Frankly speaking 0 Posted December 17, 2011 Read mRead my latest blog:STUFF YOUR PRIMADONNAS...GIVE ME HOLT!Almost exactly one year ago (20th December 2010)I posted a blog entitled ‘Grant Holt – An Ordinary Legend’. In it I celebratednot only the outstanding performances of ‘The Horse’ but also his sheerdown-to-earth qualities. What I focused on could almost be called an ‘anti-celebrity’image. I mentioned his post-match interviews and how they make the listeneralmost feel part of things, how he speaks our language and genuinely comesacross as one of us. I wrote that I felt we were watching legendary status inthe making and I finished the blog by stating that I firmly believed that oneday Holty would lead out a Norwich City side in the Premier League.One year on and I feel it is now time to welcome Holt intoNorwich City’s Hall Of Fame (not that I claim the right to do so!) Most Cityfans would quite rightly consider that the key man behind our unbelievablechange of fortune over the last twenty seven months has been Paul Lambert whoseshrewd acquisitions and tactical awareness have underpinned everything we haveachieved. That is not to underestimate the off-field contributions of theboard, the Chief Executive and the coaching staff, especially Ian Culverhouse.However, if we concentrate our attentions on the park, the part Holt has playedin our renaissance is certainly the stuff of legend.Fifty goals in under one hundred appearances is amagnificent achievement but statistics don’t do justice to Holty. Here is a man,signed from League Two Shrewsbury Town after plying his trade at (amongstothers)Workington Town, Halifax, Barrow andRochdale, who now has people seriously suggesting that, at the age of thirty,he might merit an international call up!There can be few of us who expected this when Bryan Gunn, inwhat might be considered his final positive contribution to the club he servedso magnificently for so long, signed the big man in the summer of 2009. For mypart I knew he had a decent goalscoring record in the lower leagues but I alsoknew he had moved around a lot, numbering at least eight clubs amongst hisformer employers, and I wondered why. I have to say now that given hismagnificent contribution to The Canaries’ cause since then I simply cannot understandhow a player who so completely embodies commitment was allowed to slip throughthe grasp of so many managers without ever attracting the attention of a topclub. At the end of the 2006-7 season he was voted Nottingham Forest’s playerof the year and yet they let him go! If Holt were a difficult character, a dressing-room ‘stirrer’or a bad influence on others I could understand it. Given that as far as I cansee he is the absolute opposite, I can only count our Canary blessings! Maybethere is some truth in the concept that this is a perfect example of the ‘rightplace, right time’ theory. Paul Lambert’s arrival at Carrow Road coincidingwith Holt entering a mature phase of his career might just have created theperfect combination, the manager’s burgeoning appreciation of the game with itscontinental influences providing thecentre-forward with the necessary guidance to polish his bustling style with abit of Premier League lustre.Whichever way you look at it Grant Holt is now part ofNorwich City folk-lore. His goal today at Everton was the result of a piece ofskill which had it been performed by a Drogba or a Balotelli would have beenfeted to the extreme, while his goals at Anfield and last week against Newcastlewere more reminiscent of Ron Davies (for those with long memories!) or the Toon’sown Alan Shearer. Holt scores goals..and we love him for it. But for me hispresence means more than just goals. He is our leader, our icon, our talisman,our heart. A hat-trick against Ipswich, that silly moustache, laughing on thepitch, accepting a substitute role with dignity, speaking through the mediadirectly to us fans.. all of this iswhat makes him special. I’m sure we’re all tired of reading that he was once a tyrefitter but still the idea that a lad who came up the hard way, and even went toplay in Singapore as a wannabe twenty year old, is now outperforming some ofthe strutting primadonnas of world football is just another reason that ourclub is what it is.How does the Barclay song go? We ****ing love Grant Holt! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bury Yellow 2 Posted December 17, 2011 Absolutely fantastic piece.Holty - a natural leader of men. If anyone has missed his interview with WLY on the club I urge you to watch it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Wesminator 0 Posted December 17, 2011 There should not be a dry eye in the house after reading that....!!!!!!!!Thank for an excellent post and a I wholeheartedly agree.You can not do anything but lov the big man.Excellent and Ta Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jed exodous 0 Posted December 17, 2011 Great write up. I''d love to see Holty make our top 5 record scorers, hes got 60 in 106 games. That IS phenomenal. He deserves all the plaudits and recognition he is getting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davenjosh city till we die!!!! 0 Posted December 17, 2011 How can we ever leave him out of the team,pl has a problem,but it''s a good problem to have,the same team against wolves or do we change it,a win there and we are well set up for are 2 home games,and even Merson from sky is starting to take a liking for us! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarchingOrders 0 Posted December 17, 2011 A cracking piece, brilliantly written. As for Holt, it does seem he came to us at just the right time & fits perfectly with our system. I would imagine his rise to PL striker is as surprising to him as it is to us, the man just seems to be able to rise to the challenge. Also, I love how he seems to have a genuine love of the game, you get the feeling he would be just as happy to be playing in the conference, he appears to have a very simple love for the game.Once again, well written. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
city4eva 202 Posted December 18, 2011 Great post, enough to make a grown man cry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frankly speaking 0 Posted December 18, 2011 I certainly thought he was going to make Fellaini cry yesterday! What a whinger! He''s been elbowing people consistently for years and yesterday couldn''t handle a bit of physical presence from Holt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby 0 Posted December 18, 2011 Well said, well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sing Up The South Stand 0 Posted December 19, 2011 Great post.I find it so satisfying watching him pee off Fellaini, and also when he took out Baines.... Best of all was the two times he floored John Terry at Chelsea. He must have been waiting years to be able to do that to some of these "stars". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frankly speaking 0 Posted December 19, 2011 Hopefully no retrospective punishment from the FA. See one journo today suggesting Holt could have been in trouble if Fellaini had gone down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syteanric 1 Posted December 20, 2011 [quote user="Frankly speaking"]Hopefully no retrospective punishment from the FA. See one journo today suggesting Holt could have been in trouble if Fellaini had gone down.[/quote]shows the journos lack of Knowledge then.. i suppose the same hack only thinks its a penalty if a player hits the deck or only think its a goal if the ball actually hits the net....Holt would be in trouble regardless of Fellaini falling on his arris...he has got away with it now.. so who cares? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites