Darren Eadie

Darren Eadie

Personal information
Full name	Darren Malcolm Eadie
Date of birth	10 June 1975 (1975-06-10) (age 36)
Place of birth	Chippenham, England
Height	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	Norwich City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1999	Norwich City	168	(35)
1999–2003	Leicester City	40	(2)
Total		208	(37)
National team
1994	England U21	2	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:00, 14 September 2006 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Darren Malcolm Eadie (born 10 June 1975 in Chippenham) is a former professional footballer, who made his name as a pacey left-sided midfielder with Norwich City. He later played for Leicester City.

Career

Norwich City

Eadie was a product of Norwich City's youth system and broke into the first team during one of the most successful periods in the club's history. His debut was as a substitute in a UEFA Cup match against Vitesse Arnhem at Carrow Road on 15 September 1993, Norwich's first ever match in European competition. Three days later, he scored on his league debut in a 2–2 draw at Queens Park Rangers. Eadie would go on to score three goals in 20 appearances during his debut season. He continued to establish himself as a first team regular the following season, but that 1994–95 season was calamitous for Norwich who slumped in the second half of the season and were relegated from the Premier League. The following season, Eadie scored six goals in 39 appearances.

In the 1996–97 season, Eadie was the club's leading scorer with 17 league goals and he was voted Norwich City player of the year by a landslide and the leagues Player of the year. His outstanding form was recognised by England manager Glenn Hoddle who, in the summer of 1997, selected Eadie for his England squad to play in the Tournoi de France. However, on the brink of his debut against Brazil, injury forced Eadie to withdraw from the squad. He would later have to withdraw from another England squad through injury and he never won an England cap. His next two seasons were also frequently interrupted by injury. He missed the second half of the 1998–99 campaign and when 1999–2000 began, he was still injured. He made an unexpected return from the substitute's bench against Crewe Alexandra on 11 September 1999 and scored a goal to give Norwich a 2–1 win. It was the start of a good run of form that would see the club come close to breaking into the play-off positions. In December of that season, Eadie was transferred to Leicester City for a fee of £3,500,000.

Eadie was featured as one of "The Boys A Bit Special" in the first issue of FourFourTwo magazine.

Leicester City

Leicester manager Martin O'Neill had briefly been Eadie's manager at Carrow Road during his spell as Norwich boss in 1995. At the time he signed Eadie he stated that he was a player that he had tried to sign on previous occasions. At the time, the £3,000,000 fee was the highest that Leicester had ever paid for a player. Eadie's injury problems did not relent, however, and in his three-and-a-half years at Leicester he was limited to just 40 appearances. When his contract expired in the summer of 2003, Eadie was forced to retire as there was no prospect of him recovering fully from his injuries.

Retirement

In 2002 he was voted an inaugural member of the Norwich City Hall of Fame, which was established to celebrate the club's centenary. In an interview for the Norwich City matchday programme on 13 August 2005, Eadie stated that he had found retirement difficult, particularly as many of his friends were still playing professional football. Eadie has done media work for Anglia Television and BBC Radio Leicester since retiring. He now currently resides in Blofield Heath, Norfolk

External links

• Darren Eadie career stats at Soccerbase
• Career information

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Spencer Prior	Norwich City Player of the Season 1996–97	Succeeded by Matt Jackson

Persondata
Name	Eadie, Darren
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	10 June 1975
Place of birth	Chippenham, England
Date of death
Place of death