Jay Bothroyd

Coventry City

Bothroyd was born in Islington, London. He started his career in Arsenal's Academy, and played in their win against Coventry City in the 1999–2000 FA Youth Cup Final. At 18 years of age, Bothroyd was sold to Coventry after throwing his shirt at youth coach Don Howe and the bench, having been substituted in the 2000 Premier League Youth Cup final against West Ham United. Despite having never played a first-team match for Arsenal, he cost Coventry £1 million when he joined them on 13 July 2000. His league debut came on 4 November 2000 in a 2–1 home defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League. In the three years he played for Coventry, he scored seventeen goals in total, despite making little impact in his first season, after making his debut against Preston North End in the League Cup. Bothroyd 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 24 August 2001, and in the 2002–03 season became the club's top-scorer with 11 goals.

Perugia

Bothroyd's form for Coventry brought interest from Perugia, and he transferred to the Serie A club when his Coventry contract expired in 2003. Bothroyd was a mainstay for Perugia during their 2003–04 season, competing in the majority of their league matches, but he was unsettled in Italy. He joined Blackburn Rovers in August 2004 on loan from Perugia. After getting sent…

As a youngster Bothroyd represented England at several youth levels, getting as far as the under-21 team. He won one cap for the team during a friendly against Mexico at Filbert Street, scoring during the match with a spectacular overhead kick as England won 3–0. In October 2008, it was revealed that Bothroyd was on the verge of a possible call-up to play for Jamaica as he qualifies through his grandparents. In April 2010, Guyana were interested in calling-up Bothroyd, whom qualifies for the nation through his parents. On 13 November 2010, Bothroyd was called up to the England squad for the friendly against France. He appeared as a second-half substitute in the 2–1 defeat, becoming Cardiff City's first England international in their 111-year history, and the first Football League player to represent England since David Nugent in 2007.

Dave Jones described Bothroyd as a player who can "drift, he's got good ability and good pace."

For Season Two of the Apple TV series Ted Lasso, assistant director Sophie Worger hired former professional player Kasali Casal to manage the soccer choreography. Casal enlisted a team of former professional players to play for the opposition teams facing AFC Richmond during game scenes, these included Bothroyd and fellow former Premier League players and Lee Hendrie, Jermaine Pennant and George Elokobi.