Danny Higginbotham’s fleeting spell with Chester FC features in his new autobiography, Rise Of The Underdog.
The former Manchester United, Derby County, Southampton, Stoke City and Sunderland player had a short spell with the non-league Blues towards the end of his career.
In his book, Higginbotham recounts how his move to Chester came about and how, after making a memorable debut in a derby win over Wrexham, the changing landscape of the game led to the end of his love affair with football.
The 36-year-old writes: “I heard of interest at Chester so I went to watch a game. I took my eldest lad and as we left and got into the car I asked him what he thought of me going there to play, and he said it’d be great as he could come and watch me.
“My first game was at Wrexham away. They hadn’t beaten them for a few years and we won 2-0. Chester took around 900 fans - one of them parked next to me at the ground and said before the match, “Danny, you’ve the chance to make yourself a legend at this club after just one game.”
“When I got back to my car there was a piece of paper under the windshield wiper saying, ‘See Danny, told you you’d become a legend’. I got immense satisfaction from that, I have to admit. It was a great feeling, but then after a month or so, I started losing that passion once again."
Higginbotham remembers how one particular incident during a Chester match underlined just how much the game had changed since he started his career.
“At Chester, we had a number of young lads who came to the club. John Rooney, younger brother of Wayne, was one of those, and what a character - it must be a ‘Rooney’ trait," he writes.
“I’ve got all the time in the world for him - training was like a game, and it didn’t bother me that he could be aggressive in the challenge or in practice because I know if I’d have done it back he’d have been fine with it. He’s one from a good mould but there’s the other extreme of a young lad we had whose name I can’t remember (which probably says it all). In his first game, he ‘cashed’ one of the opposition players off.
“As an older player I’ve always tried to give advice and help to the youngsters. But I thought, ‘**** you, you’re done’. What was he doing? I couldn’t speak to him after that.
“I’ve played with players who have earned millions and millions and I’ve been fortunate enough to have done well from the game myself but I would never in my wildest dreams ever say anything like that to anyone. Here’s an 18-year-old kid, on loan from a Championship club, doing it to players working their balls off in non-league.”
Danny Higginbotham Rise of the Underdog (Sport Media, £16.99) is on sale now. Print and ebook available.
