Club 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. That season, Holt was a member of the Norwich team that reached the final of the Division One play-offs. The match ended 1–1 after extra time and went to penalties. Holt was on the pitch at the final whistle having played all 120 minutes but did not take a penalty in the shootout. Two misses from his teammates Philip Mulryne and Daryl Sutch meant Birmingham City got promoted at Norwich's expense. Earlier that season, Norwich played Birmingham at Carrow Road. Norwich were awarded a penalty and the opportunity to level the match at 1-1, Holt took the penalty but saw it saved by Nico Vaesen and Birmingham went on to win 1-0. This incident perhaps led to Holt not wanting to take a penalty in the play off final some months later. After playing well in Division One for his first three seasons with the club and helping them win promotion to the Premier League 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 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. At Forest he scored three times, with goals against Weymouth in the FA Cup, Cheltenham in the league and Yeovil in the second leg of the 2007 League One play off semi final. He subsequently signed for League Two side Wycombe Wanderers on 12 July 2007. He signed a 1 year extension until July 2010 on 17 January 2009.
On 28 March 2009 he lobbed Luke Daniels in the League Two match against Shrewsbury Town to score the third goal of his Wycombe Wanderers career.
For the 2009/10 season he left Wycombe Wanderers to join former manager Paul Lambert at Colchester United as a player coach. However when Lambert left for Norwich City after only three game of the season, he contract was terminated without him making a single appearance for the club.
On 6 October 2009 he signed for Lowestoft Town who are currently playing in the Isthmian Premier League Division, at the 4th step within the non-league pyramid.
In July 2010, he returned to Norwich City as Assistant Academy Manager. He is responsible for the coaching of City's under-12 to under-16 age groups as well as assisting the current coaching staff with reserve team matters.
Read more about this topic: Gary Holt (footballer)
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