Danny Higginbotham

Daniel John Higginbotham (born 29 December 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Born in England, he represented Gibraltar in international football.

Higginbotham started his career in the academy of Manchester United.

However, he recovered well from the injury and was given a two-year professional contract in 1998.

He made his Premier League debut on 10 May 1998, coming on for Michael Clegg 60 minutes into a 2–0 win over Barnsley at Oakwell.

He was sent to Belgian Second Division side Royal Antwerp on a loan spell.

He got off to a bad start at the club and asked to return to Old Trafford after being abused by Antwerp supporters outside the Bosuilstadion, 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 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 and at the Maracanã Stadium in the FIFA World Cup Championship.

He made his full debut in a 3–0 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park on 13 October 1999, in what was described as a blow to the credibility of the League Cup as United had fielded a number of young players.

He suffered with concussion during the match after a clash of heads with Dion Dublin.

He failed to break into the first team on a regular basis as Denis Irwin, Phil Neville and Mikaël Silvestre were all preferred ahead of him at left-back.

Higginbotham's desire to play regular first-team football led to him joining Derby County 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, and had a good start to his Derby career until he was substituted at half-time during his third appearance after struggling to contain Everton's Niclas Alexandersson.

After making his senior debut for the club, he was sent out on loan to Belgian side Royal Antwerp, but after his return the following season, he was unable to claim a regular first-team place and joined Derby County 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.

Southampton signed Higginbotham for a £1.5 million fee in February 2003, and he helped them reach the 2003 FA Cup Final.

When Southampton were relegated in 2005, Higginbotham rejected a new contract and was placed on the transfer list.

He joined fellow Championship side Stoke City for a £225,000 fee in August 2006.

He was made captain when Michael Duberry 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.

He spent one season at the Stadium of Light before returning to Stoke in 2008.

He became a vital member of Tony Pulis' squad as Stoke established themselves in the Premier League.

He scored the winning goal in the FA Cup quarter-final against West Ham United but missed out on both the semi-final and the final 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 and Ipswich Town before joining Sheffield United on a free transfer in January 2013.

After eight months at Bramall Lane, he left to join Conference Premier side Chester before ending his career with a short spell at Altrincham.

Higginbotham made his international debut for Gibraltar in a friendly against Slovakia 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.

Born in Manchester, Higginbotham grew up in nearby Altrincham.

Despite passing his eleven plus exam he was denied entry into Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.

His elder brother, Paul, played non-League football for Witton Albion.

Higginbotham started his career at his local club Manchester United, 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.