Courtney Meppen-Walters
English footballer (1994–2026)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Courtney Alister Lloyd Meppen-Walters (2 August 1994 – 29 September 2026) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender.
|
| |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Courtney Alister Lloyd Meppen-Walters[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 August 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Bury, England | ||
| Date of death | 29 September 2026 (aged 32) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2012 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2015 | Carlisle United | 39 | (2) |
| 2016 | Ashton United | ||
| 2016 | Chorley | 10 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Stockport County | 27 | (4) |
| 2017–2018 | Glossop North End | ||
| 2018–2020 | Chorley | 74 | (6) |
| 2020–2021 | AFC Telford United | 7 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Radcliffe | 4 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Avro (loan) | 3 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | → Guiseley (loan) | 21 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | Guiseley | 4 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Nantwich Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2024 | Nantwich Town | 24 | (3) |
| 2024–2025 | Bury | 5 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| Total | 231 | (20) | |
| International career | |||
| 2010–2011 | England U17 | 12 | (1) |
| 2011 | England U18 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Meppen-Walters was a youth player at Manchester City, and was released in 2013 while serving a prison sentence for causing death by careless driving. He played for two seasons in the Football League for Carlisle United, and represented several non-League clubs.
Club career
Manchester City
Meppen-Walters was born in Bury, Greater Manchester on 2 August 1994.[2] He began his career with Manchester City, and was an unused substitute for two UEFA Champions League group games in late 2012, against Ajax and Borussia Dortmund.[3][4]
In September 2012, Meppen-Walters was driving at 55.89 mph in a 30 mph zone and caused a crash that killed a brother and sister. He pleaded guilty in February 2013 to causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to 16 months in prison. His contract expired in June 2013, with the BBC reporting that his release from Manchester City was for sporting reasons.[5] After being ordered to spend half of his sentence in prison, he was mistakenly freed in July, and voluntarily returned to custody.[6]
Carlisle United
In November 2013, after being released from prison, Meppen-Walters joined League One club Carlisle United on trial,[7] and later that month he signed an initial one-month contract.[8] Manager Graham Kavanagh announced that Meppen-Walter would be considered for the club's next game in the FA Cup.[9] He made his debut in that game on 7 December in the second round, a 3–2 home win over Brentford, and was praised by Kavanagh.[10]
On 14 December 2014, Meppen-Walters signed a two-and-a-half-year contract keeping him with the Cumbrian outfit until the summer of 2016.[11] He made his senior league debut later on the same day against Tranmere Rovers, a 4–1 win at Brunton Park.[12] A week later, he was sent off in a 2–0 loss away to Walsall for a foul that denied a goalscoring opportunity for Troy Hewitt.[13] He made 21 appearances in his first season, scoring once on 8 March 2014 in a 2–1 loss away to Port Vale.[14]
With Carlisle relegated to League Two, Meppen-Walters made another 21 appearances in 2014–15,[15] and scored once in a 2–1 defeat away to Newport County on 3 January 2015.[16] Having made no appearances in 2015–16, he left the club by mutual consent in November 2015.[15] It was reported in the local News and Star that manager Keith Curle had reservations about the player's diet and conditioning.[17]
Non-League
After a spell with Ashton United in the Northern Premier League, Meppen-Walters signed for Conference North club Chorley in March 2016, managed by former Carlisle player Matt Jansen.[17] Two months later, he joined Stockport County in the same division.[18] While back at Chorley, in January 2019, he admitted to drink driving and was banned from driving for 22 months.[19]
In June 2020, Meppen-Walters signed for AFC Telford United, again in the sixth tier.[20] He joined Radcliffe in August 2021.[21] On 26 December 2022, he joined Guiseley on loan.[22] In May 2023, he rejoined Guiseley permanently following the expiration of his contract at Radcliffe.[23]
On 30 December 2023, Meppen-Walters joined Nantwich Town on an initial one-month loan deal,[24] before joining the club permanently on 26 January 2024.[25] On 18 December 2024, Meppen-Walters joined North West Counties Football League Premier Division side Bury for an undisclosed fee.[26] In January 2025 he joined Stalybridge Celtic on loan.[27] He was released by Bury in 2025.[28]
International career
Death
Meppen-Walters died on 29 September 2026, aged 32.[30]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City | 2012–13 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlisle United | 2013–14[31] | League One | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15[32] | League Two | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| Total | 39 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 2 | ||
| Chorley | 2015–16[33] | National League North | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Stockport County | 2016–17[34] | National League North | 27 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 32 | 4 | |
| Chorley | 2018–19[33][35] | National League North | 39 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 46 | 5 | |
| 2019–20[33] | National League | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||
| Total | 74 | 6 | 7 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | 85 | 7 | |||
| AFC Telford United | 2020–21[33][36] | National League North | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Radcliffe | 2022–23[37] | NPL Premier Division | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Avro (loan) | 2022–23[38] | NWCFL Premier Division | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| Guiseley (loan) | 2022–23[39] | NPL Premier Division | 21 | 2 | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | |||
| Guiseley | 2023–24[40] | NPL Premier Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |||
| Nantwich Town | 2023–24[41] | NPL Division One West | 18 | 1 | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25[42] | NPL Division One West | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 13 | 2 | ||
| Total | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
| Bury | 2024–25[43] | NWCFL Premier Division | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 2024–25[44] | NPL Division One West | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 231 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 259 | 21 | ||
- Appearance(s) in the National League North play-offs
Honours
Chorley
- National League North Play-offs: 2018–19
