Darren Barnard

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Darren Barnard
Personal information
Date of birth	November 30, 1971 (age 35)
Place of birth	Rinteln, Germany
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Left wing back/Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Aldershot Town
Number	3
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1989–1990 1990–95 1994 1995–1997 1997–2002 2002–2004 2004–	Wokingham Town Chelsea → Reading (loan) Bristol City Barnsley Grimsby Town Aldershot Town	034 (11) 029 0(2) 004 0(0) 076 (14) 170 (28) 063 0(4) 102 (22)
National team2
1988 1998–2004	England U18 Wales	008 0(1) 022 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:07, 26 March 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 00:07, 26 March 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Darren Barnard (born 30 November 1971 in Rinteln, Germany) is a professional footballer, currently plying his trade for Aldershot in the Conference National. He is a former Welsh international, playing 22 times for them between 1998 and 2004.

Contents 1 Chelsea 2 Bristol City 3 Barnsley 4 Grimsby Town 5 External links

[edit] Chelsea

Darren was bought from Wokingham Town for £100,000 as an 18 year old in July 1990. He had to wait almost 2 years for his first team debut as he was competing with the established Gareth Hall and Frank Sinclair for a place in the team. During his time at Chelsea, Darren played for Ian Porterfield and Glenn Hoddle, but was only given a regular run in the team by caretaker manager David Webb. SEASONAL RECORD: 1990-95 Chelsea paid non-league Wokingham Town £100, 000 to seal the signature of 18-year-old Darren Barnard in July 1990. A complete unknown, 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 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 Barnard 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 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 tormented Boro's right-back Curtis Fleming to such an extent that the Irishman's revenge led to Barnard missing the following match with a cut 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, new manager Glenn Hoddle remained unconvinced and Darren was restricted to only nine starts in 1993/94, primarily as a left-back. An awful league campaign was compensated for by a run to the final of the FA Cup, and although he didn't feature in the final itself, Darren did play in the semi-final victory over Luton 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 a weakened side that were beaten by Coventry 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 £750, 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.

[edit] Bristol City

After not appearing in the first team at Chelsea for 18 months, Darren transferred to Bristol City for £750,000. Two seasons in Division Two culminated in losing in the play off semi finals to Brentford. During the 1990s, City produced a string of fine left-sided players. Darren Barnard was probably the best. Bought from Chelsea, where he had made just a handful of first team appearances, Barnard initially played on the left wing for City. However, manager Joe Jordan started to play him at left wing-back shortly after his move to the club, and before long, Barnard was a fully fledged left-back. He was perhaps one of the most talented players to turn out for City during the 1990s. His ability to run with the ball down the wing, overlap with Brian Tinnion and, of course, his wonderful free kicks were all a joy to behold. When Mickey Bell joined the club in 1997 City fans were given a mouthwatering preview of what could be, when both Barnard and Bell played in a pre-season friendly against Liverpool. They linked together in amazing fashion, producing some breathtaking attacking football. Unfortunately, Barnard left the club soon after, and this partnership was never seen in a competitive City side. It would have been something very special. Barnard went on to play in the Premiership with Barnsley, where he continued to score his usual quota of amazing free kicks and long range volleys. A very,very special player indeed.

[edit] Barnsley

Barnsley were looking to strengthen their squad after an unexpected promotion to the Premier League for the 1997-98 season, signing Darren for £750,000 as well as players like Eric Tinkler and Georgi Hirstov. Darren became a Welsh international during this season, making his debut for Wales in a 0-0 draw against Jamaica on 25 March 1998 and when on to collect 16 caps whilst at Barnsley. Unfortunately for Barnsley the Premier League dream lasted only one season, but Darren played on for them in the First Division for another 4 seasons and played in the 1999-00 play off final defeat to Ipswich Town.Profile:Darren established himself in the Chelsea reserve side, but struggled to break into their star-studded first team at Stamford Bridge.He had more luck at Bristol City and earned the chance to join up with Barnsley in 1997.He has proved himself to be a class act for the Tykes in the years since.Has probably the sweetest left-foot in the First Division.

[edit] Grimsby Town

Darren joined Grimsby for the start of the 2002-03 season and stayed for 2 relegation seasons in which Grimsby were went from Division One to Division Three. Despite this Darren collected another 6 Welsh caps, the last as a 90th minute substitute against Norway on 27 May 2004, coincidentally alongside former Grimsby team-mates Danny Coyne and John Oster. Profile: #3 Darren Barnard Paul Ketchley 12 November 2003 It's pretty unusual for Town to have a full international in the team, far less someone who commands a reasonably regular place in a reasonably successful side as Wales are at the moment. Barnard was one of Grovesie's first round of signings in the summer of 2002. Barnsley were in mega problems after their relegation and presumably couldn't afford his services. At the time Tony Gallimore occupied the left-back berth and Barnard was a bit of a peripheral member of the squad. Still, he scored a cracking goal at Brighton to give us our first win of that season and let us know what might happen if he had a chance. Gallimore duly took the reverse trip to Barnsley at the end of the 2003 season, to the regret of few fans, and this meant Darren became the first choice left-back unless Wales made calls on his services - which became a frequent cause of absence in the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign. Barnard is more of an attacking left-back and would probably play best as a left-sided wing-back in a 3-5-2 formation. Evidently his sophisticated tactical understanding had resulted in a couple of on-field spats with some of our new young centre backs, but to be honest he hasn't entirely resolved the glaringly obvious left-side defensive weakness known in recent seasons as Gallimore. We're just dogged 4-4-2 in style and it doesn't really fit in with what DB has to offer. At the time of writing Wales are about to play Russia in the Euro 2004 play-offs, and let's hope that they do qualify for the trip to Portugal next summer so we'll all get the chance to see Barnard performing at the highest level of European football. Given that he was MoM for Wales against Serbia recently.

[edit] External links

• rsssf.com - Welsh International Matches
• Darren Barnard career stats at Soccerbase
• sporting-heros.net - Player Profile (Chelsea)
• Reading FC International players

Aldershot Town F.C. - Current Squad
1 Bull | 2 Smith | 3 Barnard | 4 Newman | 5 Day | 6 Edwards | 7 Molesley | 8 Lee | 9 Grant | 10 Gayle | 11 Williams | 12 Soares | 14 Ridgway | 15 Scott | 16 Pritchard | 17 Hudson | 18 Anderson | 19 Winfield | 20 Milletti | 21 Salmon | 22 Wells | 23 Charles | 25 Osano | 26 Hylton | 27 Beckford | 36 Dixon | Manager: Brown