inquiry imposed small fines on Derry and Coleraine, but banned Jobby from all forms of football for life. A partial lifting of the ban was allowed following an appeal, in May 1959 the inside forward signed for Dutch Champions Sparta Rotterdam,^[1] where he was first called up to the Northern Ireland squad.

He went from there to Standard Liège, where he played in the semi-final of the European Cup against Real Madrid. In 1963, Jobby returned to football in the UK (following the lifting of his 'life-time' ban) when he was signed by Sunderland, with whom he made it to the old First Division. He then signed for Manchester City who were playing in the old Second Division. As team captain, he helped them make their way into the old First Division, before being sold to Middlesbrough after a loss of form following a car crash and other health problems.

International career

Internationally, he was capped 24 times by Northern Ireland and scored 10 goals.

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	28 November 1961	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Poland	2–0	UEFA Euro 1964 qualifying
2	20 November 1963	London, UK	England	3–8	1964 British Home Championship
3	29 April 1964	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Uruguay	3–0	Friendly match
4	29 April 1964	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Uruguay	3–0	Friendly match
5	14 October 1964	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Switzerland	1–0	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	17 March 1965	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Netherlands	2–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	7 May 1965	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Albania	4–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	7 May 1965	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Albania	4–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	7 May 1965	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Albania	4–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	2 October 1965	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Scotland	3–2	1966 British Home Championship

Management

After his playing days, Jobby had a spell in management and took the top job at League of Ireland club, Sligo Rovers. He resigned soon after.

Media career

He also commentates for BBC Radio Foyle when they cover Derry City games.

References

External links

• Sporting Heroes biography
• Newcastle Fans profile
• The forgotten story of John Crossan's lifetime ban by Simon Burnton, The Guardian 2 Nov 2011