David Cotterill

David Cotterill

Personal information
Full name	David Rhys George Best Cotterill
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Right winger
Team information
Current team	Swansea City
Number	49
Youth career
	Bristol City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2006	Bristol City	62	(8)
2006–2008	Wigan Athletic	18	(1)
2008	→ Sheffield United (loan)	16	(0)
2008–	Sheffield United	38	(6)
2009–	→ Swansea City (loan)	4	(0)
	→ Swansea City
International career‡
2004–2005	Wales U19	3	(1)
2005–2007	Wales U21	9	(4)
2005–	Wales	15	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:21, 30 December 2009 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:00, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

David Rhys George Best Cotterill (born 4 December 1987 in Cardiff) is a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international, who currently plays as a winger for Swansea City.

Career

Bristol City

Cotterill started his career at Bristol City, making his début as a substitute for Michael Bell during a 0–0 draw with Colchester United on 30 October 2004. He played 57 games and scored 7 goals for them before the end of the 2005-06 season and was subsequently voted Bristol City's Young Player of the Season.

Wigan Athletic

Cotterill joined Wigan Athletic on a three-year deal for £2 million on 31 August 2006. He scored his first goal for Wigan with a curling shot against West Ham United in a 2-0 victory at Upton Park, on 6 December 2006. Despite scoring 3 goals in 24 games during his first season with the 'Latics, he never fully established himself in the first team and was made available for loan.

Sheffield United

Seeking first team football to aid his international career, Cotterill joined Championship side Sheffield United on 8 February 2008 on a loan deal to last until the end of the 2007-2008 season. He made his début for the Blades the next day in a 0-0 home draw with Scunthorpe United eventually going on to play sixteen games for the Blades during his loan spell.

Cotterill returned to Bramall Lane later that summer and signed permanently for the Blades in July 2008 for an undisclosed fee. Having made his move permanent Cotterill found it difficult to find the form that had made his loan spell a success and struggled to hold down a place in the side. It wasn't until the turn of the year that he began to force his way into the Blades first team and was rewarded in March with his first goal in United colours, slotting home a penalty in a 2-1 home win against Birmingham City. Having taken over spot-kick duties he finished the season with four goals. After the Blades failure to secure promotion Cotterill once again found form and first team starts hard to come by in the following season and was largely used as a substitute by manager Kevin Blackwell.

Swansea City

Cotterill moved to Swansea City at the end of November 2009 on loan until the following January with a view to make the move permanent.

International career

Cotterill is a full Welsh international, making his debut against Azerbaijan in October 2005. He attracted controversy when he criticized the Wales manager John Toshack in 2007, for having not been picked in the squad. Since the turn of 2009 and gaining games for Sheffield United and giving man of the match displays for the Blades, Cotterill was awarded a place in John Toshack's team for upcoming World Cup Qualifiers.

External links

• David Cotterill at Soccerbase