Michael Duberry

Michael Duberry

Duberry with Oxford United in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Michael Wayne Duberry [1]
Date of birth	(1975-10-14) 14 October 1975 (age 49) [1]
Place of birth	Enfield, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
1991–1993	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1999	Chelsea	87	(1)
1995	→ Bournemouth (loan)	7	(0)
1999–2005	Leeds United	57	(4)
2004–2005	→ Stoke City (loan)	15	(0)
2005–2007	Stoke City	80	(1)
2007–2009	Reading	48	(0)
2009–2010	Wycombe Wanderers	18	(0)
2010–2011	St Johnstone	50	(1)
2011–2013	Oxford United	47	(3)
2013	Hendon	4	(0)
Total		413	(10)
International career
1996–1997	England U21	5	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michael Wayne Duberry (born 14 October 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

He started his career with Premier League side Chelsea, and also played in the top flight for Leeds United and Reading, and in the Scottish Premier League for St Johnstone. He has also previously played in the Football League for Bournemouth, Stoke City, Wycombe Wanderers and Oxford United before finishing his career with non-League football club Hendon.

Club career

Chelsea

Duberry attended Enfield Grammar School in London and started his career at Chelsea where he was a trainee and made his debut during the 1993–94 season, before a brief loan period with Bournemouth. Duberry made a total of 115 appearances for Chelsea and scored 3 goals, including one in a 2–1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in November 1996. ^[2] His two other Chelsea goals came in their 1995–96 FA Cup campaign, with goals against Grimsby Town ^[3] and Wimbledon. ^[4] He won the League Cup, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup with Chelsea, all in 1998, but faced stiff competition for a place in the side from the likes of Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf. Duberry picked up an Achilles tendon injury in January 1997 meaning he missed the rest of that season, including the 1997 FA Cup Final. ^[5]

Leeds United

Seeking regular football, Duberry eventually requested a transfer and moved to Leeds United in June 1999 for £4.5 million. However, he again failed to break into the first team, as the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, Dominic Matteo, Lucas Radebe and Rio Ferdinand took Leeds to the Champions League semi-finals. He did play the full 90 minutes of their memorable 1–0 win over AC Milan at Elland Road during that campaign; ^[6] however, this would prove to be his last appearance of that season in any competition. He was involved in a court case with Leeds teammates Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer. The first season in which he played regularly for Leeds was 2003–04, as by this time Lucas Radebe had become increasingly injury-prone and crippling debt had forced the sales of Ferdinand and Woodgate. However, Duberry failed to impress in a defence often made up of loan signings (such as Zoumana Camara and Didier Domi) and then youth-team players (such as Frazer Richardson and Matthew Kilgallon).^{[ citation needed ]}

Stoke City

When Leeds were relegated to the Football League he stayed on for a season until Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell allowed him to move to Stoke City where he went on to become a first-team regular and club captain. All 80 of his appearances for the club were as a starter; not once did he feature on the bench. He scored once for Stoke, in a 2–0 win over Crewe Alexandra. ^[7]

Reading

Duberry training with Reading in 2007

On 31 January 2007, Duberry signed for Reading, who invoked a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave Stoke for a Premier League club if a set fee was received, rumoured to be in the region of £800,000. ^[8] He made his league debut for Reading on 24 February in a 2–1 defeat away to Middlesbrough. ^[9]

Wycombe Wanderers

On 15 May 2009, Reading announced that they would not be renewing Duberry's contract, ^[10] and on 10 July he signed a two-year contract with Wycombe Wanderers, ^[11] being appointed club captain shortly afterwards. He was released from his contract on 1 February 2010 having seen his contract terminated by mutual consent, according to the official Wycombe Wanderers website.

St Johnstone

Four days later, Duberry signed for Scottish side St Johnstone. ^[12] He made his Saints debut in a 1–0 Scottish Cup defeat to Dundee United. ^[13] He scored his first goal for St Johnstone in a 2–2 draw with St Mirren on 17 April 2010. ^[14] Duberry re-signed a further one-year deal with St Johnstone on 27 May. ^[15]

Oxford United

Duberry joined Oxford United on 1 June 2011 on a two-year deal, to be closer to his family. ^[16] He scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–1 victory over Port Vale, on 29 October. ^[17] On 21 January 2012, Duberry scored two own goals followed by a last-minute equaliser as Oxford drew 2–2 with Hereford United. ^[18] In August, 36-year-old Duberry underwent neck surgery in an attempt to prolong his career, and stated his hopes of a return to fitness within four months. ^[19] He made two substitute appearances in December and returned to the starting line-up in a league fixture on 1 January 2013. ^[20] During his second season at the club he became the oldest outfield player to appear in the Oxford first team, his final appearance at Accrington Stanley coming at the age of 37 years and 195 days. He was released by Oxford at the end of the 2012–13 season having made 50 appearances for the club in two seasons. ^[21]

Hendon

Duberry announced that he had signed a week-to-week deal with non-League club Hendon on 9 August 2013. After just four games, and 16 days with the Greens, he was released, ^[22] and announced his retirement from football on 2 October. ^[23]

International career

Duberry was eligible to play international football for England, through birth and Montserrat, as both his parents were born there. ^[24] He stated that Ruel Fox had asked him earlier in his career if he wanted to play for the Montserrat national football team, but declined as he stated his dream was to play for England. ^[24] Duberry was approached again, later in his career, whilst playing for St Johnstone. However, he declined again despite the team training in Enfield, close to where he grew up. ^[24]

Personal life

After retiring as a player, Duberry began Made Leaders, a mentoring, coaching and leadership business. ^[25]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chelsea	1993–94 [26]	Premier League	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	1994–95 [27]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	1995–96 [28]	Premier League	22	0	8	0	0	0	—		—		30	0
	1996–97 [29]	Premier League	15	1	1	0	2	0	—		—		18	1
	1997–98 [30]	Premier League	23	0	1	0	3	0	6 [c]	0	—		33	0
	1998–99 [31]	Premier League	25	0	2	0	3	0	2 [c]	0	1 [d]	0	33	0
	Total		87	1	12	0	8	0	8	0	1	0	116	1
Bournemouth (loan)	1995–96 [28]	Second Division	7	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
Leeds United	1999–2000 [32]	Premier League	13	1	1	0	1	0	1 [e]	0	—		16	1
	2000–01 [33]	Premier League	4	0	0	0	0	0	4 [f]	0	—		8	0
	2001–02 [34]	Premier League	3	0	1	0	2	0	1 [e]	0	—		7	0
	2002–03 [35]	Premier League	14	0	2	0	2	0	1 [e]	0	—		19	0
	2003–04 [36]	Premier League	19	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		20	3
	2004–05 [37]	Championship	4	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
	Total		57	4	6	0	5	0	7	0	—		75	4
Stoke City	2004–05 [37]	Championship	25	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		25	0
	2005–06 [38]	Championship	41	1	3	0	1	0	—		—		45	1
	2006–07 [39]	Championship	29	0	2	0	1	0	—		—		32	0
	Total		95	1	5	0	2	0	—		—		102	1
Reading	2006–07 [39]	Premier League	8	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		8	0
	2007–08 [40]	Premier League	13	0	1	0	2	0	—		—		16	0
	2008–09 [41]	Championship	27	0	0	0	1	0	—		2 [g]	0	30	0
	Total		48	0	1	0	3	0	—		2	0	54	0
Wycombe Wanderers	2009–10 [42]	League One	18	0	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	19	0
St Johnstone	2009–10 [42]	Scottish Premier League	17	1	1	0	0	0	—		—		18	1
	2010–11 [43]	Scottish Premier League	33	0	3	0	3	0	—		—		39	0
	Total		50	1	4	0	3	0	—		—		57	1
Oxford United	2011–12 [44]	League Two	36	3	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	37	3
	2012–13 [45]	League Two	11	0	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	13	0
	Total		47	3	2	0	1	0	—		0	0	50	3
Career total			409	10	31	0	22	0	15	0	3	0	480	10

1. Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
2. Includes League Cup, Scottish League Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
4. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
5. Appearance in UEFA Cup
6. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
7. Appearances in Championship play-offs

Honours

Chelsea

• Football League Cup: 1997–98 ^[46]
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98 ^[47]
• UEFA Super Cup: 1998 ^[48]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84596-474-0.
2. O'hagan, Simon (2 November 1996). "United they fall apart" . The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
3. Moore, Glenn (28 February 1996). "Chelsea's rapid route to victory" . The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
4. Rowbottom, Mike (20 March 1996). "Chelsea thrive on Gullit's inspiration" . The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
5. "Robson on mission improbable" . Independent. 18 January 1997. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
6. "Leeds stun Milan on glory night". BBC. 19 September 2000. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
7. "Stoke 2–0 Crewe". BBC. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
8. "Duberry has completed his transfer to join Royals". readingfc.co.uk. 31 January 2007. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
9. May, John (24 February 2007). "Middlesbrough 2–1 Reading". BBC News. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
10. "Murty and Marcus among those to leave". BBC News. 15 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
11. "News | Latest News | Latest News | BLUES SIGN DUBERRY". Wycombe Wanderers. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
12. "Free agent Michael Duberry joins St Johnstone". BBC Sport . 5 February 2010.
13. "St Johnstone 0–1 Dundee Utd". BBC. 6 February 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
14. "St Johnstone 2 – 2 St Mirren". BBC. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
15. "Michael Duberry signs one-year deal with St Johnstone". BBC. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
16. "Defender Michael Duberry signs for Oxford United". BBC Sport. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
17. "Oxford Utd 2–1 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
18. "Oxford Utd 2 – 2 Hereford". BBC Sport. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
19. "Oxford United star Michael Duberry vows to win fitness battle". BBC Sport. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
20. "Dubes set for return". Oxford United F.C. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
21. "Oxford United: Michael Duberry among 12 released". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
22. "Duberry Parts Company with Hendon". Pitchero Non-League. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
23. "Michael Duberry: Ex-Chelsea and Leeds defender retires". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
24. Bannerman, Gordon (21 December 2010). "Saints Michael Duberry says no to sunshine island". Perthshire Adviser. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
25. "Former Chelsea defender Michael Duberry urges greater transparency in selection for football roles". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
26. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 1993/1994". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
27. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 1994/1995". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
28. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 1995/1996". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
29. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
30. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
31. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
32. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
33. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
34. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
35. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
36. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
37. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
38. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
39. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
40. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
41. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
42. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
43. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
44. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
45. "Games played by Michael Duberry in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
46. Moore, Glenn (29 March 1998). "Football: Vialli's selflessness primes Chelsea's deserved victory" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
47. "Cup Winners Cup 1997/1998: Final: Chelsea FC – VfB Stuttgart 1:0: Match details". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
48. "Final: Real Madrid 0–1 Chelsea: Line-ups". UEFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020.

External links

• Michael Duberry at Soccerbase
• England profile at theFA