DARREN PURSE

Full Name: Darren John Purse

Born: 14 February 1977

Came from: Millwall   Went to: Port Vale

First game: 26 November 2011   Last game: 29 December 2012

Appearances: 46 (46/0)   Goals: 2

Purse began his career with Leyton Orient, having turned down offers of YTS contracts from both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. He made his professional debut for the O’’s just days after his seventeenth birthday and immediately established himself in the first team. He made more than 60 appearances for the club over the next two years and had a brief spell on loan with Finnish side BF-IFK, before being sold to Oxford United in July 1996.

After just eighteen months with Oxford he was transferred to Birmingham City for £700,000, where he played more than 200 games over the next six years. He won two England under-21 caps in 1998 and helped the club win promotion to the Premier League in 2002 and also reach the final of the League Cup in 2001. In June 2004 Purse moved to West Bromwich Albion for £750,000, spending a single season with the club and playing 24 times before moving on to Cardiff City for an identical fee.

He immediately became a fixture at the centre of the Bluebirds defence and was named team captain. In 2007 he signed a contract extension with the club but shortly afterwards suffered a knee injury which, along with a subsequent infection, led to him losing his place in the side. Purse began the 2008-09 campaign on the bench before a three-month return to the first-team. However, after a dispute with manager Dave Jones he was again left out and then released at the end of his contract.

In July 2009 Purse signed for Sheffield Wednesday, soon becoming captain of his new side, and played 70 games over the next eighteen months, before his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. He then joined Millwall, the club he had supported as a boy, on a short-term contract, which was later extended by a year. In September 2011 he looked set to join Argyle on loan, but the move was blocked by the Football League due to the on-going administration process at Home Park, and Purse moved temporarily to Yeovil Town instead. At the end of this spell he finally made the move to Plymouth, completing a permanent transfer when the transfer window opened in January 2012, agreeing a six-month contract with an option for a further 12 months.

Forming a solid centre-back partnership with Maxime Blanchard immediately upon his arrival at Argyle, Purse missed only three games, due to a suspension, throughout the remainder of the season. He was named club captain at the start of the 2012-13 campaign.