Darren Barnard

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Darren Barnard
Personal information
Date of birth November 30, 1971 (1971-11-30) (age 36)
Place of birth    Rinteln, Germany
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Left wing back/Midfielder
Club information
Current club Camberley Town [Director of Football]
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1989–1990
1990–95
1994
1995–1997
1997–2002
2002–2004
2004–2007
2007–		 Wokingham Town
Chelsea
→ Reading (loan)
Bristol City
Barnsley
Grimsby Town
Aldershot Town
Camberley Town		 034 (11)
029 0(2)
004 0(0)
076 (17)
201 (28)
063 0(4)
127 (24)
044(13)   
National team
1988
1998–2004		 England U18
Wales		 008 0(1)
024 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Darren Barnard (born 30 November 1971 in Rinteln, Germany) is now a semi-professional footballer. He is a former Welsh international, playing 24 times for them between 1998 and 2004.

Contents

[edit] Chelsea

Darren was bought from Wokingham Town for £100,000 as an 18 year old in July 1990. He had to wait almost 2 years for his first team debut as he was competing with the established Gareth Hall and Frank Sinclair for a place in the team. During his time at Chelsea, Darren played for Bobby Campbell Ian Porterfield and Glenn Hoddle, but was only given a regular run in the team by caretaker manager David Webb.

[edit] 1990-95

Chelsea paid non-league Wokingham Town £100,000 to seal the signature of 18-year-old Darren Barnard in July 1990. A complete unknown, signed at a time when the Blues were attempting to boost their standing in the First Division with the expensive purchases of Dennis Wise and Andy Townsend, Darren was forced to wait almost two years for his first-team debut. Comfortable playing anywhere along the left-flank, his first appearance was as a replacement for Vinnie Jones in a 2-1 win over West Ham United towards the end of the 1991/92 season, and after two further substitute appearances he was rewarded with his first start, it coming in a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

Manager Ian Porterfield resisted the opportunity to include Darren in his side at the beginning of the following campaign, preferring to play Gareth Hall out of position in the absence of regular left-back Frank Sinclair, and with the exception of an outing at Coventry City in October it wasn't until the final three months of the campaign - after David Webb was drafted in to replace Porterfield for the remainder of the season - that Darren became a regular fixture. Given the freedom to roam on the left of Chelsea's midfield, he impressed with a number of cultured displays, the best of which came against Middlesbrough when he tormented Boro's right-back Curtis Fleming to such an extent that the Irishman's revenge led to Barnard missing the following match with a cut shin. He scored his first goal for the club that day, in what was a 4-0 win, and could look back with pride on a record that season of eight starts resulting in five wins, two draws and just a single defeat. However, new manager Glenn Hoddle remained unconvinced and Darren was restricted to only nine starts in 1993/94, primarily as a left-back.

An awful league campaign was compensated for by a run to the final of the FA Cup, and although he didn't feature in the final itself, Darren did play in the semi-final victory over Luton Town after replacing the injured Craig Burley late in the first-half. He struck his only goal of the season in a 2-0 defeat of West Ham in March, and his final appearance for the club came six weeks later when he was selected for a weakened side that were beaten by Coventry City as Hoddle chose to protect his likely cup final team. Despite remaining with the club for a further 18 months, Darren failed to reappear in the first-team, eventually joining Bristol City in October 1995 for a fee of £750,000, a move which proved to be a launching pad for his career, as he went on to become a full international in the colours of Wales.

[edit] Bristol City

After not appearing in the first team at Chelsea for 18 months, Darren transferred to Bristol City for £750,000. Two seasons in Division Two culminated in losing in the play off semi finals to Brentford.

Bought from Chelsea, where he had made just a handful of first team appearances, Barnard initially played on the left wing for City. However, manager Joe Jordan started to play him at left wing-back shortly after his move to the club, and before long, Barnard was a fully fledged left wing-back.

He was perhaps one of the most talented players to turn out for City during the 1990s. His ability to run with the ball down the wing, overlap with Brian Tinnion and, of course, his wonderful free kicks were all a joy to behold. When Mickey Bell joined the club in 1997 City fans were given a mouthwatering preview of what could be, when both Barnard and Bell played in a pre-season friendly against Liverpool. They linked together in amazing fashion, producing some breathtaking attacking football. Unfortunately, Barnard left the club soon after, and this partnership was never seen in a competitive City side.

Barnard went on to play in the Premiership with Barnsley, where he continued to score his usual quota of amazing free kicks and long range volleys.[citation needed]

[edit] Barnsley

Barnsley were looking to strengthen their squad after an unexpected promotion to the Premier League for the 1997-98 season, signing Darren for £750,000 as well as players like Eric Tinkler and Georgi Hristov. Darren became a Welsh international during this season, making his debut for Wales in a 0-0 draw against Jamaica on 25 March 1998 and went on to collect 18 caps whilst at Barnsley.

Unfortunately for Barnsley the Premier League dream lasted only one season, but Darren played on for them in the First Division for another four seasons and played in the 1999-00 play off final defeat to Ipswich Town, in which he missed the opening penalty in the match.This was the very last penalty at the "old" Wembley.

In the 1998/1999 season, he turned down a move to go to Southhampton in November, on his first game after he declined the move he scored what possibly could be one of the all time great goals for his club and himself. The goal was in Barnsley's 7-1 win over yorkshire rivals Huddersfield on 27/11/98, in which the game was on Sky Sports. His goal and the match can still be seen on You tube with the links below.

[edit] Grimsby Town

Darren joined Grimsby Town for the start of the 2002-03 season and stayed for 2 relegation seasons in which Grimsby were went from Division One to Division Three. Despite this Darren collected another 6 Welsh caps, the last as a substitute against Norway on 27 May 2004, coincidentally alongside former Grimsby team-mates Danny Coyne and John Oster.

[edit] Aldershot Town

The former Aldershot and Farnborough District schoolboy joined Aldershot Town in August 2004 after leaving Grimsby Town. The Welsh international left-sided defender was a major signing by the Aldershot Manager Terry BrownDarren had become a fans favourite with his amazing free kicks. Darren also became the clubs penalty taker.

[edit] Camberley Town

Darren is now a player and Director of football for Camberley Town F.C. of the Cherry Red Records sponsored Combined Counties League Premier Division. He also played for Chelsea in the 2007 London masters. Chelsea won the trophy with Darren collecting the Golden boot award. Darren also played for the PFA in the Hong Kong 2007 Sevens losing in the Finals.

[edit] External links