Gary Holt (footballer)

Gary Holt
Holt (right) pictured in 2007
Personal information
Full name Gary Holt[1]
Date of birth (1973-03-09) 9 March 1973 (age 51)[1]
Place of birth Irvine, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1992–1994 Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Stoke City 0 (0)
1995–2001 Kilmarnock 152 (9)
2001–2005 Norwich City 168 (3)
2005–2007 Nottingham Forest 65 (1)
2007–2009 Wycombe Wanderers 76 (3)
2009 Colchester United 0 (0)
2009–2010 Lowestoft Town 22 (4)
Total 483 (20)
International career
2000–2004 Scotland 10 (1)
Managerial career
2013–2014 Falkirk
2018–2020 Livingston
2021 Falkirk (interim)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gary James Holt (born 9 March 1973) is a Scottish football player and coach, who was most recently the sporting director at Falkirk. Holt first played competitively for Kilmarnock, making 138 appearances, before transferring to Norwich City, where he made 168 appearances. During his time with Kilmarnock and Norwich he also received ten caps for the Scotland national football team, scoring one goal.[2] Later in his career, Holt also played for Nottingham Forest, Wycombe Wanderers, Colchester United and Lowestoft Town.

His playing style was marked by his energy and stamina. "Others were blessed with greater talent, but Holt could always out-beat their heart. And run. Boy, could he run."[3] As a result of this, Norwich City fans nicknamed him 'Three Lungs'.[3] Ironically, in 2004, he required hospital treatment for a collapsed lung.[3]

After his retirement from playing football, Holt joined the Norwich City Academy. He then managed Falkirk for just over a year until June 2014, when he returned to Norwich as a first-team coach. Holt was then head coach of Scottish Premiership club Livingston for over two years, until his resignation in November 2020. In January 2021, Holt returned to Falkirk as sporting director, but was sacked 12 months later.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sfa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Bailey, Michael. "Gary Holt: 'The doctor said, You would be dead now if you'd left it another day'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  4. ^ "CLUB UPDATE – GARY HOLT DEPARTS - Falkirk Football Club". 3 January 2022.