Darren Beckford
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Richard Lorenzo Beckford | ||
| Date of birth | 12 May 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Moss Side, Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Manchester City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1987 | Manchester City | 11 | (0) |
| 1985 | → Bury (loan) | 12 | (5) |
| 1987–1991 | Port Vale | 178 | (72) |
| 1991–1993 | Norwich City | 38 | (8) |
| 1993–1996 | Oldham Athletic | 52 | (11) |
| 1996–1997 | Heart of Midlothian | 7 | (0) |
| 1997 | Preston North End | 2 | (0) |
| 1997 | Fulham | 0 | (0) |
| 1997 | Walsall | 8 | (0) |
| 1997 | Rushden & Diamonds | 0 | (0) |
| 1997 | Southport | 1 | (0) |
| 1997 | Total Network Solutions | ||
| 1997–1998 | Bury | 0 | (0) |
| 1998 | Bacup Borough | ||
| Total | 302+ | (96+) | |
| National team | |||
| 1983 | England U16 | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Darren Richard Lorenzo Beckford (born 12 May 1967) is an English former professional footballer. His younger brother Jason also played professional football. They both played as forwards.
In fourteen years as a professional footballer he scored a total of 96 goals in 302 league games. Advancing through the Manchester City youth team, he also spent a brief time on loan at Bury before joining Port Vale in 1987. He enjoyed the most successful time of his career at Vale, scoring 68 goals in 167 league games, helping the club to promotion via the play-offs in 1989. After four successive seasons as the club's top scorer he earned a £925,000 move to Norwich City in 1991. Unable to find the form he hit at Vale Park, he was sold on to Oldham Athletic for £300,000 in 1993. Three years later he moved on to Scottish side Hearts. He later played for Preston North End, Fulham, Walsall, Rushden & Diamonds, Southport, Total Network Solutions, Bury and Bacup Borough.
Beckford was a product of the Manchester City youth team; he made eleven appearances for the Maine Road side before spending loan periods at Bury and Port Vale, moving to Third Division Vale on a permanent basis for £15,000 (plus 50% of any future transfer fee). This was settled by a Football League tribunal as a compromise between Vale's offer of £5,000 and City's demand of £60,000. He later admitted that throughout his early career his nerves caused him to vomit before games.
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