Michael Douglas Maidens (7 May 1987 – 19 October 2007) was a British 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 lea ...
who played as a
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
. He started his career with
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
They were founded in 190 ...
in 2004, making his debut in the
League Cup against
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
in September 2004.
He joined
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
on a one-month
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
in January 2007 and made three appearances in the
Conference National
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
. He joined
Blyth Spartans
Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park.
They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secre ...
on loan during the
2007–08 season and made seven appearances and scored one goal for them in
Conference North
The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
.
Career
Born in
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
,
Maidens started his career as a trainee with
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
They were founded in 190 ...
and in 2001 was placed on standby for
The Football Association
The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
's "Under-15 Schoolboy Development Course",
before being given a full call-up.
His
first team
First team may refer to:
Sports
* First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club
* The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball
* First Team All-A ...
debut came on 21 September 2004 when he was a late
substitute for
Gavin Strachan
Gavin David Strachan (born 23 December 1978) is a Scottish professional association football coach, and former player and sports journalist. He is currently a first team coach at Scottish Premiership club Celtic, and he was assistant manager at ...
in the 2–1
League Cup defeat away to
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
. A month later, on 30 October 2004, he made his league debut in the 1–0 home win against
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...
. He scored Hartlepool's goal of the season in the
2005–06 season, a curling effort in a 3–1 victory over
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football.
Huddersfield Town we ...
in March 2006.
He signed a professional contract with Hartlepool on 4 July 2006.
Maidens joined
Conference National
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
side
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
on a one-month
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
on 19 January 2007.
He made three appearances for the club.
He joined
Blyth Spartans
Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park.
They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secre ...
on loan in time for the start of the
2007–08 season and scored on his
Conference North
The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
debut, a 2–0 win at home to
Alfreton Town
Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street.
History
The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...
.
He made seven appearances and scored one goal for the club.
Death
On 20 October 2007,
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
They were founded in 190 ...
announced that Maidens had died in a road traffic accident.
He was a passenger in a vehicle which lost control and collided with a metal post near a roundabout on the
A174 near
Lazenby, North Yorkshire at 20.25 hours on 19 October 2007.
Both their youth team game and their league game against
Swansea City
Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...
were postponed as a mark of respect.
The postponement was fully backed by Swansea City and
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
.
Swansea City and Hartlepool players paid tribute to Maidens on 21 October 2007. Hartlepool retired Maidens' number 25 shirt.
Hartlepool United later named their Goal of the Season Award 'The Michael Maidens Goal of the Season Award'
in honour of Maidens scoring Hartlepool's Goal of the Season in 2006.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maidens, Michael
1987 births
Footballers from Middlesbrough
2007 deaths
English men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Hartlepool United F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Road incident deaths in England
21st-century English sportsmen
20th-century English sportsmen