David Roy Cowling (born 27 November 1958) is an English former professional

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 le ...

who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

as a left winger for Huddersfield Town, where he played 340 league games during the 1970s and 1980s. He also played for

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Playing career

Born in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, Cowling started his career at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, 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 ...

, but never appeared for their first team before moving to Huddersfield Town in 1977. He is particularly remembered for two goals he scored during the 1982–83 season: the winner against Leeds United in the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

, and the only goal of the game against Newport County which secured Huddersfield's promotion to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. During his time at Huddersfield, Cowling was linked with moves to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, Leeds United and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on more than one occasion. He later signed for

in 1988, before returning to Glanford Park.

Managerial career

After his playing days, Cowling joined the coaching staff at

. He then moved to Doncaster Rovers, where he coached the youth teams before taking over as first team manager in October 1997, a post which he resigned after ten days because of interference from the chairman, Ken Richardson, regarding team selection. He remained on the staff under

Danny Bergara Daniel Alberto Bergara de Medina (24 July 1942 – 25 July 2007) was a Uruguayan footballer and manager. Playing career Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Bergara began his playing career at the age of 16, playing for Racing Club in the Uruguayan F ...

's management, but was laid off a few months later. After a short stint at Goole AFC, and turning down management positions abroad in the United States and Sweden, Cowling went on to become director of youth at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, and youth development officer for Darlington F.C. a position he held whilst also working as director of football development at Darlington College. Here he established a soccer school in partnership with his son

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

, also a former professional footballer. As well as his position with Darlington, Cowling also spent time working for Southampton FC as a club scout. Highly regarded by many

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

clubs for his experience in youth football, he also works for The FA Premier League as a Staff Coach at The Premier League Exit trials. As of 2011, Cowling set up and runs a footballing academy based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England with his son

. The academy is the only one of its kind in the United Kingdom, providing formal education and footballing education to teenagers and young adults. In 2016, Esprit expanded to the United States, with Cowling's son Lee hosting soccer camps during the summer. He is currently a Northern scout for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and Fulham FC. Cowling also holds a UEFA Pro qualified coaching badge.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowling, David 1958 births Footballers from Doncaster Living people English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Mansfield Town F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Reading F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers