Darran Rowbotham (born 22 October 1966) is a Welsh former footballer who made more than 450 appearances 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 ...

playing as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

Career

Rowbotham was born in Cardiff, Wales. He began his career as a junior with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, and turned professional with the club in November 1984. Three years later he joined local rivals Exeter City. A key player in Exeter winning the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

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 for a fee of £25,000. Only four months later he moved on again, following his former Exeter manager Terry Cooper to Birmingham City for a fee of £20,000. Lack of goals for Birmingham resulted in loan spells at Mansfield Town and Hereford United before he left on a free transfer, signing for Crewe Alexandra before the 1993–94 season. He spent two years there, followed by an 18-month spell at Shrewsbury Town, before returning to Exeter in 1996. He remained at Exeter for four years, including a month on loan to Leyton Orient, before being released at the end of the 1999–2000 season. He ended his career playing alongside brother Jason for Weymouth in the Southern League.

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: 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