Simon Wayne Corden (1 November 1975) is an English former

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 le ...

who played as a

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 ...

. He had a fourteen-year career in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, as well as four years in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

. He began his career with

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in 1994, making 68 league appearances in a six-year stay. He then spent five years at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

, playing 218 games in all competitions, and helping the club to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the Third Division in 2001–02. He then spent a year at Scunthorpe United, helping the club to promotion out of

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

in 2004–05. He also played on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

at Chester City and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

, helping Orient to win promotion out of League Two in 2005–06, before he joined the club permanently in summer 2006. He spent two years at the club, before his release in 2008 following a loan spell with

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

. He joined Leek Town via

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

, played on loan at

Eccleshall Eccleshall is a town and civil parish in the Stafford district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is located seven miles northwest of Stafford, and six miles west-southwest of Stone. Eccleshall is twinned with Sancerre in France. His ...

, and retired in January 2012. He made a return to amateur football with Kidsgrove Athletic in July 2013, and later turned out for

Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Uttoxet ...

Career

Port Vale

Corden came through the ranks at local side

after being spotted by Mike Pejic. He signed professional forms in July 1994 and made his debut as a substitute against

on 7 May 1995. He played twelve First Division games in 1996–97. He scored a memorable goal in a

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

Third Round replay against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, taking the giants to

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

after Dennis Bergkamp had given Arsenal the lead in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. After disposing of Vale 4–3 on penalties, the "Gunners" went on to win the competition. This was his first senior goal, his second came in a 2–1 defeat to

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 ...

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

. Overall, Corden played 35 games under

John Rudge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

in 1997–98. He was limited to 16 appearances in 1998–99, as Rudge was sacked and replaced by

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this he spent four ...

in January. Corden remained at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

until the end of the 1999–2000 season, when he was given a free transfer, having been given just two games throughout the campaign due to a back problem.

Mansfield Town

Corden signed for

Bill Dearden William Dearden (born 11 February 1944) is an English former association football, footballer and manager who is now chief Scout (association football), scout at Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. As a player, he scored 101 goals in 404 l ...

in 2000, and scored five goals in 40 games in 2000–01. He then helped the team achieve

to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 2001–02, scoring nine goals in 51 games. The club were

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

back into the Third Division under

Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is the current manager of League Two side Hartlepool United. He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for ...

's management at the end of the 2002–03 campaign, though Corden managed to hit 13 goals in his 48 appearances. He then scored eight goals in 52 games in 2003–04, and played in the play-off final, which Mansfield lost on penalties to

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 ...

; Corden's spot-kick was saved by Paul Rachubka in the shootout. He scored three goals in 27 games in 2004–05, to take his total tally in his five years with the club to 218 games and 38 goals in league and cup.

Scunthorpe United

In February 2005, he moved on to

Brian Laws Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...

' Scunthorpe United, following a row with Mansfield

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Carlton Palmer Carlton Lloyd Palmer (born 5 December 1965) is an English football manager, former footballer and football television pundit whose last management role was as manager of Grantham Town. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1984 to 2005, playi ...

. He played eight games as "Scunny" secured promotion out of

by finishing as the division's runners-up. He then played sixteen games in 2005–06, before in a move that reunited him with former manager Keith Curle he joined Chester City on

in January 2006. However, he appeared just twice for Chester, before he joined

on loan in March. He scored twice in eight games as Orient won automatic promotion out of League Two; his two goals won the team three points that kept them above fourth placed

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 ...

Leyton Orient

He was released by Scunthorpe in May 2006, and Leyton Orient manager

Martin Ling Martin Ling (born 15 July 1966) is an English football manager and former player currently director of football for Leyton Orient. He played in over 100 Football League matches for each of Exeter City, Southend United, Swindon Town and Leyto ...

quickly signed him to a two-year deal. He scored five goals in 46 games in 2006–07, as Orient avoided relegation by a four-point margin. He played 28

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

games in 2007–08, before in March he joined

Ian McParland Ian John McParland (born 4 October 1961) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. He played professionally as a striker with a number of teams and he is most known for his eight-year spell with Notts County, a club he la ...

on loan until the end of the season. He played nine games for County as the club avoided losing their

status after finishing just six points ahead of Mansfield Town. At the end of the season he was released by the O's.

Later career

In August 2008, Corden joined Grimsby Town for training in an attempt to build up his fitness, and played in a friendly with Brigg Town. The next month he signed for his home town club Leek Town of the

on a pay-as-you-play

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

, after a brief spell with

. He was loaned out to

of the

North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

in the 2011–12 season. He retired in January 2012, having scored seven goals in 109 games for Leek. However, he came out of retirement in July 2013 to play for

side Kidsgrove Athletic. The "Grove" finished bottom of the Division One South in 2013–14 and were relegated. He went on to play for

in the

Midland Football Alliance The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and Not ...

Post-retirement

After retiring from club football, Corden began playing pub football in the

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

Potteries League Veterans' Division. He worked at a residential school for children with learning difficulties.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Mansfield Town *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

third-place promotion: 2001–02 Scunthorpe United *

second-place promotion: 2004–05 Leyton Orient *

third-place promotion: 2005–06

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corden, Wayne 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Leek, Staffordshire Footballers from Staffordshire English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Port Vale F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Leek Town F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players Eccleshall F.C. players Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. players Rocester F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players Midland Football Alliance players