Mark Janney (born 2 December 1977) is an English former 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 played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Janney began his career in the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

and is best remembered for his eight-year spell with

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

. He made two

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 ...

appearances during a loan spell at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. Janney won a cap for England C at international level.

Playing career

Tottenham Hotspur

Growing up in

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

, Janney was signed by

club

as a schoolboy and worked his way through the club's

to the reserve team. Though he signed a professional contract in 1996, he failed to make an appearance for the first team and joined

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

in March 1997. His first involvement with the Brentford first team came when he was named as a substitute for a match away to Gillingham on 31 March. With the Bees 1–0 down,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Jamie Bates Jamie Bates (born 14 September 1989) is an English Glory kickboxer fighting out of Annfield Plain, County Durham, England. He was ranked #5 in the world from 2020 to 2023 by Combat Press, and was ranked #2 in Glory in 2020. He is currently ...

suffered an injury after 36 minutes and Janney replaced him to make the first professional appearance of his career. He scored an equaliser with his first touch of the ball in League football and Brentford won the match through a 50th-minute winner from

Carl Asaba Carl Edward Asaba (born 28 January 1973) is an English former footballer who played as a forward in the Football League. He began his career with non-league Dulwich Hamlet, his goalscoring prowess earning him a move to Brentford in 1994. He play ...

. Janney started the following game against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

, but was replaced after 49 minutes by

Brian Statham John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965. It proved to be his final appearance for the club. Janney departed

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

at the end of the 1996–97 season. In 2001, he remarked that he was devastated after his release from Tottenham Hotspur, saying "when you've got your heart set on something and you're told you're not good enough then obviously it hits you. If I'm honest, I knew I was never going to make it at Tottenham. I was in the youth team with

Stephen Carr Stephen Carr (born 29 August 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a right-back, sometimes deputising at left-back or centre back. He started his career with Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur in 1993 and remained wi ...

, Luke Young and

Stephen Clemence Stephen Neal Clemence (born 31 March 1978) is an English Association football, football coach and former player, who made nearly 250 appearances in the Premier League and English Football League, Football League playing as a midfielder and was r ...

, but it was very hard to get a game with all the pros there".

Dagenham & Redbridge

After unsuccessful trials at

clubs

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 ...

and

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

, Janney signed for

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

Premier Division club

in September 1997. A

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury wiped out most of his 1998–99 season. Janney won the first silverware of his career during the 1999–00 season, when the Daggers were promoted to the

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

as Isthmian League Premier Division champions. He made 39 appearances and scored three goals during the 2000–01 season, as the Daggers finished third in their first season in the Conference. Janney was a virtual ever-present during the 2001–02 season, making 41 appearances and scoring two goals. A fifth-place finish saw the Dagenham qualify for the Conference playoffs in the 2002–03 season, but the club's season ended with a 3–2

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

defeat to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Janney made 35 appearances during the 2002–03 season and scored four goals. Dagenham stumbled to a mid-table finish during the 2003–04 season and Janney still made 42 appearances and scored two goals. The 2004–05 season proved to be the last of Janney's Dagenham career, in which he made 28 appearances and scored three goals. He departed the club at the end of the season, having failed to agree a new contract. Janney made nearly 300 appearances during his eight-year Daggers career.

2005–06 season

Janney had a brief spell at Isthmian League Premier Division club

Maldon Town Maldon & Tiptree Football Club is a football club based in Maldon, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Park Drive. History Maldon Town Football Club was established in August 1946 as part of the Maldon Social and Ath ...

during the 2005 off-season and made no competitive appearances. He transferred to Isthmian League Premier Division club

Heybridge Swifts Heybridge Swifts Football Club is a football club based in Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Scraley Road. History The club was established in 1880 as Heybridge Football Club. After joining t ...

in August 2005 and made eight league appearances for the club without scoring before departing to join

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

club

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...

in October 2005. He departed the club in July 2006, having made 25 league appearances and scored two goals.

AFC Hornchurch

Janney signed for Isthmian League First Division North club

A.F.C. Hornchurch Hornchurch Football Club is a football club based in Upminster, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hornchurch Stadium. History 1881 club The first Hornchurch Football Club was founded in October 1881. Based at Grey To ...

in July 2006, linking up with former Thurrock manager Colin McBride. He won the second and third pieces of silverware of his career during his debut season, as Hornchurch won the 2006–07 Isthmian League First Division North title and the

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although leag ...

. He also won the 2006–07

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Golden Boot Award, for scoring eight goals during Hornchurch's run to the third qualifying round. He made 40 appearances and scored 10 goals during the 2006–07 season. In his first season back in the Isthmian League Premier Division, Janney made 36 appearances and scored six goals. He had a consistent 2008–09 season, making 37 league appearances and scoring 9 goals. A ruptured hamstring suffered in February 2010 ended Janney's career. He had made 29 appearances and scored two goals during the 2009–10 season, before suffering the injury. Janney was awarded a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

by Hornchurch in September 2012, in which a Hornchurch Legends XI took on a Daggers Legends XI to celebrate Janney's career and long associations with A.F.C. Hornchurch and Dagenham & Redbridge.

International career

Janney won an England C cap in a match against Netherlands Amateurs in March 2001.

Personal life

Janney is a

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

supporter.

Career statistics

Honours

; Dagenham & Redbridge *

Premier Division: 1999–00 ; A.F.C. Hornchurch * Isthmian League First Division North: 2006–07 *

: 2006–07 Individual *

Golden Boot Award: 2006–07

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Janney, Mark 1977 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Brentford F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Maldon & Tiptree F.C. players Heybridge Swifts F.C. players Thurrock F.C. players Hornchurch F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players England men's semi-pro international footballers National League (English football) players English Football League players Isthmian League players Footballers from the London Borough of Havering People from Romford