Stuart Duff

Stuart Duff (born 23 January 1982) is a Scottish retired professional footballer who last played for Inverurie Loco Works in the Highland Football League. He was primarily a central midfielder although his versatility saw him play in most defensive and midfield positions.[1]

For the New Zealand cricketer, see Stu Duff.

Stuart Duff
Personal information
Full name Stuart Duff
Date of birth (1982-01-23) 23 January 1982
Place of birth Aberdeen, Scotland
Position(s) Midfielder/Defender
Youth career
1998–1999 Dundee United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2008 Dundee United 152 (3)
2008–2010 Aberdeen 47 (1)
2009 → Inverness CT (loan) 1 (0)
2010–2011 Inverness CT 34 (1)
2011 Ayr United (trialist) 3 (0)
2011–2012 Qormi 6 (0)
2012–2013 Kairat 50 (1)
2014–2017 Cove Rangers
2017–2019 Inverurie Loco Works
National team‡
2002–2003 Scotland U21 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:19, 21 December 2014 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10:59, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Duff began his career with Dundee United, going on to make 171 first team appearances in nine years at the club. He later played for Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, before leaving Scotland for spells with Qormi in Malta and Kairat in Kazakhstan. He joined Cove Rangers in 2014, then signed for Inverurie Loco Works in 2017.

He is a former Scotland under-21 internationalist, having made ten appearances between 2002 and 2003.

Career

Dundee United

Having been developed as a player through Dundee United's youth scheme, he turned professional with the club in July 1999. He was given his debut by then-manager Alex Smith in December 2001, when he was used as a right wing back in a match at Kilmarnock, and went on to make nine appearances that season, collecting the April 'Young Player of the Month' award.[2] In 2002–03, Duff had his best run of league games, playing 34 times. When Ian McCall was appointed at the start of the 2003–04 season, Duff found himself more often as a substitute, playing in just 18 league games. During that season, Duff was part of the Scotland under-21 side that narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, with Scotland losing to Croatia in the play-off.[3] The following season, Duff played 25 league games, earning him a new three-year contract in March 2005.[4] Shortly afterwards, Duff was part of the United side that lost narrowly to Celtic in the Scottish Cup final, with his 83rd-minute substitute appearance earning him a runners-up medal.[5]

In 2005–06, with Gordon Chisholm the new manager, Duff played more first team games, with 29 league appearances. During February 2006, Duff alleged he was spat on by Hearts midfielder Rudi Skacel,[6] a claim repeated two months later by Celtic captain Neil Lennon.[7] No action was taken against Skacel in either incident. Duff scored an important goal in the 1–0 win over Rangers at Ibrox during the season, which helped United avoid relegation. Duff started the 2006–07 season as an attacking midfielder under Craig Brewster and scored once, although was used in a variety of defensive roles under Craig Levein.

Aberdeen

In January 2008, Levein told Duff he was free to leave Tannadice and find himself a new club. He was released on 17 January,[8] after playing 170 games for the club, scoring four times. Duff began training with fellow SPL side Aberdeen and a short-term move to his home town club was confirmed the following day,[1] seeing him become the third player to move from Tannadice to Pittodrie in eighteen months, following Lee Miller[9] and Lee Mair.[10] Within six weeks of arriving, however, Duff was one of several players manager Jimmy Calderwood threatened to release at the end of the season, due to the club's poor performances.[11] In May 2008, Duff instead signed a two-year contract extension with Aberdeen.[12]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Duff was loaned to Inverness CT for a month in December 2009.[13][14]

After his release by Aberdeen, Duff had a trial spell with St Johnstone and turned down an approach from St Mirren before signing for Inverness CT.[14] Duff agreed a deal that was to run until the end of the 2010–11 season. Throughout the 2010/11 season he was a regular starter for Caley, and featured in most of their surprising results. These included a 1–1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox and a 2–2 draw with Celtic at Parkhead.[14] His contract expired with ICT at the end of the 2010/11 season, and he stated his desire to stay with Inverness and said he would accept their contract offer after returning from holiday. In the summer of 2011, a contract was offered, but no deal was agreed and the contract offer was eventually withdrawn.

Playing Abroad

Duff played three games for Ayr United as a trialist in September 2011.[15]

In November 2011, Duff agreed to join Qormi, in the Maltese Premier League, for the remainder of the season.[16]

Kairat

In February 2012, Duff agreed to join Kazakhstan Premier League side FC Kairat[17] on a lucrative one-year deal and was given the number 21 shirt. Duff scored his first goal for Kairat in their 2–0 victory over FC Sunkar on 8 April 2012.[18] Kairat finished the season in 10th place.[19] Duff had his contract extended for another year, keeping him at the club till the end of the 2013 season.[20] Duff left Kairat at the end of the 2013 season, as Kazakhstan Premier League rules state that foreign players over the age of 30 must be playing for their national team in order to play in their league.[21]

Highland League

On 14 October 2014, Duff signed a short-term deal with Highland Football League side Cove Rangers.[22] In January 2015, Duff signed a new two-and-a-half year contract with the club, despite interest from Scottish League Two side Montrose.[23] In January 2017, he was transferred to another Highland League club, Inverurie Loco Works.[24]

After Football

After returning from a two-year spell in Kazakhstan with FC Kairat, Duff began working in the Oil & Gas sector in his native Aberdeen for Halliburton.[25] Duff also began scouting youngsters in Scotland for Manchester City youth in early 2016.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 2 November 2013[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dundee United 1999–00 Scottish Premier League 000000--00
2000–01 000000--00
2001–02[27] 900000--90
2002–03[28] 3400040--380
2003–04[29] 1801010--200
2004–05[30] 2524130--323
2005–06[31] 290101010-320
2006–07[32] 2812000--301
2007–08[33] 900000--200
Total 1523819010--1704
Aberdeen 2007–08[33] Scottish Premier League 1001000--110
2008–09[34] 2012000--221
2009–10[35] 170000020-221
Total 471300020--521
Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan) 2009–10 Scottish First Division 100000––10
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2010–11[36] Scottish Premier League 3413000––371
Ayr United (trialist) 2011–12[37] Scottish First Division 300000––30
Qormi 2011–12 Maltese Premier League 6000–––60
Kairat 2012 Kazakhstan Premier League 24120–––261
2013 26010–––270
Total 50130------531
Career total 29361719030--3227

References
  1. "Duff set to sign on at Pittodrie". BBC Sport website. 17 January 2008.
  2. "SPL monthly awards". Scotprem.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  3. "Young Scots make brave exit". BBC Sport website. 18 November 2003.
  4. "Duff agrees new United contract". BBC Sport website. 30 March 2005.
  5. "Celtic 1–0 Dundee United". BBC Sport website. 28 May 2005.
  6. "Skacel spit claim is not pursued". BBC Sport website. 10 February 2006.
  7. "Lennon and Skacel row over spit". BBC Sport website. 1 May 2006.
  8. "Stuart Duff released". Dundee United FC. 17 January 2008.
  9. "Dons take Miller from Dundee Utd". BBC Sport website. 31 August 2006.
  10. "Mair completes Pittodrie switch". BBC Sport website. 1 May 2007.
  11. Wright, Angus (26 February 2008). "Calderwood plans 'major rebuilding'". The Scotsman.
  12. "Duff signs new deal at Pittodrie". BBC Sport. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  13. "Stuart Duff goes out". AFC Official Site. 11 December 2009. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010.
  14. Esson, Blair (8 September 2010). "Duff returns for a second stint at Caley". Daily Express. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  15. "Ayr United vs Heart of Midlothian – 21st September 2011: Match Preview". Scottish Football League. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  16. "Qormi complete Duff deal". Times of Malta. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  17. "STUART DUFF IS FIRST SCOT TO TRY KAZAKHSTAN". Daily Express. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  18. "Sunkar vs. Kairat 0 – 2". soccerway. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  19. https://int.soccerway.com/national/kazakhstan/premier-league/2012/regular-season/
  20. DILLON, ROBERT. "The Unusual Travels of Stuart Duff". More Than Arshavin. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  21. СТЮАРТ ДАФФ: «БУДУ СКУЧАТЬ ПО КАЗАХСТАНУ» (in Russian). http://www.fckairat.kz/. Retrieved 28 January 2014. External link in |publisher= (help)
  22. "Duff signs short term deal". coverangersfc. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  23. "Former Don Stuart Duff commits to Cove Rangers". www.pressandjournal.co.uk/. Press and Journal. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  24. Edwards, Dave (11 January 2017). "Done Deal: Locos sign Duff from Cove Rangers". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  25. "Stuart Duff". https://uk.linkedin.com/. LinkedIn. Retrieved 2 November 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  26. "S.Duff". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  27. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  28. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  29. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  30. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  31. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  32. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  33. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  34. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  35. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  36. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  37. "Games played by Stuart Duff in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
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