Why Holland Could Be The Key To England World Cup Glory

As the English juggernaut hurtles it’s way towards a World Cup Semi-Final and we dare to believe that football will in fact come home, our brave young lions are fast becoming household heroes. Names that the country now know and individuals who’ve captured our imagination.  It's a team which we’ve all fallen head over heels in love with.

Gareth Southgate has done an outstanding job uniting the nation but throughout England’s progress in this tournament the man in the Marks & Spencer’s waistcoat has been quick to acknowledge his staff that support him.  You will have most likely noticed that there is one person in particular that the boss so often turns to in his technical area.  Steve Holland is Southgate's right-hand man and the other half of the double act that has taken this England side to within two victories of making the impossible dream come true.

Holland is a man I first met over twenty years ago when I signed for Crewe Alexandra as an 11 year old but even at that tender age it was clear to me that he was an individual destined to belong at footballs head table and capable of making a difference on this type of scale. 

Holland was in charge of one of the younger age groups back then but as I rose through the ranks so too did Steve.  He became Crewe’s Academy Director and when I finally broke through into the first team fold he was then the assistant coach to the manager at the time, Dario Gradi.  It's that kind of continuity with their coach which players truly cherish and something Southgate has clearly identified with because he and Holland worked together in their time in charge of the England Under 21's.

At Crewe I was in the same youth team as former England striker Dean Ashton, whose own injury nightmare robbed him of the chance of truly establishing himself on the international stage, but we were just two individuals that made the journey from promising youngster along the Crewe conveyor belt of talent into their senior team.  No man played a bigger role in that successful period of producing players than Holland and I can guarantee you’ll be hard pressed to find a lad during that time that wouldn't say that he helped them reach their true potential.

One of the most successful graduates of the Crewe Academy was Danny Murphy, a star that I used to watch twinkle in the first team before he moved on to Liverpool and achieve full international honours.  Commentating on England’s demolition of Panama in the group stages Murphy was quick to point out the role of his former mentor in England’s new found innovation from set pieces.  It’s no coincidence that of England’s 11 goals in this tournament to date, eight have arrived from dead ball situations. 

Holland may well have had somewhat of a nomadic playing career himself but he was a master technician.  Wearing his Adidas Copa Mondials he prided himself on both his technique and the accuracy of his execution.  He demanded the same of the players that he coached.  The focus on perfect practice was something you learned as soon you walked through the door at Crewe.  That attention to detail is a key to England’s current success whether thats on the delivery of the balls into the box or runs of the players trying to get on the end of them.  It’s certainly a far cry from the disastrous defeat to Iceland in the Euros where we had Harry Kane taking corners.

When Holland eventually left Crewe a brief spell at local rivals Stoke City was quickly followed by his appointment at Chelsea.  The managerial revolving door at Stamford Bridge has seen stellar names and reputations be replaced yet Holland was the constant that remained in his role at the club.  I can only draw upon my own experiences to suggest the reasons behind why that was the case because the coach that was affectionately known as “Dutchy” by the youth teams I played in had such a profound effect on me during my impressionable teenage years. 

For starters there was an aura he carried that all the great coaches do.  His self-assurance was not to be confused with arrogance though because Holland exuded the correct degree of confidence in his ability to teach which meant we, as his disciples, knew full well that his praise was something that had real substance.

If you were given recognition you knew you had earned it and most importantly you knew you were on the right track.  I worked with many different coaches during my formative years but I always felt that if I won Holland over that realising my dream of becoming a professional footballer might well be a goal I could eventually achieve.

I can recall one youth game when he took me off at half-time and substituted me for a lad from two age groups below.  ‘Getting dragged’ is a humbling moment for any footballer to come to terms with but in all fairness I’d had a torrid 45 minuets and as I waited in the dressing room, with my head in my hands, I knew what was coming.  Holland was not one to mince his words, he shot from the hip and told you exactly what he thought and in a calm and calculated way he sighed, “Robbo, you’ve capitulated today.” 

Of course I was devastated. Of course I was distraught but it never felt personal and his criticism always drove me to want to be better and improve.  One of the favourites lines he used was when he asked a player "are you going to sink or swim?" and I often wonder if he poses Harry Kane and co the same type of question but the fact of the matter was that Steve set the highest standards and I wanted to do everything in my power to reach that level.  His door was always open and he would always give you the guidance and help you needed to be the best you could possibly be.

I can recall a time when I was struggling to master the double step-over so we sat down together one day in his office office after training and watched a montage of clips he’d put together of Chris Waddle mastering that particular skill playing for Marseille.  I must have been 12 years old.  This was before the days of YouTube and Skill Skool on Soccer AM. I’d trained at both Manchester United and Manchester City by that age and believe me, this man was way, way ahead of his time.

Some of this detail was obviously down to the coaching philosophy at Crewe but Steve just always seemed to be able to take it on to the next level.  On another occasion I was part of a small group that watched a video of the 1994 European Cup Final when AC Milan thrashed Barcelona 4-0. You’d think we would be marvelling at the attacking demolition the Azzuri served up to their Spanish counterparts but instead Holland went through, in meticulous detail, how the Italian defensive unit had managed to squeeze the life out of the Barcelona forward threat.  He showed us exactly how defence could be our first form of attack and the main reason I’ll never forget that session was because he helped me to see football in a completely different way. 

And that’s exactly how I remember Steve Holland.  Thinking beyond the obvious and all about the detail.  A brilliant football brain that might just help England deliver the greatest prize of them all.

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