James Scowcroft

James Scowcroft
Personal information
Full name James Benjamin Scowcroft
Date of birth (1975-11-15) 15 November 1975 (age 48)
Place of birth Bury St Edmunds, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1986–1994 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2001 Ipswich Town 206 (47)
2001–2005 Leicester City 133 (24)
2005 → Ipswich Town (loan) 9 (0)
2005–2006 Coventry City 41 (3)
2006–2009 Crystal Palace 83 (14)
2009–2010 Leyton Orient 26 (0)
2010–2012 Bury Town 26 (8)
Total 524 (96)
International career
1996–1997 England U21 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Benjamin Scowcroft (born 15 November 1975) is a retired footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a European Scout for Crystal Palace.

Scowcroft began his career at Ipswich Town, graduating from the club's academy. He went on to score over 50 goals and make over 200 appearances for Ipswich, helping the club win promotion to the Premier League in 2000. He joined Leicester City in 2001, spending four seasons at the club, including helping the club return to the Premier League in 2003. He returned to Ipswich on loan during the 2004–05 season before joining Coventry City in 2005. He spent one season at Coventry before leaving to join Crystal Palace in 2006. He spent three seasons at Crystal Palace. In 2009 he joined Leyton Orient, spending one season with the club. After his release from Leyton Orient in 2010, Scowcroft joined hometown club Bury Town.

He won five caps for the England U21 national team between 1996 and 1997.

Club career

Born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Scowcroft started his career as a youth player at nearby Ipswich Town, joining the club at the age of 11.[2] He progressed to become a regular first team player, gaining five England Under-21 caps in the process. From 1994 to 2001 he played over 200 games for the club, scoring over 50 goals. He was named player's and fan's Player of the Year in 2000 but missed out on the play off final with a hamstring injury, which saw Ipswich promoted to the Premier League.[3] At the end of the 2000–01 season, he was sold to Leicester City for £3m, where he played over 150 games, scoring fewer than 30 goals. During his period at Leicester Scowcroft was accused of being involved in the alleged sexual assault of three women at La Manga golf club, Spain, but was cleared of all charges, having been mistakenly identified.[4] He was loaned back to Ipswich in the spring of 2005.

Scowcroft was then signed by Coventry City on a free transfer. He was used primarily on the right sometimes as the right wing for Coventry for the 2005–06 season. He left Coventry City to join Crystal Palace for £500,000 in July 2006. He was released by the club in May 2009[5] having made a total of 86 senior appearances scoring 14 times.[6] He then joined Leyton Orient but after fitness problems and failing to score a goal in 20 games for Orient, he was released a year later.[7]

In September 2010, Scowcroft joined non-league hometown club, Bury Town, signing a "pay-as-you-play" deal.[8] He made his debut as a substitute in an away game against Wealdstone later the same month.[9] In January 2012 Bury Town announced Scowcroft's retirement from football, having failed to recover from an injury sustained during a pre-season friendly.[10]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ipswich Town 1995–96 First Division 27 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 29 2
1996–97[11] First Division 41 9 1 0 6 1 2[a] 1 50 11
1997–98[12] First Division 31 6 4 0 4 1 2[a] 0 41 7
1998–99[13] First Division 32 13 0 0 2 1 2[a] 0 36 14
1999–00[14] First Division 41 13 1 0 4 2 2[a] 0 48 15
2000–01[15] Premier League 34 4 2 0 7 2 — 43 6
Total 206 47 10 0 23 7 8 1 247 55
Leicester City 2001–02[16] Premier League 24 5 1 2 1 0 — 26 7
2002–03[17] First Division 43 10 3 1 1 0 — 47 11
2003–04[18] Premier League 35 5 2 0 2 0 — 39 5
2004–05[19] Championship 31 4 3 1 1 0 — 35 5
Total 133 24 9 4 5 0 0 0 147 28
Ipswich Town (loan) 2004–05[19] Championship 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Coventry City 2005–06[20] Championship 41 3 3 0 1 0 — 45 3
Crystal Palace 2006–07[21] Championship 35 5 1 0 0 0 — 36 5
2007–08[22] Championship 38 9 1 0 0 0 1[b] 0 40 9
2008–09[23] Championship 10 0 0 0 0 0 — 10 0
Total 83 14 2 0 0 0 1 0 86 14
Leyton Orient 2009–10[24] League One 26 0 1 0 1 0 2[c] 0 30 0
Bury Town 2010–11 IL Premier Division 26 8 0 0 — 0 0 26 8
Career totals 524 96 25 4 30 7 11 1 590 108
  1. ^ a b c d Appearances in First Division play-offs
  2. ^ Appearance in Championship play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in Football League Trophy

Honours

Ipswich Town

Leicester City

Individual

References

  1. ^ "James Scowcroft profile". Leicester City F.C. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  2. ^ "James Scowcroft looks back on a golden campaign for Ipswich Town 20 years on from winning promotion to the Premier League". Bury Free Press. 25 May 2020.
  3. ^ Kleef, Marie-José (28 May 2000). "Ipswich v Barnsley: a form guide". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Leicester trio charges 'dropped'". BBC News. 21 May 2004.
  5. ^ striker one of six to get new deals but nine players released
  6. ^ King, Ian (April 2012). Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–2011. Derby Books. pp. 552–3. ISBN 9781780910468.
  7. ^ "O's release seven". LeytonOrient.com. 13 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  8. ^ "James Scowcroft makes step down to Bury Town". BBC Sport. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  9. ^ "James Scowcroft thanks the fans". Bury Town F.C. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  10. ^ Collins, Trevor. "James Scowcroft retires from playing". Bury Town Football Club. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  11. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Games played by James Scowcroft in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Ipswich triumph at last". BBC News. 29 May 2000. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  26. ^ "Wolves strike mood of hungry belief". The Guardian. 5 May 2003. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  27. ^ "Scowy Wins Player of the Year". TWTD. 5 May 2000. Retrieved 17 May 2020.