Darren Ambrose facts for kids
Ambrose warming up for Birmingham City in 2012
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Paul Francis Ambrose | ||
| Date of birth | 29 February 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Harlow, England | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2001 | Ipswich Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2003 | Ipswich Town | 30 | (8) |
| 2003–2005 | Newcastle United | 37 | (5) |
| 2005–2009 | Charlton Athletic | 112 | (13) |
| 2008–2009 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | Crystal Palace | 110 | (29) |
| 2012–2014 | Birmingham City | 7 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Apollon Smyrni (loan) | 11 | (6) |
| 2014–2015 | Ipswich Town | 6 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Colchester United | 25 | (4) |
| Total | 347 | (65) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | England U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2003–2006 | England U21 | 10 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Darren Paul Francis Ambrose (born 29 February 1984) is a former English professional footballer. He played as a midfielder.
Darren started his football journey at Ipswich Town when he was just eleven years old. He made his first team debut in 2002. Later, he moved to Newcastle United and then to Charlton Athletic. He also had a loan spell back at Ipswich.
In 2009, Darren joined Crystal Palace, where he played over 100 games. He then moved to Birmingham City and even played on loan in Greece for Apollon Smyrni. After that, he returned to Ipswich Town for a third time before finishing his career at Colchester United. Darren also played for England's under-20 and under-21 national teams.
Contents
Darren Ambrose's Club Career Highlights
Starting at Ipswich Town
Darren Ambrose was born in Harlow. He joined the Ipswich Town Academy when he was eleven. He worked his way up through the youth teams. In April 2002, he played his first game for the senior team. This was against Arsenal in the Premiership.
Ipswich Town was relegated that season. This gave Darren more chances to play. He started his first game for the club in August 2002 against Walsall. He scored his first goal in that match. He scored again soon after in a big 6–1 win against Leicester City. He also scored in a UEFA Cup game.
Darren played 37 games and scored eleven goals in the 2002–03 season. In March 2003, he was sold to Newcastle United. Ipswich Town was having money problems at the time, so they had to sell him. Darren later said he was sad to leave Ipswich.
Time at Newcastle United
Darren joined Newcastle United in March 2003. He made his first appearance for them in the last game of that season. This was a 2–2 draw against West Bromwich Albion.
He scored his first goal for Newcastle in September 2003 in a UEFA Cup match. His first Premiership goal came on Boxing Day against Leicester City. He scored a late goal to make it a 1–1 draw. Darren played 37 games in his first full season, scoring three goals.
In August 2004, Newcastle changed managers. Darren found it harder to get into the first team. He still scored important goals, including one against Manchester United in April 2005. He played 10 games before being out for three months due to injury. He returned and played in the last few games of the season.
Playing for Charlton Athletic
Darren joined Charlton Athletic in July 2005. He signed a four-year contract. He made his debut in August 2005 against Sunderland. However, he was sent off in that game. He scored his first goal for Charlton in October. He scored three more goals that season.
In his second season, Charlton was relegated from the Premiership. Darren stayed with the club in the Championship. He played 42 games and scored nine goals in the 2007–08 season. This included two goals in one game against his old club, Ipswich Town.
Loan to Ipswich Town
In November 2008, Darren went back to Ipswich Town on loan. He played nine games for them before returning to Charlton.
Back at Charlton
After his loan, Darren played 12 more games for Charlton. He scored the only goal in an FA Cup game against Norwich City. Charlton was relegated again at the end of the season. Darren's contract ended, and he left the club. He had played 128 games for Charlton and scored 17 goals.
Time at Crystal Palace
In July 2009, Darren joined Crystal Palace on a free transfer. He signed a two-year deal. He made his debut in August and scored his first goals a few days later. He scored two goals against Ipswich Town.
Darren was named the Championship Player of the Month in November 2009. He scored in every league game that month. He scored a very important goal in the last game of the season against Sheffield Wednesday. This goal helped Crystal Palace stay in the Championship. He played 53 games that season.
In July 2010, Darren signed a new three-year contract with Crystal Palace. He scored in the first game of the 2010–11 season. Darren's most famous moment at Crystal Palace was his amazing goal against Manchester United in the League Cup Quarter Final on 30 November 2011. He scored a long-range goal that helped Crystal Palace win 2–1. Many people, including football expert Gary Neville, called it one of the best goals scored at Old Trafford.
Moving to Birmingham City
Birmingham City signed Darren in July 2012. He scored in his first game for them in a League Cup win. He also played in the first league game of the season. However, he struggled with injuries and sickness. He only played a few more games that season.
In his second season at Birmingham, Darren made only two appearances. He was then allowed to go on loan to a Greek club.
Loan to Apollon Smyrni
In January 2014, Darren joined Apollon Smyrni in Greece on loan. He made his debut soon after. He scored his first goal for the club in February. He scored six goals in eleven games for the Greek team.
Returning to Ipswich Town (Again!)
Darren left Birmingham City in the summer of 2014. He started training with Colchester United. Then, he began training with Ipswich Town again.
In September 2014, Darren signed a contract with Ipswich until January 2015. This was his third time playing for the club! He made his third debut in September. He scored one goal during this time, which helped Ipswich get a replay in the FA Cup against Southampton. He played eight games in total during the 2014–15 season.
Playing for Colchester United
Darren signed a one-year deal with Colchester United in August 2015. He made his debut for them in a 2–2 draw against Blackpool, scoring a goal. He scored his second goal in October in another exciting 4–4 draw. His performance in that game earned him a spot in the Football League 'Team of the Week'.
In March 2016, Darren scored two goals to help Colchester win their first league game in a long time. He played 26 games for Colchester that season. However, he was not offered a new contract when the season ended.
Playing for England's Youth Teams
Under-20s
Darren played for the England under-20 team in the 2005 Toulon Tournament. He scored England's first goal in a 2–0 win against Tunisia. He also played in other games during the tournament, helping England finish third.
Under-21s
Darren made his England under-21 debut in February 2003 in a friendly game against Italy. He played in several friendly matches. His first competitive game for the under-21s was in March 2005 against Azerbaijan.
He scored his first goal for the England under-21 team in August 2005 against Denmark. He also scored his second goal in a European Championship play-off match against France in November. Darren played his final game for England under-21s in August 2006.
Darren Ambrose's Life After Football
After he stopped playing football, Darren Ambrose opened a barbershop in Ipswich in August 2016. He also planned to work with the Ipswich Town Academy.
Since retiring, Darren has started his own podcast called "Not A Bad Effort with Darren Ambrose." You can also hear him on talkSPORT.
Darren also has a YouTube channel where he, his wife, and their children build amazing Lego creations, like film sets and football stadiums. Darren is a big fan of Tottenham Hotspur.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ipswich Town | 2001–02 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | First Division | 29 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 11 | |
| Total | 30 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 11 | ||
| Newcastle United | 2002–03 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 37 | 3 | |
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 3 | |
| Total | 37 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 56 | 6 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2005–06 | Premier League | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 33 | 4 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2007–08 | Championship | 37 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 42 | 9 | ||
| 2008–09 | Championship | 21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| Total | 112 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | — | 128 | 17 | |||
| Ipswich Town (loan) | 2008–09 | Championship | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Crystal Palace | 2009–10 | Championship | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | 53 | 20 | |
| 2010–11 | Championship | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 7 | ||
| 2011–12 | Championship | 36 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | — | 42 | 10 | ||
| Total | 110 | 29 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 5 | — | 124 | 37 | |||
| Birmingham City | 2012–13 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Apollon Smyrni (loan) | 2013–14 | Super League Greece | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | 11 | 6 | |||
| Ipswich Town | 2014–15 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Colchester United | 2015–16 | League One | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
| Career total | 347 | 65 | 20 | 7 | 24 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 410 | 83 | ||
Awards and Achievements
Individual Awards
- Football League Championship Player of the Month: November 2009
- Crystal Palace Goal of the Season: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
See also
In Spanish: Darren Ambrose para niños
