Darren Moore

Early life and career Darren Mark Moore was born on 22 April 1974 in Birmingham, West Midlands, He played for Holly Lane Colts and in 1989 had an unsuccessful trial with Walsall. Torquay United Moore began his football career as a trainee with Torquay United in June 1990, He made his debut while still a trainee on 24 March 1992, in a 2–1 defeat at home to Birmingham City. Moore remained with Torquay, however, now managed by former youth-team coach Paul Compton. He turned professional in November 1992. Moore then made 44 appearances for player-manager Don O'Riordan across the 1993–94 season, scoring four goals, including a volleyed-effort in the play-off semi-final first leg win over Preston North End at Plainmoor. However, Preston won the return leg 4–1 to eliminate Torquay from the play-offs. He played 38 games in the 1994–95 season to take his final tally with the club to 124 league and cup appearances, with 11 goals scored. He left to join Third Division rivals Doncaster Rovers in July 1995 for a tribunal-set fee of £65,000 plus future transfer profit add-ons that eventually amounted to an extra £63,500. Doncaster Rovers Moore arrived at Sammy Chung's Doncaster with Torquay teammates Scott Colcombe and Duane Darby. He appeared in the first game of the season, a 1–0 win over Scarborough at Belle Vue on 12 August. However, financially the club was in dire straits, and player-manager Kerry Dixon had said that owner Ken Richardson was picking the team, not him, on the way to a fourth-from-bottom finish in 1996–97. In May 1997, Moore was named as a target by Fulham manager Micky Adams, whilst Barnsley had a joint bid of £300,000 for Moore and Colin Cramb rejected by Doncaster. Moore was sold to Bradford City the following month for an initial fee of £195,000, with a further £110,000 to come on appearances. Moore went on to feature 51 times throughout the 1998–99 season as City secured the second automatic promotion place in the First Division. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year. He was transfer-listed in June 1999. He was not given the chance to prove himself in the Premier League and was instead made to train with the reserves. He played just once more for Bradford, in the League Cup against Reading. First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers enquired about taking the defender on loan in September 1999 but had their efforts rebuffed by Bradford. Portsmouth On 15 November 1999, Portsmouth signed Moore for a fee of £500,000. He got off to a difficult start as Portsmouth lost in his first seven games. Pulis helped to steer Pompey away from the First Division relegation zone at the end of the 1999–2000 season and said that his success was "partly down to Darren's knowledge of the players and the people he knew around the football club". The 2000–01 season was highly disrupted, however, as Pulis was placed on garden leave by chairman Milan Mandarić, and new manager Steve Claridge dropped Moore to the bench. Claridge was soon replaced by Graham Rix, who dropped Moore from the first-team entirely as Portsmouth struggled to a 20th-place finish at the end of the 2000–01 season. Moore left Fratton Park early in the 2001–02 season, returning to the West Midlands with First Division rivals West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £750,000 on 14 September. West Bromwich Albion Moore made 36 appearances in the 2001–02 campaign as West Brom secured promotion to the Premier League with a second-place finish, with Moore scoring a volley in a final-day win over Crystal Palace at The Hawthorns. However, the club were relegated after finishing in 19th place. The club secured an immediate return to the Premier League, again finishing in second. Moore made 23 appearances in the 2003–04 campaign, he did score in wins against both Sheffield United and Crystal Palace. Moore subsequently complained that he was not offered a new contract by the club now that they were in a higher division, though Robson said "I need to see him more before making any decisions" as Moore played had played only four first-team games for Robson at that point. Denmark international centre-back Martin Albrechtsen became the club's transfer record signing in June 2004, whilst his compatriot Thomas Gaardsøe went on to be named the club's Player of the Year that season. Moore spent three-and-a-half months out of the first XI as Neil Clement and Darren Purse were preferred ahead of him, though assistant manager Nigel Pearson praised him for his performance once he did make it back into the team. It ultimately proved to be a successful season for the club as Albion became the first club in Premier League history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas. Moore signed a new two-year contract in April 2005. However, Moore struggled to hold down a regular first-team place during the first half of the 2005–06 season. He was sent off in the match against Wigan Athletic on 15 January, his only dismissal in 116 games for Albion. It proved to be his last appearance during his time at the club. Later that month, he was sold to Derby County for a fee of £300,000, rising to £500,000 depending on appearances. Derby County Phil Brown was sacked as Derby manager just four days after Moore arrived at the club. Derby then clinched promotion back to the Premier League after a five-year absence by beating his former club West Brom 1–0 in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium. This was the fourth time he had been part of a squad which won promotion to the Premier League, following on from his successes at West Brom (twice) and Bradford. His form that year led to him again being named in the PFA Team of the Year. The 2007–08 season saw Derby finish with a record-low tally of 11 points, with manager Billy Davies being replaced by Paul Jewell – Moore's former manager at Bradford – in November; Moore cited Davies's departure as a key factor in the team's demise. Moore was awarded the club's Player of the Year award. However, Bradford decided not to pursue their interest in Moore, instead opting to sign Graeme Lee. Barnsley Moore signed a one-year deal with Barnsley after joining on a free transfer on 2 July 2008. Manager Simon Davey said they beat off competition from several sides to win his signature. Speaking four months later, Davey said that he was delighted with Moore's form and that he "is the most focused player I have ever worked with". Moore played 76 games at Oakwell across the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons, helping the club to finish outside the Championship relegation zone before he was released by new manager Mark Robins. He was signed by his former Derby teammate Paul Peschisolido. He featured 34 times in the 2010–11 campaign as Burton posted a 19th-place finish in League Two. He received the PFA Player In The Community Award in March 2011. Two months later, he signed with Wellington Amateurs of the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One as a favour to Wellington manager and lifelong friend Richard Brown. He played one game for Wellington, helping them to reach a cup final. ==International career==