Former Fulham youth defender Darren Curtis would love to stick George Bush and Jordan in the ring with Mike Tyson!
04/11/06 by Andy Starmore
Darren Curtis is an established full back no forward enjoys coming across.

Probably his best season so far was during his days at Lymington & New Milton, when he picked up a Wessex League championship medal.

These days he plies his trade with VT FC, a side who are surprising a number of people in the Wessex Premier League this season.

When Pitchside asked a number of VT players recently if they wanted to be quizzed about this and that, Curtis was first in the queue. So then, here’s how the conversation panned out:

1) Full name? Darren D Curtis

2) Nickname? Curts

3) Previous clubs? Fulham, while Kevin Keegan was there, Salisbury City, AFC Totton and Lymington & New Milton.

4) Best club you’ve played at? Fulham – obviously!

5) Most successful club you’ve been at? Lymington & New Milton. We won the league and had a good FA Cup run.

6) Best player you’ve played with? Scott O’Rourke, our goalkeeper. If he’d have been a little bit taller he could have made it as a pro.

7) Worst player you’ve played with? Marc Diaper. His left foot is awful.

8) Best manager you’ve played under? I have to say Ray Wilkins at Fulham. He was a very good manager. He was down to earth and a really good lad. Ian Robinson was a good organiser at Lymington & NM but I’d say Dave Taviner was a great coach there.

9) Worst manager you’ve played under? Geoff Butler at Salisbury City. Terrible man-management.

10) Manager you’d love to play under? Sven Goran Ericsson because he is so bad and I’d like to see what his team talks are like.

11) Best goal you’ve scored? It was against Leeds as a Fulham youth player. I flicked it up and volleyed it which was quite nice.

12) Favourite pro team and why? Southampton. I’ve supported them since I was 11.

13) Favourite pro player and why? John Terry. He’s hard as nails and a legend.

14) Who do you most admire as a player in the Wessex League at the moment and why? Not Wessex League now but, I’ve got a lot of respect for Jimmy Sheppard, who I played with at Lymington & New Milton. He’s great in the changing room. Also Ben Thomson is a very good player.

15) Is the Wessex League weaker, stronger or no different to last season? I think it’s stronger because there are more teams that can challenge for the top.

16) Name your top three for the end of this season, in order? Top: VT obviously, by ten clear points (tongue in cheek but who knows). I think Totton will be up there and probably Gosport.

17) Who will occupy the bottom two places come the end of the season? Probably Hamble and Alton.

18) Name the best pitch you’ve played on in the Wessex League? Probably Christchurch, which is very nice.

19) Name the worst pitch you’ve played on in the Wessex League? Ours. It’s absolutely awful.

20) Do you have one specific regret in football? I feel like I’ve given it my all since I was a kid, so not really.

21) What make football boots do you wear? Quazer Greenflash. They’re awesome.

22) What size? 9.5

23) When was the last time you bought a pair? The beginning of this season.

24) What’s the best ground you’ve ever played on? Carrow Road, Norwich.

25) Where were you born? Southampton.

26) Do you have any brothers and sisters? Three brothers and one sister.

27) If you had to choose four people to go on holiday with, who would they be, why and where would be the destination? I would take Jimmy Sheppard, Ben Thomson, Scott O’Rourke, because he’s mad and, Thierry Henry, so he could get us into the clubs. The destination would be Las Vegas.

28) Name four people you’d love to stick in the boxing ring with Mike Tyson? Marc Diaper. I’d like to see PJ, our centre back. He’s an absolute brute and I think he’d give Tyson a go. George Bush and Jordan. I cannot stand her and it would be good to see her get a good battering.

29) What is your occupation? Estate Agent.

30) Can you remember your first true love and how old were you? It’s actually my wife now. We got married in Las Vegas.

31) What was the first car you bought? Peogoet 309, which was awful. You had to wind the window down to open the door from the outside, it was that bad.

32) What would be your ideal/dream car? A Ferrari.

33) If you were able to swap places with a film star for a day, who would it be and why? It would be Borat because he’s so funny.

34) Name your all time favourite film? Rounders, which is a poker film with Matt Damon.

35) Name your all time favourite song? Stand By Me by Ben E King.

36) Who is your all time favourite band/artist? Snoop Dog.

37) What was the last sport you played other than football? Snooker.

38) What are your hobbies outside of football? Playing poker, going to the gym.

39) When you pack up playing what would you love to be able to say you achieved in the game? I played at the highest level I could and what I really want to do is get to the first round proper of the FA Cup. I’m still only 25 so there’s plenty of time yet for that.

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