Matt Holland

Matthew Rhys Holland (born 11 April 1974) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is a director and club ambassador at Ipswich Town.

Holland began his career at West Ham United, having previously been with Arsenal's academy. During his time at West Ham spent time out on loan at Farnborough Town and AFC Bournemouth, going on to join the later permanently in 1995. After making over one hundred appearances for Bournemouth and captaining the club, Holland signed for Ipswich Town in 1997. He spent six years at Ipswich, making over three hundred appearances and captaining the club to promotion to the Premier League through the First Division play-offs in 2000. In 2003, Holland signed for Charlton Athletic. He spent six years at Charlton, captaining the club and making over two hundred appearances. He retired from playing in 2009.

Having won one cap for the Republic of Ireland B team in 1999, he made his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland in October 1999. He represented the Republic of Ireland from 1999 to 2005 at international level, earning 49 caps and scoring 5 goals. He was included in their squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Since ending his football career he has worked in the media, including with the BBC, Setanta Sports, Talksport, BT Sport and RTÉ.

Initially rejected by Arsenal for being 'too small', Holland went to West Ham United where he moved up the ranks of the academy but did not play for the first team. He joined Football Conference side Farnborough Town during the 1992–93 season and made twenty-one appearances.

In order to gain first team football, Holland joined South Coast side AFC Bournemouth in January 1995. He won the club's Player of the Year award for the 1995–96 season. He played a total of 104 games, scoring 18 goals whilst at Dean Court and also became captain.

In the summer of 1997, Holland joined Ipswich Town for a fee of £800,000. He made his debut for Ipswich on the opening day of the 1997–98 season, starting in a 0–0 draw with Queens Park Rangers. He scored his first goal for the club on 20 September 1997, netting in a 3–2 loss to Stoke City. Holland became an integral part of the side during his first season at Portman Road, starting every league and cup game as Ipswich finished 5th in the First Division, qualifying for the First Division play-offs as a result. Ipswich lost out 2–0 on aggregate over two legs to Charlton Athletic in the play-offs semi-finals. In total Holland made 59 appearances in all competitions during his first season at the club, scoring 12 goals, including a brace in a 3–0 away win over Torquay United in a League Cup second round tie. He won the club's Player of the Year award for the 1997–98 season.

He again became Ipswich's club captain during his second season at the club and continued to feature as a key part of the team. He scored his first goal of the season on 11 August in a 1–1 draw with Exeter City in a League Cup match. He once again featured in every game of season as Ipswich finished 3rd in the league and qualified for the play-offs for a third successive season. Ipswich were knocked out of the play-offs by Bolton Wanderers over two legs, losing the first leg 1–0, Holland scored a brace in the second leg in a 4–3 victory, one of which being the winning goal, leveling the tie at 4–4 with Ipswich losing out on away goals.