Darren Freeman

Darren Freeman
Personal information
Full name Darren Barry Andduet Freeman[1]
Date of birth (1973-08-22) 22 August 1973
Place of birth Brighton, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position Winger, Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
Lewes
Horsham
1994–1995 Worthing
1995–1996 Gillingham 12 (0)
1995–1996 → Glenavon (loan)
1996–1998 Fulham 46 (9)
1998–1999 Brentford 22 (6)
1999–2001 Brighton & Hove Albion 54 (12)
2002–2003 Margate
2003–2004 Worthing
2004 Three Bridges
Whitehawk
Total 134 (27)
Teams managed
2009–2014 Whitehawk
2015 Peacehaven & Telscombe
2015– Lewes

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Darren Barry Andduet Freeman (born 22 August 1973) is an English football manager, currently in charge at Lewes. He is a former professional player who played as a winger and striker, making over 130 appearances in the Football League between 1995 and 2001.

Playing career

Born in Brighton, Freeman played in the Football League with Gillingham, Fulham, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion, making a total of 134 appearances.[2][3] He retired from professional football in August 2001 due to injury.[4]

He will always be remembered for two feats with the Seagulls – scoring a hat-trick in Albion's first ever competitive match at Withdean Stadium, when they beat Mansfield 6–0, and scoring the first goal of the new millennium when he netted in an early kick-off against Exeter on January 3, 2000.[5]

He returned to non-league football in June 2002 with Margate.[6][7] Freeman also played for Lewes, Horsham, Worthing, Glenavon, Three Bridges and Whitehawk.[2][3][5][8][9] Glenavon attempted to sign Freeman on a permanent basis following a loan spell in which he was described as taking the Irish League "by storm."[10] Freeman was a player-coach at Three Bridges.[11]

Coaching career

He was appointed sole manager of Whitehawk in May 2010,[12] having previously been joint-manager of the club alongside George Parris since May 2009.[5] Despite taking the club from the Sussex County League to the Conference South League with three promotions in four years,[13] he was sacked by Whitehawk in January 2014.[14] Freeman was appointed manager of Ryman League Division 1 South side Peacehaven & Telscombe in August 2015 [15] but left after just two months to take up the manager's position at nearby Lewes[16] On 2 April 2016, Lewes were relegated from the Isthmian Premier League to the Isthmian Division One South with three games of the season to go.[17]

Personal life

Freeman has two sons, called Leighton and Stacey, with his partner Lorraine.[4] His father, called Reg, died in August 2009, and was cited as an inspiration to Freeman's career.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Profile". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Profile". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 Darren Freeman career statistics at Soccerbase
  4. 1 2 "Tears of a local hero". The Argus. 31 August 2001. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Howard Griggs (26 May 2009). "Freeman joins Parris at Hawks". The Argus. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "KINNEAR SIGNS FREEMAN". NonLeagueDaily.com. 21 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Freeman plays again". The Argus. 8 July 2002. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Profile". NonLeagueDaily.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "TWO MORE FOR FREEMAN". NonLeagueDaily.com. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Gordon Hanna (18 January 1998). "FOOTBALL: DON'T BE SILLY BILLY!; This Pair Are Staying Put, Hamilton Told". The People. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "County League: Bridges release coach Freeman". The Argus. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "FREEMAN TAKES SOLE CHARGE OF HAWKS". NonLeagueDaily.com. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  13. ↑ Charlotte Ikonen (19 July 2013). "Recognising heroes of sport around Sussex for achievement award". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Howard Griggs (24 January 2014). "Whitehawk part with Freeman". The Argus. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Freeman appointed manager at Peacehaven". The Argus. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Lewes announce new First Team Manager". Lewes FC. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Down but certainly not out". Lewes F.C. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Howard Griggs (17 October 2009). "Freeman inspired by late father". The Argus. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.