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Daniel John Higginbotham (born 29 December 1978) is a former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a defender. Born in Manchester, England, he represented
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
in international football. Higginbotham started his career in the academy of
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
. After making his senior debut for the club, he was sent out on
loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
to Belgian side
Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...
, but after his return the following season, he was unable to claim a regular first-team place and joined
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
in search of more playing time in 2000. He spent three years at Derby but handed in a transfer request when the club was relegated from the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
.
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
signed Higginbotham for a £1.5 million fee in February 2003, and he helped them reach the
2003 FA Cup Final The 2003 FA Cup Final was the 122nd final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The final took place on Saturday 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in front of a crowd of 73,726. It was the third co ...
. When Southampton were relegated in 2005, Higginbotham rejected a new contract and was placed on the transfer list. He joined fellow
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
side
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
for a £225,000 fee in August 2006. He was made
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
when
Michael Duberry Michael Wayne Duberry (born 14 October 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He started his career with Premier League side Chelsea, and also played in the top flight for Leeds United and Reading, and i ...
left in January 2007 and Stoke went on to narrowly miss out on a play-off place. With Stoke not being promoted Higginbotham again decided to hand in a transfer request to help force through a move to
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. He spent one season at the
Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
before returning to Stoke in 2008. He became a vital member of
Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one ...
' squad as Stoke established themselves in the Premier League. He scored the winning goal in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
quarter-final against
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
but missed out on both the
semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
and the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
due to a knee injury. After his recovery he struggled to force his way back into the side and spent time out on loan to
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
and
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
before joining
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
on a free transfer in January 2013. After eight months at
Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...
, he left to join
Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
side
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
before ending his career with a short spell at
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
. Higginbotham made his international debut for Gibraltar in a friendly against
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
in November 2013 at the age of 34, qualifying through his maternal grandmother. In January 2014, Higginbotham retired from club football after a 14-year career, but made two more international appearances for Gibraltar until his international retirement in March.


Early life

Born in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, Higginbotham grew up in nearby
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
. Despite passing his
eleven plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academic ...
he was denied entry into Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. His elder brother, Paul, played
non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
for
Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...
.


Club career


Manchester United

Higginbotham started his career at his local club
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, but was not highly rated during the first year of his apprenticeship and his career was almost ended when he broke his femur in a B team match. However, he recovered well from the injury and was given a two-year professional contract in 1998. He made his
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
debut on 10 May 1998, coming on for Michael Clegg 60 minutes into a 2–0 win over
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
at
Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used primarily by Barnsley Football Club for playing their home fixtures, and those of their reserves. While the name 'Oakwell' generally refers to the main s ...
. He was sent to
Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division (known as the Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Associa ...
side
Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...
on a
loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
spell. He got off to a bad start at the club and asked to return to
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
after being abused by Antwerp supporters outside the
Bosuilstadion The Bosuilstadion is an association football stadium in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The stadium was opened in 1923 and has been the home of Royal Antwerp ever since. It has a capacity of 16,144,
, and had to be talked into staying by manager Regi Van Acker. Following this start the club then won 15 matches in a row and Higginbotham become popular with the fans. However, the season ended with defeat in a play-off game. After the final whistle Ronnie Wallwork allegedly attacked the referee Amand Ancion. Higginbotham was subsequently banned from football for a year for his alleged involvement in the attack. In September 1999, a Belgian court reduced Higginbotham's ban to four months. Ancion maintained that Wallwork had grabbed him by the throat and that Higginbotham had headbutted him. Higginbotham always maintained his innocence, stating that he had tried to intervene peacefully after Wallwork had confronted Ancion in an aggressive manner.
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
believed the player's innocence and handed both players four-year contracts as the club appealed their suspensions. Higginbotham played six games for United during the 1999–2000 season, including appearances in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
and at the
Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium ( pt, Estádio do Maracanã, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local pronunciation: ), officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium is part o ...
in the FIFA World Cup Championship. He made his full debut in a 3–0 defeat to
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
at
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...
on 13 October 1999, in what was described as a blow to the credibility of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
as United had fielded a number of young players. He suffered with concussion during the match after a clash of heads with
Dion Dublin Dion Dublin (born 22 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer, television presenter and pundit. He is a club director of Cambridge United. As a player he was a centre-forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchest ...
. He failed to break into the
first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...
on a regular basis as
Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. As a player, he played as a full-back from 1983 to 2004. Irwin is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester ...
,
Phil Neville Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player, who is the head coach of MLS team Inter Miami CF. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teammate ...
and
Mikaël Silvestre Mikaël Samy Silvestre (born 9 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. Silvestre began his career at Rennes in 1996, before moving to Italian club Inter Milan in 1998. He joined Manchester United in 19 ...
were all preferred ahead of him at left-back.


Derby County

Higginbotham's desire to play regular first-team football led to him joining
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
for a £2 million fee – a large sum for a young player with just four top-flight appearances to his name. His decision to leave Manchester United was praised by the player he failed to displace, Denis Irwin. Higginbotham made his debut in a 2–2 draw with
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, and had a good start to his Derby career until he was
substituted A substitution reaction (also known as single displacement reaction or single substitution reaction) is a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another functional group. Substitution reactions ar ...
at half-time during his third appearance after struggling to contain Everton's
Niclas Alexandersson Jens Niclas Alexandersson (born 29 December 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a right winger and right back. Beginning his career with Halmstads BK in 1989, he went on to represent IFK Göteborg, Sheffield Wednesday ...
. Manager Jim Smith soon switched to a new system without any full-backs but Higginbotham adapted well to playing on the left-side of a three-man defence. Derby avoid relegation out of the Premier League on the penultimate day of 2000–01 with a 1–0 victory over former his club Manchester United at Old Trafford. He began 2001–02 on the left-side of central defence despite Smith reverting to a 4–4–2 formation. Smith was sacked after a poor start, but his replacement
Colin Todd Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...
failed to improve the club's form, and Todd was sacked and replaced with John Gregory, with similarly poor results. Higginbotham scored his first goal in English football on 16 March 2002, converting a
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...
to secure a 3–1 victory over
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
after striker
Fabrizio Ravanelli Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian football manager and former international player. A former striker, Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club Perugia Calcio, and also played for Middlesbrough, J ...
backed out of taking the penalty. This would prove to be the last win of a relegation campaign, with the only remaining positive to the season for Higginbotham coming when he was voted as the fans'
Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...
. On 17 August 2002, he collided badly with
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
forward
Steve Livingstone Stephen Carl Livingstone (born 8 September 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward and makeshift defender from 1986 to 2004. He began his career at Coventry City in 1986, though had little impact at the clu ...
and knocked Livingstone unconscious; this left Livingstone with a skull fracture injury that would see him out of action for two months. It was expected that Higginbotham would eventually move unless Derby did well enough to gain promotion back to the Premier League, and so in January 2003, with Derby struggling in the First Division, he moved to Southampton on
loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
, joining permanently in February.


Southampton

Following Derby's relegation from the Premier League, Higginbotham moved to Southampton in January 2003 on loan until the end of 2002–03. The move was made permanent in February 2003 for a £1.5 million fee. He featured in Southampton's
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
run in 2002–03, playing once in the fifth round against
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, but was an unused substitute for the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. The 2003–04 season was difficult for the club, and
Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Cove ...
resigned in March. Higginbotham felt that his replacement,
Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former association football, football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances betwe ...
, was unable to handle the pressure at St Mary's, but denied press rumours that Sturrock had lost the confidence of the players. Steve Wigley took charge for 2004–05 and the club's decline continued. Wigley demoted Higginbotham to the reserves after following a falling out between the pair, though he soon reversed the decision and returned him to the first team.
Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...
replaced Wigley as manager in December 2004 but failed to arrest the decline, and Southampton were relegated in last place. Higginbotham had scored the equalising goal in the penultimate match of the season at
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
, but a final day defeat to Manchester United left Southampton two points from safety.
George Burley George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...
took over from Redknapp in December 2005, though neither manager was unable to put together an effective promotion campaign and Southampton ended the season 12th in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
. Higginbotham rejected a new contract and as a result was placed on the transfer list in July 2006. He told the local press that he felt disrespected the way Southampton chairman
Rupert Lowe Rupert James Graham Lowe (born 31 October 1957) is a British politician, farmer and businessman, who served as a the Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the West Midlands constituency from 2019 to 2020. Lowe was chairman ...
had handled his contract – he had taken a pay cut to move from Derby, a 40% pay cut following relegation, and then the new contract offer was lower still than his current contract.


Stoke City

Higginbotham joined Southampton's Championship rivals
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
on 3 August 2006 for an initial £225,000 fee, and quickly cemented a regular place in
Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one ...
's starting line-up. He began 2006–07 at left-back, but soon established himself at centre-back after initially filling in for Clint Hill following Hill's sending off at
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
on 23 September 2006. Pulis gave Stoke a reputation as a " Battersea Dogs Home" club, and Higginbotham proved to be a typical signing in this regard as he felt unwanted at Southampton and said that his career had been reinvigorated by the move to the
Britannia Stadium The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but ...
. Stoke went seven games without conceding a goal, and during this run Higginbotham scored the only goal of the game against local rivals
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...
after deposing
Carl Hoefkens Carl Hoefkens (; born 6 October 1978) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the manager of Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge. Club career Early career Born in Lier, Belgium, Hoefkens started his career ...
as the club's penalty taker. In February 2007, he was awarded the club
captaincy A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule ...
following
Michael Duberry Michael Wayne Duberry (born 14 October 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He started his career with Premier League side Chelsea, and also played in the top flight for Leeds United and Reading, and i ...
's departure to
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. Over the course of the season he scored a career-high seven goals in his 46 appearances. Though Stoke narrowly missed out on the play-offs, a successful personal campaign culminated in Higginbotham being voted the club's
Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...
.


Sunderland

On 28 August 2007, it was announced that a bid from
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
had been accepted by Stoke, after Higginbotham had handed a transfer request to the club. Higginbotham wrote in his autobiography that Pulis would only authorise the deal if he handed in a transfer request. Higginbotham signed a four-year deal with Sunderland the following day, moving for a £2.5 million fee, possibly rising to £3 million dependent on appearances. He said that the chance to play Premier League football under
Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...
was too good to refuse. On 10 November 2007, Higginbotham scored the opening goal for Sunderland which was believed to come off his ear in a 1–1 draw with their Tyne-Wear rivals
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
at the
Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
. He was only a bit-part player by the start of 2008–09, and Keane allowed him to return to Stoke for the same fee that he had paid to Stoke.


Return to Stoke City

Higginbotham re-joined Stoke, now in the Premier League, in September 2008 for a £2.5 million fee. On 19 October 2008, Higginbotham scored the first goal of his second spell, with a penalty in a 2–1 win over
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
. He was the first choice at left-back for manager Tony Pulis, playing in 28 league matches as the team successfully fought for survival. However, he missed the final five matches of the season due to a slipped disc. He later underwent surgery. With the summer signing of
Danny Collins Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...
, Higginbotham was dropped to the bench before regaining his place in the team, mainly being utilised in his more natural position in the centre of defence, and scored the first goal in a 3–0 win over
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
on 8 February 2010. He was praised by first-team coach
Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards ...
for reclaiming his place in the side. He started the first match of
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
away at Wolverhampton Wanderers, but was dropped for the next match in favour of Collins. Higginbotham signed a contract extension in October 2010 for a further 12 months, keeping him at Stoke until the summer of 2013. He made his 200th top-flight appearance against Manchester United on 24 October 2010. He struggled with injury for the rest of the first half of the season, and was in and out of the first team. After signing his contract extension, Higginbotham stated that he wanted to end his career at Stoke. He scored a rare league goal in January 2011 against Bolton Wanderers. He scored the first FA Cup goal of his career in a quarter-final win against
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in March 2011. It proved to be the winning goal, thus earning Stoke their first semi-final appearance in 39 years. He scored an identical goal against Newcastle United the following week. However, in the next league match against
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, Higginbotham sustained a cruciate knee ligament injury that ruled him out for six months. Pulis spoke of his disappointment at losing Higginbotham but also stressed he would play a key role in the final few matches of the season due to his influence in the dressing room. Higginbotham later admitted that missing the
FA Cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...
made him "jealous" of his teammates. Higginbotham targeted to return from his knee injury by October 2011. He marked his return from his knee injury by scoring the only goal in a 1–0 reserve team win over
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
on 11 October 2011. However, after failing to force his way back into the first team, Higginbotham joined Championship team
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
on loan until the end of the season on 31 January 2012. Upon signing for Forest, Higginbotham admitted that he was unsure of his future at Stoke. He was backed by
Thomas Sørensen Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Danish Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Sørensen started his career with his local side Odense Boldklub, Odense BK. Af ...
to make a return to Stoke's first team. On 10 March 2012, Higginbotham scored his first goal for a year when he scored the second for Forest in a 3–1 home win over
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
. His loan spell with Forest was ended early in April 2012 due to injury. Higginbotham joined Championship club
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
on a one-month loan on 21 September 2012, which was later extended until January 2013. He was expected to extend his loan until the end of the season but Higginbotham rejected the deal saying he wanted to be based closer to his home, and left
Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internatio ...
having played 12 matches. After his move to Sheffield United, Higginbotham has stated that his six-year spell at Stoke was 'the best years of his career'.


Later career

On 1 January 2013, Higginbotham signed for Sheffield United on a six-month contract, and made his debut for the club against their
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
rivals
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
the same day. Former Stoke teammate and current Sheffield United teammate
Dave Kitson David Barry Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made 420 appearances in the Premier League and Football League, including 135 for Reading. Kitson began his career with non-L ...
played a part in Higginbotham's move to
Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...
, Higginbotham stated on his move to the club: "I was getting ready to go back to Ipswich on Sunday but after speaking to Dave I was optimistic something would be sorted here and thankfully it was ... I was very surprised and very happy when I got a phone call on Sunday to say that something could be happening here heffield Unitednbsp;... Dropping into
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
isn't a worry for me because this is a club on the up and I didn't want to be stuck at Stoke just picking my money up because that isn't me" On 18 June 2013, having made sufficient first-team appearances for Sheffield United, Higginbotham activated a clause in his contract to extend it for the following season. On 29 August 2013, Higginbotham joined
Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
club
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
on a one-year deal after falling out of the Sheffield United first team. After making 17 appearances for Chester, Higginbotham left the club in order to forge a media career. After leaving Chester, Higginbotham signed for
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
of the
Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
, as he wished to continue playing on a part-time basis with fewer travel commitments. Higginbotham had previously stated it was an ambition of his to play for Altrincham, as he had supported them as a boy. He announced his retirement from football on 8 January 2014.


International career

Born and raised in England, Higginbotham was eligible to play for the Gibraltar national team through his maternal grandmother. The former Gibraltar manager,
Allen Bula Allen Bula (born 4 January 1965) is a Gibraltarian football manager and former player. He notably managed the Gibraltar national football team. Playing career As a player, he played for Gibraltar United, St Joseph's and Glacis United. Coac ...
, is his uncle. Higginbotham made his international debut in Gibraltar's first ever match as a
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
member, a 0–0 draw in a friendly against
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, on 19 November 2013. He was praised for his performance and was named man of the match. He announced his retirement from international football in March 2014, having earned three
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for Gibraltar.


Media career

In February 2013 Higginbotham began to write his own column in '' The Sentinel'', a local newspaper in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire area. Higginbotham also has a regular sports column in
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
. He released his autobiography in April 2015, entitled: ''Rise of the Underdog''. He has appeared on several television and radio stations, including Talksport,
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
,
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
,
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
,
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
and
NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
. On 17 December 2020 it was announced that Higginbotham would be the new
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...
for the
Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...
starting with the 2021 season.


Personal life

His first child, Jak, was born in 2001. His second child, Jessica, was born on 12 October 2003. His first marriage ended in 2008. In 2010, he married Nicole, an American, who gave birth to his third child, Joshua, in 2011.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Manchester United * Intercontinental Cup:
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
Individual * Derby County Player of the Year: 2001–02 * Stoke City Player of the Year: 2006–07


References

General * Specific


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Higginbotham, Danny 1978 births Living people Footballers from Manchester British people of Gibraltarian descent English footballers English expatriate footballers Gibraltarian footballers Gibraltar international footballers Association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Chester F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Premier League players Belgian First Division B players English Football League players National League (English football) players Expatriate footballers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium English autobiographers English columnists