 | ||||||
Player Information | ||||||
| Name | Danny Warrender | |||||
| Player Sponsor | - | |||||
| Kit Sponsor(s) | Main Stand Ultras | |||||
| Position | Defender | |||||
| Date of birth | - | |||||
| Place of birth | - | |||||
| Previous clubs | ||||||
| Favourite club | ||||||
All Seasons | ||||||
| Total Appearances | 47 | |||||
| Goals | 1 | |||||
| Yellow cards | 13 | |||||
| Red cards | 0 | |||||
Profile | ||||||
| Danny Warrender Imagine doing your dream job at the next-to-highest level, with the whiff of a promotion in the air tempting you to go on before, in one fell swoop, the adventure is over. You have to pick yourself up, rejoin from the lower echelons and, like level-headed defender Danny Warrender did in such a situation, find your feet and start again. His story is a dizzy-heights-to-frustrating-lows tale that almost ended in a huge talent going to waste but, thanks to the influence of Karl Marginson and a lot of self-belief from the dedicated 22-year-old, his ability is being witnessed by thousands of fans, week in, week out. Taken on by his boyhood heroes Manchester City at the age 10, Warrender spent a full decade with the Blues before leaving and having to adapt to the harsh football reality of a steep drop down in standards. It was the steel and determination Warrender had picked up in his earlier years that made getting released by City easier to take. Born in Crumpsall, he studied at St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School and later moved on to St Monica's RC High School in Prestwich. It wasnt until he turned eight that his attentions turned to football, when he began having kickabouts on the street with close friends and eventually they all joined their local junior Sunday side Bowker Vale. It was a good laugh because there were three of us all together and we met other lads on the team. I used to play in central midfield when I first started out. The set up was good and everyone there made you feel really welcome. At first it was just training and then we started playing games. You would look forward to matches all week when you were at school. Warrenders determination and enjoyment for the game clearly shone through even in his childhood - when organisers of the Manchester Boys county side invited youngsters from his school to come for trials, he went along and was shortlisted for selection out of more than 100 lads. I was quite chuffed to be asked to those trials because I was only young and it was nice to know that someone else could see your talent. They told me I had done pretty well and I thought I would get into the squad, so I was a bit surprised when I didn't make it. I remember walking outside and there were two scouts - one from City and one Everton - and they both said to me, so when are you starting with Manchester Boys? When I told them I hadnt been selected, their jaws dropped and they were both keen to offer me a trial with their clubs. To be honest, I think playing for Manchester Boys would have been too demanding anyway with the travelling all over the country at such a young age, and that pretty much explains why I didnt choose Everton either; plus, with City being the team I support it was hard to turn them down. Straight away, Warrender took to life at Platt Line, impressing coaches and settling into his new defensive position. Things were pretty settled for the youngster on the pitch, though there was some upheaval off it when City pioneered a new youth-training technique that never really worked out. I was at St Monicas High and then City had a plan to move all the young lads into the same school, St Thomass in Moss Side. I can see the thinking behind it, that it would encourage a feeling of unity among the young lads but then it is a bit pointless when only, say, two or three of the lads who are learning at 12 or 13 years old end up being kept on into the under-19s. It only works if youve got a really tight academy but with a big squad it falls down. Predictably, the Blues abandoned the pilot project after just a year and Warrender returned to his old school, though he insists it never harmed his career prospects. Dont get me wrong, I cant say I was ever the best student at school. I did alright in some subjects and just did enough in others. That year away didnt harm me much and I was glad to be studying nearer to home, rather than getting up at 7am every day and sometimes not arriving back until 8pm. But I had decided when I was about 14 or 15 that I wanted to be a professional footballer. I think its fair to say that its every little kids dream and I was no different. The fact that it was City was a big bonus for me. As expected, Warrender earned a three-year YTS contract with City after leaving school and shot up through the ranks thanks to two successful seasons. In a squad that included current first-team players Nedum Onuoha, of Nigeria, and England international Micah Richards, Citys under-17 side went unbeaten in Warrenders first full season on YTS and only lost a handful of games in the second season, when he was captain. That spell included some notable performances, including an impressive victory away to a decent Aston Villa side as well as a Manchester Senior Cup success in which the Blues beat United in the semi-final. We had a really good team then and I was enjoying my football a lot. At the end of the second year of my three-year YTS, I got offered a two-year pro contract and I was one of the first of that group to be moving forward, so I really believed in myself. I moved into the reserves and that was a real test. Its a really unique level of football because youre either playing against experienced first-team players or up-and-coming lads wanting to prove themselves, I really enjoyed that. Aged 19, Warrender began his fourth full-time season - 2005/6 - with City in fine form, appearing in friendlies against Tranmere and Macclesfield. The shift up caught the attention of Colin Hendrys ambitious Blackpool side and, to test himself at a higher level, Warrender went on a three-month loan at Bloomfield Road. It started well, but a dip in the teams form lead to Hendrys dismissal and newly retired player Simon Grayson took charge. Despite morale being low around the Tangerines camp, Warrender was a regular feature in the side until he returned to City in the New Year. I went back and the coach laid it to me straight - he said, youre doing well, but if you dont improve things by the end of the season your contract wont be renewed. It was a body blow for Warrender who was so shellshocked he decided not to rise to the challenge and instead returned to Blackpool. You could say that, unlike other players, at least I got a few months warning and a brief chance, but I still saw it as a real blow. I had been there for 10 years and they were giving me a few months when I had Danny Mills and Nedum to compete with. It wasnt fair but then thats football. Warrender was content to spend the remainder of the season at the Seasiders but felt alienated, making just one start in five months. It was a strange time. To go from being a good prospect to playing one game in half a year of football is just a massive disappointment. The affect was startling. Save for a very brief spell at Rossendale United, Warrender gave up football completely in summer 2006. It took a life-changing offer to get things going again. The right-back was invited to play in a summer league in California, which he said he thoroughly enjoyed. When he returned, he joined friends at local side The Grey Horse under the stewardship of Phil Brown - better known as Bruno. Tunji Moses and David Neville have recently played at the same level. Being in America and then having a laugh for The Grey Horse really changed my view on things and I began to like football again. After City I just didnt want to play but it changed in the space of a year or so. By coincidence, The Grey Horse play on the pitch FC United train on and it was the Reds youth team coach Peter Freaks who invited Warrender to a training session with United at the start of September. Warrender said: Karl Marginson said I should come down and see if I enjoyed it, so I played a game - my debut in the FA Cup at Nantwich - and I felt at home from day one. Theres something special about FC that you just dont get at other non-league clubs. Its like a buzz around the place that makes it stand out. | ||||||
 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
Player Profile ~ Danny Warrender |
