Darren Purse

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Darren Purse
Personal information
Full name Darren John Purse
Date of birth February 14, 1977 (1977-02-14) (age 31)
Place of birth    Stepney, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Cardiff City
Number 5
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994–1996
1996–1998
1998–2004
2004–2005
2005–		 Leyton Orient
Oxford United
Birmingham City
West Bromwich Albion
Cardiff City		 055 0(3)
059 0(5)
167 0(9)
022 0(0)
085 (10)   
National team2
England U21 002 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 19:10, 10 April 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 17:11, 22 February 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Darren John Purse (born 14 February 1977) is a professional football player currently playing for Football League Championship side Cardiff City.

Contents

[edit] Club career

Purse was born in in Stepney, London and attended Cardinal Pole RC School in Hackney.[1] As a youngster Purse followed Millwall, as well as making trips to watch Arsenal to see one of his heroes in Tony Adams. Having played in the same Sunday league side as Lee Bowyer when he was younger, he was offered a YTS deal by both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur but turned them down in order to complete his A levels. On hearing that he had been offered deals by the two clubs Leyton Orient showed their interest and told him that they would hand him a professional contract when he turned seventeen if he signed for them. On signing his contract with the club he made his debut just three days later and established himself in the side before moving to Oxford United in 1996 for £100,000.[2]

Before moving to Oxford Purse had a loanspell at Finnish second division club BK-IFK (now Vasa IFK) in the summer of 1996. Purse played just a handful of games for the club because of his move from Leyton to Oxford that summer.

Purse spent just eighteen months with Oxford before he joined Birmingham City for £700,000, despite interest from his former Oxford manager Denis Smith who was then in charge of West Bromwich Albion, in 1997 and his spell included an appearance at the 2001 League Cup final as well as promotion to the FA Premier League. During the League Cup final, Purse scored a 90th minute equalizer in the 2001 League Cup from the penalty spot to take the game to extra time. Birmingham eventually lost on penalties.

Purse moved to West Bromwich Albion for £750,000 in the summer of 2004.[3] He spent a single season with Albion in the Premier League, making 24 appearances in all competitions.

In July 2005, Purse moved to Cardiff City where he was appointed team captain.[4] He has gained a reputation for hard work and consistency as the foundation of the Cardiff defence, forming an effective partnership with Glenn Loovens and in July 2007 Purse ended growing speculation about his future by signing a one-year extension to his contract at Cardiff.

On 28 August 2007 he received an injury to his knee cartilage after the 1–0 Carling Cup win over Leyton Orient. It was expected that he would be unavailable for up to four weeks, but he contracted an infection during an operation on the injured knee that delayed his return for a much longer period and caused him to lose weight alarmingly. He made his return to first team football in October, in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers and went on to score a headed goal in the 2-1 League Cup defeat against Liverpool on 31 October.

[edit] International career

Purse is a former England under-21 international.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Purse makes it to Wembley", Hackney Gazette, 2008-05-15. Retrieved on 2008-05-17. 
  2. ^ "Darren Purse interview" firsttouchonline.com Retrieved on 10 April 2008
  3. ^ "Baggies snatch Purse", BBC Sport, 2004-06-18. Retrieved on 2007-05-01. 
  4. ^ "Purse heads triple Cardiff swoop", BBC Sport, 2005-07-28. Retrieved on 2007-05-01. 

[edit] External links

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Cardiff City F.C. – current squad

2 McNaughton • 3 Capaldi • 4 Rae • 5 Purse • 6 Loovens • 7 Whittingham • 8 Fowler • 10 McPhail • 11 Parry • 12 Johnson • 14 Feeney • 16 Ledley • 19 Scimeca • 20 Thompson • 23 Blake • 25 Sak • 26 Brown • 30 Ramsey • 31 Magennis • 36 Hasselbaink • –– Flood • Manager: Jones