Darren Dunning (born 8 January 1981) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Having come through the youth academy at Blackburn Rovers he spent time on loan with Brisol City,

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

and

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

. He notably spent three seasons with York City and later had spells with

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

and

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

Career

Born in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

, Dunning grew up in the village of Welburn before attending

Malton School Malton School is an 11-18 mixed comprehensive school of some 800 pupils (2021), serving the market town of Malton and the surrounding area in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, England.

. He began his career as a trainee with the Blackburn Rovers youth system, turning professional in February 1999. He joined

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

in August 2000, making his league debut for the Robins on 12 August 2000, in a 2–0 win away to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. He played nine times for City before returning to Blackburn that October. His Blackburn debut came on 31 October 2000, Dunning playing all of the 2–0 League Cup defeat away to West Ham United. He also played one

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

match and one league match for Blackburn before the end of the 2000–01 season. He scored his first and only Blackburn goal in a 2–0 win over Oldham in the League Cup. He joined

on loan in November 2001 and moved to

on loan in March 2002, making just one first team appearance for Blackburn, in the League Cup that season. In November 2002, Dunning joined

on loan, scoring the first league goal of his career in the 3–1 win at home to Southend United, having replaced the injured

Martin Gritton Martin Francis Gritton (born 1 June 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer and sports co-commentator primarily for BBC Radio Devon. As a player he was a striker from 1998 to 2012. He was a journeyman player and has previously playe ...

in the 5th minute of the game. In January 2003, he moved to

on loan until the end of the season, when he was released by Blackburn. In July 2003 he signed for York City and was a regular in the York side relegated to the

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

at the end of the season. He remained with York until June 2006, when he left after rejecting a new contract with the club. The following month, he joined Conference North team

, teaming-up with his twin brother, Richard, and former York teammates

Jamie Price James Price (born 27 October 1981) is an English footballer who played at the right or centre of defence for Scarborough Athletic, in the Northern Premier League Division One North. Price has made over 150 appearances in the Football League and ...

and Dave Merris. He made his debut in a 1–0 victory against

Moor Green Moor Green is a historic home located near Brentsville, Prince William County, Virginia. It dates to the early-19th century, and is a two-story, five-bay, Federal style brick residence, with a one-room, two-story ell. It has a standing seam met ...

and scored his first goal as Harrogate defeated

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

3–2. Dunning finished his first season, 2006–07, by starting in all of Harrogate's 48 games, as well as scoring five goals. He signed a new contract with the club in June 2008. He joined fellow Conference North team

in May 2009. Dunning retired in 2010 due to knee ligament damage.

Personal life

As of 2019, Dunning resides in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, runs his own plumbing company and has coached a successful local amateur football team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunning, Darren 1981 births Living people Footballers from Scarborough, North Yorkshire English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players York City F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players