Roy William Cotton (born 14 November 1955) is an English retired amateur footballer who played as a winger in the Football League for Brentford, Orient and Aldershot and later in the Australian National Soccer League.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roy William Cotton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1955-11-14) 14 November 1955 (age 66) | ||
| Place of birth | Fulham, England | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1974 | Brentford | 2 | (0) |
| 1974–1976 | Orient | 3 | (0) |
| 1976–1978 | Aldershot | 5 | (0) |
| 1978–1979 | Hillingdon Borough | ||
| 1979–1981 | St George | 40 | (11) |
| 1981 | → Sydney Olympic (loan) | 13 | (3) |
| 1982–1983 | Wollongong City | 57 | (22) |
| 1984 | Penrith City | 25 | (7) |
| 1985–1986 | St George | 31 | (4) |
| 1988 | Wollongong City | 3 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1974 | England Youth | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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.[2] He departed the club in July 1974,[1] after making just two appearances.[3] Cotton moved to Second Division club Orient and scored prolifically for the reserve team,[2] but made just three league appearances during the 1975–76 season.[1] 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.[3] 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.[4]
At international level, Cotton represented the England Youth team.[5][6]
Cotton lives in Australia and has held senior corporate positions with Mercedes-Benz, Audi Australia and in real estate.[7]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1973–74[8] | Fourth Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Orient | 1975-76[4] | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Aldershot | 1976–77[4] | Fourth Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| St George | 1979[4] | National Soccer League | 23 | 7 | ― | ― | 23 | 7 | ||
| 1980[4] | 17 | 4 | ― | ― | 17 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 11 | ― | ― | 40 | 11 | ||||
| Sydney Olympic (loan) | 1981[4] | National Soccer League | 13 | 3 | ― | ― | 13 | 3 | ||
| Wollongong City | 1982[4] | National Soccer League | 28 | 10 | ― | ― | 28 | 10 | ||
| 1983[4] | 29 | 12 | ― | ― | 29 | 12 | ||||
| Total | 57 | 22 | ― | ― | 57 | 22 | ||||
| Penrith City | 1984[4] | National Soccer League | 25 | 7 | ― | ― | 25 | 7 | ||
| St George | 1985[4] | National Soccer League | 19 | 3 | ― | ― | 19 | 3 | ||
| 1986[4] | 12 | 1 | ― | ― | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 76 | 15 | ― | ― | 76 | 26 | ||||
| Wollongong City | 1988[4] | National Soccer League | 3 | 0 | ― | ― | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 60 | 22 | ― | ― | 60 | 22 | ||||
| Career total | 184 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 184 | 47 | ||