5'7.5"  10st.
b. Arbroath  4 July 1947
 

Debut  13 November 1965 (18y 132d) Final Game 20 April 1970 (22y 290d)
First Goal 13 November 1965 Final Goal 14 April 1970
CAREER: Errol;Luncarty Jnrs;Blackburn Rovers Oct'64;Norwich City May'70 (ex Conlon)[16-3];Rochdale Oct'71[82+4-16];Bolton Wanderers Sep'73 (£14,000)[6+2]; Chesterfield Aug'74[100+4-33];Stockport County Mar'77 (loan)[11-2];Sheffield Wednesday Aug'77[1+1];Hartlepool Sep'77[2+2];Morecambe Nov'77;Bury Mar'78[1+1]; Morecambe Oct'78;California Sunshine (USA);Darwen'80-Sum’82.
 

FL           114 + 14 apps       30 gls    - 11 wdn   3g 1                           24 ns
FAC            8 apps                 4 gls                                                             1 ns
FLC            4 +   1 apps                                                                              2 ns
Total      126 + 15 apps       34 gls      -11 wdn  + 514m -248m         27 ns
Strike rate 341 mins
LC            5 apps                 2 gls
FAYC       3 apps                2 gls
 

Starting as a right winger Darling was one of the most exciting youth prospects the club had signed. Slight of build he was as waspish as his  red hair hinted, a fair athlete and owner of a venomous shot. Able to play with equal facility in most forward positions he never developed into the class  player he appeared capable of being and his  exchange for the orthodox Conlon was  simply the club's response to a player who flattered to deceive. He remained in the game for a long time, although his chief legacy is that he is best remembered for his outrageous ability to fall  dramatically in the penalty area, which enraged opponents but often managed to find sympathetic referees. In 1981 he had his first spell  in management as assistant to Jimmy Birkett at Darwen and later managed  Darwen and Great Harwood Town (starting in the summer of 1985). He remained in Darwen, played in the Orphanage Cup for his works team and became a good golfer at Pleasington Golf Club, where he eventually became a steward.