Darren Holden (footballer)

Darren Holden

Holden with Hartlepool United in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Darren Holden[1]
Date of birth	(1993-08-27) 27 August 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth	Krugersdorp, South Africa
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)	Left back
Team information
Current team	Nelson
Youth career
2010–2011	Hartlepool United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2015	Hartlepool United	58	(0)
2015–2016	Ross County	0	(0)
2016	Gateshead	7	(0)
2016	Jarrow Roofing
2016–2017	South Shields
2017	West Auckland Town
2017–2018	Guiseley	18	(0)
2018–2022	Consett	99	(7)
2022–2023	Clitheroe	37	(0)
2023–2024	Mossley	20	(0)
2024–	Nelson	9	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:28, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Darren Holden (born 27 August 1993) is an English-South African professional footballer who plays for Nelson as a defender.

Career

Youth

Born in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa, Holden moved to North-East England at a young age.^[2] He represented the Durham County School FA's under-18 side in 2009–10 whilst attending Gateshead College.^[3] In July 2010, he made his debut for the youth team at Hartlepool United, shortly before his 17th birthday.^[4] He made a promising start to life at a professional club in his first two years at the club and played regularly for the reserves either at left back or in left midfield.^[4]

Hartlepool United

He was handed his first team professional debut for the club aged seventeen by Mick Wadsworth on 22 April 2011 in the last game of the 2010–11 season in a 1–1 draw with Tranmere Rovers in League One, alongside other youth team debutant Josh Rowbotham.^[5]

In April 2012, he signed his first professional contract with the club having made 14 appearances for Michael Barron's reserve team and 19 appearances for the youth team during the 2011–12 season.^[6]

Holden was rewarded with a new contract in December 2012 to keep him at Victoria Park after impressing new boss John Hughes, having been around the first team for the majority of the campaign.^[7] He went on to make 17 league appearances in the 2012–13 season which saw him challenging to keep the experienced left-back Evan Horwood out of the first-team.^[4] However, he could not help the club escape relegation to League Two, having been in the relegation zone for the majority of the campaign.

Holden became a regular in the second half of the 2013–14 season after a toe injury to regular left-back Neil Austin, which led to him starting in Pools' final twenty games of the season. In May 2014, Holden was rewarded with a new one-year contract with Hartlepool.^[8]

Holden was a regular in the matchday squads during the 2014–15 season but mainly utilised as an unused substitute, only playing in just eleven games as Hartlepool narrowly escaped relegation into non-league football, finishing in 22nd place.^[9] He failed to make an appearance for the team following the appointment of Ronnie Moore as manager in December 2014.^[10] In May 2015, it was announced that he would be released by Hartlepool at the end of his contract after five years at the club.^[9] He made a total of 61 first team appearances for the club.^[10]

Ross County

Holden swapped one Victoria Park for another when he signed a two-year contract for Scottish Premiership club Ross County in June 2015, becoming manager, Jim McIntyre's fifth signing of the summer.^[10] Holden made his debut on 25 August 2015 in a 2–0 Scottish League Cup second round victory over Scottish League One side Ayr United.^[11] He scored his first senior goal in a 7–0 Scottish League Cup third round win over Scottish Championship side Falkirk on 22 September.^[12]

He left his contract at Ross County early by mutual consent in January 2016 having failed to make a league appearance for the club, although he was an unused substitute on a number of occasions.^[13]

Non-league

On 5 February 2016, Holden signed for National League side Gateshead on a deal until the end of the season, having previously trained with the club for a few days.^[13] He made his debut on 13 February as a second-half substitute for James Curtis in a 4–0 defeat to Dover Athletic at the Crabble Athletic Ground.^[14] He made a further six appearances before being released at the end of the season as Gateshead finished in 9th.^[15]

In July 2016, he spent a couple of weeks on trial in his birth-country with South African Premier Division club Mamelodi Sundowns, but a deal was never finalised.^[16] After being unattached for a while he had a short spell with Jarrow Roofing of Northern Football League Division One, signing for the club in late October 2016.^[17]

On 23 November 2016, he signed for divisional rivals South Shields who were challenging for the title.^[17] He was part of a successful side that won the quadruple during the 2016–17 campaign, finishing the season as champions with 108 points after overturning 17-point deficit on local rivals North Shields. This also included winning the Durham Challenge Cup, Northern League, League Cup (Holden was cup-tied) and the FA Vase, although Holden remained an unused substitute for the 4–0 win over Cleethorpes Town at Wembley Stadium.^[18]

Holden left South Shields following their promotion into the Northern Premier League and decided to stay in the Northern League when he signed for West Auckland Town in June 2017.^[19] He was only with the club until 13 October 2017, when he moved much higher up the pyramid to sign for National League side Guiseley.^[20][21] He made his first appearance for Guiseley in the FA Cup fourth-qualifying round 6–0 win over Northern League side Shildon, with manager, Paul Cox, describing his performance as an "excellent debut". He became a mainstay in the team but lost his place in the side during December and January. He regained his place at left back in the season run-in, making 22 appearances in all competitions. He couldn't stop Guiseley from finishing in bottom place which resulted in relegation to the National League North. Holden was one of fourteen players to be released at the end of the campaign as Guiseley looked to cut costs.^[22]

Following their relegation to the National League North, Holden was released from Guiseley and signed for Consett in 2018.^[23] After making 44 appearances in his first season with Consett, Holden signed a new contract to keep him with the club for a further year.^[24] He made a total of 133 appearances for Consett, scoring eleven times and also played for the club at Wembley Stadium in their 2020 FA Vase Final defeat.^[18]

On 12 October 2022, he signed for Northern Premier League Division One West side Clitheroe, making his debut against Bootle^[25] in a 4-0 win.^[26]

In December 2023, Holden signed for fellow Northern Premier League Division One West side Mossley.^[27] He spent only one season with Mossley and signed for Nelson in June 2024.^[28]

Style of play

Holden is an attacking-minded left-back known for his long throws, fast pace,^[5] and having a strong left foot.^[7]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		League Cup[b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hartlepool United	2010–11[29]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2011–12[30]	League One	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2012–13[31]	League One	17	0	0	0	0	0	1[c]	0	18	0
	2013–14[32]	League Two	26	0	0	0	1	0	1[c]	0	28	0
	2014–15[33]	League Two	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		58	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	61	0
Ross County	2015–16[34]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	2	1	—		2	1
Gateshead	2015–16[2]	National League	7	0	—		—		—		7	0
Guiseley	2017–18[2]	National League	18	0	4	0	—		0	0	22	0
Consett	2018–19[35]	NL Division One	32	2	4	0	—		8[d]	0	44	2
	2019–20[36]	NL Division One	24	2	2	0	—		10[e]	2	36	4
	2020–21[37]	NL Division One	12	3	4	1	—		5[f]	0	21	4
	2021–22[38]	NL Division One	24	0	0	0	—		8[g]	1	32	1
	2022–23[39]	NPL Division One East	7	0	0	0	—		2[h]	1	9	1
	Total		99	7	10	1	—		33	4	142	12
Clitheroe	2022–23[40]	NPL Division One West	26	0	—		—		1[i]	0	27	0
	2023–24[41]	NPL Division One West	11	0	1	0	—		0	0	12	0
	Total		37	0	1	0	—		1	0	39	0
Mossley	2023–24[42]	NPL Division One West	20	0	—		—		—		20	0
Career total			239	7	15	1	3	1	36	4	293	13

1. Includes FA Cup
2. Includes Football League Cup, Scottish League Cup
3. Appearances in Football League Trophy
4. 2 appearances in FA Vase, 4 in Northern League Cup, 2 in Durham Challenge Cup
5. 6 appearances and 1 goal in FA Vase, 1 in Northern League Cup, 3 appearances and 1 goal in Durham Challenge Cup
6. 4 appearances in FA Vase, 1 in Durham Challenge Cup
7. 3 appearances in FA Vase, 1 in Durham Challenge Cup, 4 appearances and goal in Northern League Division One Cup
8. Appearance in FA Trophy
9. Appearance in NPL Division One West play-offs

Honours

South Shields

• Northern Football League Division One: 2016–17
• FA Vase: 2016–17^[43]

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 36. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
2. Darren Holden at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
3. "Past Players (H)". www.durhamcountyschoolsfa.org.uk.
4. "In The Mad Crowd". www.inthemadcrowd.co.uk.
5. "Profiles: Darren Holden". Hartlepool United F.C. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
6. "Darren Holden Handed Professional Deal With Pools". 10 April 2012.
7. "Young Defender Agrees New Deal". 28 December 2012.
8. "Darren Holden signs a new contract with Hartlepool United".
9. "Hartlepool Release Holden". www.snl24l.com. 11 May 2015.
10. "Darren Holden: Ross County sign former Hartlepool left-back". BBC Sport. 16 June 2015.
11. "Ross County 2-0 Ayr United". BBC Sport. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
12. "Ross County 7-0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
13. "Defender Holden agrees Heed switch". Gateshead FC. 5 February 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
14. "Dover Athletic 4-0 Gateshead". BBC Sport. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
15. "Retained list announced". Gateshead FC. 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
16. Crann, Joe (19 July 2016). "Darren Holden Has Been Given Extra Time With Mamelodi Sundowns". www.snl24.com.
17. "South Shields complete signing of former Hartlepool and Gateshead full-back". www.shieldsgazette.com.
18. "Darren Holden". Consett A.F.C.
19. "The Opposition: West Auckland Town". www.morpethtownfc.com. 30 June 2017.
20. "Darren Holden – Guiseley AFC". Archived from the original on 27 October 2017.
21. "The Opposition: West Auckland Town". www.morpethtownfc.com.
22. Birkinshaw, Alan (2 June 2018). "Guiseley release 14 in mass clear out". Telegraph & Argus.
23. "The Consett AFC website has moved!". www.clubwebsite.com.
24. "Darren Holden".
25. "DARREN HOLDEN SIGNS UP". Clitheroe F.C. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
26. "Darren Holden". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
27. "Holden is a Lilywhite!". Mossley AFC. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
28. "Darren Holden joins Nelson FC!". Twitter. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
29. "Games played by Darren Holden in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
30. "Games played by Darren Holden in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
31. "Games played by Darren Holden in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
32. "Games played by Darren Holden in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
33. "Games played by Darren Holden in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
34. "Games played by Darren Holden in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
35. "Consett AFC – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2022-2023". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
36. "Consett AFC – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2022-2023". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
37. "Consett AFC – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2022-2023". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
38. "Consett AFC – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2022-2023". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
39. "Consett AFC – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2022-2023". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
40. "Clitheroe – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2022-2023". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
41. "Clitheroe – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2023-2024". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
42. "Mossley – Appearances – Darren Holden – 2023-2024". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
43. Association, The Football. "Cleethorpes Town 0–4 South Shields". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 10 February 2018.