 Purse playing for Cardiff City in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren John Purse[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 14 February 1977[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Stepney, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–1996 | Leyton Orient | 55 | (3) |
| 1996 | → BK-IFK (loan) | ||
| 1996–1998 | Oxford United | 59 | (5) |
| 1998–2004 | Birmingham City | 168 | (9) |
| 2004–2005 | West Bromwich Albion | 22 | (0) |
| 2005–2009 | Cardiff City | 111 | (10) |
| 2009–2011 | Sheffield Wednesday | 61 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Millwall | 13 | (1) |
| 2011 | → Yeovil Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | → Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | (2) |
| 2013 | Port Vale | 17 | (2) |
| 2013 | IFK Mariehamn | 6 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Chesham United | 37 | (0) |
| 2015 | Welling United | 5 | (0) |
| 2015 | Staines Town | 10 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | AFC Rushden & Diamonds | 1 | (0) |
| 2016 | Hayes & Yeading United | 18 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Chesham United | 33 | (2) |
| 2017 | Bishop's Stortford | 5 | (0) |
| 2017 | AFC Rushden & Diamonds | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Enfield Town | 18 | (2) |
| Total | 689 | (40) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998 | England U21 | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021– | Cardiff City U23s | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Darren John Purse (born 14 February 1977) is an English former professional footballer who now coaches the Cardiff City U23s.
A centre-back, he began his career at Leyton Orient before winning a £100,000 move to Oxford United in July 1996. He continued to impress and was bought by Birmingham City for £700,000 in February 1998. He played for the "Blues" in the Premier League and the 2001 Football League Cup final before switching to West Bromwich Albion for a £750,000 fee in June 2004. After a year with the "Baggies", he was transferred to Championship side Cardiff City for just under £1 million.
Appointed as club captain, he was an unused substitute in the 2008 FA Cup final, where they were defeated by Portsmouth. He joined Sheffield Wednesday in July 2009 and was again appointed captain. The "Owls" suffered relegation into League One, and he moved on to Millwall in January 2011. Loaned out to Yeovil Town, he switched to Plymouth Argyle for a 12-month spell in January 2012.
He left Plymouth for Port Vale in January 2013 and helped the club to secure promotion out of League Two in 2012–13. He left England in August 2013 to play for Finnish club IFK Mariehamn, before heading into English non-League football with Chesham United, Welling United, Staines Town, AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Hayes & Yeading United, Bishop's Stortford, and Enfield Town. Throughout his 24-year playing career, he made 796 league and cup appearances, scoring 51 goals.
- ^ a b Hugman, Barry (2007). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007–08. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 332. ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3.
- ^ "Fletch happy as Purse deal is sealed at last". Plymouth Herald. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.