He then played in non-league football for Radcliffe, FC Halifax Town, and in the Cymru Premier for Connah's Quay Nomads, before finishing his career at Macclesfield.

[5] Manager Graeme Souness gave Danns a "surprise" debut on 19 September 2002 in the starting eleven for the 1–1 draw with CSKA Sofia in the UEFA Cup; according to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, he "didn't let anyone down with a lively performance".

[13] His first goal for the club, "[hitting] the roof of the net with a screamer from 40 yards (37 m)", began Blackpool's comeback from 2–0 down to win 3–2 at Oldham Athletic,[14] He was sent off for a second time, again for two yellow cards, against Stockport County on 20 September,[15] and scored his second Blackpool goal in his next league match, "rounding the keeper and striking a sweet left-foot shot into the far corner and between the two defenders on the line" to complete a 2–1 win over Notts County.

[16] Despite manager Steve McMahon and the players wanting him and fellow Blackburn loanee Jonathan Douglas to stay, both left Blackpool after their three months.

[12][18] In March, he joined another Second Division club, Hartlepool United, on a one-month loan, later extended to the end of the season,[19] and as he had with Blackpool, he made his debut in a heavy defeat to Queens Park Rangers.

[24] In December, disappointed at a perceived lack of opportunity at his parent club,[26] Danns rejoined Colchester for a nominal fee, later reported as £15,000; his 18-month contract included a 30% sell-on clause.

[31] He missed most of September with an abdominal injury, and took time to return to full fitness,[32] but a run of goals in January, including two against Derby County to take his side through to the FA Cup fifth round,[33] sparked interest from higher-level teams.

[28] He "kept Colchester ticking" as they came close to earning a replay,[36] and played a major part in his team's promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time in their history.

He set up a goal for Sebastian Larsson's equaliser against Newcastle United that took the third-round FA Cup-tie to a replay at St James's Park, which Birmingham won 5–1.

[41][45] Danns was determined to establish himself at Birmingham in the 2007–08 season, tried to take consolation from other players who had returned to the squad after lengthy periods out of it, and worked hard on the defensive aspect of the midfield position, but to no avail.

[54] He created goals for others, scored a couple himself, and became increasingly influential[55] as manager Neil Warnock set up the team to play in a style that suited his strengths.

[56] Crystal Palace entered administration during the January 2010 transfer window, and the consequent ten-point deduction left the team in danger of relegation.

[58][59] However, in the penultimate match of the season, a 1–1 draw with West Bromwich Albion, Danns was sent off for headbutting Graham Dorrans, so was suspended for the visit to Sheffield Wednesday from which Palace needed a point to survive at their hosts' expense.

[65] With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, speculation grew as to whether he would re-sign: an opinion piece in the local paper in the new year suggested that Danns was one of a small group of players who "aren't putting in 110%" and who should be a priority for new manager Dougie Freedman to get "playing from the same tune",[66] and the player made a lengthy response via social media dismissing any suggestion that he was not giving his all for the club or that his recently acquired back problem was chronic and would make him fail a medical.

[67] He returned from injury to make a further 14 appearances, taking his total for the club to 114,[68] in the last of which, having still not signed a new contract, he scored the only goal of the match against Leeds United that all but secured Palace's Championship survival.

[71] He started the opening game of the season, a 1–0 win over Coventry City,[72] and scored his first goal as Leicester eliminated Bury from the League Cup.

[54] At the start of the 2012–13 season, Danns played for 14 minutes in the Championship and made two League Cup appearances, but those were his last before joining Bristol City on 14 November on a month's loan.

[54][78] He made his debut against his former club Blackpool three days later, and in the second match, he set up a goal for Stephen Pearson that helped City end their 11-match winless run with a 3–1 victory at Middlesbrough.

[82] On his debut, he "certainly put in a shift, first on the right hand side of midfield, then after the departure of [Oliver] Norwood, who started reasonably but lost his way, in the centre", in a draw at home to Birmingham City,[83] He was a regular in the starting eleven as Huddersfield avoided relegation back to League One,[84] with 17 league appearances and 2 goals, the first in a 2–1 West Yorkshire derby defeat of Leeds United and the second in a draw with Peterborough, although a toe injury kept him out of the last three fixtures.

[86] At the start of the 2013–14 season, Pearson pointed out how fortunate Leicester were to "have quite a lot of quality in terms of our central midfield options", and that Danns would benefit from regular first-team football elsewhere.

[87] On 26 September 2013, Danns signed on loan for Championship club Bolton Wanderers, managed by Dougie Freedman who had coached him at Crystal Palace.

[88] He made his first Wanderers appearance in a goalless draw away to Blackpool on 1 October,[89] and his goal in the next match, away to Birmingham, gave his team their first league win of the season.

[94] Highlighting his work-rate, dynamism, and the positive attitude that set an example to the "younger, hungrier players" prioritised by the manager, the Bolton News suggested that "Freedman may have already made the most important signing of the summer".

[95] Amid strong competition for a place in Freedman's preferred 4–2–3–1 formation,[96][97] Danns started his 2014–15 season from the bench in a 3–0 opening-day loss to Watford.

[106] In April, Danns and Barry Bannan were "suspended indefinitely" and fined two weeks' wages for drunken behaviour at the club's hotel; after apologising to all concerned, they missed just one match before Lennon recalled them.

[117] He was sent off against Bristol Rovers in December for an off-the-ball incident, so served a three-match ban,[118] and spent the second half of the season on loan to League Two club Blackpool.

[119] Danns made his Blackpool debut on 4 February 2017 in a 1–1 draw with Colchester United,[115] but suffered the first hamstring injury of his career the following week and was out for six matches.

[54][134] By the time Danns returned from international duty, Bury's financial position had worsened, and after six fixtures were suspended by the EFL pending credible proof of the club's viability, it was expelled from the league on 27 August 2019.

[135][136] Interviewed on radio station Talksport, Danns was highly critical of the role of the owner, who in his view had "literally destroyed lives" by his failure to progress the club in a proper manner.

[155] He captained the national side and scored their goal in a 2–1 defeat to French Guiana on 20 November that put them out of contention for Gold Cup qualification.