Alexandra "Alex" Cottier-Small (née Cottier) (born 6 December 1973) is an English former international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er. As well as the

England women's national football team The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first in ...

, Cottier-Small played

FA Women's Premier League The FA Women's National League, formerly WFA National League and FA Women's Premier League (WPL), is a group of six football divisions run by the English Football Association. Founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association, the League includ ...

football for clubs including

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Club career

Croydon player–manager Deborah Bampton signed Cottier-Small and Donna Smith from Brighton in 1994. A versatile left–sided player, Cottier-Small performed as a striker, winger and defender in Croydon's League and Cup double winning team in 1996. In 2001–02 Cottier-Small was on the books of Arsenal Ladies. She rejoined Southampton during the season. In November 2003 Cottier-Small quit relegated Southampton to sign for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

. Rovers manager

Tony Ricketts Tony Ricketts (born c. 1958) is a former semi-professional footballer. As a player, at 24 years old, he was offered a two-year contract with Bristol City, which he refused. In 1989, he joined Bath City, where he became first a coach and then mana ...

said of Cottier-Small: "Her experience of top flight football will be invaluable to us, as will the fact that she can play either in centre midfield or at centre half – those are two areas where we've been vulnerable since the start of the season." Cottier-Small signed for Andover New Street Ladies in summer 2008.

International career

Cottier-Small represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at senior level. She was called–up for the first time in March 1994, for a European Championship qualifier versus

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...

. Arsenal left–back Michelle Curley had withdrawn from the squad after she dislocated her knee in an

FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reas ...

tie. At the time Cottier-Small's manager at Southern Division Brighton, Julie Hemsley, was also England coach

Ted Copeland Ted Copeland is an English former football coach. He managed the England women's side between 1993 and 1998, leading them to a quarter-final appearance in the 1995 World Cup. Copeland spent 12 years working as a lecturer in physical education a ...

's assistant. She was allotted 107 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

Personal life

Cottier-Small served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and played football for their representative team.

References

1973 births Living people English women's footballers Arsenal W.F.C. players Bristol Academy W.F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. players FA Women's National League players Southampton Saints L.F.C. players England women's international footballers Women's association football utility players Women's association football defenders Women's association football midfielders Women's association football forwards {{England-women-footy-bio-stub