Duane Darby
Encyclopedia
Duane Darby is a professional footballer who has made over 400 senior appearances in English football
, and scored over 100 goals. He played a significant number of games for Torquay United
and Hull City
, and also helped both Rushden & Diamonds
and Shrewsbury Town gain promotion from the Conference
to the Football League. His most recent club in the 2008–09 season was Hednesford Town.
In July 2011, over two years since last playing, Darby come out of retirement to help out midlands outfit Cradley Town, playing as a defender
, making his league debut while still a trainee, scoring in a 2–1 defeat at home to Reading
having come on as a substitute, and he went on to make a further 13 league appearances that season. He turned professional on 3 July 1992 and went on to score 26 times in 108 league games for the Gulls. On 19 July 1995 he moved to Doncaster Rovers
, but stayed less than a year, moving to Hull City
on 27 March 1996 for a sum of £25,000. He was a great success with the Tigers, scoring regularly and broke the Hull record for most goals in a competitive game when he scored 6 times against Whitby Town
in an FA Cup
1st Round Replay in November 1996.
After scoring 27 times in 78 league games he moved on a 'Bosman
' to newly promoted Notts County
on 2 July 1998, but missed most of his first season with the Magpies through injury. He returned to Hull City on loan on 25 March 1999. He started the following season for Notts County in top form, but was surprisingly placed on the transfer list in March 2000 and finally left Notts County on 21 June 2000, joining Conference
side Rushden & Diamonds
for a fee of £100,000.
, he won the Conference Golden Boot award, his goals helping Rushden win the Conference and with it promotion to the Football League
. In November 2000 he was charged with assault after an incident in the players tunnel at the end of the local derby against Kettering Town
.
In November 2003, Shrewsbury Town, recently relegated to the Football Conference
signed Darby in order to bolster their striking force. The signing was well received, with Shrewsbury fans hoping that Darby's experience and proven goalscoring record in the lower leagues would assist them towards promotion, especially when linked with highly regarded striker Luke Rodgers
. Unfortunately, the strike partnership with Rodgers never quite took off as Darby's time at Shrewsbury was punctuated with injuries, meaning he was unable to get a consistent run in the team. However, Darby's goals in the 2003/04 season were to prove vital as Shrewsbury made the Conference play-off final. In the final, Darby scored an equalising goal against Aldershot Town
at Stoke City
's Britannia Stadium
. With the game finishing level at 1–1, Shrewsbury eventually won the final on penalties.
did not help Darby's cause, as Peters aimed to rebuild the squad with younger players. Unable to command a regular first team place, Darby was released by Shrewsbury in February 2006 and joined Nuneaton Borough, also becoming Nuneaton's Football in the Community coach. He scored on his Nuneaton debut, a 2–2 draw at home to Moor Green
and was a regular for Nuneaton, but was released in May 2007.
On 3 August 2007, Halesowen Town
confirmed that Darby had joined the club along with two other former league players, in the shape of Terry Fleming
and Stephen Cooke
. After a short spell at The Grove, he moved to local rivals Bromsgrove Rovers, taking over as caretaker player-manager just days after arriving at the club after Rod Brown's departure. He could not keep Rovers in the Southern League Premier Division, as they were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season.
A poor start to the 2008–09 season saw Darby leave the Victoria Ground, joining Stourport Swifts
in a bid to stay fit. In February 2009 he received a call from old friend Dean Edwards
, manager of Hednesford Town, who was on the lookout for an experienced striker to join the Pitmen. He made his debut for his new club as a late substitute in a Northern Premier League
game at home to Eastwood Town.
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
, and scored over 100 goals. He played a significant number of games for Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
and Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
, and also helped both Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds F.C.
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Formed by a merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992, the club played in the Conference National following a short spell in the Football League at the start of...
and Shrewsbury Town gain promotion from the Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
to the Football League. His most recent club in the 2008–09 season was Hednesford Town.
In July 2011, over two years since last playing, Darby come out of retirement to help out midlands outfit Cradley Town, playing as a defender
Early career
Prior to signing for a professional club, Darby played as a youth for Halas Hawks Junior F.C, a junior football club based at Halesowen in the West Midlands. His manager at that time, Graham Barrett, was instrumental in obtaining his position at Torquay. Darby began his career as an apprentice with Torquay UnitedTorquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
, making his league debut while still a trainee, scoring in a 2–1 defeat at home to Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
having come on as a substitute, and he went on to make a further 13 league appearances that season. He turned professional on 3 July 1992 and went on to score 26 times in 108 league games for the Gulls. On 19 July 1995 he moved to Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
, but stayed less than a year, moving to Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
on 27 March 1996 for a sum of £25,000. He was a great success with the Tigers, scoring regularly and broke the Hull record for most goals in a competitive game when he scored 6 times against Whitby Town
Whitby Town F.C.
Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football...
in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
1st Round Replay in November 1996.
After scoring 27 times in 78 league games he moved on a 'Bosman
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
' to newly promoted Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
on 2 July 1998, but missed most of his first season with the Magpies through injury. He returned to Hull City on loan on 25 March 1999. He started the following season for Notts County in top form, but was surprisingly placed on the transfer list in March 2000 and finally left Notts County on 21 June 2000, joining 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...
side Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds F.C.
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Formed by a merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992, the club played in the Conference National following a short spell in the Football League at the start of...
for a fee of £100,000.
Promotions from the Conference
In his first season at Nene ParkNene Park
Nene Park is a football stadium situated by Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England, along the bank of the River Nene, and holds 6,441, with 4,641 seated and 1,800 standing. The car park can hold 800 vehicles. From 1992 until 2011 it was the home ground of Rushden & Diamonds football club...
, he won the Conference Golden Boot award, his goals helping Rushden win the Conference and with it promotion to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
. In November 2000 he was charged with assault after an incident in the players tunnel at the end of the local derby against Kettering Town
Kettering Town F.C.
Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...
.
In November 2003, Shrewsbury Town, recently relegated to the Football 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...
signed Darby in order to bolster their striking force. The signing was well received, with Shrewsbury fans hoping that Darby's experience and proven goalscoring record in the lower leagues would assist them towards promotion, especially when linked with highly regarded striker Luke Rodgers
Luke Rodgers
Luke John Rodgers is an English professional football striker who plays for New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.He played in England's Football League, starting at Shrewsbury Town in 1999...
. Unfortunately, the strike partnership with Rodgers never quite took off as Darby's time at Shrewsbury was punctuated with injuries, meaning he was unable to get a consistent run in the team. However, Darby's goals in the 2003/04 season were to prove vital as Shrewsbury made the Conference play-off final. In the final, Darby scored an equalising goal against Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town F.C.
Aldershot Town Football Club is an association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, founded in the spring of 1992 just after the closure of debt-ridden Fourth Division club Aldershot Football Club...
at Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
's Britannia Stadium
Britannia Stadium
The Britannia Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City Football Club. With space for 27,598 spectators . The name is taken from the sponsors of the Stadium the Britannia Co-operative Bank...
. With the game finishing level at 1–1, Shrewsbury eventually won the final on penalties.
Post-Football League
With Shrewsbury back in the Football League, Darby struggled to get into the Shrewsbury side. The arrival of new manager Gary PetersGary Peters (footballer)
Gary David Peters is an English former professional footballer and now manager. He is currently Director of Football at Hereford United.-Playing career:...
did not help Darby's cause, as Peters aimed to rebuild the squad with younger players. Unable to command a regular first team place, Darby was released by Shrewsbury in February 2006 and joined Nuneaton Borough, also becoming Nuneaton's Football in the Community coach. He scored on his Nuneaton debut, a 2–2 draw at home to Moor Green
Moor Green F.C.
Moor Green F.C. was a non-league association football team originally from the Hall Green area of south Birmingham but later based in the town of Solihull, West Midlands, England...
and was a regular for Nuneaton, but was released in May 2007.
On 3 August 2007, Halesowen Town
Halesowen Town F.C.
Halesowen Town is an English association football club formed in 1873, since 2011 playing in the Southern League Division One South & West]]. The team is nicknamed "The Yeltz".-History:...
confirmed that Darby had joined the club along with two other former league players, in the shape of Terry Fleming
Terry Fleming
Terence "Terry" Fleming is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Premier League Division One South side Lincoln United, where he is also the manager....
and Stephen Cooke
Stephen Cooke
Stephen Cooke is a footballer currently signed to Pelsall Villa in the Midland Football Combination Premier Division, where he plays as a midfielder...
. After a short spell at The Grove, he moved to local rivals Bromsgrove Rovers, taking over as caretaker player-manager just days after arriving at the club after Rod Brown's departure. He could not keep Rovers in the Southern League Premier Division, as they were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season.
A poor start to the 2008–09 season saw Darby leave the Victoria Ground, joining Stourport Swifts
Stourport Swifts F.C.
Stourport Swifts are a football team from Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire and one of the oldest non-league teams in the country. The Swifts gained promotion to the Southern League Division One West in 2001 from the Midland Alliance, and currently play at Walshes Meadow in the town.In the year...
in a bid to stay fit. In February 2009 he received a call from old friend Dean Edwards
Dean Edwards (footballer)
Dean Stephen Edwards who played as a forward. He scored for Torquay United in two different Wembley appearances.-Playing career:...
, manager of Hednesford Town, who was on the lookout for an experienced striker to join the Pitmen. He made his debut for his new club as a late substitute in a Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
game at home to Eastwood Town.