Goalkeeper Mark Crossley has signed for Athletic after recently leaving Premiership Fulham. The 37 year old is vastly experienced and has signed a one year deal which will include a coaching role with the club. Current goalkeeping coach Graham Brown will return to his duties as Chief Scout. Crossley is 6'-0" and a Welsh international and it is expected that he will be first choice keeper at Boundary Park. He has also played with Nottingham Forest and has had loan spells at Manchester United and Millwall. He also spent time at Middlesbrough and Stoke City before moving to Sheffield Wednesday on loan.
John Sheridan was delighted to sign Crossley on a free transfer and told the official website, "I definitely think getting Mark's signature is a coup for this club. He's a goalkeeper with Premiership experience, and despite his age I think he's still got at least two or three very good seasons left in him. Having a keeper of Mark's quality can only do the world of good for this club. Mark has also completed his coaching courses and will be helping the other goalkeepers. I think his presence can give a real lift in and around the place. He's played a lot of games, and I'm sure that kind of experience will have an extremely positive impact on this club."
"I know all about Mark's ability. I watched him a couple of times when he was on loan at Wednesday last year and he performed very well. I knew Mark was available and I'm very glad to be able to bring him in. He's a good talker and a great organiser. As I've said previously, I'm sure his experience will rub off on everyone."