6'3" 13st.6 lb.

b. Islington 7 May 1982

CAREER: St John’s Primary School;Holloway Boys School;Westward School;Arsenal Jul'99;Coventry City Jul'00 (£1,000,000)[51+21-14];Perugia (Italy) Jun'03 (free);Blackburn Rovers Aug'04 -Jun'05 (loan);Hertha Berlin (Germany) Jul'05 (trial);FSV Mainz 05 Aug'05 (trial);Charlton Athletic Aug’05-Jun’06[3+15-2];Wolverhampton Wanderers Jul’06 (free)[32+23-12];Stoke City Mar’08 (loan)[1+3]Cardiff City Aug’08 (£300,000)[112+4-41];QPR Jul’11 (free)[14+11-3];Sheffield Wednesday Aug’12-Jan’13 (loan)[14-1];Muanthong United (Thailand) Jan’14;Jubilo Iwata (Japan) Feb’15:Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (Japan) Jul'17.

INTERNATIONALS England 0 + 1 app

‘11 v Fra (s).

SQUAD NUMBER 25  Aug’04.

First Goal 30 October 2004

PL        6  + 5 apps   1 gl   - 5 wdn                                6 ns

FAC      0   +1 app               - 1 wdn                                 1 ns

FLC     1 app                       - 1 wdn

Total  7 + 6 apps   1 gl     - 7 wdn  + 149m -165m     7 ns

Sent off 1

Strike rate 614 mins

Acknowledged as an exciting talent with fine skills for a tall player he has displayed a remarkable ability to self destruct. After helping Arsenal to win the FA Youth Cup he was put up for sale for disciplinary reasons after throwing his shirt at the coach when he was substituted. Even so Coventry paid a million pound for him, an astonishing fee for a player who had not played a first team game. Nursed carefully he flashed talent but his casual style irritated the fans and a new manager (Gary McAllister) refused to use him. Bothroyd took the unusual step of joining a run of the mill Italian side (Perugia) but in his first season achieved little beyond a dramatic goal that in the end merely delayed the club's relegation. Surplus to requirements he joined Blackburn on a season long loan but did nothing to suggest that his career had turned round. Although he appeared to be on the point of being given the chance to play regularly alongside Paul Dickov a serious thigh injury virtually ended his season. Curiously his friends include Colonel Gaddafi's son, who played with him at Perugia, and Jade Goody from Big Brother. Spells at Charlton and Wolverhampton did nothing to allay the suspicion that he would never fulfil his potential but he flourished at Cardiff and despite playing in the second level of English football, received his first English cap.