Darren Pratley

Darren Pratley

Darren Pratley playing for Swansea City
Personal information
Full name Darren Antony Pratley[1]
Date of birth (1985-04-22) 22 April 1985[1]
Place of birth Barking, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
Bolton Wanderers
Number 21
Youth career
000?–2002 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2006 Fulham 1 (0)
2005Brentford (loan) 16 (1)
2005–2006Brentford (loan) 34 (4)
2006–2011 Swansea City 177 (26)
2011– Bolton Wanderers 135 (10)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:46, 4 October 2016 (UTC).


Darren Antony Pratley (born 22 April 1985) is an English-Jamaican footballer who captains Bolton Wanderers as a midfielder.

Club career

Darren Pratley playing for Swansea in 2010

Fulham

Starting his career at Fulham after signing from Arsenal, Pratley signed his first professional contract with the club in 2002.[2] Pratley made his debut in a League Cup game at Wigan Athletic on 23 September 2003, coming on as a substitute for Andrejs Stolcers. He made his league debut against Charlton Athletic on 8 November 2003, again as a substitute, this time for Barry Hayles. These turned out to be the only two games he would play for Fulham. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Pratley signed a two-year contract with the club, which will keep him until 2006.[3]

Having spent the latter parts of the 2004–05 season on loan at Brentford, on 30 August 2005 Pratley moved back to the Bees until January 2006 on a loan period that was subsequently extended until the end of the 2005–06 season.[4][5][6] However, on 8 June 2006, he was sold by Fulham to Swansea City for a fee of £100,000.

Swansea City

On 7 November 2009, Pratley scored a brace against their archrivals Cardiff City. Pratley had not scored for 26 games since the previous season's corresponding fixture at the Liberty Stadium but he proved Swansea's hero on the hour to seal the win.[7] Pratley went on to score a further three times before the end of 2009, against Sheffield Wednesday (twice) and Reading. He started off the 2010–11 season well, however a string of poor performances saw him dropped by manager Brendan Rodgers. Pratley came back into the team performing well and getting vital goals against Reading, Crystal Palace a double against Bristol City and the third goal in the Championship play-off semi final second leg against Nottingham Forest which he scored from the halfway-line into an empty goal. On 9 June 2011, it was confirmed that Pratley would leave Swansea City having rejected a new contract.[8]

Bolton Wanderers

He signed for Bolton Wanderers on 1 July 2011 on a four-year deal.[9] He made his debut when coming on as a substitute for Nigel Reo-Coker in Bolton's game at Queens Park Rangers on 13 August and scored his first goal for the club in their 2–1 victory over his former club Swansea City in the FA Cup on 28 January 2012. He scored his first Premier League goal in the game against Queens Park Rangers at the Reebok Stadium on 10 March in Bolton's 2–1 win. On 3 August 2013, the first day of the 2013–14 season, Pratley scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Burnley. He then also scored in a 1–1 draw with Reading a week later. On 1 July 2015, Pratley signed a new-three year contract that will keep him at Bolton Wanderers until the summer of 2018.[10]

A few weeks later he was appointed as the new club captain of Bolton, replacing Matt Mills who had departed earlier that summer for Nottingham Forest.[11]

International career

On 16 January 2009, Pratley was called up to the Jamaican squad by coach John Barnes to face Nigeria on 11 February 2009. Pratley qualifies for Jamaica through his grandparents but is yet to represent the Reggae Boyz after pulling out of the squad for the Nigeria friendly through injury after he broke his shoulder in a 4–1 win over Preston North End, although he did return earlier than expected from his injury.

Career statistics

As of 4 October 2016[12][13]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup League Cup Total
Fulham2003–04Premier League101020
Brentford2004–05League One161161
2005–0634440384
Total5054000545
Swansea City2006–07League One2812011312
2007–0842531456
2008–09Championship3741010394
2009–1036710377
2010–1134921313911
Total17726925219130
Bolton Wanderers2011–12Premier League2514130322
2012–13Championship3123010352
2013–142022010232
2014–152242031275
2015–1636130391
2016–17League One10000010
Total135101418115712
Career total3634127314340447

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J. (ed) (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.
  2. "Academy star turns pro". Fulham Official Website. 25 April 2002. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  3. "New Deal for Pratley". Fulham Official Website. 13 May 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  4. "Pratley joins Bees". Fulham Official Website. 22 February 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  5. "Pratley deal extended". Fulham Official Website. 23 March 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  6. "Pratley joins Bees". Fulham Official Website. 30 August 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  7. "Swansea 3–2 Cardiff" BBC Sport, Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  8. Pratley leaves Swansea
  9. Wanderers Snap-Up Pratley
  10. "Bolton: Ben Amos & Gary Madine sign as Darren Pratley stays". BBC Sport. 1 July 2015.
  11. "Darren Pratley appointed club captain". Bolton Wanderers FC. 14 July 2015.
  12. "England - D. Pratley - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  13. "First team profiles Darren Pratley". Swansea City. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2016.

External links

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