Darren Purse

Darren John Purse (born 14 February, 1977) is a professional association football player who is currently captain of Football League Championship side Cardiff City F.C..

Club career

Purse was born in in Stepney, London and attended Cardinal Pole RC School in London Borough of Hackney. As a youngster Purse followed Millwall F.C., as well as making trips to watch Arsenal F.C. to see one of his heroes in Tony Adams (footballer). Having played in the same Sunday league side as Lee Bowyer when he was younger, he was offered a YTS deal by both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. but turned them down in order to complete his A levels. On hearing that he had been offered deals by the two clubs Leyton Orient F.C. showed their interest and told him that they would hand him a professional contract when he turned seventeen if he signed for them. On signing his contract with the club he made his debut just three days later and established himself in the side before moving to Oxford United F.C. in 1996 for £100,000.

Before moving to Oxford Purse had a loanspell at Finnish second division club BK-IFK (now Vasa IFK) in the summer of 1996. Purse played just a handful of games for the club because of his move from Leyton to Oxford that summer.

Purse spent just eighteen months with Oxford before he joined Birmingham City F.C. for £700,000, despite interest from his former Oxford manager Denis Smith (footballer) who was then in charge of West Bromwich Albion F.C., in 1997 and his spell included an appearance at the 2001 Football League Cup final as well as promotion to the FA Premier League. During the League Cup final, Purse scored a 90th minute equalizer in the 2001 League Cup from the penalty spot to take the game to extra time. Birmingham eventually lost on penalties.

Purse moved to West Bromwich Albion F.C. for £750,000 in the summer of 2004. He spent a single season with Albion in the Premier League, making 24 appearances in all competitions.

In July 2005, Purse moved to Cardiff City F.C. where he was appointed team captain. He has gained a reputation for hard work and consistency as the foundation of the Cardiff defence, forming an effective partnership with Glenn Loovens and in July 2007 Purse ended growing speculation about his future by signing a one-year extension to his contract at Cardiff.

On 28 August 2007 he received an injury to his knee cartilage after the 1–0 Carling Cup win over Leyton Orient F.C.. It was expected that he would be unavailable for up to four weeks, but he contracted an infection during an operation on the injured knee that delayed his return for a much longer period and caused him to lose weight alarmingly. He made his return to first team football in October, in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. and went on to score a headed goal in the 2-1 Carling Cup defeat against Liverpool F.C. on 31 October. The Cardiff City F.C. season 2007-08 turned into a disappointment for Purse as he was forced out of the side by Cardiff fan favourite Roger Johnson. This being one of a series of blows to strike the veteran centre back in recent times. He scored several own goals including a spectacular volleyed pass back that proved too powerful for Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman. He was also labelled a "muppet" by Burnley F.C. forward Andrew 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 began the following season remaining on the bench but, in August 2008, Glenn Loovens was sold to Celtic F.C. meaning Purse returned to the first team line-up alongside Roger Johnson.

International career

Purse is a former England under-21 international.