Darren Williams (born 28 April 1977 in Middlesbrough) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and manager. Williams began his career at

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

, but made his name 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 ...

, for whom he signed in 1996. He then moved to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

in 2004, then on to

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

in 2005. He was released by Hartlepool in 2007; after that he made a move to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

during the 2007–08 season. He then played with

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

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 ...

and Whitby Town.

Club career

York City

Born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, Williams played for Cleveland and North Yorkshire Boys and Marton Boys before joining the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

in July 1993, scoring 16 goals for the Intermediate side in the 1993–94 season. He made his

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

debut as a substitute in a 4–0 victory over

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 ...

on 26 December 1994, which was his only appearance of the 1994–95 season. Due to an injury to

Steve Bushell Stephen Paul Bushell (born 28 December 1972) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Manchester, Greater Manchester, Bushell began his career at York City as a trainee in their youth system in the summer of 19 ...

he started the 1995–96 season as a first team regular, before being dropped and finishing the season with 27 appearances in all competitions, before handing in a transfer request. He played when they beat

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

3–0 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

in 1995.

Sunderland

Williams joined

for a fee of £50,000 in October 1996, and made over 250 appearances for the team, 108 of which were in the

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 ...

. The highlight of his career so far was probably when he scored the winning goal for Sunderland at

, his hometown club, in 1997, effectively relegating the Teessiders. Williams was also a part of the 1998 First Division play-off final defeat at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, in which Sunderland were beaten by

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 ...

7–6 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

after a 4–4 draw in regular play.

Cardiff City

Williams joined

on a month-long

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 September 2004, with a view to a permanent move if he impressed. He played in all five of Cardiff's games during his initial loan period and his stay was extended for another two months. After he was told by Sunderland manager

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...

his contract would not be extended, Williams made his move to

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

permanent in December 2004 on a free transfer.

Hartlepool United

Williams was offered a new contract by Cardiff manager

Lennie Lawrence Robin Michael Lawrence (born 12 December 1947) is an English former football manager, player and football consultant who is non-executive director at EFL League Two side Hartlepool United. Lawrence was a semi-professional at Croydon, Carshalt ...

, but when he was replaced by Dave Jones, the offer was withdrawn. Instead he returned to the north-east to join

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 ...

side

. While at Hartlepool, Williams played the majority of the

's games due to the injury of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Michael Barron Michael James Barron (born 22 December 1974) is a former professional footballer. He retired from playing in May 2008. He was previously the assistant manager at Hartlepool United, where he enjoyed a long and successful playing career. Footbal ...

, but when Barron returned he was moved to the bench. The team was

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

in his first season at Hartlepool, but helped them earn instant promotion back to League One in 2006–07 as they missed out on the title on the last day of the season.

Bradford City

He was released by Hartlepool in May 2007 and joined

in July 2007. He was one of six new players who made their debut for City on the opening day of the 2007–08 in a 1–1 draw with

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 ...

. Williams lost his place at right back to loan signing Ben Starosta, who replaced Williams at half-time in a game against

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 ...

in January 2008. Williams missed seven games until he won his place back against

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

when Starosta fell ill. On 29 April 2008, Williams was deemed to be surplus to requirements at Valley Parade and was released by manager

Stuart McCall Andrew Stuart Murray McCall (born 10 June 1964) is a professional football coach and former player. He is assistant manager at Sheffield United. McCall played in a total of 763 league games and in 40 full international matches for Scotla ...

along with 13 other Bradford players.

Dundee

Williams joined

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

side

, where his former Sunderland teammate Alex Rae was manager, on trial in July 2008 and played for them in their opening game of the 2008–09 season as they defeated Ross County 2–1. Following another one-goal victory, Williams signed a one-year contract with Dundee. At the end of the 2008–09 season he was told he was free to look for another club by manager

Jocky Scott John Alexander "Jocky" Scott (born 14 January 1948) is a Scottish football coach and former player. During his playing career he played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Seattle Sounders and Scotland. An extensive management career followed with spells at ...

Gateshead

Williams was to join

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 ...

team

on 28 August 2009, but the deal was called off as he still had hopes of a return to the professional ranks and would have been unable to do so until January, even if joining Gateshead on a non-contract basis. He subsequently signed for the Conference National outfit on 26 September 2009. Williams made his debut the same day in the 1–0 home defeat against

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 th ...

. Williams was released by Gateshead on 16 February 2010.

Gainsborough Trinity

Williams joined

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

team

on a contract until the end of the 2009–10 season on 12 March. Williams was released in the summer of 2010, only to be re-signed in September. He eventually departed the club for a second time in May 2011.

Whitby Town

Williams joined Whitby Town in August 2011. He made his first appearance for the club on 13 August which the club drew 1–1 with

Chasetown F.C. Chasetown Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in the Chasetown area of Burntwood, Staffordshire. The club plays in the and is nicknamed ''The Scholars'', having been formed by affiliates of nearby Chase Terra ...

On 26 October 2011 he succeeded

Tommy Cassidy Thomas Cassidy (born 18 November 1950) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played as a midfielder. During his club career he played for Ards, Glentoran, Newcastle United, Burnley and APOEL Nicosia. He earned 24 caps for th ...

and became player manager of Whitby Town. Williams secured a creditable 12th spot for Whitby in 2013, followed by 9th a year later- Town's best finish for eight seasons. The Blues ended 2014–15 in 13th, but after a poor record of 3 wins in 21 league games, Williams was sacked on Monday 23 November 2015. In 2019 he was interviewed for the Thornaby FC job, but missed out to former Bolton youth team legend Craig Haley.

International career

Williams represented England at under-21 and B level.

Style of play

He is a utility defender who can also play defensive midfield.

Honours

Club

Hartlepool United *

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 ...

runners-up: 2006–07

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Darren 1977 births Living people Footballers from Middlesbrough English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers England men's B international footballers Men's association football defenders York City F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Whitby Town F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Scottish Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players English football managers Whitby Town F.C. managers Northern Premier League managers