It’s playoff time at Blues and with the second leg being at home I’ve been thinking about previous playoff games – in particular the only time previously we’ve played a second playoff leg at home against Watford. That match went to penalties, and the poor bloke featured today was the guy who missed the penalty to put Blues out. I’m talking of course about Chris Holland.

Chris Holland

You’ve got to feel for Chris Holland. Clearly he wasn’t in line to take a penalty – ninth in line, with even the keeper Kevin Poole ahead of him yet fate fell to him to miss the vital penalty that sent Watford through.

Bad luck had been something that had been associated with the Lancashire-born midfielder anyway; a promising career at Premier League club Newcastle United blighted by a serious eye injury caused by ammonia sprayed at him on a night out which left him with just 20% vision in one eye.

Holland came to the Blues as an England u21 player on loan initially, and having played nine games whilst at Blues on temporary terms he was signed permanently for £600,000 from the Magpies.

Chris was with us for three and a half years, making eighty-eight appearances although nearly half were from the subs bench. He moved on to Huddersfield in February of 2000, signing for the Terriers for the princely sum of £100,000. It was at Huddersfield that Holland probably had his best spell, playing for four years, making 138 appearances and scoring three times – his only goals for a league club.

However, when told by then-Huddersfield manager Peter Jackson he wouldn’t be offered a deal after the 2003/4 season Chris moved on dropping to League Two side Boston United where he spent two and a bit seasons, playing ninety-nine times before leaving in January 2007, four months before Boston were relegated to the conference

Holland moved to Southport, which was closer to his family home in Whalley, Lancashire and stayed on there despite their relegation to the Conference North at the end of the 06/07 season. Since then Holland has played for a variety of clubs in the Lancashire region such as Leigh Genesis, Fleetwood and Burscough.

At the age of thirty-six Chris Holland is now at Guiseley AFC of the Conference North, where he combines his duties as a player with being first team coach. Despite having a much grayer barnet now, he still apparently has the class in midfield that marked him out as a talent at a younger age and he occasionally is on the subs bench for the Lions when needed.

I sincerely hope that none of our players have to go through what Chris went through that fateful night back in 1999; it was heartbreaking watching and I’m not sure I’d like to go through that again.

Tags: Chris Holland