Craig Rocastle
Encyclopedia
Craig Aaron Rocastle is an English
-born Grenadian
international footballer.
He played for Chelsea
, Sheffield Wednesday
, Oldham Athletic and Port Vale
, also enjoying loan spells with numerous clubs. He is a cousin of the late England and Arsenal
midfielder David Rocastle
.
went into administration in 2001, Rocastle dropped out of the professional game, joining up with Gravesend and Northfleet.
Rocastle gained extensive experience in the Chelsea
reserve side, following his transfer from Kingstonian
in the summer of 2003. However he never made a first team appearance for the Pensioners, though made the substitutes bench on one occasion.
Rocastle made his debut in the Football League
on 14 February 2004, at the age of 22, playing for Barnsley
in a 1–0 defeat at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground
. He had joined the Yorkshire
men on loan and made another four appearances before leaving the next month. In late-March he joined League Two
Lincoln City
on loan, but only made two substitute appearances before returning to Stamford Bridge
before the end of the season.
He spent the 2004 half of the 2004–05 season at Hibernian
, playing thirteen league games in a very successful season for the SPL
club. The club had kept faith with the midfielder
as he damaged a thigh muscle in September and was feared to have damaged knee ligaments in December and were hopeful of acquiring him on a permanent basis. With no future with Chelsea, he joined Sheffield Wednesday
on a free transfer in February 2005, signing a two-and-a-half year deal. His first senior goal came in a League One
3–2 win over Blackpool
at Hillsborough
on 12 March. He played in the play-off final 4–2 victory over Hartlepool United
at the Millennium Stadium
in front of close to 60,000 spectators.
Rocastle played seventeen games of the club's 2005–06 Championship
season, before going out on loan to Yeovil Town
in late-March. At the end of the season Rocastle's contract at Wednesday was terminated by mutual consent. He quickly signed for Oldham Athletic
.
He played 35 league games in 2006–07, helping Oldham to a play-off place, though most of these appearances were as a substitute. However they were defeated by eventual promotion winners Blackpool in the semi-finals.
In June 2007, he signed a two year deal to join Port Vale
. He was not a first team favourite in 2007–08
, but did manage 21 starts and a goal against Cheltenham. He spent two weeks in January on loan with League One rivals Gillingham
. His contract was terminated by mutual consent in April 2008.
Rocastle had a trial with Hibernian
in May 2008, having impressed on loan there previously, but manager Mixu Paatelainen
did not offer him a contract. Rocastle instead joined Thrasyvoulos Filis
in the Superleague Greece. He made thirteen appearances for the club in 2008–09, though they finished bottom with a mere 14 points from 30 games and were relegated
to the Football League.
Rocastle then joined Crewe Alexandra
for a trial, but he failed to win a contract after playing 45 minutes in a pre-season friendly
with Nantwich Town
. The Aberdeen
official website reported on 6 August 2009 that the club would play him as a trialist in the Dean Windass
testimonial match
against Hull City
, however he was not offered a contract by the club. In August 2009, he signed for Welling United
, but left almost immediately after two conference south appearances and joined Dover Athletic
on a non-contract basis. He made his debut for Dover as a substitute in an 8–0 win over East Preston
in the FA Cup
. However, his stay at the Kent club was short, and in October 2009 he joined Forest Green Rovers
on a non-contract basis. Rocastle impressed on his Forest Green debut, winning the man of the match award in Rovers 1–1 draw with Eastbourne Borough
. He went on to make 15 appearances for Forest Green before interest was shown in him by Swedish and American clubs.
Following a short trial in March 2010 Rocastle departed Forest Green to sign for Kansas City Wizards
in Major League Soccer
. He was waived by Kansas City following the 2011 season on November 23, 2011.
international debut on 26 November 2010, in a 2010 Caribbean Championship
match against Martinique
at the Stade d'Honneur de Dillon in Fort-de-France
.
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...
-born Grenadian
Grenada national football team
The Grenada national football team is the national team of Grenada and is controlled by the Grenada Football Association. It is affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. The team is nicknamed The Spice Boys, a reference to the export of nutmeg from the country...
international footballer.
He played for 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...
, Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, Oldham Athletic and Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
, also enjoying loan spells with numerous clubs. He is a cousin of the late England and Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
midfielder David Rocastle
David Rocastle
David Carlyle Rocastle, nicknamed Rocky, was an English football player, who spent the majority of his career at Arsenal...
.
Club career
After Queens Park RangersQueens 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...
went into administration in 2001, Rocastle dropped out of the professional game, joining up with Gravesend and Northfleet.
Rocastle gained extensive experience in the 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...
reserve side, following his transfer from Kingstonian
Kingstonian F.C.
Kingstonian Football Club are an English, semi-professional football club that are playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division for the 2011–12 season. The club has played at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames since 1989, after leaving their traditional Richmond Road ground...
in the summer of 2003. However he never made a first team appearance for the Pensioners, though made the substitutes bench on one occasion.
Rocastle made his debut in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
on 14 February 2004, at the age of 22, playing for Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
in a 1–0 defeat at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground
Racecourse Ground
The Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium AKA The Racecourse Ground is a stadium located in Wrexham, North Wales. It is the home of Wrexham F.C. and, since 2010, the Crusaders Rugby League team who play in the engage Super League...
. He had joined the Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
men on loan and made another four appearances before leaving the next month. In late-March he joined League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
on loan, but only made two substitute appearances before returning to Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
before the end of the season.
He spent the 2004 half of the 2004–05 season at Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
, playing thirteen league games in a very successful season for the SPL
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
club. The club had kept faith with the midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
as he damaged a thigh muscle in September and was feared to have damaged knee ligaments in December and were hopeful of acquiring him on a permanent basis. With no future with Chelsea, he joined Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
on a free transfer in February 2005, signing a two-and-a-half year deal. His first senior goal came in a League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
3–2 win over Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
on 12 March. He played in the play-off final 4–2 victory over Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...
at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in front of close to 60,000 spectators.
Rocastle played seventeen games of the club's 2005–06 Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
season, before going out on loan to Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
in late-March. At the end of the season Rocastle's contract at Wednesday was terminated by mutual consent. He quickly signed for Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
.
He played 35 league games in 2006–07, helping Oldham to a play-off place, though most of these appearances were as a substitute. However they were defeated by eventual promotion winners Blackpool in the semi-finals.
In June 2007, he signed a two year deal to join Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
. He was not a first team favourite in 2007–08
2007–08 Port Vale F.C. season
The 2007–08 season was Port Vale's ninety-sixth season of football in the Football League, and fourth successive season in League One. Vale finished second-from-bottom, and were relegated, some twelve points from safety. Manager Martin Foyle left the club in September, and Lee Sinnott failed to...
, but did manage 21 starts and a goal against Cheltenham. He spent two weeks in January on loan with League One rivals Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
. His contract was terminated by mutual consent in April 2008.
Rocastle had a trial with Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
in May 2008, having impressed on loan there previously, but manager Mixu Paatelainen
Mixu Paatelainen
Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen is a former Finnish international football player and the current manager of the Finnish national team, having started the role in April 2011...
did not offer him a contract. Rocastle instead joined Thrasyvoulos Filis
Thrasyvoulos F.C.
Thrasyvoulos Filis is a football club, based in Fyli, Attica, currently in the Greek Second Division. It was founded in 1938 and named after Thrasybulus, an ancient General who used Fyli as his base to liberate Athens from Sparta. They gained promotion to the Greek Super League for 2008–09...
in the Superleague Greece. He made thirteen appearances for the club in 2008–09, though they finished bottom with a mere 14 points from 30 games and were relegated
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
to the Football League.
Rocastle then joined Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
for a trial, but he failed to win a contract after playing 45 minutes in a pre-season friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
with Nantwich Town
Nantwich Town F.C.
Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed The Dabbers. The club is currently a member of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, with home matches played at the Weaver Stadium.Nantwich...
. The Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
official website reported on 6 August 2009 that the club would play him as a trialist in the Dean Windass
Dean Windass
Dean Windass is an English footballer, who predominantly played as a striker, and is known for his spells at Bradford City and his hometown team Hull City...
testimonial match
Testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
, however he was not offered a contract by the club. In August 2009, he signed for Welling United
Welling United F.C.
Welling United Football Club are an English football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley. They currently play in the Conference South. The 2010–11 season was not a good one for them as the club had financial problems, nearly going bankrupt but lots of supporters chipped in and...
, but left almost immediately after two conference south appearances and joined Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic F.C.
Dover Athletic Football Club is an association football team based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover, whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club...
on a non-contract basis. He made his debut for Dover as a substitute in an 8–0 win over East Preston
East Preston F.C.
East Preston F.C. is a football club based in East Preston, near Littlehampton, West Sussex, England. They were established in 1947 and were founding members of the Sussex County League Division Three in 1983. For the 2011–12 season, they are members of the Sussex County League Division...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
. However, his stay at the Kent club was short, and in October 2009 he joined Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers F.C.
Forest Green Rovers Football Club is an English football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, currently the longest-serving members of the Conference National. The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.-Early years:...
on a non-contract basis. Rocastle impressed on his Forest Green debut, winning the man of the match award in Rovers 1–1 draw with Eastbourne Borough
Eastbourne Borough F.C.
Eastbourne Borough are a semi-professional English football club, based in the town of Eastbourne, East Sussex, and are members of the Conference South. They are known as The Sports after their previous name as Langney Sports. Eastbourne Borough play their home matches at Priory Lane in Langney...
. He went on to make 15 appearances for Forest Green before interest was shown in him by Swedish and American clubs.
Following a short trial in March 2010 Rocastle departed Forest Green to sign for Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
in Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
. He was waived by Kansas City following the 2011 season on November 23, 2011.
International career
He made his GrenadaGrenada national football team
The Grenada national football team is the national team of Grenada and is controlled by the Grenada Football Association. It is affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. The team is nicknamed The Spice Boys, a reference to the export of nutmeg from the country...
international debut on 26 November 2010, in a 2010 Caribbean Championship
2010 Caribbean Championship
-Group B:Played in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from October 6–10.*Saint Kitts and Nevis ranked ahead of Saint Vincent and Barbados based on head-to-head tiebreaker...
match against Martinique
Martinique national football team
The Martinique national football team represents the French overseas department and region of Martinique in international football. The team is controlled by the Ligue de Football de la Martinique , a local branch of French Football Federation . On 7 August 2010, the national team adopted the...
at the Stade d'Honneur de Dillon in Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:...
.
Honours
Sheffield Wednesday- Football League One play-offsFootball League One play-offsThe Football League One Playoffs are a series of playoff matches, contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the NPower Football League One table to determine the third spot for promotion to the second tier of English football, the Championship....
winner: 2005