[1] He served his apprenticeship[clarification needed] with Paul McCarthy, the Ballybay, Monaghan and Railway Cup Ulster player.
[1] When McCarthy moved into the forward line for Ballybay's replayed 1975 county champions final against Castleblayney Faughs, the position of goalkeeper became available and Linden took the opportunity.
He played with players such as Kieran Finlay and Gerry Duffy, and the Tullycorbet parish combination got a Murry Cup title.
[1][2] He took eighteen months to recover, but it took a heavy physical and psychological toll on his athleticism and he lost two and a half stone.
[1][2] In 1988 Linden became a household name around the country when at age 33 he won Ulster, County and Railway Cup medals and got an All Star Award.
He won attention by saving a penalty hit by Larry Tompkins in the 12th minute of the 1988 All Ireland Senior Semi Final.