Forfar Athletic midfielder Darren Brady started his first game in more than a year when he took the field at Station Park against Livingston. For the player, it was another milestone that has seen him deal with the uncertainty of being released as a youngster during troubled times at a club, train with future European superstars as well as being signed by the irresistible Dick Campbell on three separate occasions.
Brady said, “I was only 19 when Airdrieonians released David McGuire and I in March 2001 in the middle of cash problems at the club and the pair of us joined Dundee United. It was a strange time for me as Airdrie had been the only club I had known since joining from Clyde Boys Club.
“Steve Archibald, who had been in charge at Airdrie, helped set it up and it was only for four months but it was a good experience.”
At the end of the season, Brady, who has an elder brother Garry at St. Mirren, was given another unique experience as Archibald used his contacts again to get the duo a three week trial at one of his former clubs. It was not Clyde, Aberdeen or even Tottenham Hotspur…..it was at Spanish giants Barcelona.
Brady said, “We went over for three weeks and of course, would have signed for them if it had been offered. A couple of guys we trained with have achieved success with a lad called Dani going on to their first team and Thiago Motta, who is now at Inter Milan, was also there.
“It never came to anything and although I had the chance to join Dundee United again, I opted for Livingston. They had a decent team that had just finished third in the SPL.”
The Livingston move never worked out with Brady saying, “It was hard to break through and there were lots of foreign players brought in so I went on loan to Raith Rovers.”
It was a former Airdrie connection that convinced Brady that it was the right move with the now 29-year-old saying, “Antonio Calderon was the Manager and I had played with him at Airdrie. It was great to be playing again and at the end of the season, I went there on a permanent basis.”
Ironically, Brady scored his first senior goal during his loan period and it was the winner at Forfar’s Station Park when Rovers beat his present employers 2-1 in October 2002.
In January 2005, Brady’s time at Kirkcaldy came to an end when Campbell became his Manager for the first time when he took him to a Partick Thistle side involved in a relegation fight in the First Division.
Brady was surprised by the news of Campbell’s interest advising, “Gordon Dalziel pulled me into his office at Raith Rovers and said Thistle wanted to sign me. It was a chance to play in the First Division and Firhill was five minutes from my house so I was delighted to join.”
The Maryhill side’s fight to avoid relegation was unsuccessful but Brady was part of the squad that bounced back to the First Division via the Play-Offs against Peterhead the following season.
Brady stayed for two and a half years at Thistle before heading north to join Campbell at a then Second Division Ross County. It was a short reunion however, as Brady explains, “Dick took me there but he was away after three months. It was hard to accept the reasons from the club for his leaving but to be fair, Derek Adams was great to work with. His training was always excellent especially for someone in their first job.
“I stayed in Dingwall until the end of the season and County won the Second Division title. I went to Airdrie United and carried out pre-season training with them as I wanted to stay full- time but that never worked out so I had to get a job and look for a part-time club.”
A familiar name was soon in touch with Brady saying, “Dick came back in for me and I agreed to join him at Forfar in the summer of 2008 and the first season was okay. He was overhauling a team that had finished bottom of the SFL at the end of the previous term.
“We performed well and got to the fringes of the Play-Offs and also had a live TV game against Rangers in the Scottish Cup on Sky Sports.”
The 2009/10 season was going well when disaster struck with Brady explaining, “We were top of the League, unbeaten after four games and then we went down to Annan. I went into a tackle after 26 minutes and ruptured my cruciate ligament.
“I never knew the full extent on the Saturday but on the Sunday, I was struggling to move and I went to hospital as I knew something was far wrong.”
The hospital tests brought disappointing news with Brady advising, “I had to wait a few days for my scan results and when I did, I was basically told my season was over. I required a six to nine months rehabilitation programme and I had a lot of hard work ahead.”
Despite the news, Brady looked at things positively saying, “It was the first serious injury after ten years in football so I just got on with things.”
The Angus club were supportive with the Loon saying, “Forfar treated me really well although I did not see too much of them for a while as I did my rehabilitation work in Glasgow. After a wee while, I started going back up there every Thursday to see the lads and do some training.
“I would go to games when I could but I am not a good spectator and I was kicking every ball which was perhaps not advisable. I did go to the Play-Off games against Arbroath and the boys did fantastically well to be promoted.”
Brady joined the rest of the Forfar squad early for the new season saying, “I did a lot of work in pre-season and got the last 15 minutes of our final warm up game.
“I was physically fit but I was not match fit and Dick was not keen to throw me straight back into things.
“Forfar did well in The Co-operative Insurance and ALBA Challenge Cups and that meant we could not get a midweek friendly to get me playing again.
“By the time we were going to Alloa in the League, I was more than ready and despite it being an artificial surface and some people having reservations, Dick listed me as a substitute and I got on for the last 20 minutes.
“I got some more game time against Forfar a fortnight later, was not used against East Fife but I started against Livingston last weekend.”
It was a good day all round as Scott Allan’s goal earned a 1-0 win with Brady saying, “I got 70 minutes which I was really pleased with especially as they are a full-time side and we won. My calf muscles were hurting and I needed to come off but I felt I had done well and I had given a lot to the cause.”
The win over Livingston moved Brady and Forfar into the top four and the midfielder is determined that they stay there saying, “We have played everybody now and despite being a newly promoted side, we feel that we have matched them. If we keep working as hard as we have done, I can see us holding on to a Play-Off spot.”
On a personal level, Brady has a simple aim saying, “I want to take part in every game between now and the end of the season. To do that after a year out would be fantastic.”
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