Darren Way

A hard tackling centre-midfielder as a player, Way started his career at Norwich City as an associate schoolboy in 1994, and while there was selected for the England U16 side making six appearances.

He progressed through the youth ranks to captain the reserve side and earn a professional contract at Carrow Road but was released in the summer of 2000 after failing to make a first team appearance.

[2][3] The accident ended his playing career, having made 274 appearances across three spells for Yeovil, and in February 2010 he announced his retirement and became the club's new first team coach.

[6] While progressing through the youth ranks at Norwich, Way played for the England schoolboys side on six occasions, alongside Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen.

[7] In May 2000, following his release by Norwich, Way played in a trial match for Plymouth Argyle,[7] before returning to link up with Bristol Rovers for pre-season training including going on a team-building trip to Dublin, but despite manager Ian Holloway wanting to sign Way, no contract was forthcoming.

[5] On 18 August 2000, Yeovil manager David Webb signed Way on a two-year contract, linking up with former Norwich youth teammate Barrington Belgrave.

[16] Way ended his first season with the club having made 51 appearances in all competitions, scoring twelve times, as Yeovil narrowly missed out on the Conference title.

[17] His performances in the Yeovil midfield led to his inclusion, alongside teammates Terry Skiverton and Nick Crittenden, in the 2000–01 Conference team of the year.

[17] Yeovil's season ended on a high when on 12 May 2002, they lifted the FA Trophy for the first time in the club's history defeating Stevenage Borough 2–0 in the final, with Way playing the full 90 minutes.

[22] After a strong start to the season, in November 2002, Way received his first call-up to the England National Game XI for an under-23 friendly against their Italian counterparts, with Way making his debut as a second-half substitute.

[36] His first season in League One saw Way make sixteen appearances for Yeovil, before he suffered a fractured cheekbone and eye socket in a match against Gillingham in October 2005.

[37] The injury kept him out for a month but Way would only make two more appearances for Yeovil, scoring on his return in the FA Cup victory over Macclesfield Town on 15 November 2005, "with a spectacular shot from distance".

[40][41] In January 2006, Way left Yeovil just a week after his midfield partner Lee Johnson to Hearts,[42] as the Conference winning side began to be broken up.

[44] After making only eight appearances for his new club, three in Swansea's victorious Football League Trophy campaign, in March 2006 Way suffered a recurrence of his shin injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

[45] After recovering from injury an enjoying a run in the Swansea side at the start of the 2006–07 season, Way once again suffered a recurrence of his shin fracture having surgery for a third time in March 2007.

[50] Way started the season well making 19 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice a late equaliser against Brighton & Hove Albion and the winner against Crewe Alexandra.

[53][54] During his lengthy recovery, Way made his first appearance coming on as a substitute for the final seconds in his best friend Terry Skiverton's testimonial match, in July 2009.

[75] On 6 April 2016, having guided Yeovil to the brink of securing their League Two status, with the club fourteen points clear of the relegation zone, Way was awarded a new three-year contract.

[83] In December 2019, he was appointed under-18s manager at Plymouth Argyle replacing former coach Kevin Hodges who had left the club the previous month, with Way taking up the role from January 2020.

[88][89] On 17 December 2008, Way was involved in a serious accident on the A3088 Cartgate link road between the A303 and Yeovil whilst a passenger in a white van which collided head-on with a blue 4x4.