Injuries while at Everton, and the series of short spells that followed elsewhere, may lead to a perception that Darron Gibson’s footballing career was left unfulfilled. But the once promising playmaker does not see it that way.
The ex-Manchester United and Everton midfielder realised a childhood dream, and now happily retired, the former Blue enjoys spending time he once missed with family and reflects with great satisfaction on his playing years.
“For a young boy from the streets of Derry to play for Manchester United in the Champions League - it’s been an unbelievable experience,” he reflects.
“I’ve won some trophies. I’ve played in most competitions, and I’ve played at the top level with some great players – the United squad I was in; the first Everton squad I was in. I’ve got a lot of memories that I can share with my kids, and hopefully grandkids. I enjoyed it. I think I’ve had a decent career, so I look back with a certain amount of pride.
“I’m definitely retired now. I’m really enjoying looking after the kids because when I was playing, I was never at home. It’s just a normal life, really, and I’m enjoying that normality.
“I’ve got a few properties and a few business things keeping me busy, as well. I spend a bit of time playing golf, too. I know with the career I had in football, and things I won, this might sound a bit false, but I’m actually the happiest I’ve been for a long time now. I think I’m the most settled and mentally well that I’ve been for a long time.”
Gibson's move to Everton arrived in January 2012, after he recognised the time had come to leave boyhood club Manchester United.
The Republic of Ireland international had seen his playing time with the Red Devils reduced, but he was reluctant to depart; happy to stay unless a big club showed interest.
Once they did during the winter transfer window, things progressed very quickly for the midfielder.
“It happened really fast,” said Gibson on his Merseyside move. “In the summer, I had a conversation with Sir Alex (Ferguson), and he said, ‘It might be time for you to move on'.
“I told him I respected that, but that I’m not going unless a club comes in that I want to go to. There were a few teams that came in that summer, and I didn’t really fancy them. I wasn’t really involved from then until January.
“I then remember going out to training one day. I’ve put my boots on and gone outside. I’m doing the warm-up and one of the coaches said, ‘The gaffer wants to speak to you back in the boot room'.
“So, I ran back in, and he’s gone, ‘Everton have come in for you. What do you think?’ And I said, ‘Well, what do you think?’
“‘I think you should go,’ he said. ‘Alright, fair enough', I replied, so I took my boots off, put my clothes on and drove straight to Finch Farm. On the way down, my agent rang me, and said: ‘The deal needs to be done by 12 o’clock so you can play at the weekend'.
“That was it, really. I went to Finch Farm, had a half-an-hour or hour medical, and signed the contract.”
Arriving in Liverpool, Gibson joined a strong Everton side. Managed by David Moyes, their latest signing was immediately impressed by the standard on show.
“I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect,” said Gibson. “But the lads were all great. The squad I came in to was a really good squad, and the staff were brilliant as well, so it didn’t take long for me to settle in at all.
“I knew Phil Neville who was already there, and I knew Phil had spoken to Gary Neville and Paul Scholes about me before it was done.
“I signed on a Friday and the first game was against Villa on the Saturday. In the team talk, the manager read out the line-up and said I was starting. So, I was like, ‘Well, okay - here we go. Straight in'.
“I just remember the first 15 or 20 minutes of the game, thinking: ‘Wow, I’m in a really good squad here!’ We started the game well and I remember Tim Cahill winning about five or six headers in the first 20 minutes. I was thinking: ‘Jesus Christ! He can jump!’”
A Manchester United fan from a young age, Gibson describes his time at Old Trafford as a “dream come true” but believes his finest form came during the five-year spell at Everton.
“I was a United fan growing up and I never really thought I’d make it into the first team,” Gibson admits. “I just went along with what was happening. Eventually, I progressed into the first team. Now, thinking back, it was a bit mad. It was a dream come true for me, really.
“But honestly, I enjoyed every minute of it. Some of the experiences we had as a group were great, and I was playing with one of the best squads ever at United. Playing under Sir Alex was brilliant, as well. I really enjoyed my time at United, but all good things come to an end, and I knew it was my time to leave.
“I know I won trophies at United, but I think Everton was the best period of my career because I was playing every week. We were absolutely flying in the first full season I had, and I was playing really well. That first year and a half to two years was the most enjoyable time of my career.”
While in Manchester, Gibson broke through as a promising youngster, and a winner of the 2005/06 Jimmy Murphy Young Player Of The Year Award - a trophy to recognise the club’s finest prospects, which was previously picked up by Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
A successful spell at United saw him enjoy a Premier League title triumph, two League Cup wins, and a FIFA Club World Cup victory.
Known as a technical midfielder player with a trademark long-range piledriver - a skill showcased for his first Everton goal in a 1-0 home win over league leaders Manchester City in January 2012 - Gibson tells of how his shooting from distance was a skill encouraged by Manchester United great, Sir Bobby Charlton.
“When we were coming through in the under-18s and reserves, the coaches were always pushing the midfielders to get forward and try to get goals by getting into the box,” said Gibson. “I had a decent strike on me, so I just used to shoot from everywhere.
“When I made my debut for United in the League Cup, I had a few shots that were nowhere near the goal. Bobby Charlton always used to come into the dressing room after the game, and he came up to me and shook my hand. He said, ‘Listen, son, keep shooting. They only remember the ones you score'.”
Fast forward a few years, and a promising opening 18 months at Everton was overseen by future Manchester United manager, Moyes. He was a coach who - just like his predecessor Ferguson - Gibson says commanded the respect of his players.
“He was very good, but he was tough - he’d let you know if you were doing something wrong,” said Gibson, describing Moyes’ managerial style. “He was very detailed and never left a stone unturned.
“That’s what shocked me when I first arrived. On the Friday, in the first session I had, we played a little ‘young v old’ game. It finished and we thought we were done, but then he said, ‘Right, lads: set-pieces'. And we must’ve been outside for another 50 minutes just going over set-pieces. I was wet, and I was freezing, and I was thinking: ‘What is going on here?’
“That’s the type of manager he was. He wanted every little bit of detail for everyone to know. But I think it worked well because the lads knew everything they should’ve been doing, and obviously, we were getting results, as well.
“[Moyes and Ferguson] were both different in their own ways. I think the biggest thing for a manager in a dressing room was having the respect of the players, and both of them had that. They handled the one-on-one management very well and they were both really well respected by both squads.
“I’ve had some managers after those two who didn’t really have that respect of the squad. I could see a massive difference. They’re both great football minds, but I think the biggest thing, for me, was that.”
On the winning Everton side in all 11 of his Premier League games after arriving in the January of the 2011/12 campaign, it was clear Gibson had made a promising start to life in royal blue, quickly becoming a regular for the Toffees during a strong finish to the season which saw Moyes' men reach an FA Cup semi-final.
However, injury troubles had already begun in his first few months, and they crept up again in his second season. Gibson still managed to make 23 league appearances, continuing to combine impactfully with Belgian Marouane Fellaini in the Blues midfield.
Unfortunately, those minutes were curtailed by an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland against Kazakhstan in October of the following campaign.
“I think it was the first international break of the season,” said Gibson, who was just 25 at the time. “The funny thing was, we’d just played Germany away, and got a result.
“The second game was at home and only a friendly. We had an interim manager at the time, and he pulled me two days before the game and said: ‘Listen, it’s only a friendly. You don’t have to play.’
“I was like, ‘No, no. I want to play; I want to keep going because I’m fit and I’m playing games'. Then literally, 20 minutes into the game, I’ve gone and done that.
“I look back and that was a big turning point in my career. It took me a good year to get over it and to feel, sort of, normal again.
“It was just when (Roberto) Martinez came in as manager, and when I did my knee, he brought Gareth Barry in. Obviously, Gaz was unbelievable when he came, and when I got back fit, I struggled to get back in. So, the injury was a big turning point.”
A nine-month spell on the sidelines followed for Gibson, who went on to suffer subsequent injuries including a fractured metatarsal less than a year later.
This led to the midfielder seeing a reduced involvement, featuring just once in the league during Martinez’ first season in 2013/14, before making three starts in the following season, and two in 2015/16 - his penultimate campaign with the Club.
The conclusion to the Everton chapter of his career came in January 2017 under manager Ronald Koeman, who had arrived from Southampton during the previous summer.
“He was different again,” said Gibson, describing his former coach. “Not so vocal and expressive. It’s a difficult one because I left when he was in charge.
“We’d done a pre-season and everything, from my point of view, was going well. My agent spoke to his staff, and they said they really liked me.
“Just before the season started, he called me into his office, and he said, ‘You’re not in my plans’. I said, ‘What do you mean? I thought everything was going alright'.
“He responded, saying, ‘Yes, but I want to bring some younger players through. You’re on a lot of money and you’ve only got a year left, so I understand if you want to stay. I’m just letting you know you won’t be involved'.
“In one way, I was disappointed, but when I look back now, I actually respect him for being honest with me.”
Eager to work his way back into Koeman’s thinking, Gibson’s patience eventually ran out, as he recalled: “I didn’t look for a move elsewhere. That was in the summer, and I thought to myself that I’d prove him wrong.
“But I was just getting moved about in training, playing left-back, and right-back. I did that until about November or December, and then I started getting really frustrated.
“It was just before Christmas, and I knew I was never involved, so I went in and said to him, ‘Listen, I’ve got two young kids. There’s no point in me coming in on Christmas Day, so can I just have it off to spend with my family?’, but he refused.
“I was thinking that it was a bit strange. This would’ve been before the training session on the 23rd or 24th. But then, he must’ve changed his mind. After the session, he called me back into the office, and said: ‘Right, you’ve got two weeks off. I don’t want to see you in the training ground.’
“I definitely knew that my time was up there. In one way, I was delighted to have Christmas off, but in the back of my mind, I knew it was not good for my career. I knew if anything happened in the January, then it would be my time to go.”
Gibson's departure from the Blues came shortly after, when he joined Sunderland to work under former manager Moyes in a move which lasted a little more than a year.
“I think they were the first club that came in,” he recalled. “In hindsight, I think I rushed into it. I didn’t want to leave, but I was at the point where I didn’t really have a choice.
“Looking back, I think I could’ve maybe held on until the end of the window to see if anything else developed. But I think my head was at a point where I just needed to get out. Obviously, I’d worked under Moyesy previously, so that was that, really.
“I didn’t have a great time at Sunderland, to be honest. My family stayed in Manchester when I moved up there. I didn’t know it at the time, but I found it really difficult being away from them. It probably impacted both my lifestyle and my football.”
Despite a disappointing end to his time with the Toffees, along with his struggles in Sunderland, Gibson maintained the faith that he could regain the form from his first 18 months at Everton.
“I’ve always been a fit lad, so, in my head, I knew I could always get back there at some point, but I also knew to get back to that point, I needed to start playing games again,” he recalls. “Although I didn’t want to leave, I knew it was my time to go.
“I did always have the belief and I knew the ability was there. If you don’t think that then I don’t think there’s any point in playing. But I knew that after the injury, I was never as fit as I was before.”
After leaving Sunderland by mutual consent in 2018, he spent a season at Wigan Athletic, before finishing his career at Salford City at the end of the 2020/21 season, calling time on on his playing years with 26 international caps, and more than 200 senior club appearances.
