Michael Duberry Bio Send To Friend  

On the day that Glenn Hoddle was appointed England coach, a reporter asked what the Chelsea coach had done to deserve his elevation. 'Well,' said the man from the FA (was it Graham Kelly? it would certainly be in keeping), 'he has been coaching English players as talented as Michael Duberry...'

There was an eerie silence as the members of the press digested this pearl. No-one had the heart to ask if they had collectively misheard.

At the time, Doobs looked like quite a prospect for the England team, and there's little doubt he had the potential. However, as he graduated from young gun to senior player, his career has meandered somewhat.

Starting his career at Chelsea where he was a trainee, he made his debut during the 1993-94 season, before a brief loan period with Bournemouth.

Duberry won the League Cup, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup with Chelsea, all in 1998; but requested a transfer after failing to hold down a first-team place and moved to Leeds in 1999.

The £4.5million signing failed to make an impression though, as the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, Dominic Matteo and Lucas Radebe took Leeds to the Champions League semi-finals.

Surrounded by court-room controversy, along with Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate, Duberry did not play regularly for the club until 2003/04, after they had sold their best players.

With the club on the slide, Duberry did not inspire much confidence in the defence and was often blamed for leaking goals alongside the youngsters who had taken the places of those that left.

Indeed, when Leeds suffered relegation to the Football League he stayed on for a season until the Leeds manager, Kevin Blackwell, allowed him to move to Stoke City.

It was a move that would turn his career around, and Duberry went on to prove his doubters wrong. Becoming a first-team regular, he made 80 starts for the club and never once came off the bench. He was also made club captain.

In January 2007, Duberry signed for Reading as the club invoked a clause in his contract that let him leave for a Premier League club.

The fee was believed to be in the region of £800,000, as the Royals were looking to replace the injured Ibrahima Sonko, and he made his Reading debut in the 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.