Christopher James Holland (born 11 September 1975) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach, currently coaching Darwen FC, and former professional player. He 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 ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and made 279 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

playing for

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

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 ...

and

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

. He is a former England under-21 international. He later played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, Leigh Genesis, Fleetwood Town,

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. The town is located approximately north-northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Its north ...

and

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

, where he began his coaching career. He was briefly assistant manager of

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

, and joined Clitheroe in 2020.

Club career

Holland was born in

Whalley, Lancashire Whalley is a large village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large wooded hill over the river from the village. The population of the civil parish ...

, and started his football career as a trainee at

in 1993. He made just one league appearance as a substitute before signing for

club

on 20 January 1994 for a fee of £100,000. However, an eye injury sustained during an ammonia attack hindered his progress and he joined

on loan on 3 September 1996. The loan was made permanent in October 1996 for a fee of £600,000. He helped Birmingham reach the Division One playoffs in 1999, however he missed a crucial penalty as they lost to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in a shoot out. He made 88 appearances in all competitions for Birmingham, of which 70 were in the league. On 3 February 2000, Holland joined

for a fee of £100,000. He scored the first goal of his professional career, a winner against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, on 21 March. He played regularly for three seasons, but when told by manager

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

that a new contract would not be offered at the end of the 2003–04 season, he chose to join League Two club

in March 2004. After two years playing regularly, during which he made 85 league appearances, he moved nearer to his Lancashire home when he signed an 18-month contract with

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 ...

club

on 31 January 2007 on a free transfer. Despite Southport's relegation to the

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 ...

at the end of the season, Holland agreed a new contract and was appointed club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Holland was a vital part of the Southport side in the 2007–08 season. He scored his first goal for the club at Hyde United. His next goal came three weeks later in Southport's 3–1 victory at his old club Boston United. In July 2008 Holland signed for

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

club Leigh Genesis on a free transfer. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2008–09 season, in a 2–0 defeat to Eastwood Town. He scored his first goal in his tenth game for the club on 20 September in a 4–2 defeat to Whitby Town. On 14 November 2008 he joined Conference North club Fleetwood Town, making his debut the next day in a 2–1 away victory over Stafford Rangers. In March 2009, Holland joined another Conference North outfit,

. He remained at Burscough until the end of the season, then joined

of the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

. He helped that club win the title in his first season, but was appointed assistant manager in September 2010, and thereafter his competitive appearances were restricted to the substitutes' bench. After Guiseley sacked manager Steve Kittrick in September 2013, Holland stayed on briefly as assistant to caretaker Mark Bower, but a review of management structures meant he left two weeks later. In May 2015, Holland joined up with Kittrick again as assistant manager of

club

. Just five matches into the new season, with the team bottom of the table, Kittrick and Holland were dismissed. In May 2020, Holland became assistant manager at

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

of the Northern Premier League Division One North-West. Outside football, Holland works in construction.

International career

Holland is a former England youth and under-21 international. He won the first of his ten under-21 caps while at Newcastle.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Chris 1975 births Living people People from Whalley, Lancashire English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Preston North End F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Southport F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Burscough F.C. players Guiseley A.F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players English football coaches Footballers from Lancashire