Neil Danns

Guyanese footballer (born 1982)

Danns "ran his heart out" for the 16 minutes of what proved to be his final appearance for Blackburn Rovers in a 4–3 loss against Bolton Wanderers on 10 January 2004. In March, he joined another Second Division club, Hartlepool United, on a one month loan, later extended to the end of the season, and as he had with Blackpool, he made his debut in a heavy defeat to Queens Park Rangers. He established himself as a regular in the side, scored the winning goal away to Wrexham in April,

In September 2004, Danns joined League One club Colchester United on loan as injury cover. He started the next match, a 3–1 league win over AFC Bournemouth on 11 September, and scored both goals in a 2–1 defeat of Port Vale on 4 October. and Danns was a regular in the first team throughout his 13 match stay, during which he scored four times. Danns rejoined Colchester for a nominal fee, later reported as £15,000; his 18 month contract included a 30% sell on clause. During a match at Tranmere Rovers in February 2005, the hosts' match video commentator referred to Danns using racially offensive terminology; the commentator was sacked. Danns scored against Gillingham in the opening fixture of the 2005–06 season, but his team lost 2–1. but a run of goals in January, including two against Derby County to take his side through to the FA Cup fifth round, sparked interest from higher level teams. However, Danns claimed that the progress Colchester were making allowed him to develop without needing to leave13 years later, he expressed his gratitude to the club for giving him the opportunity to shine He "kept Colchester ticking" as they came close to earning a replay, and played a major part in his team's promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time in their history. His performances were recognised with a place in the PFA League One Team of the Year. He started Birmingham's opening fixtureagainst Colchesterand was involved in the first goal of a 2–1 win. In the first half of the season he was a regular on the pitch, either starting or as a used substitute, and scored three times. He set up a goal for Sebastian Larsson's equaliser against Newcastle United that took the third round FA Cup tie to a replay at St James's Park, which Birmingham won 5–1. In the second half of the campaign, he was used increasingly little in league matches, making only one start and five substitute appearances after the turn of the year; He came back into the squad in early April, but his season ended after being sent off for his part in a mass brawl at the end of Birmingham's defeat at Barnsley; he served a three match ban and was not selected thereafter as Birmingham won four of the last five matches to confirm their promotion to the Premier League as runners up. Danns was determined to establish himself at Birmingham in the 2007–08 season, tried to take consolation from other players who had returned to the squad after lengthy periods out of it, and worked hard on the defensive aspect of the midfield position, but to no avail. He made two substitute appearances in the Premier League and two League Cup starts under manager Steve Bruce and none at all under his successor Alex McLeish, who told him that he should look elsewhere for first team football.

Danns signed a three and a half year contract with Championship club Crystal Palace on 22 January 2008 for a fee of £600,000, rising to £850,000 conditional on the club's promotion to the Premier League. He made his debut as a 64th minute substitute in a draw with Southampton on 4 February, and made two starts that month before a groin injury that needed two operations kept him out until 4 October. He returned as a half time substitute against Nottingham Forest and was involved in Shefki Kuqi's late winning goal. The comeback was short lived: after two more matches, an ankle injury kept him out for another couple of months, and it took a considerable time to return to full fitness. He finished the season with 23 appearances in all competitions and three goals, which included a header in a 3–1 win away to Plymouth Argyle (a match in which his error led to Argyle's goal) and a much needed winner against Preston North End in March. Danns began the 2009–10 season in the starting eleven and largely remained in it. as manager Neil Warnock set up the team to play in a style that suited his strengths. The administrators accepted a bid from Southampton for Danns, but the player rejected the move. Warnock challenged him to "step up and take on the goalscoring duties" from the departed Victor Moses, and he complied, with both goals in a 2–0 win over Peterborough United, a late winner against Scunthorpe United, and two more goals later in the season that took his league tally to eight. However, in the penultimate match of the season, a 1–1 draw with West Bromwich Albion, Danns was sent off for headbutting Graham Dorrans, so was suspended for the visit to Sheffield Wednesday from which Palace needed a point to survive at their hosts' expense. The match was drawn, so Wednesday were relegated. Danns was nominated for Palace's Player of the Year awardaccording to the citation, "his work rate and skill were major reasons Palace stayed up"but lost out to goalkeeper Julián Speroni. Having served his suspension, Danns scored a late consolation goal against Ipswich Town, and converted a penalty as well as setting up the goal that completed James Vaughan's hat trick against Portsmouth in mid September. He made a swift return from medial ligament damage suffered at the end of the month and soon returned to form. With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, speculation grew as to whether he would re sign: an opinion piece in the local paper in the new year suggested that Danns was one of a small group of players who "aren't putting in 110%" and who should be a priority for new manager Dougie Freedman to get "playing from the same tune", and the player made a lengthy response via social media dismissing any suggestion that he was not giving his all for the club or that his recently acquired back problem was chronic and would make him fail a medical. He returned from injury to make a further 14 appearances, taking his total for the club to 114, He was again shortlisted as Palace's Player of the Year, and won the Vice presidents' Player of the Year award.

Despite Scottish Premier League club Rangers believing themselves close to signing the player, Danns became Sven Göran Eriksson's second signing for Championship club Leicester City when he agreed terms on a three year deal to begin on 1 July after the expiry of his Palace contract. He started the opening game of the season, a 1–0 win over Coventry City, and scored his first goal as Leicester eliminated Bury from the League Cup. his next opened the scoring against his former club Crystal Palace, and he also took the free kick that led to Leicester's second goal in the 2–1 win. He added three more goals in February and March, He was sent off after 57 minutes for a "reckless challenge" on Hull's Paul McKenna, and was not selected again for the rest of the season. He made his debut against his former club Blackpool three days later, and in the second match, he set up a goal for Stephen Pearson that helped City end their 11 match winless run with a 3–1 victory at Middlesbrough. His loan was extended for a second month, and he contributed two goals from nine matches before returning to Leicester. Bristol City manager Derek McInnes was keen to extend Danns' stay further, either as another loan or on a permanent basis, but instead he joined another Championship club, Huddersfield Town, on loan until the end of the season. On his debut, he "certainly put in a shift, first on the right hand side of midfield, then after the departure of [Oliver] Norwood, who started reasonably but lost his way, in the centre", in a draw at home to Birmingham City, He was a regular in the starting eleven as Huddersfield avoided relegation back to League One, with 17 league appearances and 2 goals, the first in a 2–1 West Yorkshire derby defeat of Leeds United and the second in a draw with Peterborough, although a toe injury kept him out of the last three fixtures. In January 2013, Danns had dismissed suggestions of a disagreement with Nigel Pearson, and professed himself mystified by his exclusion from consideration at Leicester. At the start of the 2013–14 season, Pearson pointed out how fortunate Leicester were to "have quite a lot of quality in terms of our central midfield options", and that Danns would benefit from regular first team football elsewhere.

On 26 September 2013, Danns signed on loan for Championship club Bolton Wanderers, managed by Dougie Freedman who had coached him at Crystal Palace. He made his first Wanderers appearance in a goalless draw away to Blackpool on 1 October, and the player was keen to make the move permanent if Leicester were willing. He rejoined Bolton on 3 January 2014 on loan until the end of the season. In February and March, he set up a goal in each of three consecutive wins. At the end of April, Danns signed a one year contract with Bolton, to begin on 1 July after the expiry of his Leicester deal. Highlighting his work rate, dynamism, and the positive attitude that set an example to the "younger, hungrier players" prioritised by the manager, the Bolton News suggested that "Freedman may have already made the most important signing of the summer". Amid strong competition for a place in Freedman's preferred 4–2–3–1 formation, He started the next Championship match, and remained in the starting eleven for most of the season. before Lennon reverted to the system used by Freedman but with more license given to attack minded players. In January 2015, Lennon described Danns and Darren Pratley as "pivotal" in the way his team was set up to play. but injury to the latter would adversely affect Danns' form. At the end of January, Danns signed a one year contract extension. Having captained the team in the FA Cup third round, he was sent off in the fourth before Bolton let slip a one goal lead and went out to Liverpool. Soon afterwards, he received his tenth yellow card of the season and with it a two match ban. In April, Danns and Barry Bannan were "suspended indefinitely" and fined two weeks' wages for drunken behaviour at the club's hotel; after apologising to all concerned, they missed just one match before Lennon recalled them. Danns finished the season with 47 appearances in all competitions. He scored his first goal of the season on 26 September 2015 in a 2–2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion during which Jamie Murphy was sent off for fouling him. Accusations of diving prompted Danns to tweet a picture of the damage caused. He played regularly in the first half of the season but in the second, was used off the bench and often out of position. He did not start a league match in 2016 until 9 April, well after Lennon had left the club, in a defeat to Derby County that confirmed Bolton's relegation. Danns was released when his contract expired, having made 81 appearances in his permanent spell.

After a trial, Danns signed a two–year contract with League One club Bury on 21 July 2016. He scored in the opening game of the season, a 2–0 win over Charlton Athletic, but ten days later injured a foot and was out for a month. He scored his first Bury goal on 18 October from the penalty spot in a 2–1 loss at home to AFC Wimbledon. He was sent off against Bristol Rovers in December for an off the ball incident, so served a three match ban, and spent the second half of the season on loan to League Two club Blackpool. Danns made his Blackpool debut on 4 February 2017 in a 1–1 draw with Colchester United, He played regularly for the rest of the season, and scored in the final match of the regular season, a 3–1 win against Leyton Orient that confirmed Blackpool's play off place. Danns started in both legs of the semi final and in the final as Blackpool beat Exeter City to gain promotion to League One. He was not initially given a squad number and had to train away from the senior squad, but remained keen to be part of Bury's campaign. Despite starting in the EFL Trophy and making three appearances (one start) in the league in September, it was not until Clark was sacked and Ryan Lowe took over as caretaker that Danns returned to the side. Against Gillingham on 11 November, he scored his first Bury goal for a year, but a hamstring injury sustained a week later was to keep him out for the rest of 2017. His exclusion had made him contemplate retirement, but Lowe made him captain and his enthusiasm returned. He scored three goals in February and March, but Bury's return to League Two was confirmed with four matches still to go. Danns signed a one year contract extension at the end of the season. Danns retained the captaincy for the 2018–19 season. He scored his first goals on 3 November in a 4–1 win over Macclesfield Town, "smashing home into the top right corner from the edge of the box" for his second. Lowe said afterwards how pleased he was that Danns' hard work had been rewarded. He found himself in and out of the first team because of injury and his international commitments with Guyana, but still ended up with 34 league appearances (28 starts) as Bury gained promotion back to League One despite the financial turmoil surrounding the club, a winding up petition pending and players and staff being paid late or not at all. By the time Danns returned from international duty, Bury's financial position had worsened, and after six fixtures were suspended by the EFL pending credible proof of the club's viability, it was expelled from the league on 27 August 2019. Interviewed on radio station Talksport, Danns was highly critical of the role of the owner, who in his view had "literally destroyed lives" by his failure to progress the club in a proper manner.

Danns became a free agent after Bury's expulsion from the league, and on 19 September he signed for League One club Tranmere Rovers until the end of the season. He made 24 appearances in all competitions without scoring. In November 2020, Danns signed a short term deal with National League club FC Halifax Town. He left the club on 12 January 2021 after appearing in five league games. He scored once from 16 appearances, On 13 December 2022, Danns was appointed interim manager at Macclesfield. During his time at the club, he helped them achieve back to back League Titles/Promotions with Macclesfield going from the 9th tier to the 7th tier.

After spending half a season as interim player–manager at Macclesfield during the 2022–2023 season, in which he won the Northern Premier League Division One West, Danns left at the end of the season to become assistant manager at Tranmere Rovers.

Danns was called up by Guyana for friendlies against Grenada and Saint Lucia in March 2015. He qualifies for the team via his grandfather. He made his debut against Grenada on 29 March, setting up both goals in a 2–0 victory. After missing the first leg of the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines because his Guyanese passport did not come through in time, Danns scored twice in the June 2015 second leg, which finished as a 4–4 draw, but his country lost out on away goals. Danns scored in a 2–2 draw with Barbados in a 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifier, which doubled as a qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He captained the national side and scored their goal in a 2–1 defeat to French Guiana on 20 November that put them out of contention for Gold Cup qualification. However, CONCACAF awarded Guyana a 3–0 win against Barbados, who had fielded ineligible players, which meant that beating Belize in the final qualifier would be enough to see Guyana through to the Gold Cup for the first time in their history. Danns scored the opening goal from the penalty spot, and later missed a second penalty, as Guyana won 2–1. Danns was named in Guyana's squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, played in all three group matches and scored all three of his country's goals. In the second match, he converted two penalties in a 4–2 loss to Panama that eliminated Guyana from the tournament, He was named in the group stage Best XI. In June 2023 Danns was named to Guyana's 23 man squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification tournament.

Danns was born in Liverpool, the son of Neil and Karen Danns. Danns grew up in Toxteth, a difficult neighbourhood, and credited his parents for maintaining discipline and keeping him from involvement in crime. In 2010, Danns took a video editing and production course at the London Academy of Media, Film and TV. He was reported to be about to release a single, but did not. He is a regular user of X.

Scores and results list Guyana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Danns goal. + List of international goals scored by Neil DannsNo. DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition114 June 2015 Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana 2–2 4–4 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification24–43 22 March 2016 Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana 4–0 7–0 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification4 6 September 2018 Synthetic Track and Field Facility, Leonora, Guyana 2–2 2–2 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying5 20 November 2018 Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama, Cayenne, French Guiana 1–2 1–2 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying6 23 March 2019 Synthetic Track and Field Facility, Leonora, Guyana 1–0 2–1 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying722 June 2019 FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, United States 1–1 2–4 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup82–49 26 June 2019 Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, United States 1–0 1–1 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup