Derek Young (born 27 May 1980) is a Scottish ex-professional association football midfielder. Young started his career alongside his brother Darren at Aberdeen before leaving with him in 2003 to join Dunfermline Athletic. Spells at St Johnstone and Partick Thistle followed before returning to Aberdeen for another four years. He spent a short spell in Iceland with Grindavík before returning to Scotland with Morton in 2011. In summer 2012 he joined Queen of the South with whom he won a league and cup double.[1] He joined Forfar Athletic in 2014 before ending his playing career with a season at Formartine United.

Derek Young
Personal information
Full name Derek Young
Date of birth (1980-05-27) 27 May 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Cathkin United
1995–1997 Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2003 Aberdeen 111 (13)
1996Lewis United (loan)
2003–2006 Dunfermline Athletic 63 (9)
2006 St Johnstone 1 (0)
2006–2007 Partick Thistle 28 (5)
2007–2011 Aberdeen 95 (6)
2011 Grindavík 5 (0)
2011–2012 Greenock Morton 19 (1)
2012–2014 Queen of the South 45 (2)
2014–2016 Forfar Athletic 28 (2)
2016–2017 Formartine United - (-)
International career
1997–2001 Scotland U21 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:37, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

Career edit

Young grew up in Whitlawburn, Cambuslang and attended Cathkin High School.[2] He started his career with Aberdeen where without winning any trophies, he played in numerous UEFA Cup games including a tie against Hertha Berlin. He also represented Scotland under 21s.[1]

He then joined Dunfermline Athletic where he was part of the club's best times since the days of George Farm in the late 1960s. Young played in a Scottish Cup Final defeat against Celtic in 2004[1](alongside his brother Darren),[3] and in a loss to the same opponents in the 2006 Scottish League Cup Final.[4] He was then briefly at St Johnstone before spending most of the 2006–07 season playing for Partick Thistle.[1]

Young rejoined Aberdeen in July 2007.[5] Like his first spell there, he again tasted UEFA competition against the likes of Atlético Madrid.[1] In April 2011, he was told by Aberdeen manager Craig Brown that his contract would not be renewed for the following season.[6] In July 2011, he signed for Icelandic club Grindavík.[7]

After leaving Grindavik, Young was offered a contract until the end of 2011 by Greenock Morton,[8] but was unable to play against Livingston due to a suspension that only was brought to light when Morton received international clearance from the Icelandic FA. His signing was confirmed in November along with the loan signing of Dominic Cervi.[9] In January 2012, Young was offered a contract extension by Allan Moore until the end of the season;[10] the contract offer was accepted and signed on 6 January.[11] Young was released by Morton at the end of the 2011–12 season due to difficulties travelling over from Aberdeen for training.

Young signed for Queen of the South during the 2012 summer transfer window.[12] Young scored for Queen of the South in their 4–3 penalty shootout win against Rangers at Ibrox.[13] and did the same when Queens won the 2013 Scottish Challenge Cup Final that season against Partick. Having already won the 2012–13 Scottish Second Division title by a large margin, this gave Young and his teammates a league and cup double.[1]

Young moved to Forfar Athletic in June 2014, spending two seasons with the Station Park club before signing for Highland League club Formartine United in July 2016.[14]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition edit

Club[15][16][17] Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aberdeen 1996–97 Scottish Premier Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
1997–98 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
1998–99 SPL 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - - 5 0
1999–00 14 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - - 16 0
2000–01 31 6 3 0 1 1 1 0 - - 36 7
2001–02 32 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 - - 36 4
2002–03 29 4 3 1 2 0 4 0 - - 38 5
Total 110 13 9 2 7 1 5 0 - - 131 16
Dunfermline Athletic 2003-04 SPL 28 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 - - 33 4
2004-05 17 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 - - 18 5
2005-06 18 1 1 1 4 3 0 0 - - 23 5
Total 63 9 6 1 5 3 0 0 - - 74 14
St Johnstone 2006-07 Scottish First Division 1 0 0 0 2 0 - - - - 3 0
Total 1 0 0 0 2 0 - - - - 3 0
Partick Thistle 2006-07 Scottish First Division 28 5 3 0 0 0 - - - - 31 5
Total 28 5 3 0 0 0 - - - - 31 5
Aberdeen 2007-08 SPL 24 2 4 0 3 1 5 0 - - 36 3
2008-09 22 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 - - 26 1
2009-10 20 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 - - 24 3
2010-11 29 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 - - 36 0
Total 95 6 13 0 8 1 6 0 - - 122 7
Grindavík 2011-12 Úrvalsdeild 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 5+ 0+
Total 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 5+ 0+
Greenock Morton 2011-12 Scottish First Division 18 1 3 0 0 0 - - - - 21 1
Total 18 1 3 0 0 0 - - - - 21 1
Queen of the South 2012-13 Scottish Second Division 26 2 1 0 3 0 - - - - 30 2
2013-14 Scottish Championship 16 0 1 0 2 0 - - 2 0 21 0
Total 42 2 2 0 5 0 - - 2 0 51 2
Forfar Athletic 2014-15 Scottish League One 21 1 0 0 1 0 - - 4 0 26 1
2015-16 24 1 4 0 1 1 - - - - 29 2
Total 45 2 4 0 1 1 - - - - 55 3
Formantine United 2016-17 Highland League 0 0 3 1 0 0 - - - - 3 1
Total 0 0 3 1 0 0 - - - - 3 1
Career total 407 38 43 4 28 6 11 0 4 0 496+ 48+

Honours edit

Queen of the South

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Career profile". Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Derek Young's spell in Iceland was a real eye-opener after their success at Euro 2016". Daily Record/Rutherglen Reformer. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Larsson caps Celtic triumph". BBC Sport. 22 May 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Dunfermline 0-3 Celtic". BBC Sport. 19 March 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Young gets second calling at Dons". BBC Sport. 24 July 2007.
  6. ^ "Aberdeen want Steven Smith as trio are shown exit". BBC Sport. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Grindavík fær Derek Young frá Aberdeen (Staðfest)" (in Icelandic). Fotbolti.net. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  8. ^ Tait, Chris (21 October 2011). "Moore: Del deal set to be signed". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Loan player signed". Greenock Morton F.C. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  10. ^ Tait, Chris (4 January 2012). "Ton offer Young contract extension". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Derek Young". Greenock Morton F.C. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Scottish Division Two ins and outs". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Ramsdens Cup: Rangers 2-2 Queen of the South (3-4 pens)". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  14. ^ Douglass, Sean (25 July 2016). "New Formartine duo Derek Young and Scott Ferries eyeing success in Pitmedden". Evening Express. DC Thomson & Co Ltd. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Derek Young | Football Stats | Formartine Utd | Season 2005/2006 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Morton Player Derek Young Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Queen Of The South vs Partick Thistle. Scottish Challenge Cup Final". Sky Sports. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2021.

External links edit