Scott Andrew Cooksey (born 24 June 1972 in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During his career he played for several professional and semi-professional clubs, including
Derby County,
Shrewsbury Town,
Peterborough United,
Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park.
History
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top. , 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 'The ...
. His career ended prematurely during the
2001–02 season after a wrist injury.
Early career
Cooksey started his professional career at Derby County in 1988 where he spent two season, followed by a half season at Shrewsbury Town. He was unable to break into the first squad at either club. Cooksey then joined
Bromsgrove Rovers
Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. was a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference. They went into administration during the ...
and started to attract the attention of the professional rank officials with stints at
West Ham
West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.
The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...
and
Sheffield United. Cooksey eventually moved to
Peterborough United in 1993, however he was restricted from studying under Fred Barber and started 20 first-team games. During this period, Cooksey also had successful loan stints at non-league sides,
Welling United
Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football.
History
Welling United Foot ...
and
Stalybridge Celtic
Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip.
In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...
.
Hednesford Town
In July 1995, Cooksey was signed to Hednesford, who had recently won a promotion to the
Football Conference. Cooksey was able to establish himself as one of the team's star players, and Hednesford established itself as one of the country's top non-league sides during the mid-1990s. During his three and a half years at the club, Cooksey was the first-choice goalkeeper.
Cooksey was part of Hednesford's
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
run during the 1996–97 season, which saw Hednesford progress to the fourth round. Cooksey played an important role during the second round against
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1887, th ...
, where a series of saves allowed Hednesford to hold onto a 1-0 lead to win the match.
After Hednesford's strong performance during the mid-1990s, several
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 ...
clubs showed an interest in Cooksey. There was speculations of a transfer to a higher league during his last few months at Hednesford. He was also called to the
England semi-professional side, making two appearances.
Shrewsbury Town
In October 1998, Shrewsbury Town manager Jake King signed Cooksey from Hednesford for £15,000. Cooksey had been a squad member at Shrewsbury during part of the 1992–93 season.
Cooksey did not manage the same success with Shrewsbury Town as he did with Hednesford.. The club was entering a mediocre period of its history and struggled to remain 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 ...
. Shrewsbury's first-choice goalkeeper Paul Edwards was a central team member, with Cooksey being second-choice. His first-team debut was against
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
at
Ninian Park, which ended with a 3–0 defeat for Shrewsbury. He was only to make one more league appearance, a 3–2 win against Hull City at
Gay Meadow, and an appearance in the
Associate Members Cup
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
.
Late in 1999, Jake King was replaced by
Kevin Ratcliffe as manager. Cooksey was replaced as second-choice goalkeeper by former Liverpool trainee
Ian Dunbavin
Ian Stuart Dunbavin (born 27 May 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He spent the majority of his career at then EFL League Two side Accrington Stanley, where he amassed 151 league appear ...
, leaving him to find a place elsewhere.
Hereford United
In January 2000,
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 'The ...
, then part of the
Football Conference, signed Cooksey on loan from Shrewsbury. Cooksey was again first-choice, and was signed on a free transfer in the summer of 2000. He quickly established himself as a fan favourite for his passionate displays.
Cooksey was a first-team regular as Hereford pushed for promotion from the Football Conference. While they were not promoted during Cooksey's stay, he became well-regarded at the club, establishing himself as the first-choice goalkeeper. During this spell, Cooksey also became the first-choice goalkeeper in the England semi-professional squad, earning two more caps.
In late 2001, Cooksey injured his wrist. He received injections which allowed him to continue to compete, however his injury eventually became infected. Cooksey missed the entire 2001–02 season, and spent three weeks in the hospital with blood poisoning. These complications destroyed his wrist ligaments and left him severely weakened.
Cooksey went through rehabilitation and returned to football in January 2002 with a solitary appearance on the bench in the FA Trophy replay against
Chesham United
Chesham United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. Nicknamed "the Generals", they are currently members of the and play at the Meadow.
History
The club was established in 1917 by a merger o ...
. He was unable to fully recover from the wrist injury, and with the need for further surgeries, he opted to retire from professional football in February 2002 at age 29.
Coaching and management
After retiring from football, Cooksey started a career in education in his hometown of Birmingham. He has also been involved in junior football, and managed Cradley in the Alliance during the 2006–07 campaign. In November 2014, he was appointed joint manager alongside Barry Dedman of
Midland League side
Pelsall Villa. Cooksey took over the reins after saving Pelsall from relegation. During the 2015–16 campaign, Cooksey made the club more competitive but parted company in early February 2016 due to ill health.
References
External links
Cooksey reveals injury shock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooksey, Scott
1972 births
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
Living people
English men's footballers
England men's semi-pro international footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Derby County F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. players
Peterborough United F.C. players
Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players
Welling United F.C. players
Hednesford Town F.C. players
Weymouth F.C. players
Hereford United F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players