Darren Carter

Darren Anthony Carter (born 18 December 1983) is an English football coach and former professional player.

Primarily a central midfielder, Carter made more than 300 appearances in the Premier League and Football League over a 14-year career, and then spent a further six seasons playing in the National League.

He was appointed interim head coach of FA WSL club Birmingham City Women in November 2021 before becoming permanent in May 2022 after relegation to the FA Women's Championship.

An England under-19 and under-20 international, Carter began his career with Birmingham City, and came to prominence at the age of 18 when his penalty in the 2002 play-off final clinched the club's promotion to the Premier League.

He made his first-team debut for Birmingham City in the First Division at the age of 18 in a 1–0 defeat to local rivals West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 29 January 2002.

He scored his first goal in senior football on 10 April, helping the Blues to secure a play-off spot with a 3–1 victory over Crewe Alexandra at St Andrew's.

On 12 May, he made himself a Birmingham City hero when he scored the decisive penalty in the shoot-out to win the play-off final against Norwich City at the Millennium Stadium.

The match had finished 1–1 after extra time.

Carter played only 12 Premier League matches in the 2002–03 season, with half of these appearances coming before mid-October.

His first team opportunities were even more restricted in the 2003–04 campaign, as he featured in just five Premier League matches.

He was loaned to Sunderland in winter 2004, before he was sold to West Bromwich Albion for £1.5 million in July 2005.

Despite this, he signed a three-and-a-half-year contract in January 2004 after 20 months of negotiations.

In March 2004 he was scheduled to go out on loan to Rotherham United before injuries and suspensions at Birmingham persuaded manager Steve Bruce to put an end to the deal.

He was loaned to Sunderland in September 2004.

Carter scored on his debut, in a 3–1 victory over Preston North End at the Stadium of Light on 18 September.

He made nine further appearances for the club before being recalled by Birmingham on 6 December.

At the end of the 2004–05 season, Sunderland won promotion to the Premier League as champions of the Championship.

This gave his Birmingham career the boost it needed, and he was seen as a vital member of the squad until his July 2005 transfer to West Bromwich Albion for £1.5 million.

Carter made his West Bromwich Albion debut at The Hawthorns in a 3–2 defeat to his former club Birmingham on 27 August 2005.

He initially struggled to make the bench, and on 11 October manager Bryan Robson said that he "is still very much in my thoughts at this time".

He scored his first goal for the club four days later with a 20 yard volley in a 2–1 victory over Arsenal; the strike won him the club's Goal-of-the-Season Award.

The "Baggies" were relegated at the end of the 2005–06 season, and Carter was singled out for booing by the home crowd.

He made 33 appearances in the Championship in the 2006–07 season, and was used as a substitute in the play-off final defeat to Derby County at Wembley Stadium, replacing Zoltán Gera on 71 minutes.

After manager Tony Mowbray confirmed that Carter could not be guaranteed first-team football at West Bromwich Albion, he signed a four-year deal with Preston North End, managed by Paul Simpson.

In August 2007, he joined Preston North End for a fee of up to £1.25 million.

The move was completed on 9 August 2007, for an initial £750,000 fee with potential to rise to £1.25m, and the contract included a 20% sell-on clause.

Carter made his Preston debut in a 0–0 draw with Norwich City at Deepdale two days later, and his performance earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week.

He finished the 2007–08 campaign with 43 appearances.

Manager Alan Irvine started Carter in just eight matches in the following season, and the midfielder later admitted the season was "nothing short of a disaster for me personally".

Preston reached the play-off semi-finals, but lost 2–1 on aggregate to Sheffield United.

In February 2008, Carter scored a 93rd-minute own goal for Portsmouth to knock Preston out of the FA Cup at the fifth round stage.

Carter was transfer-listed at the end of the 2009–10 season after complaining of a lack of first-team opportunities under new manager Darren Ferguson.

Loaned to Millwall in the 2010–11 season, he later had to spend the 2011–12 season without a club after tearing a groin muscle during a trial match.

In July 2010 he spent a week on trial with Millwall, but a proposed six-month loan move fell through.

He then joined Southampton on trial.

On 4 August, he joined Kenny Jackett's Millwall on a three-month loan.

He returned to action in the 2012–13 campaign with Cheltenham Town, and then spent two seasons with Northampton Town.

He spent the next two seasons with Forest Green Rovers of the National League and a further four with Solihull Moors.

While with Solihull Moors, he managed their youth academy and acted as a development coach, and spent time as first-team coach of West Bromwich Albion Women, before taking up the post of interim head coach of FA WSL club Birmingham City Women in November 2021 which was upgraded to permanent head coach at the end of May 2022.

Carter was born in Solihull, West Midlands.