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Chelsea paid non-league Wokingham Town £100,000 to seal the signature of
18-year-old Darren Barnard in July 1990. A complete unknown, signed at a
time when the Blues were attempting to boost their standing in the
First Division with the expensive purchases of Dennis Wise and Andy
Townsend, Darren was forced to wait almost two years for his first-team
debut. Comfortable playing anywhere along the left-flank, his first
appearance was as a replacement for Vinnie Jones in a 2-1 win over West
Ham towards the end of the 1991/92 season, and after two further
substitute appearances he was rewarded with his first start, it coming
in a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Manager Ian Porterfield
resisted the opportunity to include Barnard in his side at the beginning
of the following campaign, preferring to play Gareth Hall out of
position in the absence of regular left-back Frank Sinclair, and with
the exception of an outing at Coventry in October it wasn't until the
final three months of the campaign - after David Webb was drafted in to
replace Porterfield for the remainder of the season - that Darren became
a regular fixture. Given the freedom to roam on the left of Chelsea's
midfield, he impressed with a number of cultured displays, the best of
which came against Middlesbrough when he tormented Boro's right-back
Curtis Fleming to such an extent that the Irishman's revenge led to
Barnard missing the following match with a cut shin. He scored his first
goal for the club that day, in what was a 4-0 win, and could look back
with pride on a record that season of eight starts resulting in five
wins, two draws and just a single defeat.
However, new manager Glenn
Hoddle remained unconvinced and Darren was restricted to only nine
starts in 1993/94, primarily as a left-back. An awful league campaign
was compensated for by a run to the final of the FA Cup, and although he
didn't feature in the final itself, Darren did play in the semi-final
victory over Luton after replacing the injured Craig Burley late in the
first-half. He struck his only goal of the season in a 2-0 defeat of
West Ham in March, and his final appearance for the club came six weeks
later when he was selected for a weakened side that were beaten by
Coventry as Hoddle chose to protect his likely cup final team.
Despite
remaining with the club for a further 18 months, Darren failed to
reappear in the first-team, eventually joining Bristol City in October
1995 for a fee of £750,000, a move which proved to be a launching pad
for his career, as he went on to become a full international in the
colours of Wales. (Kelvin Barker)
Senior career.
1989–1990 Wokingham Town 34 (11)
1990–1995 Chelsea 29 (2)
1994 Reading (loan) 4 (0)
1995–1997 Bristol City 76 (17)
1997–2002 Barnsley 201 (28)
2002–2004 Grimsby Town 63 (4)
2004–2007 Aldershot Town 102 (19)
2007–2010 Camberley Town 100 (25)
Total 609 (106 goals)
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