Johnny Crossan

His brother Eddie was also a player.

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 and Sunderland. When the latter made a substantial offer, Derry City offered Crossan a payment deal which he rejected, offering his own. When the Sunderland negotiations broke down, Derry City dropped Crossan, who signed for Coleraine. Derry City, still aggrieved by Crossan's actions, reported themselves to the Football League authorities for technical breaches of regulations, thus ensuring that Crossan would face disciplinary action.

In January 1959, a commission of inquiry imposed small fines on Derry and Coleraine, but banned Crossan 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, 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, Crossan 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.

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, England	England	3–8	1964 British Home Championship
3	29 April 1964	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Uruguay	3–0	Friendly match
4
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					1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
9					1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	2 October 1965	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Scotland	3–2	1966 British Home Championship

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

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