Derek Dunbar Niven (born 12 December 1983) is a Scottish 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 ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
,
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
,
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 t ...
and
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Stenhousemuir as a trainee, Niven joined Scottish Football League side
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...
in August 2000. He made his debut on 3 February 2001 in a 4–0 home defeat to Ross County in which he came on as a 62nd-minute substitute for
Kenny Black
Kenneth George Black (born 29 November 1963) is a Scottish football manager and former player who spent most of his career with Heart of Midlothian and Airdrieonians.
Playing career
A left-sided defender or midfielder, Black began his playin ...
. This would be Niven's only first team appearance for Raith, having also appeared as an unused substitute on numerous occasions.
Bolton Wanderers
On 18 November 2001, Niven was signed by
Sam Allardyce
Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player.
Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...
for
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 Fo ...
newcomers Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer. A week later he made his debut for the club's reserve side against Newcastle United alongside such players as
Dean Holdsworth
Dean Christopher Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968) is an English former professional football player and manager. As a striker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22-year career. Despite playing for 16 clubs in 19 spells the majorit ...
and
Nicky Southall
Leslie Nicholas Southall (born 28 January 1972), is an English former professional footballer, who was most recently first team coach at National League South side Dover Athletic.
During his time in professional football Southall was a midfie ...
. He remained a fringe player at the
Reebok Stadium
The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England.
Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming ri ...
until his departure in December 2003, however during his two-year spell he failed to make a single first team appearance.
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
in December 2003, making his debut in English football on 13 December 2003 in a 2–2 draw at home to
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
. Niven became a regular in the Spirerites squad and scored his first senior goal in a 1–0 victory over Blackpool on 24 April 2004. Chesterfield managed to avoid relegation at the end of the 2003–04 season having climbed out of the drop zone on the last day of the season at the expense of
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 t ...
.
Chesterfield were eventually relegated at the end of the 2006–07 season, and in November 2008 the club confirmed that Niven had begun treatment for
testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility.
Risk factors include an ...
Niven returned to the Chesterfield setup in March 2009 after recovering from a year-long stint suffering with testicular cancer. His return was pronounced with a wonder goal against Grimsby Town on 11 March. In May 2010, Niven struck the decisive goal in a 2–1 victory against AFC Bournemouth at
Saltergate
Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in Englan ...
, Chesterfield's final game at the stadium before relocation. As Chesterfield's longest serving player at the time, his dramatic volley deep into injury time also ensured that he would be the last player to score at Saltergate after 139 years of football at the ground. This dramatic ending to the 139 years of history was celebrated with an immediate pitch invasion from the home crowd.
He was released by Chesterfield at the end of the 2011–12 season, having made almost 300 league appearances for the club.
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 t ...
, alongside former
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...
player
Lewis Chalmers
Lewis John Chalmers (born 4 February 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
Having started playing football at Fletcher Moss Rangers, he moved to Altrincham he then moved on to Aldershot Town where he made sever ...
. After impressing in the club's 12–3 victory over Grimsby Borough he was offered a contract by the club, while Chalmers was released. On 16 July 2012, he signed a one-year contract with the club. Niven was ever present for the club in the centre of midfield with
Craig Disley
Craig Edward Disley (born 24 August 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is assistant manager at Cleethorpes Town.
Primarily a box-to-box central midfielder, he began his professional career at Mansfield T ...
and helped play a part in the club's promotion and FA Trophy run in. Grimsby missed out on lifting silverware at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
having been defeated on penalties to
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, and later lost out in the play-offs to Newport County. Town released Niven on 2 May 2013.
Non-League
On 17 July 2013, it was announced that Niven had dropped a further two leagues down by signing for Northern Premier League side
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Bakewell Town FC in the Hope Valley league.
Personal life
In 2008 Niven overcame a battle with
Testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility.
Risk factors include an ...
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. ...
*
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
Lincolnshire Senior Cup
The Lincolnshire Senior County Cup is a football (soccer) competition for senior football clubs in Lincolnshire organised by the Lincolnshire FA.
The competition can be traced back to the formation of the Lincolnshire FA at a meeting held at th ...
:
2012–13
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 ...
2012–13
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 ...