 Durnin in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Paul Durnin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-08-18)18 August 1965 (age 59)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bootle, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder;forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1985–1986 | Waterloo Dock | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1989 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
| 1988 | →West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 1989–1993 | Oxford United | 161 | (44) |
| 1993–1999 | Portsmouth | 181 | (31) |
| 1999 | →Blackpool (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Carlisle United | 22 | (2) |
| 2000–2001 | Kidderminster Harriers | 31 | (9) |
| 2001 | Rhyl | 10 | (4) |
| 2001–2003 | Port Vale | 47 | (2) |
| 2003–2004 | Accrington Stanley | 15 | (4) |
| Total | 477 | (99) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John Paul Durnin (born 18 August 1965) is an English formerfootballer who scored 100 goals in 475 league appearances over a career spanning close to two decades.
He began his career atLiverpool in 1986. He made just three minor cup appearances for the first team before he was allowed to joinOxford United for a £225,000 fee in February 1989, having previously gained experience onloan atWest Bromwich Albion. He spent four years with Oxford, playing close to 200 games, before being sold toPortsmouth for £200,000 in 1993. In six years with "Pompey" he made around 200 appearances before he was loaned out toBlackpool, and then allowed to leave permanently forCarlisle United in 1999. In 2000, he signed withKidderminster Harriers before he briefly entered the Welsh football circuit withRhyl in 2001. Later that year, he returned to the Football League withPort Vale before he joined Conference sideAccrington Stanley for twelve months in May 2003.
Durnin's career began withLiverpool in1986, when he was signed from localnon-League sideWaterloo Dock for £500.[4] Able to play in midfield or up front, he was a regular in theLiverpool Reserves. Still, he failed to break into the first team, making only two appearances, both in theLeague Cup.[5] In October 1988 he wasloaned out toWest Bromwich Albion, as one ofBrian Talbot's first signings atThe Hawthorns. He scored twice in fiveSecond Division appearances before returning toAnfield. He moved toOxford United in February 1989, aftermanagerBrian Horton paid a fee of £225,000. The "Yellows" finished 17th in the Second Division in1988–89 and1989–90, with Durnin finishing as theclub's top scorer in the latter campaign with 15 goals. They rose to 10th in1990–91, only to plummet to one place and two points above therelegation zone in1991–92. They rose to 14th in1992–93. Durnin spent four and a half years at theManor Ground, amassing 47 goals in 180 league and cup appearances, becoming a cult hero amongst the fans, who affectionately gave him the nickname "Johnny Lager".
Durnin was snapped up byPortsmouth for £200,000 in July 1993, with the managerJim Smith looking to play up him front alongsidePaul Walsh. The club finished 17th in theFirst Division in1993–94 and 18th in1994–95. He hit three goals in1995–96, as "Pompey" avoided the drop after finishing one place ahead of relegatedMillwall ongoal difference. He scored three times in 35 games in1996–97, asTerry Fenwick led the club to 7th place, one place and three points behindCrystal Palace in the finalplay-off place. TheFratton Park faithful witnessed another relegation scrap in1997–98, as "Pompey" finished two places and one point ahead of relegatedManchester City; Durnin scored ten goals in 35 appearances during the campaign. He scored seven goals in 30 appearances in1998–99, asAlan Ball led the club to 19th, ahead of relegatedBury on goals scored. Durnin lost his first-team place at the start of the1999–2000 campaign after hedislocated anelbow by crashing agolf cart into a fairway hollow.[6] He was loaned out to Second DivisionBlackpool in November 1999, and scored twice in six games forNigel Worthington's "Tangerines" with strikes againstWigan Athletic in the league andHendon in theFA Cup.[7][8] He joinedCarlisle United on loan the following month, and signed a permanent deal atBrunton Park in February 2000. He played 23 times for the "Cumbrians" in1999–2000 as the club finished second-from-bottom in theThird Division underMartin Wilkinson, avoiding relegation into theConference only due to their superior goal difference toChester City.
Durnin was without a club until he signed withFootball League newcomersKidderminster Harriers in October 2000, after being signed by former Liverpool teammateJan Mølby.[9][10] He hit nine goals in 32 games in2000–01, before leavingAggborough in the summer. He joinedLeague of Wales sideRhyl as player-coach in July 2001. He returned to the Second Division in December 2001, linking up with his former manager Brian Horton atPort Vale.[11] He stayed atVale Park for eighteen months, also helping out in acoaching capacity,[12] before he left in May 2003.[13] Despite being the wrong side of 36, he still managed to play 19 games in2001–02 and 31 games in2002–03, scoring once in each campaign. Now aged 38, he signed a deal with Conference sideAccrington Stanley,[14] and scored four goals in 15 games before he retired in 2004.
In July 2006, he joined the coaching staff ofSouthport, but left in October.[15] He returned to Southport as first-team coach on a non-contract basis in May 2017, before this arrangement was ended three months later.[16][17]
After retiring, he became a regular for the LiverpoolMasters team.[18] In 2019 he was convicted of common assault, impersonating a police officer and a racially-aggravated common assault after two incidents in August 2018 – in mitigation, he claimed to have been 'emotionally unstable' after discovering his wife of three decades had cheated on him; he had another previous conviction for common assault after a road rage incident in 2015.[19]
Source:[20]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Liverpool | 1986–87 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987–88 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1988–89 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 1988–89 | Second Division | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Oxford United | 1988–89 | Second Division | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 |
| 1989–90 | Second Division | 42 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 46 | 15 | |
| 1990–91 | Second Division | 26 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 10 | |
| 1991–92 | Second Division | 37 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 8 | |
| 1992–93 | Second Division | 37 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 11 | |
| Total | 161 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 180 | 47 | ||
| Portsmouth | 1993–94 | First Division | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 43 | 9 |
| 1994–95 | First Division | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 2 | |
| 1995–96 | First Division | 41 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 3 | |
| 1996–97 | First Division | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |
| 1997–98 | First Division | 34 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 10 | |
| 1998–99 | First Division | 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 7 | |
| 1999–2000 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 181 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 3 | 211 | 34 | ||
| Blackpool (loan) | 1999–2000 | Second Division | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Carlisle United | 1999–2000 | Third Division | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 2000–01 | Third Division | 31 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 9 |
| Port Vale | 2001–02 | Second Division | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 2002–03 | Second Division | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
| Total | 47 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 452 | 91 | 17 | 1 | 40 | 5 | 509 | 97 | ||