Darren Carter

Birmingham City

Carter was born in Solihull, West Midlands. 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. 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. This gave his Birmingham career the boost it needed, and he was seen as a vital…

Carter represented the England under-20 team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, and was capped 11 times in all at that level. In one match he was sent off for a foul on Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.

Speaking in July 2005, Bryan Robson stated that Carter "has very good stamina and is very much a box-to-box player who can play in the centre of midfield or wide on the left. He is also left footed which gives us good balance in the squad, he has a good presence".

While a player with Solihull Moors, he managed the club's academy, and also acted as a youth development coach. He spent time in the early part of the 2021–22 season as first-team coach of West Bromwich Albion Women, before taking on the role of interim head coach of FA WSL club Birmingham City Women on 21 November 2021 following the dismissal of Scott Booth. After being unable to avoid relegation to the FA Women's Championship, his role as head coach became permanent on 30 May 2022 after a two-year deal was signed. The team fell just one point short of promotion in 2022–23, and Carter left the club by mutual consent in April 2024.