Former West Brom star Darren Carter: Year out through injury was real eye opener
Former Blues and Albion star Darren Carter today details the desperate scrap for survival – and the fight to save careers - at the bottom of the Football League.
The 30-year-old was part of the Northampton Town side which avoided relegation from League Two, despite spending almost the entire campaign in the drop zone.
Carter is a former England youth international who shot to stardom when he scored the penalty which put Blues into the Premier League in 2002.
But he has now seen the game's "ruthless" side up close after his career was beset by injury and misfortune.
While those at the top of the game prosper, he says those at the base of the pyramid are fighting for their livelihoods.
"As much as we all love the game it is a ruthless business," he says. "You are very, very quickly forgotten about, that is for sure.
"When I had the year out through injury it was an eye-opener to what it is like, from the outside looking in.
"That's something which drives you forward and makes you appreciate being in the game and having a career."
To read the Big Interview with Darren Carter, pick up a Weekend edition of the Express & Star.
