Darren Barnard
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Sean Barnard | ||
| Date of birth | 30 November 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Rinteln, Germany | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Left wing back/Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1990 | Wokingham Town | 34 | (11) |
| 1990–1995 | Chelsea | 29 | (2) |
| 1994 | → Reading (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | Bristol City | 76 | (17) |
| 1997–2002 | Barnsley | 201 | (28) |
| 2002–2004 | Grimsby Town | 63 | (4) |
| 2004–2007 | Aldershot Town | 102 | (19) |
| 2007–2010 | Camberley Town | 100 | (25) |
| Total | 609 | (106) | |
| National team | |||
| 1988 | England U18 | 8 | (1) |
| 1998–2004 | Wales | 24 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2010–2011 | Camberley Town (Joint with Paul Miles) | ||
| 2011–2012 | Camberley Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Darren Sean Barnard (born 30 November 1971) is a German-born Welsh former professional footballer, manager and coach.
As a footballer he was a wing back and Midfielder from 1989 until 2010, notably in the Premier League for both Chelsea and Barnsley. He also played in the Football League for Reading, Bristol City and Grimsby Town before a spell in the Conference National for Aldershot Town and finishing his career with Non-league Camberley Town. He was also capped 24 times for Wales
In 2007 whilst a player with Camberley Town, he also became the club's technical director before becoming first team manager in 2010. He stepped down from his role following the end of the 2011–12 season. He has since worked as the Academy manager of Aldershot Town.
Chelsea paid non-league Wokingham Town £100,000 to seal the signature of 18-year-old Darren Barnard in July 1990. He had to wait almost 2 years for his first team debut as he was competing with the established first team players Gareth Hall and Frank Sinclair for a place in the team. During his time at Chelsea, Barnard played for Bobby Campbell Ian Porterfield and Glenn Hoddle, but was only given a regular run in the team by caretaker manager David Webb. Barnard was 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 came up against Boro's right-back Curtis Fleming eventually leading to the Irishman's injuring Barnard with a cut to the 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, Darren was restricted to only nine starts in 1993–94, primarily as a left-back. A mid table league campaign was compensated for by a run to the final of the FA Cup, and although he did not 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 in the side that was 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 £175,000, 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.
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