Bradford City
Born:
Joined the Tigers:
16th July 1977, Sheffield
24th June 2004, from Burton Albion
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Six foot five goalkeeper who failed to make the grade as a youngster at Sheffield United after signing from Alfreton Town, before making his name at Burton Albion and convincing Peter Taylor to part with 20 grand plus follow-on fees in the Summer of 2004. Duke played a bit part role on the bench for three seasons, never letting the side down when called upon.
In January 2008 it was announced that Matt required surgery to treat a testicular tumour, which kept him out of first team action for a few months, but he returned later that season to inhabit the bench once more. And as City slipped out of the Premier League and Boaz Myhill headed to West Bromwich, Duke finally sealed a relatively permanent first time role as a reward for six seasons of patience and graft. But his first team place was short lived and by 2011 his contract was nearing expiry and he was farmed out on loan to Derby as Nigel Pearson bought in two loan keepers as replacements. Once both returned, Duke was given the final three fixtures of 2010-11 between the posts to perform a rather shaky swansong. After a couple of months of trials, Duke signed for Phil Parkinson's Bradford City.