Darren Williams

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For others of the same name see, see Darren Williams (disambiguation).
Darren Williams
Personal information
Full name Darren Williams
Date of birth 28 April 1977 (1977-04-28) (age 31)
Place of birth    Middlesbrough, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Defender
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1995–1996
1996–2004
2004
2004–2005
2005–2007
2007–2008		 York City
Sunderland
→ Cardiff City (loan)
Cardiff City
Hartlepool United
Bradford City		 020 (0)
200 (4)
013 (0)
007 (0)
065 (0)
028 (0)   
National team
England U21
England B		 002 (0)
001 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 12:20, 3 June 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Darren Williams (born 28 April 1977 in Middlesbrough, England) is an English footballer who is currently without a club.

Williams began his career at York City, but made his name at Sunderland, for whom he signed in 1996. He moved to Cardiff City in 2004, then on Hartlepool United in 2005. He was released by Pools in 2007, and played for Bradford City during the 2007–08 season.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] York City

Williams played for York when they beat Manchester United 3–0 at Old Trafford in the League Cup in 1995.

[edit] Sunderland

He made over 250 appearances for Sunderland, 108 of which were in the Premiership.

The highlight of his career so far was probably when he scored the winning goal for Sunderland at Middlesbrough, his home town club, in 1997, effectively relegating the Teessiders. The versatility of the Middlesbrough-born player was a big attraction for Pools when signing him, as he is able to operate anywhere across the back four or in midfield.

[edit] Cardiff City

Williams joined Cardiff City on a month-long loan in September 2004, with a view to a permanent move if he impressed.[1] He played in all five of Cardiff's games during his initial loan period and his stay was extended for another two months.[2] After he was told by Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy his contract would not be extended,[3] Williams made his move to Ninian Park permanent in December 2004 on a free transfer.[4]

[edit] Hartlepool United

Williams was offered a new contract by Cardiff manager Lennie Lawrence, but when he was replaced by Dave Jones, the offer was withdrawn.[5] Instead he returned to the north east to join League One side Hartlepool United.[5] While at Hartlepool, Williams played the majority of the first team's games due to the injury of Hartlepool captain, Micky Barron but when Barron returned he was moved to the bench. He was relegated in his first season at Hartlepool, but helped them earn instant promotion back to League One in 2006–07 as they missed out on the title on the last day of the season.[6]

[edit] Bradford City

He was released by Hartlepool in May 2007 and joined Bradford City in July 2007.[7][8] He was one of six new players who made their debut for City on the opening day of the 2007–08 in a 1–1 draw with Macclesfield Town.[9][10] Williams lost his place at right back to loan signing Ben Starosta, who replaced Williams at half-time in a game against Wrexham in January 2008. Williams missed seven games until he won his place back against Stockport County when Starosta fell ill.[11] On 29 April 2008, Williams was deemed to be surplus to requirements at Valley Parade and was released by manager Stuart McCall along with 13 other Bradford players.[12]

[edit] International career

He has also represented England at under-21 and 'B' level. He is a utility defender who can also play defensive midfield.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Cardiff seal Williams deal", BBC Sport, 23 September 2004. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. 
  2. ^ "Williams extends Cardiff stay", BBC Sport, 21 October 2004. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. 
  3. ^ "Williams in talks with Bluebirds", BBC Sport, 7 December 2004. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. 
  4. ^ "Williams makes Bluebirds switch", BBC Sport, 10 December 2004. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. 
  5. ^ a b "Hartlepool complete Williams deal", BBC Sport, 20 July 2005. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. 
  6. ^ "Hartlepool 1-2 Bristol Rovers", BBC Sport, 5 May 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. 
  7. ^ "Pools boss Wilson swings his axe", BBC Sport, May 9, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-28. 
  8. ^ "Williams signs Bantams contract", BBC Sport, July 27, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-28. 
  9. ^ Parker, Simon. "Let's hear it for the fans", Telegraph & Argus, 12 August 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-04. 
  10. ^ "Bradford 1-1 Macclesfield", BBC Sport, 10 August 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-04. 
  11. ^ Parker, Simon. "Williams out to prove his staying power", Telegraph & Argus, 2008-03-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-10. 
  12. ^ Parker, Simon. "Johnson one of 13 axed by City", Telegraph & Argus, 2008-04-29. Retrieved on 2008-04-29. 

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Williams, Darren
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 28 April 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH Middlesbrough, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH