Curtis Nelson

Curtis Nelson
Personal information
Full nameCurtis Alexander Nelson[1]
Date of birth21 May 1993
Place of birthNewcastle-under-Lyme, England
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Plymouth Argyle
Number5
Youth career
2002–2009Stoke City
2009–2010Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010–Plymouth Argyle163(5)
National team
2011England U181(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:49, 23 April 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Curtis Alexander Nelson (born 21 May 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Plymouth Argyle. Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, he was capped by England at under-18 level. Nelson made his debut in the Football League in 2010. He is also the captain of Plymouth Argyle, after the departure of Conor Hourihane in June 2014.

He is a cousin of sprinter Ashleigh Nelson.[3]

Career

Nelson spent seven years with Stoke City as an apprentice before being released in February 2009. He joined Plymouth Argyle two months later.[4] His performances in the 2009–10 season for the youth team and reserves, in both defence and midfield, earned him a place in the first team squad for the club's final match of the campaign against Peterborough United.[5] Nelson trained with the first team during throughout their 2010–11 pre-season and impressed manager Peter Reid. "I was very impressed with young Curtis," said Reid. "I like young players and he will be training with us all the time now. He played centre-back last year but he can play midfield as well."[6] He made his first team debut on 10 August 2010 in the League Cup against Notts County, replacing Anton Peterlin as a second-half substitute.[7][8]

He signed his first professional contract in October 2010, one that would last until the end of the 2011–12 season.[9] His performances for Argyle led to a call-up to the England under-18 team to play Italy in April 2011.[10] He replaced George Moncur in the second half as England drew 1–1.[11] Nelson appeared in 35 league matches during his debut season and three more in cup competitions.[4][12] He finished the season by winning the club's Young Player of the Year award.[13] Nelson began the new season in the team, but lost his place in November after the club signed Maxime Blanchard and Darren Purse.[12] A knee injury in December meant a lengthy spell on the sidelines and new manager Carl Fletcher stressed that it was important Nelson took as long as he needed to make a full recovery.[14]

Nelson signed a new undisclosed contract in April 2012, along with team-mates Luke Young and Jared Sims.[15][16] Nelson finished the season with 21 appearances in all competitions.[4] He scored his first senior goal in a win against Northampton Town in September.[17] "I ran over to the fans to celebrate, but I didn't know what to do," said Nelson.[17] In April 2013, he became the youngest Plymouth Argyle captain since Norman Piper in August 1967 when he led the team in a win against Cheltenham Town.[18] "It was a great honour. To be the captain at such a young age, I wasn't expecting it at all."[18] Nelson made 32 appearances in the 2012–13 campaign and scored three goals.[4]

On 7 May 2014, Nelson committed to the Pilgrims by signing a new two-year contract with the club.[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 April 2015.
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Plymouth Argyle 2009–10[20] Championship 00000000
2010–11[21] League One 35010101[lower-alpha 1]0380
2011–12[22] League Two 17020101[lower-alpha 1]0210
2012–13[23] League Two 27310202[lower-alpha 1]0323
2013–14[24] League Two 44151102[lower-alpha 1]0522
2014–15[25] League Two 40120102[lower-alpha 1]0451
Career total 163511160801886
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy

References

  1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 67. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014.
  2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 512. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  3. "Meet the Plymouth athletes competing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland". Plymouth Herald. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Curtis Nelson". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  5. "Plymouth 1–2 Peterborough". BBC Sport. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  6. "Half Nelson". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  7. "Full Nelson". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 10 August 2010 Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  8. "Plymouth 0–1 Notts County". BBC Sport. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  9. "Curtis Contract". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  10. "Call Up For Curtis". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  11. "Lions held to draw in Carpi". The Football Association. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Season's been a learning curve". The Herald. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  13. Perrow, Mark (6 May 2011). "Peter's Praise For Fletch & Nelse". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  14. Bradford, Andy (6 March 2012). "Nelson on Way Back". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  15. "Signed On". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  16. "Curtis Nelson, Luke Young and Jared Sims sign Plymouth Argyle deals". BBC Sport. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  17. 17.0 17.1 "Curtis Nelson: I didn't know what to do after scoring". The Herald. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  18. 18.0 18.1 Errington, Chris (8 April 2013). "It was 'a great honour' to be Plymouth Argyle captain, says Curtis Nelson". The Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  19. "Curtis Signs On". Plymouth Argyle FC. 7 May 2014.
  20. "Squad stats: 2009/10". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  21. "Games played by Curtis Nelson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  22. "Games played by Curtis Nelson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  23. "Games played by Curtis Nelson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  24. "Games played by Curtis Nelson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  25. "Games played by Curtis Nelson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2015.

External links