Stephen Darby
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Stephen Mark Darby | ||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Right-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Liverpool | ||
Number | 32 | ||
Youth career | |||
Liverpool | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2006– | Liverpool | 1 | (0) |
2010 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 12 | (0) |
2010–2011 | → Notts County (loan) | 22 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2007–2008 | England U-19 | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:50, 23 April 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:00, 19 May 2010 (UTC) |
Stephen Mark Darby (born 6 October 1988) is an English footballer who plays in the right-back position for Liverpool. Darby was brought up in Maghull, where he attended St John Boscos primary school.
Career
Liverpool
On July 18, 2006[2] Liverpool's official site announced that five academy players have been promoted to Melwood, Stephen was one of them. Darby played in Liverpool's FA Youth Cup winning teams in 2006 and 2007 that defeated Manchester City and Manchester United's academies in the finals respectively, captaining the team in the 2006 final. He was first selected for the Liverpool squad which played Turkish side Galatasaray in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in December 2006, but he was an unused substitute in that match. Despite being on the first team bench he didn't forget his roots and after a four-hour flight from Istanbul to Liverpool he went straight to The Hawthorns and played a full game including extra-time to help the youth team through to the fourth round.[3]
During 2007–08 season Darby was the captain of Liverpool's reserves team that ended the campaign as northern and national champions.[4] His performances earned him praises from manager Gary Ablett calling him 'Mr. Consistency'.
His first appearance in a competitive match was as a substitute in Liverpool's League Cup fourth round defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in November 2008.[5]
He made his Champions League debut against PSV Eindhoven on 9 December 2008, coming on as a substitute alongside fellow homegrown players Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly.[6] On 5 July 2009, Darby secured a three-year extension to his contract along with fellow Melwood graduate Jay Spearing.
He made his first competitive start for Liverpool against ACF Fiorentina in the UEFA Champions League on the 9 December 2009 in a 2–1 defeat.[7] His second competitive start came against Reading in the FA Cup. The game finished 1–1. Darby was praised by Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher for his performance in the game.
Darby made his Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur on 20 January 2010, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute for Philipp Degen.[8]
He was included in Liverpool's 21 man squad for the 2010–11 Premier League season.
Swindon
On 11 March 2010, Darby joined Swindon Town on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[9] He started his first game on 13 March 2010 against Brighton & Hove Albion and played the full 90 minutes at right back.[10] He then took part in the play-off semi final against Charlton Athletic, where he scored the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
Notts County
On 1 November 2010, Notts County manager and ex-Liverpool player Paul Ince snapped up both Stephen Darby and Thomas Ince on a loan deal from Liverpool.[11] He made his County debut on 6 November in an FA Cup 1st round match against Gateshead[12] On 13 November, he started in County's 3-1 league defeat to Exeter City. A week later, he started again in the 1-0 home defeat to Tranmere Rovers. On 23 November, he started and was named Man of the Match in the 1-0 win against one of his former clubs, Swindon. Again he started on 11 December, this time in a win as County defeated the Milton Keynes Dons at home, 2-0. After his loan spell completed on 3 January 2011 he returned to Liverpool. He rejoined County later in January for the remainder of the season, before returning to Liverpool in early May.
Rochdale
On the 7th of July 2011, Rochdale confirmed the signing of Stephen Darby on loan for the 2011/12 campaign[13]
International career
Darby took part in England's squad for UEFA European U19 Championship qualifications in May 2007 and made two appearances alongside Liverpool team-mates Jack Hobbs, Craig Lindfield and Adam Hammill.[14]
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other[15] | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Liverpool | 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Notts County (loan) | 2010–11 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
Liverpool | 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Swindon Town (loan) | 2009–10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
Liverpool | 2008–09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Career total | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
Statistics accurate as of match played 23 April 2011
Honours
- FA Youth Cup: 2006, 2007
- Premier Reserve League: 2008
- Winner of the Ian Frodsham Young Player Of The Year Award 2008[16]
References
- ^ "Stephen Darby Profile".
- ^ "Five academy players promoted to Melwood". Liverpoolfc.tv. 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ "One to watch: Stephen Darby". Liverpoolfc.tv. 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ "Reserves crowned national champions". Liverpoolfc.tv. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ "FT: Tottenham 4 Liverpool 2". Sky Sports. 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ "PSV 1 – Liverpool 3: match report". Liverpoolfc.tv. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2009-08-08. [dead link]
- ^ "Liverpool 1 – 2 Fiorentina". ESPN. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "Liverpool 2 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur". ESPN. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "Swindon Town sign Liverpool defender Stephen Darby". BBC Sport. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "Brighton 0 – 1 Swindon". BBC Sport. 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "Duo complete loan move". Liverpoolfc.tv. 1 November 2010.
- ^ "Notts County 2 - 0 Gateshead". BBC Sport. 6 November 2010.
- ^ "Dale tie up Darby loan". SkySports.com. 7 July 2011.
- ^ "Lions grab consolation". TheFA.com. 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2008-12-06. [dead link]
- ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Football League Trophy
- ^ "Emlyn's eye for an Anfield starlet". Liverpool Echo. 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
External links
- Liverpool FC profile
- LFChistory.net profile
- Stephen Darby at Soccerbase
- ESPN Profile