John Curtis (footballer born 1978)
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| John Curtis | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Charles Curtis | |
| Date of birth | September 3, 1978 | |
| Place of birth | Nuneaton, England | |
| Height | 5'10" (175cm) | |
| Playing position | Defender/Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Unattached | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1997-2000 1999-2000 2000-2003 2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2004 2005-2007 2007 |
Manchester United → Barnsley (loan) Blackburn Rovers → Sheffield United (loan) Leicester City Portsmouth → Preston North End (loan) Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers |
13 (0) 28 (2) 61 (0) 12 (0) 15 (0) 7 (0) 12 (0) 79 (0) 4 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1998 | England B | 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
John Charles Curtis (born September 3, 1978 in Nuneaton, England) is an English footballer. He is a versatile defender who can play anywhere along the back four or even as a defensive midfielder. He is currently without a club having been released by Queens Park Rangers. However he is currently undergoing a trial at Preston North End. Curtis is thought to be a short-term solution to North End's injury and suspension problems.
[edit] Career
Beginning his career at Manchester United, he was tipped as a huge star for the future. However he was unable to break fully into the first team, and went to Barnsley F.C. on loan during the 1999-00 season. Blackburn Rovers F.C. manager Graeme Souness was impressed by the young defender, and managed to prise Curtis away from Manchester United during the summer of 2000. During the next season he was an ever present as Blackburn were promoted to the Premiership. By this time he had also represented England at youth, Under-21 and 'B' level and was being hailed as a future England captain.
However, his 2001-02 Premiership campaign was dogged by injury, limiting him to just ten top flight appearances. He failed to regain his regular starting place, and spent the second half of the 2002-03 season on loan to Sheffield United F.C. At the end of the season he was released by Blackburn as a free transfer, and was signed by Leicester City F.C. for the 2003-04 season.
However, Curtis' spell at Leicester was unsuccessful, and after making just 17 appearances, he was transferred to Portsmouth F.C. in Feb 2004 on a free transfer.
After failing to win a regular starting place in the side, at the start of 2004-05 he was loaned to Preston North End F.C. Upon his return to the club at the end of October, he spoke of his determination to win a regular place at Portsmouth and get his career back on track.
However, he made only 5 appearances under Harry Redknapp, and failed to play at all under his successor Velimir Zajec. In January 2005 Curtis was transferred on a free transfer to Nottingham Forest F.C., initially on a short term contract before signed a 2 year deal. There he established himself as first choice right-back up to the end of the 2007 season, when Forest missed out on promotion to the Football League Championship. Shortly afterwards, Nottingham Forest announced that they would not be offering him a new contract, and that he would therefore be free to leave after 30th June 2007.[1]
Curtis signed for Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer on June 30, 2007.[2] However, his period at the club was unsuccessful and his contract was terminated by QPR on 12 December 2007.[3]
