Darren Eadie
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| Darren Eadie | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Michael Eadie | |
| Date of birth | June 10, 1975 (age 31) | |
| Place of birth | Chippenham, England | |
| Height | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Norwich City | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1993–99 1999–2003 |
Norwich City Leicester City Total |
168 (35) 40 (2) 208 (37) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Darren Michael Eadie (born 10 June 1975 in Chippenham) is a former professional footballer, who made his name as a pacey left-sided midfielder with Norwich City F.C.. He later played for Leicester City.
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[edit] Norwich City career
Eadie was a product of Norwich City's youth system and broke into the first team during one of the most successful periods in the club's history. His debut was as a substitute in a UEFA Cup match against Vitesse Arnhem at Carrow Road on 15 September 1993, Norwich's first ever match in European competition. Three days later, he scored on his league debut in a 2-2 draw at QPR. Eadie would go on to score 3 goals in 20 appearances during his debut season. He continued to establish himself as a first team regular the following season, but that 1994-95 campaign was calamitous for Norwich who slumped in the second half of the season and were relegated from the premiership. The following season, Eadie scored 6 goals in 39 appearances, but the season was played out in a poisonous atmosphere as the club came close to going out of business during the last days of the regime of chairman Robert Chase.
The 1996-97 season was Eadie's best for Norwich and arguably saw him play the best football of his career. He was the club's leading scorer with 17 league goals and he was voted Norwich City player of the year by a landslide. His outstanding form was recognised by England manager Glenn Hoddle who, in the summer of 1997, selected Eadie for his England squad to play in the Tournoi de France. However, injury forced Eadie to withdraw from the squad. He would later have to withdraw from another England squad through injury and he never won the England cap that many people felt he deserved. His next two seasons were also frequently interrupted by injury. He missed the second half of the 1998-99 campaign and when 1999-00 began, Norwich supporters were wondering when they would see him in action again. He made an unexpected return from the substitute's bench against Crewe Alexandra on 11 September 1999 and scored an outstanding goal to give Norwich a 2-1 win. It was the start of a good run of form that would see the club come close to breaking into the play-off positions. In December of that season, Eadie was transferred to Leicester City for a fee of £3,000,000 to the considerable disappointment of Norwich supporters.
[edit] Leicester City
Leicester manager Martin O'Neill had briefly been Eadie's manager at Carrow Road during his spell as Norwich boss in 1995. At the time he signed Eadie he stated that he was a player that he had tried to sign on previous occasions. At the time, the £3,000,000 fee was the highest that Leicester had ever paid for a player. Eadie's injury problems did not relent, however, and in his three and a half years at Leicester he was limited to just 40 appearances. When his contract expired in the summer of 2003, Eadie was forced to retire as there was no prospect of him recovering fully from his injuries.
[edit] Retirement
Norwich fans never forgot Eadie's contribution, and in 2002 voted him as an inaugural member of the Norwich City Hall of Fame, which was established to celebrate the club's centenary. In an interview for the Norwich City matchday programme on 13 August 2005, Eadie stated that he had found retirement difficult, particularly as many of his friends were still playing professional football. Eadie has done media work for Anglia Television and BBC Radio Leicester since retiring.
