Darren Pratley

Darren Pratley

Darren Pratley playing for Swansea City
Personal information
Full name	Darren Antony Pratley[1]
Date of birth	(1985-04-22) 22 April 1985[1]
Place of birth	Barking, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Bolton Wanderers
Number	21
Youth career
000?–2002	Fulham
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2006	Fulham	1	(0)
2005	→ Brentford (loan)	16	(1)
2005–2006	→ Brentford (loan)	34	(4)
2006–2011	Swansea City	177	(26)
2011–	Bolton Wanderers	98	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:54, 5 April 2015 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Darren Antony Pratley (born 22 April 1985) is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers as a midfielder.

Club career

Darren Pratley playing for Swansea in 2010

Fulham

Starting his career at Fulham after signing from Arsenal, Pratley signed his first professional contract with the club in 2002.^[2] Pratley made his debut in a League Cup game at Wigan Athletic on 23 September 2003, coming on as a substitute for Andrejs Stolcers. He made his league debut against Charlton Athletic on 8 November 2003, again as a substitute, this time for Barry Hayles. These turned out to be the only two games he would play for Fulham. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Pratley signed a two-year contract with the club, which will keep him until 2006.^[3]

Having spent the latter parts of the 2004–05 season on loan at Brentford, on 30 August 2005 Pratley moved back to the Bees until January 2006 on a loan period that was subsequently extended until the end of the 2005–06 season.^[4][5][6] However, on 8 June 2006, he was sold by Fulham to Swansea City for a fee of £100,000.

Swansea City

On 7 November 2009, Pratley scored a brace against their arch rivals Cardiff City. Pratley had not scored for 26 games since the previous season's corresponding fixture at the Liberty Stadium but he proved Swansea's hero on the hour to seal the win.^[7] Pratley went on to score a further three times before the end of 2009, against Sheffield Wednesday (twice) and Reading. He started off the 2010–11 season well, however a string of poor performances saw him dropped by manager Brendan Rodgers. Pratley came back into the team performing well and getting vital goals against Reading, Crystal Palace a double against Bristol City and the third goal in the Championship play-off semi final second leg against Nottingham Forest which he scored from the halfway-line into an empty goal. On 9 June 2011, it was confirmed that Pratley would leave Swansea City having rejected a new contract.^[8]

Bolton Wanderers

He signed for Bolton Wanderers on 1 July 2011 on a four-year deal.^[9] He made his debut when coming on as a substitute for Nigel Reo-Coker in Bolton's game at Queens Park Rangers on 13 August and scored his first goal for the club in their 2–1 victory over his former club Swansea City in the FA Cup on 28 January 2012. He scored his first Premier League goal in the game against Queens Park Rangers at the Reebok Stadium on 10 March in Bolton's 2–1 win. On 3 August 2013, the first day of the 2013–14 season, Pratley scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Burnley. He then also scored in a 1–1 draw with Reading a week later.

International career

On 16 January 2009, Pratley was called up to the Jamaican squad by coach John Barnes to face Nigeria on 11 February 2009. Pratley qualifies for Jamaica through his grandparents but is yet to represent the Reggae Boyz after pulling out of the squad for the Nigeria friendly through injury after he broke his shoulder in a 4–1 win over Preston North End, although he did return earlier than expected from his injury.

Career statistics

References

External links

• Darren Pratley career statistics at Soccerbase