David Cotterill

David Rhys George Best Cotterill (born 4 December 1987) is a Welsh former footballer who played as a winger.

Born in Cardiff, Cotterill began his career at Bristol City before signing for Premier League Wigan Athletic where he spent two seasons before switching to Sheffield United, initially on loan and then later on a permanent deal.

He then transferred to Swansea City in his native Wales, before spending a spell on loan at Portsmouth and then joining Barnsley.

He had two seasons at Doncaster Rovers before joining Birmingham City.

Cotterill started his career at Bristol City, making his debut as a substitute for Michael Bell during a 0–0 draw with Colchester United on 30 October 2004.

Cotterill represented Wales at full international level on 24 occasions from 2005 to 2018, scoring twice.

He played 57 games and scored seven goals for Bristol City during the 2005–06 season and was subsequently voted City's Young Player of the Season.

Cotterill joined Premier League side Wigan Athletic on a three-year deal for £2 million on 31 August 2006.

He scored his first goal for the club with a curling shot against West Ham United in a 2–0 victory at the Boleyn Ground, on 6 December 2006.

Despite scoring two goals in 24 games for the Latics, his other goal coming against Sunderland in the FA Cup, Cotterill never fully established himself in the first team and was made available for loan.

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 2007–08 season.

He made his debut 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, and 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.

Cotterill moved to Swansea City on loan in November 2009, signing until the following January with a view to making the move permanent.

Following the move being made permanent for a then club record fee of £600,000, Cotterill scored three more goals during the 2009–10 season.

He made his debut in the away fixture against Newcastle United, coming on as a second-half substitute, and scored his first goal for Swansea in a 2–1 FA Cup third round defeat to Leicester City on 2 January 2010.

The arrival of Scott Sinclair at the beginning of the 2010–11 season saw Cotterill employed more as a second striker behind Stephen Dobbie, rather than on the wing.

Cotterill started the season off well under new manager Brendan Rodgers, putting in some good performances and converting a penalty in a 4–0 win over Preston North End.

However, Cotterill then missed his next two penalties which on both occasions would have put his side in the lead and his confidence on the pitch appeared to drop.

Cotterill later extended his loan with Portsmouth until the end of the 2010–11 season.

Cotterill was eventually sent out on loan to fellow Championship side Portsmouth in February 2011 initially on a one-month loan deal, taking the number 17 shirt vacated by John Utaka.

He made his debut two days later in a 1–0 win over Barnsley, and scored his first goal for his new club against Ipswich Town on 26 February.

During the 2011–12 season, as Swansea gained promotion to the Premier League, Cotterill's first-team appearances were limited and he was reportedly approached by Dutch team ADO Den Haag to sign for the club on loan.

After making eleven appearances for Barnsley, Cotterill was released at the end of the 2011–12 season when his short-term deal expired.

Cotterill was ultimately released from his Swansea City contract by mutual consent on 12 January 2012 after making no appearances during that season.

A few days later he joined Leicester City on trial with a view to earning a permanent deal.

Cotterill signed for Barnsley on 16 February 2012, as a free agent.

He scored his first, and what turned out to be only goal, for his new club against Peterborough United on 24 March 2012.

Cotterill joined Doncaster Rovers on 27 June 2012 on a two-year deal as they looked to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

In his league debut for Doncaster at Walsall, he scored with a long-range shot from around 40 yd out.

Cotterill scored ten goals in 49 appearances during the 2012–13 season, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year for League One.

Although Doncaster offered Cotterill a new contract at the end of the 2013–14 season, he opted to move somewhere closer to his family in Wales.

He signed a two-year contract with Championship club Birmingham City, and made his debut in the first-round League Cup win against Cambridge United on 12 August.

He spent the second half of the 2016–17 season on loan to Bristol City.

He was part of their squad that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016.

Cotterill's contract with Birmingham was cancelled by mutual consent in December 2017, and he joined ATK of the Indian Super League.

In January 2020, Cotterill came out of retirement to play in the Cymru Premier for Barry Town United and Newtown.