Darren Purse
Darren John Purse 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.
Club career
Leyton Orient
Purse was born in Stepney, London and attended Cardinal Pole Roman Catholic School in Hackney. As a youngster Purse played in the same Sunday league side as Lee Bowyer. He rejected apprenticeships at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in favour of training with the Leyton Orient first-team on the promise of a professional contract on his 17th-birthday. He made his senior début at Orient under Peter Eustace just three days after his 17th-birthday, in a defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Goldstone Ground. He spent close to two seasons at Brisbane Road, and scored five goals in 66 league and cup appearances for the club. Orient were relegated out of the Second Division in last place in 1994–95, and finished 21st in the Third Division in 1995–96. He also spent time in Finland on loan at Kakkonen club BK-IFK.Oxford United
In July 1996, Purse was signed by Oxford United for a £100,000 fee. He made 31 appearances in the 1996–97 season, as Denis Smith's "Yellows" posted a 17th-place finish in the First Division. Purse impressed at the Manor Ground and scored six goals in 35 games in 1997–98.Birmingham City
Purse joined Birmingham City for £600,000 plus Kevin Francis in February 1998. He started just two First Division games at the end of the 1997–98 season after making an unimpressive debut. He made 11 league starts and nine substitute appearances in the 1998–99 campaign, and also appeared at St Andrew's as a substitute in the play-off defeat to Watford after David Holdsworth was sent off – he converted a penalty in the shoot-out, which ended in a 7–6 victory for Watford.Purse established an effective centre-back partnership with Michael Johnson in the 1999–2000 season, making 41 starts in league and cup competitions for the "Blues". He played at the Millennium Stadium in the 2001 League Cup final, and scored a 90th-minute penalty to take the game into extra time. He also converted his penalty in the shoot-out, which was won by Liverpool 5–4. Later that season Birmingham also reached the First Division play-offs, but they lost in the semi-finals to Preston North End in a penalty shootout, with Purse this time missing his penalty. With four goals in 49 appearances in the 2000–01 season, Purse won the vote to be named as the club's Player of the Season. This represented a significant turnaround for a young defender who was barracked by City supporters at the start of the campaign.
He missed the start of the 2001–02 season after a training ground shot from manager Trevor Francis broke his wrist. Francis was sacked just after Purse returned to full fitness, though the defender managed to keep his first-team place under new boss Steve Bruce, and started 40 matches in the 2001–02 season.
In August 2002, Purse "ended months of speculation" by signing a three-year deal. Having been courted by Arsenal, Charlton Athletic and Everton, he had previously been stripped of the club captaincy after twice rejecting Birmingham's offer of a £10,000 per week five-year contract. The protracted negotiations were put down to his ambitions for top-flight football, which were secured with victory in the 2002 play-off final. However, he missed a large chunk of the 2002–03 season after his ankle became infected following surgery.
Purse had a quiet 2003–04 campaign, making only nine Premier League appearances. He did, however, hit the headlines after elbowing Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu; the Romanian reportedly launched a "volley of expletives" at Purse in a post-match dressing room incident.
West Bromwich Albion
Purse moved to Gary Megson's West Bromwich Albion for £750,000 in June 2004. On signing with the club he said "I've probably got the best years of my career ahead of me." He spent a single season with Albion in the Premier League, making 24 appearances in all competitions, and was frozen out of the first-team from February onwards. He therefore played no part in the "Survival Sunday" victory over Portsmouth that ensured the "Baggies" retained their top-flight status. He had made "significant errors" on the pitch, and, as at Birmingham, was deemed surplus to requirement at The Hawthorns by new boss Bryan Robson.Cardiff City
In July 2005, Purse moved to Cardiff City in a deal worth just under £1 million. Five players accepted "substantial reductions in their wages" to allow the club to meet Purse's wage demands. He was appointed team captain, and forged a reputation for hard work and consistency as the foundation of the Cardiff defence, forming an effective partnership with Glenn Loovens. He scored six goals in 43 games in 2005–06 and scored four goals in 33 games in 2006–07. Purse signed a one-year extension to his contract at Ninian Park in July 2007.In August 2007, he received an injury to his knee cartilage. It was expected that he would be unavailable for up to four weeks. He contracted an infection during an operation on the injured knee that delayed his return for a much longer period. He made his return to first-team football in October and went on to score a headed goal in the 2–1 League Cup defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on 31 October. The 2007–08 season turned into a disappointment for Purse as he was forced out of the side by "Bluebirds" fan favourite Roger Johnson. He also scored several own goals, including a spectacular volleyed backpass that proved too powerful for Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman. He was also labelled a "muppet" by Burnley forward Andy Cole, after Purse was sent off for what was deemed a dangerous tackle against Cole, although Cardiff manager Dave Jones defended the player and the ban was later overturned. Purse did not feature in City's FA Cup run to the final at Wembley, and was an unused substitute as Cardiff were beaten 1–0 by Portsmouth.
Purse began the 2008–09 season on the bench until Glenn Loovens was sold to Celtic, and he returned to the starting line-up alongside Roger Johnson in September. He spent three months in the first-team before losing his place in the side again, this time to Hungary international Gábor Gyepes who was signed as a replacement for Loovens, after a 2–1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle on 22 November after which Cardiff manager Dave Jones slammed the defensive performance of the team. Purse responded by criticising his manager and stating that he did not deserve to be dropped from the side. Purse was told that he could leave the club if a replacement could be signed during the January transfer window and was allowed to open talks with fellow Championship side Norwich City, but Cardiff could not find a suitable replacement in time and the move was cancelled. Able to secure a play-off place on the last day of the 2008–09 season, Cardiff instead suffered defeat and missed out on the play-offs on goal difference. At the end of the season, Purse was not offered an extension on his contract, so he left the club.
Sheffield Wednesday
Purse signed a two-year contract with Championship club Sheffield Wednesday in May 2009. He was immediately named as team captain. He made 41 appearances in the 2009–10 season, only missing a handful of games due to a hamstring injury. The "Owls" struggled, and manager Brian Laws was sacked and replaced by Alan Irvine. On the final day of the season, a win over Crystal Palace at Hillsborough would ensure survival at Palace's expense. Purse scored an 87th-minute goal to level the game at 2–2, but no more goals followed and Wednesday were relegated into League One.He made 30 appearances in the first half of the 2010–11 season before he left the cash-strapped club by mutual consent in January 2011.
Millwall
The day after his release from Sheffield Wednesday, 21 January 2011, Purse signed with Millwall – the club he supported as a boy – on a contract until the end of the 2010–11 season. Purse made his début for Millwall two days later in a 4–2 defeat away at Leicester City. He scored his first goal for the club on 23 April, in a 4–0 win over Preston North End at The Den, and dedicated the goal to his father. He signed a one-year contract with Kenny Jackett's "Lions" in April 2011.Having found himself out of the first-team at the start of the 2011–12 campaign, Purse joined Yeovil Town on a one-month loan in October in the hope of proving himself worthy of a starting place at Millwall. He made five appearances during that time and "Glovers" manager Terry Skiverton stated that he would have liked to extend his stay at Huish Park.