'I Loved Playing Under O’Neill' - Eadie On Foxes Career

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'I Loved Playing Under O’Neill' - Eadie On Foxes Career

Darren Eadie, a pacey, skilful winger and attacking midfielder, recalls playing in the Premier League and in Europe for both Norwich City and Leicester City between 1993 and 2003.

2026-03-11T15:00+00:00

by John Hutchinson

Published

11 Mar, 2026

'I Loved Playing Under O’Neill' - Eadie On Foxes Career

Darren Eadie, a pacey, skilful winger and attacking midfielder, recalls playing in the Premier League and in Europe for both Norwich City and Leicester City between 1993 and 2003.

John Hutchinson

2026-03-11T15:00+00:00

'I Loved Playing Under O’Neill' - Eadie On Foxes Career

Darren Eadie, a pacey, skilful winger and attacking midfielder, recalls playing in the Premier League and in Europe for both Norwich City and Leicester City between 1993 and 2003.

John Hutchinson

2026-03-11T15:00+00:00

'I Loved Playing Under O’Neill' - Eadie On Foxes Career

Darren Eadie, a pacey, skilful winger and attacking midfielder, recalls playing in the Premier League and in Europe for both Norwich City and Leicester City between 1993 and 2003.

John Hutchinson

2026-03-11T15:00+00:00

'I Loved Playing Under O’Neill' - Eadie On Foxes Career

Darren Eadie, a pacey, skilful winger and attacking midfielder, recalls playing in the Premier League and in Europe for both Norwich City and Leicester City between 1993 and 2003.

John Hutchinson

2026-03-11T15:00+00:00

Martin O’Neill, who had managed Darren at Carrow Road, bought him to Filbert Street in December 1999 for a then reported Club record fee of £3M. Unfortunately, the former England Under-21s international career was cut short by serious knee surgery, forcing him to retire in 2003.

“As a youngster, I went to Swindon, the nearest professional club and then to Southampton,” Wiltshire-born Darren began. “A chap called Gordon Bennett, who was the youth development officer at Norwich City, talent spotted lads down in the West Country which is how I came to join Norwich as a 16-year-old schoolboy.

“When I was 18, I made my Premier League debut against QPR and scored in a 2-2 draw. Before that, I had made my debut in Europe against Vitesse Arnhem and then we went on to beat Bayern Munich. I remember standing in the tunnel at Carrow Road and realising that I was standing next to Lothar Matthäus, who won the World Cup in 1990. It was incredible.

“I loved my eight years as a pro at Norwich. The European run (in 93/94) was the highlight. We lost to Inter Milan in the end, but we were the only English team to win in Munich’s Olympic Stadium. That remains a big part of my life.

“When I was at Norwich, I progressed from the England Under-21s squad to Glenn Hoddle’s full squad, at a time when we had dropped down to the Championship. To get a call-up to the full England squad was a really proud moment. Unfortunately, I got injured while there.

Playing for England Under-21s in a European qualifying match in Italy.

“The Under-21s experience under Peter Taylor was brilliant. I scored a few goals playing with the likes of Kieron Dyer, Rio Ferdinand, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes. I also played alongside Emile [Heskey]. He created so many opportunities. He was a really nice guy and I was lucky to play with him.

“I absolutely loved playing under Martin O’Neill at Norwich. That was probably the decisive factor in me coming to Leicester and joining back up with him again. He was the best manager I ever played under. His man management style, and the way he got the best out of players, was just brilliant.

“He knew how to treat different players differently. If someone needed an arm around them, he would do that. If he needed to have a go at you, he would do that as well. I have a huge amount of respect for the man. He made me feel wanted and that’s what you want from a manager, to get the best out of you.

“I remember the day he resigned from Norwich (on 17 December, 1995). We were playing at Leicester and I scored. We went down for the team meeting in the morning. His coaches, Paul Franklin and Steve Walford, came in but the manager didn’t, and then we were told he had left the Club. Soon afterwards, we found out that he had gone to Leicester.

“It was a huge disappointment as the lads felt we were on the upward curve again trying to get back into the Premier League under him. He obviously didn’t see eye to eye with the chairman at the time and he felt he had the chance to go to Leicester to build something special, which is what he went on to do.”

Four years later, Darren rejoined O’Neill at Filbert Street: “Norwich were in a bit of financial turmoil. They told me that a bid from Leicester had been accepted. However, I was happy at Norwich at the time, so I said I wanted to stay.

Beating Bayern Munich in the 93/94 UEFA Cup Second Round.

“Leicester was the closest Premier League side to Norwich at the time, and I could team up with Martin O’Neill again. Also, my Dad was born in Leicester, had gone to the school near to Filbert Street and had been a Leicester City Season Ticket Holder.

“It was his proudest moment when his son signed for his Club for a record fee. It was the perfect fit really. If I was going to go anywhere it was going to be Leicester. Leicester had a very similar feel to Norwich as a football club, which I liked. It was very family orientated and I enjoyed my time there.

“I signed for Leicester in December 1999. I was cup-tied so I couldn’t play in the League Cup Final which we won, qualifying us for Europe the next year. I was back playing in the Premier League and playing in Europe again with Martin O’Neill and a fabulous group of players. The team Martin had built was a good one, doing well in the Premier League. It was a really good time for us.”

With the Foxes on the verge of becoming a top six club in March 2000, Emile Heskey left for Liverpool, Stan Collymore broke his leg, and, at the end of the season, O’Neill left for Celtic.

Eadie added: “Martin leaving for Celtic was disappointing, but you learn as a footballer that you have to move with the times. You never know what is going to happen from one day to the next.

“I was enjoying my time at Leicester, but the fans never really got to see the best of me because of my injuries. I have had 26 operations on my knee. Without injuries holding me back, I certainly had aspirations to be back in the England squad. I am sure the Leicester fans would have liked to have seen more of me, as I played with pace and trickery but once my knee had gone that wasn’t going to happen.”

Up against Jamie Carragher at Anfield in 2000.

Peter Taylor became Leicester City’s Manager in June 2000. He continued: “Being the England Under-21s manager had suited Peter very well. He was a great coach but managing in the Premier League was a massive learning curve for him and it didn’t quite work out. Soon after he took over, we went to the top of the Premier League. He inherited O’Neill’s squad and, until that started to break up, we were certainly a force to be reckoned with.

“I remember the UEFA Cup game against Red Star Belgrade (in September 2000) very well. We conceded quite early in the home leg. A flare went off in the crowd causing smoke in the stadium and it was hard to see. We managed to equalise but we got turned over at their place.

“We should have done better in that competition. We had quality in the team with the likes of [Tim] Flowers, [Matt] Elliott, [Gerry] Taggart, [Muzzy] Izzet, [Steve] Guppy, [Robbie] Savage, [Neil] Lennon and [Emile] Heskey.”

We were fourth in the Premier League at the start of March 2001. This was followed by the home defeat to Wycombe Wanderers in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, which triggered a run of nine defeats in the last 10 matches and a final Premier League position of 13th.

“Nobody saw that run coming at the end of the season,” Eadie explained. “I missed a lot of this due to injuries and then was out for the next two seasons injured. I was only 28 when I retired. It is one of the worst things in the world to wake up from an operation and to be told that I couldn’t play again and that my career was over.”

Since retiring, Darren has co-founded ‘Sellebrity Soccer’, which has raised over £1.7M for charity through celebrity charity matches. He has worked as a pundit on radio and TV, has been head of football at Langley School and at St. Joseph College, founded ‘Elite Fortress’, a property and services business and jointly managed Leiston FC in the Southern League Central Division, where he is currently head of football strategy.

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