Darren Way - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Darren Way is a retired English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

footballer chiefly known for being a hard tackling midfielder for Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town F.C.

Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

.

He announced his retirement on 4 February 2010 after failing to overcome injuries he sustained in a car crash 13 months earlier.

Early Career at Norwich

A promising early career was ruined by injuries. He joined Norwich as an associate schoolboy in 1994 and progressed through the Norwich youth and reserve team ranks. He played for England Under-16's (Schoolboys) six times during the 1995/1996 season. He then signed a one year professional contract with Norwich City in May 1999 and sat on the bench for many first team matches. He was released at the end of the 1999/2000 season after failing to make a first team appearance for the club.

Signs for Yeovil

He signed for Yeovil in August 2000 and soon became a firm fan's favourite. He soon became nicknamed "Weasel" for his hard working attitude. He helped Yeovil battle for the conference title which eventually they lost due to losing 3-2 at Hereford thus gifting the Conference title to Rushden & Diamonds.

Thanks to his good performances he was called up for the England C

England National Game XI

The England C National Football Team is the football team that represents England at non-league level. Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it features players who play for clubs outside of the Football League...

for their friendly against Belgium. However illness prevented an appearance.

In his next season he helped Yeovil gain promotion to the football league including scoring the first goal in the 4-0 thrashing of Doncaster.

Two seasons later his impressive performances saw him named in the League Two Divisional team of the season with Yeovil gaining promotion. This brought him to the attention of lots of bigger clubs.

In the January transfer window he departed Yeovil after five and a half years of service.

Swansea snap him up

On 20 January 2006, Way signed for Swansea City

Swansea City A.F.C.

Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...

for a fee of £150,000. After joining the Swans he suffered a series of injuries which restricted him to only 21 appearances for the club during his two-and-a-half years with them. In January 2007 he had an operation on a shin injury that he had sustained the previous October. The injury kept him out for over a year. He was loaned back to Yeovil, where he made his return from injury, in November 2007. He spent five weeks with his former club before returning to Swansea, where he made a further four appearances during the second-half of the season.

Third Spell at Yeovil

On 8 July 2008 he signed a two-year contract with Yeovil, marking the beginning of his third spell with the club. His comeback started well scoring two goals in 15 games and turning out some good performances.

On 17 December 2008, Way was involved in a serious accident on the A3088 Cartgate link road between the A303 and Yeovil whilst a passenger in a car. He was airlifted to Dorchester Hospital where his condition is described as serious but stable. It was later revealed that he had sustained breaks in his arm, leg and hip. He was hoping that one day soon he will be able to resume his footballing career. On 22 January 2009, Way was discharged from Yeovil hospital, after having in excess of 8 operations, marking a huge step on his road to recovery, although he was still in a wheelchair.

During half-time at the Oldham Athletic game, 21 February 2009, he came on the pitch in his wheelchair and did a lap of honour as the next stage in his recovery.

On the 4th July 2009 Way played in the dying seconds of Terry Skiverton

Terry Skiverton

Terence "Terry" John Skiverton is a former English footballer who enjoyed a long playing career at Yeovil Town for 11 years, appearing 382 times in all competitions, before becoming their current manager....

's testimonial match. This was the first time and only time he played after sustaining his injury. He officially announced his retirement after 13 months out injured, on 4th February 2010 and was thus announced as part of the Yeovil coaching team. on the 11th May 2010 it was officially announced that a benefit game would be held at Huish Park for Darren's success. The game was played against Manchester United's reserve team on the 24th July 2010 and it ended in a 3 - 2 win to Yeovil. Way played in the final five minutes as well as Terry Skiverton. After the match, he announced his thanks to the fans, Terry Skiverton and his family for helping him through a difficult time.

Club

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|2000-01||rowspan="6"|Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town F.C.

Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

||rowspan="3"|Nationwide Conference

Football Conference

The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...

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|2003-04||rowspan="2"|Coca-Cola League Two

Football League Two

Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

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|2005-06||Coca-Cola League 1

Football League One