From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Sunderland goalkeeper, see Darren Ward (goalkeeper).

Darren Philip Ward (born September 13, 1978 in Kenton, Harrow) is an English footballer who plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers in The Championship as a defender.

Ward started his career at Watford, making his debut on 20 April 1996 against arch-rivals Luton. But opportunities were scant for Ward in the next few seasons - he made eight appearances in 1996-97 and, after suffering a badly broken leg, only one appearance in each of the following two seasons.

Ward was loaned out to Q.P.R., in the 1999-2000 season, playing fifteen games, and was generally impressive. On his return to Watford he became one of Watford's first-team centre-halves, playing against teams like Manchester United and Arsenal in the club's final two months in the Premiership. On their return to Division 1, Ward continued to be a first team regular, making 40 appearances in 2000-01.

Gianluca Vialli's arrival at Vicarage Road in the summer of 2001 saw a considerable re-modelling of the side, and Ward was one the casualties. He moved to Millwall in October 2001 for £500,000 where he became a regular first team player, and was nicknamed 'The Peckham Beckham', due to the fact that his haircut is similar to that of former England captain David Beckham. At The New Den, Ward and Matthew Lawrence stood out at the central defensive position, as the Lions in the FA Cup final, against Manchester United. Ward played the full 90 minutes, as Millwall were beaten 3-0.

The Cup Final was Ward's last game in Millwall shirt, as in May 2005 he moved across south-London to Palace for £1.1m, signing a three-year deal.

In July 2007, Ward joined Wolves on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

Darren is the brother of Coventry City's ex-West Ham United defender Elliott Ward. He turned down the opportunity of joining West Ham and the Premiership before opting for Palace, claiming he didn't want to keep his brother out of the team^[1].

• Official site profile
• Darren Ward career stats at Soccerbase
• ^ BBC Sport: Quotes of the week (23 August 2005)

This biographical article related to an English football defender born in the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.