Quick Facts
Biography
James Benjamin Scowcroft (born 15 November 1975 in Bury St Edmunds) is a retired footballer who is currently a coach for the Ipswich Town academy.
Club career
Scowcroft started his career as a youth at Ipswich Town and progressed to become the regular first team centre forward, gaining five England Under-21 caps in the process. From 1994 to 2001 he played over 200 games for the club, scoring nearly 50 goals. 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. 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 and joined Leyton Orient. After fitness problems and failing to score a goal in 20 games for Orient, he was released a year after joining.
In September 2010, Scowcroft joined non-league hometown club, Bury Town, signing a "pay-as-you-play" deal.
He made his debut as a substitute in an away game against Wealdstone later the same month. In January 2012 Bury Town announced Scowcroft's retirement from football, having failed to recover from an injury sustained during a pre-season friendly.
Honours
- Nationwide player of the month December 1999
- Ipswich Town Player of the season 1999/2000
- Ipswich Town Supporters player of the season 1999/2000
- Leicester City Goal of the season 2001/2002
- 2008 Crystal Palace Goal of the Season
Club career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Play-offs | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Ipswich Town | 1995–96 | 23 | 2 | ? | 2 | 0 | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 25 | 2 | ? |
| 1996–97 | 43 | 10 | ? | 7 | 1 | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 50 | 11 | ? | |
| 1997–98 | 33 | 6 | ? | 9 | 1 | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 42 | 9 | ? | |
| 1998–99 | 34 | 13 | ? | 2 | 1 | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36 | 15 | ? | |
| 1999-00 | 43 | 13 | ? | 5 | 2 | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 48 | 15 | ? | |
| 2000–01 | 34 | 4 | ? | 9 | 2 | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 43 | 6 | ? | |
| Total | 1995–2001 | 210 | 48 | ? | 34 | 7 | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 244 | 55 | ? |
| Leicester City | 2001–02 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 | 7 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | 43 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 47 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | 35 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 39 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | 31 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 35 | 6 | 3 | |
| Total | 2001–2005 | 133 | 29 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 147 | 33 | 5 |
| Ipswich Town (loan) | 2004–05 | 9 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2004–2005 | 9 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Coventry City | 2005–06 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 45 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 2005–2006 | 41 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 45 | 3 | 2 |
| Crystal Palace | 2006–07 | 35 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | 38 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 9 | 5 | |
| 2008–09 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 2006–2009 | 83 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 14 | 6 |
| Leyton Orient | 2009–10 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| Bury Town | 2010–11 | 26 | 8 | ? | ? | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 | 8 | ? |
| Career totals | 528 | 102 | 13 | 57 | 11 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 585 | 113 | 14 | |