Ian Duerden

Ian Christopher Duerden (born 27 March 1978) is an English former professional association footballer who played as a centre forward, leading the line applying aggression and speed.

At Burnley he played under Jimmy Mullen, Adrian Heath, Chris Waddle and Glen Roeder over a 6-year period from being a youth team player and represented England under 18's in two friendly internationals. This stint was also followed very closely by the BBC reporter Peter Stevenson who did a monthly documentary on the lifestyle of a Y.T.S footballer following Ian 24 hours a day for two years. After making one appearance for Burnley in the Championship, plus loan spells at Glentoran, Bamber Bridge, Southport and Telford, Ian moved to Halifax Town at the beginning of the 1998 season.

After only a couple of appearances he fell out of favour and was snapped up by Doncaster Rovers where he progressed his career under the influence of Ian Snodin, attracting interest from several English Premier league and Scottish premier league clubs with Snodin turning down six figure offers from Aberdeen, Bolton Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers. Rovers next manager, Steve Wignall, seemed to alienate the striker infuriating the fans with whom he had become a favourite. He spent October and November 2000 on loan to Kingstonian helping them reach the 4th round of the FA Cup. Even ten years on from his time at Rovers, the phrase "Get Duerden on!" is used by some fans as a way of expressing a frustration with the managers game plan and a desire for that something extra needed on the pitch.

Unhappy with a lack of first team appearances for Rovers, in January 2001 Duerden was sold to Kingstonian. He then moved to Barrow and later to Hucknall Town where he scored on his debut. Here his professional career ended prematurely due to a series of injuries throughout the years.

Despite rumours that he had signed for Altricham, Duerden went on to work in the fire service who he also played football for, representing them at the England level.