Darren David Powell (born 10 March 1976) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. During his playing career, he appeared over 250 times in the Football League and Premier League. Powell was known as "a tough-tackling centre-back". Following his retirement, Powell moved to coaching and managing Hampton & Richmond Borough before taking over as an academy coach for Crystal Palace. Playing career Brentford Powell began his career with Hampton, where he quickly established himself in the starting eleven for the side. His performance attracted interests from Stevenage and Hayes before he joined Brentford for £15,000. Powell made his debut for Brentford, where he played the whole game, in a 3–0 win over Mansfield Town. He started well for the side at the beginning of the season, winning five out of the six matches by the end of August, including scoring his first goal for the side, in a 2–1 win over Rochdale. He was later in the squad for Brentford when he helped the club win the Division Two by four points. At the end of the 1998–99 season, Powell had made 37 appearances, scoring twice in all competitions. For his performances, he was named the club's Player of the Year. In the 1999–2000 season, Powell continued to be a first team regular. He then scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 win over Luton Town on 16 September 1999. A month later, on 16 October 1999, Powell scored again, in a 2–0 win over Oxford United. He spent the rest of the 1999–00 season, as a first team regular and went on to make 43 appearances, scoring three times in all competitions. However, in the 2000–01 season, Powell suffered a hamstring injury that saw him sidelined until January. On his return from injury, he was sent–off on his first appearance on 13 January 2001, in a 0–0 draw against Bristol Rovers. After returning, he regained his first team place for the side. On 21 March 2001, Powell was sent–off for the second time that season, in a 2–1 win over Southend United, which saw Brentford go through to the LDV Final following a 4–2 on aggregate. This was followed up by scoring his first goal of the season, in a 1–0 win over Wrexham on 31 March 2001. However, in the Football League Trophy Final against Port Vale, Powell played the whole