Darren Barry Andduet Freeman (born 22 August 1973) is an English
football manager and former professional player who played as a
winger and
striker, making over 130 appearances in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
between 1995 and 2001.
Playing career
Born in
Brighton, Freeman played youth football for
Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
and Sussex County Youth, making his first team debut at the age of 16. He scored the winner as a 17 year old in the RUR Cup Final against
Peacehaven & Telscombe in March 1991 while also appearing in the County Youth Cup Final later in the season, earning trials at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
,
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
and
Maidstone United.
After playing for
Isthmian League Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...
and
Horsham he was signed by
Gillingham. Following a successful loan spell at
Glenavon, he went on to play in the
Football League with
Fulham,
Brentford and
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
, making a total of 134 appearances.
He retired from professional football in August 2001 due to an ongoing hernia problem.
He returned to non-league football in June 2002 with
Margate
Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook.
The town has been a significan ...
,
Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...
and
Three Bridges, the latter as player-coach, before ending his playing career back at his first club
Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
, joining in 2005–06, before taking on a player-coaching role in 2008. Freeman made 16 league and cup appearances in the 2007–08 season and a further 12 league and cup appearances in the 2009–10 season. His final ever appearance was from the bench in a
Sussex Senior Challenge Cup tie at
Horsham on 26 November 2013.
Coaching career
Freeman was appointed sole manager of
Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
in May 2010, having previously been joint-manager of the club alongside
George Parris since May 2009.
Despite taking the club from the
Sussex County League to the
Conference South League with three promotions in four years, he was sacked by Whitehawk in January 2014.
Freeman was appointed manager of
Isthmian League Division One South side
Peacehaven & Telscombe in August 2015 but left after just two months to take up the manager's position at nearby
Lewes. On 2 April 2016, Lewes were relegated from the Isthmian Premier League to the Isthmian Division One South with three games of the season remaining. On 13 April 2018, the Rooks won promotion back to the Isthmian Premier League, eventually finishing the 2017-18 Isthmian Division One South season in 2nd place, behind Carshalton Athletic, on 99 points. Freeman left Lewes in October 2019 to take up a full-time role with the SportsTotal agency with his former teammate at
Brentford,
Dirk Hebel
Dirk Josef Hebel (born 24 November 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. As a player, he played professionally in Germany, Turkey and England. He notably won the 1998–99 Third Division championship with ...
. Hebel named his son Darren after Freeman.
Personal life
Freeman was educated at
Varndean School
Varndean School is a secondary school serving a large area of Brighton, England.
In 2013, 2017 and 2022, Ofsted inspectors described Varndean as a 'Good' school. Varndean shares the Surrenden Campus with Balfour Primary School, Dorothy Strin ...
in Brighton and has two sons, Leighton and Stacey with his partner Lorraine.
Stacey Freeman played in his father's team at
Lewes. His father Reg died in August 2009 and was cited as an inspiration to Freeman's career.
As a player, Freeman was notable for his long hair, modelled on Braveheart's Mel Gibson.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Darren
1973 births
Living people
English footballers
English football managers
Lewes F.C. players
Horsham F.C. players
Worthing F.C. players
Gillingham F.C. players
Glenavon F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
Brentford F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Margate F.C. players
Three Bridges F.C. players
Whitehawk F.C. players
English Football League players
Association football wingers
Association football forwards
English expatriate footballers
Expatriate association footballers in Northern Ireland
Whitehawk F.C. managers
Lewes F.C. managers
People educated at Varndean College
Littlehampton Town F.C. players
Footballers from Brighton