Darren Randolph

Darren Randolph

Personal information
Full name	Darren Edward Randolph
Date of birth	12 May 1987 (1987-05-12)
Place of birth	Bray, Ireland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Motherwell
Number	1
Youth career
1998–2003	Ardmore Rovers
2003–2004	Charlton Athletic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2010	Charlton Athletic	14	(0)
2004	→ Welling United (loan)	4	(0)
2005	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	14	(0)
2006	→ Gillingham (loan)	3	(0)
2008	→ Bury (loan)	14	(0)
2008	→ Hereford United (loan)	14	(0)
2010–	Motherwell	67	(0)
National team‡
2006	Republic of Ireland U21	10	(0)
2006	Republic of Ireland B	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 March 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 March 2011

Darren Edward Randolph (born 12 May 1987) is an Irish football goalkeeper playing for Scottish Premier League club Motherwell. He is a Republic of Ireland U-21 international and has also been in the senior Republic of Ireland squad. Randolph has also represented Ireland at basketball.

Club career

Early career

Randolph was born in Bray and played school football with Ardmore Rovers. He joined Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2003 by virtue of the links between the Irish and English clubs. He trained with Robert Elliot and Jimmy Stone, both young goalkeepers at the club, before Stone was released.

Charlton Athletic

In the last game of the 2006–07 season, Randolph played his first game for Charlton Athletic's first team in an away match against Liverpool. Even though Charlton were already relegated, Randolph put in a sound performance and limited Liverpool to two goals, one of which was a penalty kick in the 90th minute for a 2–2 draw.

Randolph's most recent league match was in a Championship fixture for Charlton at Sheffield Wednesday on 17 January 2009, where he conceded four goals. For the 2009/10 season Randolph played second fiddle to Robert Elliot and made his first appearance of the season in the first round of the FA Cup against Northwich Victoria during a 1–0 defeat. Following an injury against sustained by Elliot against Gillingham F.C. in the league on 20 March 2010, Randolph regained his starting berth for the following game away at Huddersfield Town on 27 March 2010 and kept his place for the following weekends visit to the Milton Keynes Dons on 3 April 2010.

Accrington and Gillingham loans

Randolph spent the beginning of the 2005–06 season on loan at Accrington Stanley and earned himself a two year contract at Charlton. In August and September 2006 he spent a month on loan at League One Gillingham.

Hereford United loan

Randolph joined Hereford United on a season long loan in July 2008. He started 14 of the first 17 matches of the season. His most notable match was against Leeds United at Elland Road, where he put in an "outstanding" performance, conceding one goal.

On 11 November 2008 it came to light that Randolph had refused to play in an FA Cup match against Dagenham & Redbridge, amid speculation that another goalkeeper would be joining Hereford. He was fined two weeks wages and it was announced he was unlikely to play for Hereford United again. The following day, goalkeeper Matt Murray joined Hereford on a month's loan deal from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Graham Turner said in his Hereford Times column that it was a situation that he had never experienced before in nearly 30 years of management, and it was not what he expected from a professional player.

Motherwell

Randolph signed for Scottish Premier League club Motherwell on 1 July 2010 on a free transfer. He signed a 3-year-contract at Fir Park and quickly cemented his place in the team as the club's first choice 'keeper. Randolph broke the club record of 15 clean sheets, previously held by John Ruddy,^{[citation needed]} surpassing him on 27 February in a 2–0 win over Celtic. He helped Motherwell to the final of the 2011 Scottish Cup but they lost the match 3–0 against Celtic.

International career

Randolph has represented Ireland at U15, U16, U17, U18, U19, U21 and B levels. On 14 March 2011, Randolph was called up to the full squad for the first time for the game against Macedonia. In May 2011 he was once again called into to the Republic of Ireland squad for the games against Northern Ireland and Scotland in the Carling Cup of Nations. Additionally, Randolph is eligible to play for the USA via his father.

Personal life

His father Ed Randolph played basketball for UCD Marian and was one of the first American imports to the Irish Basketball League. He is also a past pupil of St. Cronan's Boys National School and Presentation College, Bray.^{[citation needed]} He gained small media interest in 2009 for his long-term relationship with Rochelle Wiseman from girl group The Saturdays.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics

Club	Division	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Charlton Athletic	Premier League	2005–06	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Premier League	2006–07	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Championship	2007–08	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	0
	Championship	2008–09	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	League One	2009–10	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Accrington Stanley	Conference National	2005–06	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Gillingham	League One	2006–07	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
Bury	League Two	2007–08	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Hereford United	League One	2008–09	13	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
Career totals			52	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	58	0

Honours

Accrington Stanley

• Conference National: 2005–06

Motherwell

• Scottish Cup: 2011 (Runner-up)

External links

• Darren Randolph Motherwell FC profile
• Darren Randolph player profile at cafc.co.uk
• Darren Randolph career stats at Soccerbase