Carl Darlington

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Carl Darlington (born 30 December 1981) [1] is a Welsh football coach, currently head of academy coaching at Everton. He won three consecutive Welsh Premier League titles for The New Saints from 2012 to 2014, twice winning the Welsh Cup for a double. He was caretaker manager at Conference Premier club Wrexham in 2015.

Career

Born in Wrexham, Darlington was an assistant manager at Cefn Druids and Airbus UK before joining The New Saints in May 2010. [2] When Mike Davies was promoted to director of football in April 2011, Darlington succeeded him as head coach. [3]

In 2011–12, Darlington's first full season as manager, TNS won the Welsh Premier League and the Welsh Cup, becoming the first team to win the double since their own achievement in 2005. [4] [5]

In November 2013, Darlington's team achieved a full calendar year of home victories in the league at their Park Hall venue; they scored 55 goals and conceded 3 in 14 games. [6] The 2013–14 season saw him win another double. [7] [8]

In December 2014, with TNS 12 points ahead in the league, unbeaten in all competitions that season and unbeaten at home for over two years, Darlington left for Wrexham, his hometown club that he had supported all his life. He was named first team coach under Kevin Wilkin. [2] Wilkin was sacked on 30 March 2015 after losing the FA Trophy final, with Darlington taking over at a team 15th in the Conference Premier. [9] The following day, he drew 1–1 at home to higher-ranked Dover Athletic on his debut, while stating that he did not want the job permanently. [10] After his eight-game spell saw the team rise in the table, he expressed shock at being released in May with a year left on his contract, as new manager Gary Mills wanted his own coaching staff. [11]

Darlington returned to TNS in December 2015 as first team coach under Scott Harrison. [12] In May 2017, he left and rejoined Wrexham to coach for Dean Keates. [13] His contract at the Racecourse Ground was not renewed in June 2021, after missing out on promotion to the English Football League. [14]

In September 2022, Darlington was hired as head of academy coaching at Premier League club Everton. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ "Carl Darlington". Wrexham A.F.C. Archive. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 Randall, Liam (22 December 2014). "Wrexham appoint Carl Darlington as first team coach". WalesOnline . Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  3. ↑ "Darlington is new head coach at TNS". Daily Post . 6 April 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  4. ↑ "Welsh Cup final: The New Saints FC wary of Cefn Druids threat". Daily Post. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  5. ↑ Haylett, Trevor (10 May 2012). "Season review: Wales". UEFA. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  6. ↑ Pitman, Mark (13 November 2013). "TNS win every home game for a year". UEFA. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "The New Saints fired up to secure league and cup double". Shropshire Star . 2 May 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  8. ↑ Pitman, Mark (3 May 2014). "Welsh Cup win completes New Saints double". UEFA. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  9. ↑ "Conference Premier: Boss Kevin Wilkin leaves Wrexham". BBC Sport. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  10. ↑ Griffiths, Rob (1 April 2015). "Carl Darlington pays tribute to Wrexham FC players after a difficult 48 hours". Daily Post. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  11. ↑ Harrison, Nick (14 May 2015). "Carl Darlington 'devastated' after being released by Wrexham AFC". The Leader . Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  12. ↑ Williams, Richard (8 December 2015). "Former Wrexham AFC caretaker Carl Darlington returns to The New Saints". Oswestry & Border Counties Advertizer. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  13. ↑ "Carl Darlington: Coach rejected offers to return to Wrexham". BBC Sport. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  14. ↑ Williams, Richard (10 June 2021). "Wrexham coach Darlington's leaving message". The Leader. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  15. ↑ Beesley, Chris (13 September 2022). "Kevin Thelwell makes latest big change to Everton coaching structure". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 19 August 2024.
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