Darren David Powell (born 10 March 1976) 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 ...
who played as a
centre-back. During his playing career, he appeared over 250 times in the
Football League and
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. Powell was known as "a tough-tackling centre-back".
Following his retirement, Powell moved to coaching and managing
Hampton & Richmond Borough before taking over as an academy coach for
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
.
Playing career
Brentford
Powell began his career with
Hampton
Hampton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia
*Hampton, New South Wales
*Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region
* Hampton, Victoria
Canada
* Hampton, New Brunswick
*Ha ...
, where he quickly established himself in the starting eleven for the side. His performance attracted interests from
Stevenage and
Hayes before he joined
Brentford for £15,000.
Powell made his debut for Brentford, where he played the whole game, in a 3–0 win over
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
.
He started well for the side at the beginning of the season, winning five out of the six matches by the end of August, including scoring his first goal for the side, in a 2–1 win over
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 ...
.
He was later in the squad for Brentford when he helped the club win the
Division Two by four points. At the end of the 1998–99 season, Powell had made 37 appearances, scoring twice in all competitions.
For his performances, he was named the club's Player of the Year.
In the 1999–2000 season, Powell continued to be a first team regular.
He then scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 win over
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
on 16 September 1999.
A month later, on 16 October 1999, Powell scored again, in a 2–0 win over
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
.
He spent the rest of the 1999–00 season, as a first team regular and went on to make 43 appearances, scoring three times in all competitions.
However, in the 2000–01 season, Powell suffered a hamstring injury that saw him sidelined until January. On his return from injury, he was sent–off on his first appearance on 13 January 2001, in a 0–0 draw against
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
.
After returning, he regained his first team place for the side. On 21 March 2001, Powell was sent–off for the second time that season, in a 2–1 win over
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 ...
,
which saw Brentford go through to the LDV Final following a 4–2 on aggregate. This was followed up by scoring his first goal of the season, in a 1–0 win over
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 ...
on 31 March 2001.
However, in the
Football League Trophy Final against
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
, Powell played the whole game, in a 2–1 loss.
At the end of the 2000–01 season, he had made 22 appearances, scoring once in all competitions.
In the 2001–02 season, Powell retained his first team place for the side despite being linked with a move away from the club. On 18 September 2001, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Bristol Rovers.
Powell then captained Brentford for the first time in his career following the absence of
Paul Evans, as the club lost 1–0 against
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
. During a 0–0 draw against
Chesterfield on 12 March 2002, he tore his hamstring early in the first half and was substituted as a result. Powell returned to the first team on 6 April 2002, in a 3–0 win over
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
.
On 1 May 2002, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over Huddersfield Town to help Brentford reach the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
play-off final at the
Millennium Stadium,
where they lost 2–0 to
Stoke City. At the end of the 2001–02 season, Powell had made 48 appearances, scoring twice in all competitions.
During his time at Brentford, Powell made 150 appearances and scored eight times in all competitions.
Crystal Palace
In the summer transfer window of 2002, it was expected that Powell would stay at Brentford for the 2002–03 season. However, in August, he signed for
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
for £400,000, having previously been targeted by Manager
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player foll ...
.
Powell made his Crystal Palace debut in the opening game of the season against
Preston North End, starting and scoring the first goal, in a 2–1 win.
From the start of the season, he established himself in the starting eleven. On 10 September 2002, Powell scored again in the first round of the League Cup, in a 2–1 win over
Plymouth Argyle.
Despite being sidelined on numerous occasions during the 2002–03 season, Powell went on to make 46 appearances, scoring twice in all competitions.
In the 2003–04 season, Powell was initially an integral part of the team, but was subsequently plagued with injuries. Powell was also suspended when he received a second bookable offence, in a 1–1 draw against
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
on 14 October 2003.
While on the sidelines, Powell was close to joining Palace's Division One rivals,
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
, but the transfer move broke down, citing a failed medical, as well as, manager
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...
's desire to keep him. After seven months away from the first team, he returned to training. Powell made his first appearance from injury on 14 May 2004, where he came on as a late substitute, in a 3–2 win over Sunderland.
Powell then scored in the dying seconds of Palace's Play-off semi-final second-leg game, at
Sunderland taking the score on the night to a 2–1 defeat, but the
aggregate score
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...
to 4–4.
Palace won on
penalties and were promoted to the
Premiership, following a play-off final win over
West Ham
West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.
The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...
. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Powell had made 15 appearances, scoring once in all competitions.
In the 2004–05 season, however, Powell found himself dropping down the pecking order in the club's first team and having limited game time,
only appearing three times in the League Cup.
On 20 November 2004, he spent a month on loan to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
.
His debut came on 24 November 2004 against
rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
'
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
, where he played the whole game, in a 1–0 loss.
In a follow up match against
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
, Powell scored his only goal for the club, in a 3–2 win.
After the spell at West Ham United, Powell returned to his parent club, Crystal Palace.
Upon returning to Crystal Palace, Powell made his first Premier League appearance, where he played the whole game, in a 2–0 win over
Aston Villa on 3 January 2005.
In a follow up match against
Manchester City on 15 January 2005, he scored his first Premier League goal, in a 3–1 loss.
However, injuries plagued him once again, as the club were relegated to the Championship at the end of the season. At the end of the 2004–05 season, Powell had made 10 appearances, scoring once in all competitions.
However, Powell was released by the club.
Southampton
In July 2005, he was out of contract and signed for
Harry Redknapp at
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on a
Bosman free transfer.
Powell made his Southampton debut, where he played the whole game in a centre–back partnership with
Tomasz Hajto
Tomasz Nikodem Hajto () (born 16 October 1972) is a Polish expert commentator, sports agent, football coach and retired professional footballer.
Club career
Born in Maków Podhalański, Hajto began his career playing for local club Halniak M ...
, in a 0–0 draw against
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
. He then helped the Saints keep three clean sheets during August against
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
,
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
and
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
.
On joining the club, he quickly became a first team regular. Powell's first goal for Southampton was against
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
on 13 September 2005.
He started in every match until he was hit with a three match suspension following his foul on
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
's
Kevin Doyle
Kevin Edward Doyle (born 18 September 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He played for Wexford F.C. (formerly Wexford Youths), St Patrick's Athletic, and Cork City in his homeland before he moved to Eng ...
. On 22 November 2005, he returned to the starting line-up after a month away, in a 1–1 draw against
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
.
However, Powell soon lost his first team place following the appointment of
George Burley
George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...
, as well as, his own injury concerns. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Powell had made 26 appearances, scoring once in all competitions.
In the 2006–07 season, Powell, was sidelined until the end of the year. While on the sidelines, Powell was the subject of a transfer bid from
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, which was rejected by the club. He did not make his return to the first team until 6 January 2007, where he played the whole game, in a 2–0 win over
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 ...
in the first round of the FA Cup.
This was followed by keeping another two clean sheets against
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
and
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
.
However, Powell was once again sidelined with another injury that kept him out throughout February. Once again, Powell helped the side keep two clean sheets in a row against Wolverhampton Wanderers and
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
between 31 March 2007 and 7 April 2007. Following this, Powell was incurred an injury that ultimately ruled him out for the rest of the season. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Powell had made ten appearances.
In the 2007–08 season, Powell missed the first three matches, due to suspension. His suspension came after he was sent–off for violent conduct after reacting angrily to a heavy challenge from
Phil Mulryne, in the club's win at
AFC Bournemouth the previous month. After serving a three-match suspension, he made his return to the first team against
Stoke City on 25 August 2007, in a 3–2 win.
His return, was short–lived though, as he suffered an ankle injury during the match. After returning to training from injury in early–December, Powell did not make his return to the first team until 29 December 2007, where he came on as a second–half substitute, in a 2–2 draw against
Barnsley.
After being sidelined on three separate occasions throughout January, Powell scored his second goal for the club with a first minute tap in from
Adam Hammill's cross in a 3–2 home defeat to
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
.
However, Powell continued to be plagued with injuries towards the end of the season. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Powell had made thirteen appearances, scoring once in all competitions.
After three years of failing to establish himself in the first team due to a run of minor injuries, returning chairman
Rupert Lowe
Rupert James Graham Lowe (born 31 October 1957) is a British politician, farmer and businessman, who served as a the Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the West Midlands constituency from 2019 to 2020.
Lowe was chairman ...
decided not to renew Powell's contract.
Derby County
He trained with
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
whilst searching for a club and was handed a trial at
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in November 2008. On 21 November 2008, Powell signed an initial two-month contract for Derby, and made his debut in the 2–0 defeat to
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
a day later.
However, Powell was released by Derby on 21 January 2009, after new manager
Nigel Clough
Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was ...
decided against extending his contract, Powell played eight times for the club.
Brentford (second spell)
On 11 March 2009, Powell joined
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
on a trial basis. However, after making two reserve appearances, the club decided against offering him a contract. He re-signed for his first professional club,
Brentford, on 21 March 2009 on a contract until the end of the season.
Powell made his second Brentford debut on 28 March 2009,
where he came on as a late substitute and received a positive reception from Brentford supporters, in a 1–1 draw against
Gillingham. He managed only a handful of appearances before being sent–off on 14 April 2009, in a 1–0 win over Bournemouth following an altercation with teammate
Karleigh Osborne
Karleigh Anthony Jonathan Osborne (born 19 March 1988) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is the head coach of Brentford Women.
As a player, Osborne was a central defender and made over 160 Football League a ...
. Powell never played for the side again; he had made four appearances and was released at the end of the season.
Milton Keynes Dons
On 7 August 2009, Powell agreed a one-year contract with
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
team
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
.
He played his first game for the club in a 0–0 draw against
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
on 8 August 2009.
Powell was involved in the next two matches against
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
and
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
, where the team kept two clean sheets.
He became a first team regular at the club, under the management of
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship side Reading. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, st ...
. Then, on 3 October 2009, Powell played a vital role when he set up the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win over
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 ...
. However, he was plagued by injuries during the season. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Powell had made twenty–seven appearances, scoring once in all competitions.
Along with three other players, he was released by MK Dons at the end of his contract on 30 June 2010.
Hampton & Richmond Borough
In January 2012,
Hampton & Richmond Borough Chairman Steve McPherson claimed that Powell was close to making a comeback with the club. a move which was confirmed on 27 January.
He made his second debut for the club the next day coming off the bench at half time in a 2–2 draw away to
Havant & Waterlooville
Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the ...
.
However, he was plagued by injuries during his time at the club. He made 15 appearances for the side and subsequently announced his retirement from playing.
Coaching career
Hampton & Richmond Borough
In April 2013, Powell and first-team coach Paul Barry took charge of Hampton & Richmond Borough, now in the National League South, on a caretaker basis until the end of the season after manager Mark Harper resigned his position. The pair were installed as the permanent management team in May 2013.
The pair helped the side go nine matches unbeaten between 3 December 2013 and 21 January 2014. At the end of the 2013–14 season, the side finished in twelfth place in the league. The club went on to win the
Middlesex Senior Cup
The Middlesex Senior Cup is the most prestigious football cup competition in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although league clubs have been known to enter the compe ...
after beating
Wealdstone
Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone.
The area accommodates ...
3–2.
However, a poor start to the 2014–15 season saw Powell sacked along with Barry after Hampton & Richmond lost 3–2 to
VCD Athletic in the FA Cup Qualifying Round on 13 September 2014. After leaving the club, Powell enrolled on the Elite Coaches Apprenticeship Scheme and acquired his A Licence.
Crystal Palace
On 24 February 2015, Powell joined the academy coaching team at Crystal Palace. In March 2023, after
Roy Hodgson returned as manager with
Paddy McCarthy
Patrick Richard McCarthy (born 31 May 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is currently assistant manager of Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Born in Dublin, he began his football career as a jun ...
as his assistant, Powell was appointed as head-coach of the under-21 team.
Career statistics
Honours
Brentford
*
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...
:
1998–99
*
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
:
2008–09
Crystal Palace
*
Football League First Division play-offs:
2004
Individual
*
Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year: 1998–99
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Darren
1976 births
Living people
English footballers
Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. players
Brentford F.C. players
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Footballers from Hammersmith
Association football central defenders