Ex-footballer Darren Eadie features in this months KL Magazine on his transition from Norwich City FC Premier League player to a partnership with Pymm & Co Auctions.
Article featured in this months KL Magazine with all copyright and credit to KL Magazine.
Moving to Norwich City Football Club aged just 16, Darren was a self-driven and adaptable young player who loved running with the ball. With quick feet and a low centre of gravity allowing to twist and turn at speed, he was every defender’s greatest fear. His exciting play and ability to create chances and core goals won him a permanent place in the hearts of many local supporters.
“I grew up in the West Country, where I played a lot of rugby and football” Darren says, “I’m a big believer in the benefits of multi-sporting when you’re younger. My experiences in rugby gave me different skill sets, such as dealing with the physicality of the football game.”
Play has changed significantly over the years, but Darren remains nostalgic for a time he describes as the most exciting Premier League era. “Football in the 1990’s had a bit of everything; competitive edge, quality players and physicality that made you work for it,” he says. “It’s very much like a chess game nowadays, working out the positions and styles of your opponents play. It can feel clinical at times. The tempo we played at got the crowd excited.”
At 18, Darren made his debut appearance for Norwich City in the Premier League against Queens Park Rangers, where he fearlessly scored. “Getting a goal in my Premiership debut was a huge moment for me and I’ll never forget it that feeling,” he recalls. “I’m still the youngest ever Premier League goal scorer for Norwich City.”
Darren’s career quickly progressed. He enjoyed a memorable win against Bayern Munich to reach the third round of the UEFA Cup in 1994. He was capped seven times for England U21’s, then called up to join the full England squad in 1997 alongside Beckham, Scholes, Wright, Shearer and Gazza. In that same season, he was top scorer and won Norwich City Player of the Year.
“My progression felt natural,” Darren says. “As a youngster you don’t have any fear. It’s not until you get older that you experience pressure and expectation.”
Darren played across many positions during his career at Norwich, adapting and taking opportunities as they arose. “The advice I would give any young player is don’t ever have regrets,” Darren says. “I went into every training session and every game wanting to be the best player on the pitch. There were players who were better than me, but they didn’t have mentality I had and that’s the key.”
After eight happy years at Norwich, Darren found himself signed to Leicester for a record £3.5 million. “I didn’t want to leave,” he admits. “Norwich City would have gone into administration if I wasn’t sold.” After just 18 months, a persistent knee injury caught up with him and Darren work up after the operation to the news he would never play professional football again.
“It was a massive shock,” Darren says. “It’s hard to explain to people, but it’s almost like grief, like losing someone, because that was my identity, it was all I knew.” Darren now talks openly about the impact bottling up these emotions had on his life. “Everyone’s triggers might be different, but we all experience the same range of feelings and emotions, just from different causes. I’ve learnt now to just feel how I feel. I don’t pretend everything’s ok anymore, I ask for help.”
Over time, Darren realised he needed a new purpose and identity. “For my own sanity I had to get back into business and start doing things again. I’m happiest when I’m spinning plates,” he says.
A new partnership with Steve Pymm of Pymm & Co Estate Agents forms Darren’s recent business venture, where is agitating the industry with a fresh perspective. “I started by going into an agency and learning how it works from the coalface,” he says. “I wanted to find out how to change the negative experience many people have.”
Darren and Steve are building a personalised service that gives property sellers more choice around how their home is marketed. As well as featuring properties on all major open market portals, Pymm & Co have launched new individually run auctions which can accelerate the process for clients looking for a faster, more secure sale.
“We are all about honest and open conversation. We take time to understand your properties and design a bespoke strategy to suit,” Darren explains. “My high profile means we can offer the widest social media reach across East Anglia by far. We can’t guarantee your property will sell, but we can certainly give you every opportunity for buyers to see it.”
There might be nothing like scoring a goal in front of 50,000 people, but everyone has something they get a buzz out of in life. “Football is a special game,” Darren concludes, “I will always be searching for that amazing connection I got with people then, in everything I continue to do.”
You can contact Darren by email on darren@pymmand.co.uk or calling him on 01603 305805
