Darran Rowbotham (born 22 October 1966) is a Welsh former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who made more than 450 appearances in the Football League playing as a striker.

Career

Rowbotham was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales. He began his career as a junior with Plymouth Argyle, and turned professional with the club in November 1984. Three years later he joined local rivals

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. A key player in Exeter winning the Fourth Division title in the 1989–90 season, his goalscoring had linked him with possible moves to top-flight football. However, he sustained a serious knee injury which kept him out of football for a year, after which his career was restricted to the lower divisions of the Football League. After four years at Exeter, where he scored 58 goals in 142 games in all competitions, he joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

for a fee of £25,000. Only four months later he moved on again, following his former Exeter manager Terry Cooper to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

for a fee of £20,000. Lack of goals for Birmingham resulted in loan spells at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

and

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

before he left on a free transfer, signing for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

before the 1993–94 season. He spent two years there, followed by an 18-month spell at

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

, before returning to Exeter in 1996. He remained at Exeter for four years, including a month on loan to

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

, before being released at the end of the 1999–2000 season. He ended his career playing alongside brother

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

for Weymouth in the Southern League.

Honours

Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 1989–90 Fourth Division

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowbotham, Darran 1966 births Living people Footballers from Cardiff Welsh men's footballers Men's association football forwards Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players English Football League players