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DAVID GOODWILLIE
Born: 28 March 1989
Came from: Aberdeen Went to: Released
First game: 06 August 2016 Last game: 14 January 2017
Appearances: 22 (10/12) Goals: 1
Goodwillie started his football with youth side Carse Thistle in his native Stirling before joining Dundee United as a 14-year-old in 2003 (following in the footsteps of Scotland international Duncan Ferguson, who also played for the club). He was given his professional debut at the age of 16, and made a series of substitute appearances in his first two years as a pro. In December 2007 he went to Raith Rovers on loan, and scored nine times in 21 games.
Back at Tannadice, his real breakthrough season was 2009-10 when he made 40 appearances and scored 13 goals, the last being the opening goal in a 3-0 victory in the Scottish Cup final, against Derek Adams' Ross County.
The following season was even better: he scored 19 goals, made his senior debut for Scotland and was named PFA Scotland's Young Player of the Year. In addition, the eyes of the Premier League were taking note.
In August 2011, Blackburn Rovers brought him south of the border for a fee reported to be above £2m. He scored five goals in his first season at Ewood Park, as well scoring his first and only international goal, a penalty in Scotland’s 3-1 defeat by Spain in European Championship qualifying.
Finding first team opportunities limited, he had loan spells at Crystal Palace and Blackpool, either side of a half-season return to Dundee United. When released from his Blackburn contract in the summer of 2014, he joined Aberdeen, where he played 63 times over two years, scoring eight goals, many however were from the bench. He eventually went to Ross County on loan in the January 2016 transfer window before his release by Aberdeen at the end of the season.
Goodwillie became one of Derek Adams' 13 new faces at Home Park in the summer of 2016, and hopes were high that he would make a significant impact. However, he found a regular place hard to come by in the first half of the season, and in January 2017, after being found liable at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in a civil action that related to an incident of alleged rape in January 2011, he left the club by mutual consent.
After then turning out for Perthshire amateur outfit Doune Castle in the Caledonian League, he moved to Scottish League Two side Clyde. In total he spent six impressive seasons at Clyde and played 176 times, scoring 109 goals.
His move away from Clyde saw a reignition of the issues caused by the liable judgement in his civil case. Initially he rejoined Raith Rovers in January 2022. However, two club directors, several staff members, the women's team captain and most club volunteers resigned and shirt sponsor Val McDermid withdrew her support of the club due to the signing, which was also criticised by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. A few days after his signing, Raith said he would not be selected to play for the club.
In March 2022 he was loaned back to former club Clyde for the remainder of the 2021–22 season, but this prompted the club's women's team to resign en masse and the local council intimated that the lease on Broadwood Stadium would be terminated early. Clyde cancelled his loan deal and returned him to Raith, where he was released from his contract in September 2022.
Similar reactions by media and the public followed almost all of his attempted moves, although he did play one game for East of Scotland League side Livingston United in November 2022, scoring twice, and in February 2023 he played for Northern Premier League club Radcliffe, scoring a hat-trick. Both clubs released him immediately after his single appearance. In June 2023, NPL Western Australia club Sorrento FC announced that they had signed him, but just hours later, his contract was rescinded.
In July 2023, Goodwillie made an appearance for Glasgow United in a friendly. Following the game, Glasgow City Council warned the club they could lose the right to play at their ground if they signed him, but the club stood by the player, suggesting that he had been the subject of a "witch hunt".
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APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]
The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.
I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.
The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.
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