Jay Bothroyd (born May 5 1982 in London, England) is an English football player who is currently playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers as a forward.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jay Bothroyd | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
Having initially been on the books at Arsenal, he was bought as an eighteen-year-old by Coventry City, after throwing his shirt at the bench after the 2000 Premier League Youth Cup final against West Ham United after being substituted. In the three years he played for Coventry, he scored seventeen goals, despite not making much of an impact in his first season, only making his debut against Preston North End in the Worthington Cup.
A player of considerable talent but invariably poor temperament, he only featured for Coventry after many other members of the squad had to be sold off to relieve the club's financial problems. He scored his debut goal in a defeat against Bradford City on August 24, 2001, and in the 2002-03 season became the club's top-scorer with 11 goals. This brought interest from Perugia, and he transferred to the Italian side when his Coventry contract expired in 2003.
Bothroyd failed to settle in Italy, and joined Blackburn Rovers in August 2004 on loan from Perugia. After getting sent off against Norwich City for violent conduct (kicking Norwich midfielder Mattias Jonson to the ground), he was unable to cement a place in the first team and returned to Perugia at the end of the season.
He signed for Charlton Athletic on August 31 2005 having been released by Perugia due to their financial problems. Since joining The Addicks Bothroyd has been used mainly as a substitute, but has grabbed some vital goals for the club, and has become known for his powerful free kicks.
In the close season Jay was released by the Addicks, following the arrival of Iain Dowie as manager. He was then taken on trial at Crystal Palace, but the south-Londoners decided not to offer him a deal. Instead, he joined Wolves on 26th July 2006 becoming Mick McCarthy's first full signing for the Midlanders.
Jay has already scored 3 goals for his new club in the 06-07 season on the Coca Cola Championship, his most recent being a stunner from 25 yards in injury time against Leeds at Elland Road to grab all 3 points. However, in the following game against Derby Bothroyd had a weak penalty saved in a game that Wolves went on to lose 1-0.
Manager Mick McCarthy released a statement talking of his sympathy for Jay, who did not feature in a proffesional pre-season and is yet to play 90 minutes for Wolves.
External links
- Jay Bothroyd at The Internet Soccer Database