Roy Cotton

Roy Cotton
Personal information
Full name	Roy William Cotton
Date of birth	14 November 1955 (age 69)
Place of birth	Fulham, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team
1973–1974	Brentford
1974–1976	Orient
1976–1978	Aldershot
1978–1979	Hillingdon Borough
1979–1981	St George
1981	→ Sydney Olympic (loan)
1982–1983	Wollongong City
1984	Penrith City
1985–1986	St George
1988	Wollongong City
International career
1974	England Youth
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roy William Cotton (born 14 November 1955) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a winger in the Football League for Brentford, Orient and Aldershot and later in the Australian National Soccer League.

Playing career

A graduate of the Brentford youth team, Cotton began his career as an amateur and after signing his first professional contract, he made his professional debut in December 1973.^[3] He departed the club in July 1974,^[1] after making just two appearances.^[4] Cotton moved to Second Division club Orient and scored prolifically for the reserve team,^[3] but made just four appearances during the 1975–76 season.^[5] He dropped back down to the Fourth Division to join Aldershot in July 1976 and made five appearances for the club.^[1] After his departure in 1978, Cotton joined Southern League Premier Division club Hillingdon Borough.^[4] Cotton moved to Australia in 1979 and played for National Soccer League clubs St George (two spells), Sydney Olympic, Wollongong City (two spells) and Penrith City.^[6]

Cotton won three caps and scored two goals for the England Youth team.^[7] He also made an appearance for the FA Youth XI.^[7]

Cotton lives in Australia and has held senior corporate positions with Mercedes-Benz, Audi Australia and in real estate.^[8]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brentford	1973–74^[9]	Fourth Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Orient	1975–76^[6]	Second Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Aldershot	1976–77^[6]	Fourth Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
St George	1979^[6]	National Soccer League	23	7	―		―		23	7
	1980^[6]	National Soccer League	17	4	―		―		17	4
	Total		40	11	―		―		40	11
Sydney Olympic (loan)	1981^[6]	National Soccer League	13	3	―		―		13	3
Wollongong City	1982^[6]	National Soccer League	28	10	―		―		28	10
	1983^[6]	National Soccer League	29	12	―		―		29	12
	Total		57	22	―		―		57	22
Penrith City	1984^[6]	National Soccer League	25	7	―		―		25	7
St George	1985^[6]	National Soccer League	19	3	―		―		19	3
	1986^[6]	National Soccer League	12	1	―		―		12	1
	Total		76	15	―		―		76	26
Wollongong City	1988^[6]	National Soccer League	3	0	―		―		3	0
Wollongong City	Total		60	22	―		―		60	22
Career total			184	47	0	0	0	0	184	47

^ ^a ^b ^c "Roy Cotton". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack, eds. (1976). Rothmans Football Yearbook. 1976–77. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-362-00259-1.
^ ^a ^b Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 269. ISBN 978-1906796709.
^ ^a ^b Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 41. ISBN 978-0955294914.
^ "1975–76". Leyton Orient F.C. Programmes. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "Aussie Footballers – Costello to Crook". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b "England Matches – Youth/Under-18's 1971–80". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
^ "Roy Cotton". ConleyLUFF Real Estate. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
^ White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 392. ISBN 0951526200.