Roger William Ashton (16 August 1921 – July 1985) was a Welsh professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. During his career, he made twelve appearances in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

during spells with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

and Newport County.

Career

Ashton began his career with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

following the return of

at the end of World War II. However, he failed to break into the first team and was released in 1948 without making an appearance. He joined

in April 1948 and, after impressing for their reserve side, he was handed his professional debut on the final day of the 1947–48 season. Replacing

Danny Canning Leslie Daniel Canning (21 February 1926 – 30 June 2014) was a Welsh professional footballer. A goalkeeper, he made over 100 appearances in The Football League during spells with Cardiff City, Swansea Town and Nottingham Forest and won promot ...

in goal, he played in a 2–1 defeat to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. The following season, he remained as backup to Canning's replacement Phil Joslin but struggled to make an impression and was released. He joined non-league side

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

soon after but returned to the Football League with Newport County in December 1949. He made ten league appearances for Newport before joining

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. He briefly returned to Newport the following season, making a single appearance before dropping out of professional football.

References

1921 births 1985 deaths Welsh footballers Wrexham A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players English Football League players Association football goalkeepers People from Llanidloes Sportspeople from Powys {{Wales-footy-goalkeeper-stub