Players - Stephen Darby

Stephen Darby
Birthdate: 6 October 1988
Birthplace: Liverpool, England
Other clubs: Swindon Town (loan 2010), Notts County (loan 2010-11), Rochdale (loan 2011-12), Bradford City (2012-17), Bolton Wanderers (2017-18)
Signed from: Local
Signed for LFC: 2002
Liverpool debut: 12.11.2008
Last appearance: 29.07.2010
Contract expiry: 01.06.2012
Win ratio: 50% W:3 D:1 L:2
League games / goals / assists: 1 / 0 / 0
Total games / goals / assists: 6 / 0 / 0

Player Profile

Right-back Darby was captain of the victorious Liverpool side in the FA Youth Cup in 2006. He made the move from the Academy to Melwood during the summer of 2006. His opportunity finally came in the closing minutes of a defeat to Tottenham in the League Cup at White Hart Lane in the middle of November 2008. Although ‘on the bench’ for four Premier League matches during the 2008/09 season, the only other game in which Darby got some playing time came in a European fixture against PSV Eindhoven in Holland when he replaced Álvaro Arbeloa. The official Liverpool Supporters Club handed Stephen Darby the “Ian Frodsham young player of the year” award in recognition of both the progress he had made on the pitch during 2008 and the excellent way he conducted himself off it. Darby signed a new contract with the club in July 2009, but following only three appearances in the ensuing season he was loaned to Swindon Town in League One in March 2010. Darby played in 12 league games as Swindon finished fifth and qualified to meet Charlton Athletic in the play-offs. Each club won its home leg 2-1 and the tie went to a penalty shoot-out in which Darby secured Swindon’s progress into the play-off final. Darby came on as a substitute for Swindon Town in the League One final against Millwall, but the Wiltshire club lost 1-0. The 23-year-old was released by Liverpool in the summer of 2012 and signed a two-year deal with Bradford City in League Two.

Darby was a regular for Bradford City in 2012/13 and a member of the Bantams team that played against Swansea City in the League Cup final at Wembley in February. Although heavily defeated on that day, Bradford returned to Wembley in May in the League Two Play-off final and Darby again played from start to finish as Northampton were beaten 3-0 to ensure his club's promotion to League One. Darby played in all 46 League One matches for Bradford City in the 2013/14 season. that ended with promotion. City finished the season in 11th place. Stephen was a multi-award winner at his club's end-of-season dinner in May 2014 and was made club captain in the summer. In the following two seasons he missed just one league game and after being released in the summer of 2017 stepped up a division, joining Bolton in the Championship.

In September 2018 Darby announced his retirement from the game at the age of 29 as he had been diagnosed with MND. “It is with great sadness that I announce my immediate retirement from professional football due to a recent diagnosis of motor neurone disease,” said Darby in a statement released by Bolton..“I would like to take the opportunity to thank my teammates, Phil Parkinson and all the staff at Bolton Wanderers Football Club for their amazing support at what has been an extremely difficult period for myself and my family. I would like to ask for privacy at this time so I can adjust to the battle I have ahead and so that I can spend time with those closest to me.” Darby was club captain at Phil Parkinson's Bolton. "This is heartbreaking news for Stephen and his family," said Parkinson. “He is an outstanding professional and a fantastic person. The Bolton Wanderers fans didn’t see the best of him due to limited first-team opportunities, but I can assure everyone that he made a significant contribution in last year’s survival."

Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 1 1 1 3 0 6
2006-2007 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008-2009 0 0 1 1 0 2
2009-2010 1 1 0 1 0 3
2010-2011 0 0 0 1 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
2 6 Tottenham
1 90 Fiorentina
1 90 Reading
1 21 PSV Eindhoven
1 18 Rabotnicki
Total Started/substitutions
2 Started
13 On the bench
4 Substitute
0 Substituted
Total Venue
4 Away
2 Home
Total Competition
2 Champions League
1 FA Cup
1 League Cup
1 Premier League
1 Europa League
Total W D L Win % Manager
5 2 1 2 40% Rafa Benítez
1 1 0 0 100% Roy Hodgson
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 12.11.2008 Tottenham White Hart Lane League Cup
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Swindon Town 2009-2010 England League Division 1 15 0 15 0
Notts County 2010-2011 England League Division 1 23 0 26 0
Rochdale 2011-2012 England League Division 1 35 0 40 0
Bradford City 2012-2013 England League Division 2 35 0 51 1
Bradford City 2013-2014 England League One 46 0 49 0
Bradford City 2014-2015 England League One 45 0 56 0
Bradford City 2015-2016 England League One 46 0 54 0
Bradford City 2016-2017 League One 22 0 29 0
Bolton Wanderers 2017-2018 Championship 3 0 5 0
Total 270 0 325 1