Edward Terence (Terry) Curran is an English former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
whose career lasted from 1975 to 1988. Curran was an attacking
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, who could also play as a
winger, and as an out and out
striker. During his 13-year career Curran played for many clubs, although he is especially remembered by
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
supporters for his part in launching the clubs revival during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Football career
Terry Curran was born in Kinsley, near
Hemsworth
Hemsworth is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire and had a population of 13,311 at the 2001 census, with it increasing to 13,533 at the 2011 Census.
Hist ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
on 20 March 1955, he signed for Fourth Division
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
in July 1973 from non-league football. He made 68 appearances for Rovers scoring 11 goals in two seasons.
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engl ...
was wanting to sign him but was put off by the asking price of £140,000 so he controversially told Curran's brother of his interest so Curran would not sign a new contract, thus reducing the transfer fee. He signed for
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
in August 1975 with Rovers receiving £50,000 plus keeper
Dennis Peacock
Dennis Peacock (born 19 April 1953) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Nottingham Forest from 1971 until 1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nat ...
and winger
Ian Miller. In two seasons, he played 48 games scoring 12 goals for Forest, helping them gain promotion to Division One in the 1976–77 season. Curran lost favour after a disagreement with Forest assistant manager
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politi ...
, and made a written transfer request in August 1977, which was accepted. He was loaned out to
Bury during October 1977 and eventually switched to
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in a £50,000 move the following month.
Curran stayed less than a year at Derby, making 26 appearances in Division One scoring two goals before switching for £60,000 to another First Division club
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in the summer of 1978. Once again Curran stayed less than a year at Southampton, making 26 appearances in the 1978–79 season and playing in the League Cup semi-final victory over Leeds United. It was after that semi-final in January 1979 that Curran was approached by Sheffield Wednesday manager
Jack Charlton
John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...
with the audacious request that Curran should drop down two divisions and sign for Third Division Sheffield Wednesday. Curran agreed to Charlton's approach and signed for Wednesday for £100,000 in March 1979. Curran started the
1979 League Cup Final defeat to his former club Nottingham Forest.
Curran's signing proved to an inspired acquisition for Wednesday, he was the final piece of Jack Charlton's side which went on to gain promotion from Division Three in the 1979–80 season. He was an immensely popular and successful player during his time at
Hillsborough, scoring 24 goals in that promotion season. Such was his popularity that he had his own fan club and recorded a song called "
Singing the Blues
"Singing the Blues" is a popular song written by Melvin Endsley and published in 1956. The song was first recorded and released by Marty Robbins in 1956. It is not related to the 1920 jazz song " Singin' the Blues" recorded by Frank Trumbauer ...
". Curran was involved in an incident the following season in a match at
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...
on 6 September 1980 when he was sent off after a fracas with
Simon Stainrod
Simon Allan Stainrod (born 1 February 1959) is an English former footballer who played for Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Stoke City. He also played in France for RC Strasbourg and FC ...
causing Wednesday fans to riot, which led to the closure of Hillsborough terraces for the next four home games.
Curran stayed with Wednesday till the end of the 1981–82 season, he never repeated the scoring exploits of that first season and the team had a new goal ace in
Gary Bannister
Gary Bannister (born 22 July 1960) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played for Coventry City F.C., Coventry City (two spells), Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens ...
, this and a deteriorating relationship with Jack Charlton led him to leave and sign for
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
for £100,000. He made 33 appearances for United scoring 3 goals before moving to
Everton for three years (having spent some time on loan there the previous season) during which time he made only 24 appearances. He was at the club when they won the
First Division in the
1984-85 season, a triumph to which Curran contributed 9 appearances. He then played briefly at
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
before going abroad to play for Greek club
Panionios NFC
Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...
. He returned in October 1986 to play short spells for
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
,
Sunderland,
Grantham Town,
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
and
Chesterfield before retiring from playing in 1988.
Coaching career
Since retiring Curran has managed non-league
Goole Town and
Mossley
Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester.
The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...
, he left Mossley in December 1992 and invested in a hotel in West Yorkshire which he managed.
In October 2012, his autobiography "Regrets of a Football Maverick" was published.
References
External links
* Blue and White Wizards, Daniel Gordon,
Terry Curran at Football HeroesTerry Curran at Official Grantham Town website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Terry
1955 births
Living people
People from Hemsworth
English footballers
Åtvidabergs FF players
Bury F.C. players
Chesterfield F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Goole Town F.C. players
Grantham Town F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players
Hull City A.F.C. players
Mossley A.F.C. managers
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Panionios F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Allsvenskan players
English expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Sweden
Expatriate footballers in Greece
Association football wingers
English football managers