Darren Paul Currie (born 29 November 1974) is an English former

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 made over 600 appearances in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. He is assistant head coach of

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 ...

Club career

Currie, who is the nephew of former

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

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 ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

footballer Tony Currie, began his career as a trainee at

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 ...

in 1993 but did not play for the first team. He had a loan spell at

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

before joining

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

in February 1996 for a transfer fee of £70,000, for whom he made over 70 league and cup appearances in two seasons. He was released by Shrewsbury in March 1998 and joined

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

until the end of the 1997–98 season. He then joined

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

in summer 1998 and made over 140 league and cup appearances in three seasons. He was selected in the PFA Team of the Season for

Division Three 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 the ...

for two consecutive seasons but after Barnet were relegated to the Nationwide Conference at the end of the 2000–01 season, he left Barnet and joined

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

for a transfer fee of £200,000. He left Wycombe by mutual consent at the end of the 2003–04 season after the club was relegated, having made over 140 appearances for the club. Currie impressed

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

manager Mark McGhee during pre-season trials in 2004 and was given a one-year contract, with McGee saying, "Darren has skills comparable with any player at this level." A few months later in December 2004, Currie joined

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 ...

for a transfer fee of £250,000, which Brighton's financial position meant they could not turn down. Currie made his debut for Ipswich in December 2004, scoring a goal and making another, as Ipswich beat

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 ...

4–2 away from home. He made 26 appearances for Ipswich in the 2004–05 season, as Ipswich reached the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

play-offs in May 2005. Currie fell out of favour in the 2006–07 season, starting only six games before joining

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on loan in November 2006 when Ipswich manager

Jim Magilton James Magilton (born 6 May 1969) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town. He started hi ...

could not guarantee him a place in the first-team. Currie had a two-week trial with the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

early in 2007, for whom he made three substitute appearance, but was not offered a contract and returned to Ipswich. He joined

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 ...

in March 2007 on a loan until the end of the season, which was extended until the end of May 2007 so he would be eligible for the 2006–07 season

play-offs. He came on as a substitute in the second leg of the semi final against Southampton as his side won on penalties, but he did not feature in the final. Currie scored once during his spell at Derby, his goal coming on a 2–0 win over Leeds United on 6 May 2007. Currie 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 ...

on a free transfer from Ipswich in July 2007, signing a two-year contract, and scored on his debut against

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 August 2007. He made 38 league and cup appearances in the 2007–08 season as Luton went into administration, suffered a ten-point penalty and were relegated. Following Luton's relegation to

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 ...

, Currie was one of several players to be offered a free transfer in May 2008, but declared that he would not leave the club until his demands were met. After negotiating terms with

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 ...

, Currie turned them down and signed a three-year contract with

side

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. On 23 November 2009, Currie joined League Two side

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

on a month's loan, making his debut on 24 November in a 0–0 away draw against

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

. He signed an 18-month contract with Dagenham on 19 January 2010. He made 16 appearances for the club in the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season as they won promotion to League One. The next season, Currie made a further 22 league appearances, scoring once, as Dagenham were relegated straight back to League Two. He left the club in May 2011. Currie went on trial with League Two side

in July 2011, though was not offered a contract. On 5 August 2011, Currie joined

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

as both a player and the club's assistant manager. On 11 November 2011, Currie joined

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division side

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

in a playing capacity. In October 2012, Currie rejoined Dagenham & Redbridge as a development coach. He also registered as a player, taking squad number 29 and appearing on the substitutes bench in a 3–2 loss 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 ...

on 20 October 2012. He appeared again on the bench for the 1–1 draw with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

on 23 October 2012. Currie was promoted to assistant manager in February 2013, replacing

Wayne Burnett Wayne Burnett (born 4 September 1971) is an English football coach and former footballer who is manager of Tottenham Hotspur under-23's team. As a player Burnett was a midfielder from 1989 until 2004 notably playing in the Football League for ...

who was promoted to manager following the departure of

John Still John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

. In December 2015, Currie and

Warren Hackett Warren Hackett (born 16 December 1971) is a former professional footballer who played as an international for Saint Lucia. A defender, primarily a left-back, he began his career with Tottenham Hotspur and was part of the 1990 winning FA Youth ...

became caretaker managers after Burnett was sacked. After two games in charge, Currie returned to his role as assistant after the return of Still.

Management career

Barnet

In June 2018, Currie returned to Barnet as assistant manager, once again as assistant to Still. Following Still's retirement on 28 December 2018, Currie took over as caretaker manager of the Bees. He was made permanent manager at Barnet on 23 January 2019. Currie's reign as Barnet manager got off to a good start following a 1–0 win away at Dagenham & Redbridge, a 1–1 draw at home to Boreham Wood and then beating Championship leaders

in the FA Cup at Bramall Lane. They also took

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

to a replay in the next round of the cup after a 3–3 draw at The Hive. Currie then led Barnet to the National League play-offs in his first full season in management, beating

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

2–0 in the quarter-finals before losing by the same scoreline to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

in the semi-finals. On 12 August 2020, Currie and his assistant

Junior Lewis Carl Junior Lewis (born 9 October 1973) is a former footballer who was most recently assistant head coach at Barnet. During his playing career he played as a midfielder. He is currently assistant manager at National League South side Welling Un ...

left Barnet after failing to agree a new contract.

Sheffield United

Currie was appointed joint manager of the Sheffield United U23 team, along with

Graham Coughlan Graham Coughlan (born 18 November 1974) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a centre back. He is currently manager of EFL League Two club Newport County. Coughlan began his career in his native Ireland wi ...

, on 22 March 2021.

Southend United

On 20 October 2021, Currie joined National League side

in the role of Assistant Head Coach to

Kevin Maher Kevin Andrew Maher (born 17 October 1976) is a former professional footballer and coach who played as a midfielder. He is head coach of National League side Southend United. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland internationall ...

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Dagenham & Redbridge *

Football League Two play-offs The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engli ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Hendon *

London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of Ar ...

: 2011–12 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 ...

: 1999–2000 Third Division, 2000–01 Third Division

References

External links

*
Hendon Stats
at Greensnet {{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Darren 1974 births Living people Footballers from Hampstead English footballers Association football midfielders Ipswich Town F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Boreham Wood F.C. players Hendon F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. managers Barnet F.C. non-playing staff Barnet F.C. managers Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Southend United F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players English Football League managers National League (English football) managers English football managers Association football coaches