Gary Holt

Football player infobox
playername = Gary Holt


fullname = Gary James Holt
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1973|3|9
cityofbirth = Irvine
countryofbirth = Scotland
height = height|ft=6|in=0
currentclub = Wycombe Wanderers
clubnumber = 15
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1994–1995
1995–2001
2001–2005
2005–2007
2007–
clubs = Stoke City
Kilmarnock
Norwich City
Nottingham Forest
Wycombe Wanderers
caps(goals) = 000 (0)
150 (9)
168 (3)
062 (3)
045 (2)
nationalyears = 2000–2004
nationalteam = Scotland
nationalcaps(goals) = 010 (1)
pcupdate = 15:50, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 18:47, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Gary James Holt (born March 9, 1973 in Irvine, Ayrshire) and a Scottish defensive midfielder is a former Scottish International player, who received 10 caps and scored 1 goal. [ [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/player_details.cfm?playerid=43168&CFID=357219&CFTOKEN=37132060 Scottish Football Association: The Scottish FA: Scotland : ] ] He currently plays for Wycombe Wanderers.

Career

Holt came late to professional football, having had a spell in the Army Catering Corps as a chef and played for the British Army team prior to joining Celtic. He did not play for the Bhoys first team and moved on to Stoke City. After a brief stay, Holt returned to his boyhood favourites, Kilmarnock, where he excelled in the Ayrshire team's most consistent period of success since the 1960s. He set up home in his place of birth with his wife in the Bourtreehill part of Irvine. Despite his excellent form with Kilmarnock, international recognition proved elusive, and Holt briefly explored the option of playing for Canada in 1998. However, it eventually emerged Holt wasn't eligible for Canada, and Holt gained his first Scotland cap a year later.

In 2001, Norwich City paid £135,000 for Holt. He was voted Norwich City player of the year in 2001-02, when he also collected a number of fans' awards, including the Capital Canaries Player of the Season trophy. He was reckoned to be the best player on the pitch at The 2002 Play Off Final at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. However, after playing well in Division One for his first three seasons with the club and helping them win promotion to the Premiership in 2004, Holt's final season with Norwich City was a difficult one. He found playing in the Premiership difficult and struggled to adapt to the higher level. Manager Nigel Worthington was criticised by supporters for keeping Holt in the team too long and some supporters made Holt a scapegoat for the team's struggles. Holt revealed towards the end of the 2004-05 season that he had received anonymous hate-mail earlier in the campaign. In his four years at Carrow Road Holt played almost 200 games for the club, and is still thought of fondly by Norwich Fans who admired his never-say-die attitude. He was affectionately known by the Norwich City fans as 'three lungs' for his tireless coverage of the football pitch.

Holt spent two years with Nottingham Forest, before being released at the end of the 2006-07 season. He subsequently signed for League Two side Wycombe Wanderers on 12 July 2007. [ He is set to join Dundee FC on Monday [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wycombe_wanderers/6896225.stm Wycombe capture midfielder Holt] ]

International career

Holt made his Scotland debut on September 2 2000 as an 89th minute substitute against Latvia in a match that Scotland won 1-0. He kept his place in the squad for the next year and a half before he was omitted from after a friendly against France that ended in a 5-0 defeat for Scotland in March 2002. He was not capped again for two years when his final cap came in a 1-1 draw against Moldova in October 2004. His only international goal came in a 4-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago in 2004.

Honours

* Scottish Cup Winner Kilmarnock 1997
* Norwich City Player of the Year 2002
* Division One Championship winner 2004

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=3587|name=Gary Holt
* [http://www.ex-canaries.co.uk/players/holt.htm Career Information at Ex-Canaries.co.uk]