Darren Brian Salton (born 16 March 1972 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

) is a Scottish former under-21 international

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 ...

, whose career was cut short by injuries suffered in a car accident.

Playing career

Darren Salton joined

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 ...

as a trainee in 1988, along with a friend from

, Paul Telfer. Salton signed professionally in March 1989, and made his league debut at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

against

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 S ...

on 29 February 1992 in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. However, Luton were relegated at the end of that season and were denied a place in the new

FA 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 Foo ...

. Salton became a first-team regular in the early part of the 1992–93 season, starting 15 of Luton's first 17 league games that season. He was also capped six times by Scotland under-21, but his promising career came to an abrupt end when he and Telfer were involved in a car crash on 27 November 1992. Although Telfer, the vehicle's driver, suffered only minor injuries, a woman died in the collision and Salton was severely injured; the wounds to his leg ensured that he never played professional football again. He announced his retirement during the 1993–94 season.

Non-playing career

Salton still lives in the

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

area, and was manager of Southern League side

Hitchin Town Hitchin Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. They are currently members of the . Founded in 1865 and known as 'The Canaries', Hitchin Town have been based at Top Field since their fou ...

from December 2004 until November 2007. After a spell as assistant manager at

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

, he became assistant manager at

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

in March 2009.

References

External links

Scotland U21 stats
at Fitbastats 1972 births Scottish footballers Scottish football managers Luton Town F.C. players Hitchin Town F.C. managers Living people Footballers from Edinburgh Scotland under-21 international footballers English Football League players Association football central defenders {{Scotland-footy-defender-1970s-stub