The new season is just around the corner and we have some new features lined up here on Planet Swans which starts today with Shared Connection. Featuring a player who has played for both us and our next Premier League opponents. And surely if that is Chelsea then it can only mean one person and that is Roger Freestone.

Roger was just 18 years old when he was plucked from Newport County to the First Division and Chelsea for the sum of £95,000. That may not sound much but this was 1986 and it was a huge sum especially for a young keeper from Caerleon.

It was just a month later that he made his debut for the Blues in a 1-1 draw at QPR and he kept his place in the side for the rest of the season before relinquishing the position to Eddie Niedzwiecki who was returning from an injury.

The return didn't last long though and by the end of October but it was almost a poisoned chalice as Chelsea - amazingly - went on a six month winless league run. There were high sports - he saved penalties at both Derby and Manchester United in the FA Cup. The poor form though did for the manager and he was sacked in March replaced by Bobby Campbell.

Campbell immediately signed Kevin Hitchcock from Mansfield but again an injury let Roger back in at the start of the next season but it wasn't a popular move and he was dubbed "Tombstone" by some of the Chelsea fans.

His time at the Bridge was surely going downhill when Dave Beasant arrived in a club transfer record deal and three years of reserve team football before some loan spells including one at Swansea led to a permanent deal at the Vetch in September 1991.

Roger never looked back from that moment and he had 13 years at the Vetch and rightly earned himself the tag of a Swansea legend. Over 550 appearances followed in the Swans goal which included a Wembley triumph in 1994 and the Division Three title in 2000 during which he kept a record number of clean sheets in a season - a record that was broken eventually by Dorus De Vries.

Freestone was released from the club by Kenny Jackett in 2004 and his name is on the Wall of Fame outside the stadium - a fitting tribute to someone that rightly earned the tags he was given.

Freestone's form also earned him a Wales cap against Brazil at the Millennium Stadium in 2000 - a game that Wales lost 3-0

Photo: Action Images

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