Duane Courtney
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Duane Jerome Courtney (born 7 January 1985) is an English semi-professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays as a
right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
for club Highgate United. He has played in
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
for
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
. Courtney started his career in the youth system of
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
as a schoolboy and later played for
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
as a trainee. He played for
AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...
in the 2004–05 season and after being named their Player of the Season he joined Burnley in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
. After making eight appearances for them in one season he was released and joined
Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...
champions The New Saints in 2006. He played for them for three seasons before returning to England with
Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
club
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...
in 2009. He left Kidderminster after one season to sign for
York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
, who released him in 2011. He then played for Tamworth but left after their relegation to the
Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
to join
Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...
in 2014.


Career


Early career

Courtney joined the
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
youth system as a schoolboy in 1999 before joining
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
as a trainee in 2001. He was also a reserve-team player for Birmingham. He went on
trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...
with Second Division club
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
in April 2004 after being recommended to the club by former Birmingham player Craig Fagan. Released by Birmingham in the summer of 2004 after not being offered professional terms, Courtney considered giving up
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
before joining
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
First Division club
AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...
in August following a trial. He scored for Telford in a 4–2 defeat to Kidsgrove Athletic in the
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
preliminary round in October, which was the team's first match in the competition. Courtney played in the 2–1 win over Kendal Town in the 2005 Northern Premier League First Division play-off Final, seeing the club promoted to the Northern Premier League Premier Division. He received Telford's Supporters' Player of the Season, Manager's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards for the 2004–05 season and signed a new one-year contract in the summer of 2005.


Burnley

He drew attention from
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
clubs and on 31 August 2005 signed for
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
club
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
on a two-year contract for an initial fee of £25,000 with a sell-on clause after having a trial with the club, having opted not to join
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
. He made his first-team debut as a substitute in the 89th minute of a 1–0 victory away to
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
on 18 October, which was followed by a
stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the ga ...
appearance in a 1–0 defeat away to
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
in the League Cup on 25 October. His first and only start for Burnley came in a 3–2 victory away to
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
on 5 November, in which he gave a solid performance. Having struggled to break into the team, Courtney finished 2005–06 with eight appearances, seven coming from the substitutes' bench, and was placed on the
transfer list The transfer market is the arena in which football players are available for transfer to clubs. The transfer market consists of a list of players available for transfer, and also the money moving between clubs as they contest to purchase and sell t ...
in May 2006. He rejected an offer from
Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
club
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...
in July 2006 on the advice of his agent and was eventually released by Burnley on 17 August after having his contract cancelled.


The New Saints

Following a trial with League Two club Bury, Courtney signed for
Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...
champions The New Saints (TNS) on a free transfer on 20 September 2006 and he believed playing in this league was an "ideal shop window in which to develop his career and showcase his talent". He finished 2006–07 with 29 appearances and 3 goals in all competitions and was named in the Welsh Premier League Team of the Year for the season, having been a key member of the team that won the League and the
FAW Premier Cup The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Wales, Welsh association football, football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English fo ...
. Courtney played for TNS in both legs of their 4–4 draw on aggregate with
FK Ventspils FK Ventspils was a Latvian professional football club based at Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions in Ventspils. It was one of the most prominent football clubs in the country. The club played in the Latvian Virslīga since 1997. It folded in July ...
in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, a result that ended the team's involvement in the tournament due to the away goal rule. He finished 2007–08 with 29 appearances and 1 goal in all competitions. Two further European appearances came in 2008–09, playing in both legs of the 2–0 defeat on aggregate to
FK Sūduva FK Sūduva is a Lithuanian professional Association football, football club based in the city of Marijampolė. Founded in 1968, the club competes in the A Lyga, the top flight of Football in Lithuania, Lithuanian football. The club has been pla ...
in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Courtney came on as a 90th-minute substitute for TNS in the 2009
Welsh League Cup The Cymru League Cup, currently known as the Nathaniel MG Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a cup competition in Welsh association football, football organised by the Football Association of Wales. The competition was established in 1992 and is c ...
Final, which the team won with a 2–0 victory over
Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...
. He made 40 appearances and scored 1 goal in all competitions and the club announced in April 2009 that he would be released when his contract expired on 30 June.


Kidderminster Harriers

After "composed performances" on trial in pre-season, Courtney signed a one-year contract with
Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
club Kidderminster Harriers on 20 July 2009. He made his debut as a substitute in the 66th minute of a 1–0 victory over Hayes & Yeading United on 8 August 2009, which was followed by his first start in a 1–0 defeat to Salisbury City on 11 August due to Liam Dolman not being fit. He played against Tamworth on 31 August 2009 despite an injury and although he was still suffering this injury he was able to play in the next match, a 2–0 defeat to Eastbourne Borough. Courtney commented in September 2009 that Kidderminster's defence was taking time to gel, saying "We've all played at a high standard, individually and collectively we are good, but there's something missing. I think it's communication between us, which is why we're making mistakes." His first and only goal for Kidderminster came with a low shot against Kettering Town in a 2–0 away victory on 21 November 2009 and
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
Mark Yates said "It was a good finish by Duane, he does it in training quite often". He played for Kidderminster in their run to the FA Trophy
semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
, in which they were beaten 5–1 on aggregate by
Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...
. Courtney suffered an ankle injury against
Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...
on 30 March 2010 and returned in the following match against
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...
on 3 April, in which he was forced to be substituted due to his ankle. He did not miss any further playing time as he featured in the following match, a 1–1 draw with
Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ket ...
on 5 April 2010. He finished 2009–10 with 49 appearances and 1 goal for Kidderminster.


York City

Following the signing of Lee Vaughan in the summer of 2010, Courtney's position at Kidderminster looked tenuous and the club stalled on a new contract as they were finalising their budget for the forthcoming season. He joined Kidderminster's Conference Premier rivals
York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
on 24 May 2010 on a one-year contract. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to former club Kidderminster as a 76th-minute substitute on 14 August 2010, the opening day of
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, and he conceded a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
in the 89th minute that was scored by the opposition. His first start for the club came in a 1–1 draw away to
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
on 11 September 2010. Having made seven appearances for York, Courtney was made available for
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
on 28 October 2010. He went on trial with League Two club
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...
in January 2011, who were managed by Yates, Courtney's manager at Kidderminster. He impressed playing in central defence in Cheltenham's reserve match against
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
. Courtney was released by York after his contract was cancelled on 21 January 2011, after which he agreed to train with Cheltenham for one week. However, Cheltenham decided to not offer him a contract.


Tamworth

Courtney signed with Conference Premier club Tamworth on 3 February 2011 and he made his debut as a 75th-minute substitute in a 1–0 defeat to
Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which runs eas ...
two days later. He finished the season with 18 appearances for Tamworth. Courtney signed a new two-year contract with Tamworth on 22 June 2011, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2013. On 1 January 2012, he scored his first goal for the club with a shot into the bottom corner in a 2–2 draw with
Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...
. Courtney made 44 appearances and scored 1 goal in 2012–13 and won the club's Players' Player of the Year, Manager's Player of the Year and Supporter's Player of the Year awards. He made 23 appearances and scored 2 goals for Tamworth in 2013–14, which finished with the club's relegation to the
Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
, and he missed a number of matches due to hamstring problems.


Later career

Courtney signed for Conference Premier club Alfreton Town on 4 June 2014 and made his debut in a 2–0 away defeat to
Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...
on 16 August. He made 18 appearances in 2014–15 as the club was relegated after finishing 21st in the Conference Premier. Courtney signed for newly promoted
National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...
club Corby Town on 14 June 2015. He joined Southern League Premier Division club
Redditch United Redditch United Football Club is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club participates in the and play their home games at the Valley Stadium. They are managed by Matt Clarke. History They were originally called Re ...
on 31 May 2016. On 6 June 2017, Courtney signed for
Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...
Premier Division club Bromsgrove Sporting. He signed for their divisional rivals Highgate United in September 2017.


Style of play

Courtney primarily plays as a
right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
and is a versatile player, also being able to play at
left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...
and
centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
. He is an attacking player and has pace and athleticism. Courtney said of his play "I can run for 90 minutes up and down and get forward quite well, as well as getting back. I'm strong, quick and quite good in the air for my height" in 2010. York manager Martin Foyle described him as "exciting" and said "He's got the energy to get forward".


Personal life

Courtney was born in Oldbury, West Midlands. He lived in nearby
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
with his partner and two children up until 2010 when he moved to
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
following his transfer to York City. However, he failed to settle in York and after leaving the club in 2011 he returned to live in Birmingham.


Career statistics


Honours

AFC Telford United *
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
First Division play-offs:
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
The New Saints *
Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...
: 2006–07 *
Welsh League Cup The Cymru League Cup, currently known as the Nathaniel MG Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a cup competition in Welsh association football, football organised by the Football Association of Wales. The competition was established in 1992 and is c ...
: 2008–09 *
FAW Premier Cup The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Wales, Welsh association football, football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English fo ...
: 2006–07 Individual *
AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...
Player of the Season: 2004–05 *
Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...
Team of the Year: 2006–07 * Tamworth Player of the Year:
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Duane 1985 births Living people Footballers from Oldbury, West Midlands Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Derby County F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players AFC Telford United players Burnley F.C. players The New Saints F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players York City F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players Redditch United F.C. players Bromsgrove Sporting F.C. players Highgate United F.C. players Northern Premier League players English Football League players Cymru Premier players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Midland Football League players Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people 21st-century English sportsmen