Rory Holden
Holden playing for Port Vale (August 2022)
Personal information
Full name Rory Holden[1]
Date of birth (1997-08-23) 23 August 1997[2]
Place of birth Derry, Northern Ireland[2]
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 The New Saints
Number 18
Youth career
2012–2016 Derry City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Derry City 13 (1)
2017–2020 Bristol City 0 (0)
2018 → Barrow (loan) 5 (0)
2019 → Rochdale (loan) 6 (0)
2019–2020 → Walsall (loan) 29 (2)
2020–2022 Walsall 21 (4)
2022–2023 Port Vale 11 (0)
2023– The New Saints 3 (1)
International career
2018 Northern Ireland U21 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:19, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

Rory Holden (born 23 August 1997) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cymru Premier club The New Saints.

A Northern Ireland under-21 international, he began his career at Derry City, making his first-team debut in May 2016. He was sold to English club Bristol City in August 2017, and from there he was loaned out to Barrow and Rochdale in the 2018–19 season. He spent the 2019–20 campaign on loan at Walsall and joined the club on a permanent basis in August 2020. However, he picked up a long-term knee injury four months later and missed much of the 2020–21 season and the entirety of the 2021–22 campaign. He spent the 2022–23 season with Port Vale, before joining Cymru Premier club The New Saints in July 2023.

Club career

Derry City

Holden began his career with Derry City, first joining as a 14-year old.[4] He made his first-team debut on 29 May 2016 when he came on as an 81st-minute substitute for Keith Ward in a 2–0 win over Bray Wanderers at the Brandywell Stadium.[5] He was given a three-year professional contract by manager Kenny Shiels.[6] He earned his first start on 28 October, in a 2–0 victory at St Patrick's Athletic.[7] Having featured four times in the 2016 season, he played another nine League of Ireland Premier Division games in the 2017 season, and scored his first senior goal in a 4–0 home win over Sligo Rovers on 9 July.[8]

Bristol City

On 30 August 2017, Holden signed with English Championship club Bristol City after a successful trial spell.[9][10] He had impressed manager Lee Johnson in two trials and the "Robins" agreed to a transfer-deadline day deal worth up to €300,000.[11] However, he never played a first-team game at Ashton Gate.[3]

He joined Barrow on a one-month loan, starting on 14 September 2018.[12] He played five National League games for Ian Evatt's "Bluebirds".[13] He joined League Two club Rochdale on loan for the rest of the 2018–19 season on 3 January 2019.[14] Manager Keith Hill said that "it's important we get players in who have the right mentality and who have the right game brain and intelligent energy, and Rory fits the bill".[15] He played seven matches for Rochdale.[13] He signed a new two-year contract with City in June 2019, with the club retaining a further 12-month option.[16]

Walsall

On 26 July 2019, he joined League Two club Walsall on a season-long loan following a trial period.[17] He made 36 appearances in the 2019–20 season, and though he played in a variety of positions he particularly impressed in an advanced midfield role.[18] He scored his first goal in English football on 15 February 2020, with his 93rd-minute strike securing a 3–2 victory over Northampton Town at the Bescot Stadium.[19]

On 11 August 2020, he re-joined Walsall on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.[20] He made a good start to the 2020–21 season, playing on the right-wing and equalling his season-high goals tally of two by mid-October as the "Saddlers" put together a 12-game unbeaten run in the league.[21] However, he suffered a knee injury before a game at Salford City in December 2020, and though he made a brief return to action the following April in which he was described as a "a breath of fresh air" by interim head coach Brian Dutton, he would then suffer a further setback and was ruled out for the entirety of the 2021–22 campaign, with head coach Matt Taylor stating that he had to undergo another procedure after seeing "the best knee specialist in the country".[22][23] He left Walsall upon the expiry of his contract in June 2022.[24]

Port Vale

In June 2022, he began training with League One side Port Vale, who were managed by Darrell Clarke, Holden's former boss at Walsall.[25] The club reportedly offered to pay his medical costs as he continued his recovery from long-term absence.[26] Holden signed for Port Vale on 29 July 2022.[27] He made his debut for the club the following day, though dropped out of the team in mid-August and missed some weeks of the season due to a "minor setback" of an injury.[28] He recovered and contributed with an assist during a 2–1 win over Barnsley in the EFL Trophy Round of 32 on 23 November.[29] David Flitcroft, the club's director of football, confirmed that the player's contract would not be renewed beyond June 2023.[30]

The New Saints

In June 2023 it was announced that he would sign for Cymru Premier club The New Saints on 1 July 2023, with manager Craig Harrison emphasising the player's EFL experience and talent.[31]

International career

In 2018, Holden won three caps for the Northern Ireland under-21 team in victories against Luxembourg, Spain and Iceland; he scored the only goal of the game against Luxembourg.[32][33][34]

Style of play

Holden is a left-footed midfielder with high energy and intelligence levels.[15]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Derry City 2016[2] LOI Premier Division 400000—40
2017[2] LOI Premier Division 9100002[lower-alpha 1]0111
Total 131000020151
Bristol City 2017–18[35] Championship 000000—00
2018–19[13] Championship 000000—00
2019–20[36] Championship 000000—00
Total 000000—00
Barrow (loan) 2018–19[13] National League 50———50
Rochdale (loan) 2018–19[13] League Two 60——1[lower-alpha 2]070
Walsall (loan) 2019–20[36] League Two 29230004[lower-alpha 2]0362
Walsall 2020–21[37] League Two 21410103[lower-alpha 2]0264
2021–22[38] League Two 0000000000
Total 506401070626
Port Vale 2022–23[39] League One 11010103[lower-alpha 2]0160
The New Saints 2023–24[2] Cymru Premier 0000000000
Career total 85750201301057
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. 1 2 3 4 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References

  1. ↑ "Club List of Registered Players As At 18th May 2019" (PDF). EFL. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "R. Holden: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 Rory Holden at Soccerbase
  4. ↑ "Derry City '˜Holden' on to European dream". Derry Journal. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Derry City vs. Bray Wanderers - 29 May 2016 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "FOOTBALL: Kenny's new '˜Holden' Boy". Derry Journal. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "St Patrick's Athletic vs. Derry City - 28 October 2016 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Derry City vs. Sligo Rovers - 9 July 2017 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  9. ↑ Dan Newman (4 September 2017). "New Bristol City signing Rory Holden has big ambitions as attacker chats about how move emerged". Bristol Post. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  10. ↑ Kevin McLaughlin (30 March 2018). "Former Derry City starlet loving life at Bristol City". Derry Journal. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  11. ↑ Scully, Michael (31 August 2017). "Derry's Rory Holden set to join Bristol City". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  12. ↑ James Crawley (14 September 2018). "HOLDEN HEADS OUT ON LOAN". Bristol City F.C. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Games played by Rory Holden in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  14. ↑ "Rory Holden: Rochdale sign Bristol City forward on loan for rest of season". BBC Sport. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  15. 1 2 "Keith Hill On Rory Holden Loan Signing". Rochdale A.F.C. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Under-21 midfielder Rory Holden signs new deal at Bristol City". IFA. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Masi, Joseph. "Walsall sign Rory Holden on loan from Bristol City". www.expressandstar.com.
  18. ↑ "Rory Holden returns to Walsall". Walsall F.C. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "Holden delighted to open Walsall account". Walsall F.C. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  20. ↑ "Rory Holden: Walsall sign Bristol City midfielder following 2019-20 loan spell". BBC. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  21. ↑ "Holden: "There's more to come"". Walsall F.C. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  22. ↑ "Rory Holden 'a breath of fresh air' for Walsall – Brian Dutton". www.newschainonline.com. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  23. ↑ "Matt Taylor provides an update on Rory Holden". Walsall F.C. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  24. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (4 July 2022). "Former Walsall midfielder Rory Holden is training with Port Vale". StokeonTrentLive.
  25. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (27 June 2022). "Port Vale linked with midfielder Rory Holden". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  26. ↑ Edwards, Joe (27 June 2022). "Rory Holden training with Port Vale after Walsall exit". Express and Star. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  27. ↑ "Rory Holden is a Valiant". www.port-vale.co.uk.
  28. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (25 November 2022). "Holden says return means so much after impressing for Port Vale". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  29. ↑ Bamforth, Harry (24 November 2022). "Rory Holden | "I'm buzzing, I'm happy to get some minutes and contribute with an assist"". www.port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  30. ↑ "Port Vale FC Confirm 2022/23 Retained List". www.port-vale.co.uk. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  31. ↑ Keen, Liam (20 June 2023). "TNS sign former Walsall attacker Rory Holden". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  32. ↑ Lewis, Ed (7 September 2018). "Holden nets Northern Ireland winner". Bristol City. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  33. ↑ Crawley, James (11 September 2018). "Holden's Northern Ireland defeat Spain". Bristol City. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  34. ↑ Barton, Dave (11 October 2018). "Holden's Northern Ireland Under-21s keep Euro dream alive". Bristol City. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Rory Holden in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  36. 1 2 "Games played by Rory Holden in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  37. ↑ "Games played by Rory Holden in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  38. ↑ "Games played by Rory Holden in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  39. ↑ "Games played by Rory Holden in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
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