Darren Ward (born 11 May 1974) is a 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
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. He is goalkeeping coach of the
England women's national team.
Born in England, he made five appearances for the
Wales national team.
Club career
Born in
Worksop
Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from the nor ...
, Ward started his professional career with Mansfield Town, where he made 97 appearances, helping them reach the play-offs. He moved to Notts County for £150,000 in July 1995, where he would go on to make his most appearances. During a six-season stay, he played over 300 games for the
Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017.
It currently h ...
club.
He moved across the
River Trent
The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
in 2001 to join local rivals Nottingham Forest. He spent three seasons in the
First Division with Forest as they strove for promotion back to the
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 ...
, but a play-off spot in 2003 was as near as they managed.
He finally got his opportunity to play in the top flight when he joined newly promoted Norwich City in a two-year deal in August 2004. However, the form of
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green (born 18 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Premier League and Football League and for the England national team.
Green made his first-team debut for Norwi ...
meant he only managed one appearance in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute in a defeat at
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 C ...
. The club was relegated after a solitary season at the highest level, but Ward made no further appearances for the Canaries in the lower tier either.
He was released at the end of the
2005–06 season after not signing a new contract at the club, and on 4 August 2006, he signed a contract at
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. He had to wait until October for his debut, replacing teenager
Ben Alnwick
Benjamin Robert Alnwick (born 1 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Currently unattached, he last played for EFL League 1 team Bolton Wanderers.
Alnwick started his career at Sunderland in 2004, having ...
after the appointment of
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...
as manager, but made the number 1 spot his own for the rest of the season as the side went on to top the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
. One particularly outstanding save against
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 ...
which was later described as being in the style of
Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...
by opposition manager
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 ...
.
Ward found himself replaced by £9million new signing
Craig Gordon
Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, where he is club captain, and the Scottish national team.
Gordon started his c ...
upon Sunderland's return to the Premier League, but did manage three appearances, keeping a clean sheet in his first, a 1–0 win over
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 1884 ...
. During the January 2008 winter transfer window, he rejected a move to Scottish giants
Rangers, preferring to stay and fight to be the first-choice keeper at the
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
.
He failed to break back into the first team at Sunderland the following season and joined
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 ...
of the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
in March 2009 on loan for the remainder of the campaign. However, injury meant he returned to his parent club early.
He was released by Sunderland on 28 May 2009 and subsequently announced his playing retirement. On 12 October 2009 it was announced that Ward was the new goalkeeping coach for
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
, replacing
Andy Dibble
Andrew Gerald Dibble (born 8 May 1965) is a Welsh football coach and former professional player.
As a player, he was as a goalkeeper from 1982 to 2006. During his career he played in the Premier League for Manchester City and in the Scottish Pre ...
, who departed from the role for personal reasons.
International career
Ward won five
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for the
Welsh national team
)
, Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW)
, Confederation = UEFA (Europe)
, Coach = Rob Page
, Captain = Gareth Bale
, Most caps = Gareth Bale (111)
, Top scorer = Gareth ...
before announcing his international retirement in May 2007. He made his international debut on 2 June 2000 in a 3–0 friendly defeat to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. He had to wait until 2002 for his next cap, and won further caps during 2003–04, all during friendly internationals.
Family
Ward married Nicola in 1997 and later became a father to Rhys Harry (2000) and Evie Mae (2003).
Honours
Sunderland
*
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
:
2006–07
Individual
*
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
:
1995–96 Second Division,
1997–98 Third Division
References
External links
Official WWFC club profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Darren
1974 births
Living people
Footballers from Worksop
Welsh footballers
Wales international footballers
Association football goalkeepers
Mansfield Town F.C. players
Notts County F.C. players
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Norwich City F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Premier League players
Wales under-21 international footballers
English Football League players
Peterborough United F.C. non-playing staff
Preston North End F.C. non-playing staff
Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff
English footballers
English people of Welsh descent
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Association football goalkeeping coaches