Grant Holt facts for kids
Holt playing for Norwich City in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Grant Holt | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Carlisle, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Dereham Town | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Carlisle United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999 | Workington | ||
| 1999–2001 | Halifax Town | 6 | (0) |
| 2001 | → Sorrento (loan) | ||
| 2001 | → Barrow (loan) | 10 | (4) |
| 2001 | Sengkang Marine | 17 | (12) |
| 2001–2003 | Barrow | 59 | (31) |
| 2003–2004 | Sheffield Wednesday | 24 | (3) |
| 2004–2006 | Rochdale | 75 | (34) |
| 2006–2008 | Nottingham Forest | 96 | (21) |
| 2008 | → Blackpool (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Shrewsbury Town | 43 | (20) |
| 2009–2013 | Norwich City | 154 | (68) |
| 2013–2016 | Wigan Athletic | 20 | (3) |
| 2014 | → Aston Villa (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2014 | → Huddersfield Town (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2016 | Rochdale | 14 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Hibernian | 30 | (5) |
| 2017 | King's Lynn Town | 3 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Barrow | 24 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Wroxham | 3 | (1) |
| 2024– | Dereham Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Grant Holt (born 12 April 1981) is an English professional footballer. He currently plays for Dereham Town.
Throughout his career, Holt played as a forward for many different clubs. He played for both non-league and professional teams. He made almost 100 appearances for Nottingham Forest. Later, he joined Shrewsbury Town in 2008 and became their top goalscorer.
A year later, he moved to Norwich City. There, he won the Norwich City Player of the Year award three times in a row. He helped Norwich get promoted twice in a row. He also became the sixth highest goalscorer in the club's history. After retiring from football, Holt became a professional wrestler. He signed with the World Association of Wrestling.
Contents
Grant Holt's Football Journey
Starting Out in Football
Grant Holt began his football journey as a young player at his hometown club, Carlisle United. When he was 18, he left Carlisle and joined Workington. After playing well at Workington, he signed with Halifax Town. This team was in the Third Division at the time.
He scored one goal for Halifax in a Football League Cup match. He also went on loan to an Australian club called Sorrento for a month in 2001. After that, he went on loan to Barrow. In 2001, he left to play in Singapore for Sengkang Marine during the summer. He thought he would sign with Carlisle United when he returned. However, Carlisle had financial problems and could not complete the transfer. So, Holt went back to Barrow and also worked part-time in a factory.
Holt played for Barrow in the Northern Premier League for two seasons. He tried out for full-time teams but did not get signed until 2003. That's when Sheffield Wednesday signed him in March 2003. He played 30 games for them, but only scored four goals. Holt then moved down to League Two and signed with Rochdale. He played 83 games for Rochdale and scored 42 goals. Holt felt that his time at Rochdale was his big break. It made him a target for many clubs in higher leagues. Nottingham Forest paid £300,000 to sign him in January 2006.
Time at Nottingham Forest
Holt had a slow start at Forest. He scored four goals in his first few months during the 2005–06 season. In November 2006, he decided not to move to Bristol City. This was for personal reasons, even though the clubs had agreed on a transfer fee.
Even though he was often a substitute in the 2006–07 season, he scored 18 goals in all competitions. This made him the club's top scorer. Forest fans recognized his great performances and gave him the 'Player of the Season' award.
In the summer of 2007, Holt and Forest's manager, Colin Calderwood, had some disagreements. Holt asked to be transferred because Forest would not give him a better contract. But Forest refused his request. Holt later said he would be "happy to stay" with Forest for the 2007–08 season. Calderwood also said Holt was "not a player we want to see leave." However, Holt did not play as well that season, scoring only three goals. He often played out of his usual position as a winger.
In March 2008, Holt joined Championship club Blackpool on loan. He played his first game as a substitute against Stoke City on March 22. He made four substitute appearances before returning to Forest in the summer of 2008. He said he wanted to stay and fight for his place at Forest. His hometown club, Carlisle United, had shown interest in him.
Playing for Shrewsbury Town
On June 24, 2008, Shrewsbury Town paid a club record fee of £170,000 to sign Grant Holt. Holt scored his first goal for Shrewsbury in his very first game. It was a penalty against Macclesfield Town, and Shrewsbury won the game 4–0.
On October 7, 2008, in a Football League Trophy match, Holt scored five goals. This helped Shrewsbury win 7–0 against Wycombe Wanderers.
In March 2009, a football magazine called FourFourTwo reported something interesting. It said that Holt covered the most distance per game in both League One and League Two. He averaged 4.8 kilometers per game. At the end of the season, Holt was the joint-top scorer in League Two with 20 goals. He also won the League Two Player of the Year award. He was named Shrewsbury Town Player of the Year and was included in the League Two PFA Team of the Year for the 2008–09 season.
Success at Norwich City
On July 24, 2009, Grant Holt moved to Norwich City. Shrewsbury Town accepted an offer for him, which was believed to be around £400,000. Holt signed a three-year contract with Norwich, with an option for an extra year.
Holt played his first game for Norwich in a big 7–1 loss to Colchester United. He scored his first goals for Norwich with a hat-trick against Yeovil Town on August 11, 2009. This was in a League Cup match. His first league goals came on August 22, 2009, when he scored two goals against Wycombe Wanderers. After that game, the new manager, Paul Lambert, made Holt the team captain.
He won the League One Player of the Month award for October 2009. This was for his "excellent performances" and scoring "an impressive five goals" that month. He reached 20 goals for the season in a home game against Millwall on December 26, 2009. Holt received his first red card for Norwich City against Brentford on January 23, 2010. He finished the season winning the Norwich City Player of the Year award. He scored 30 goals in 44 games in total. The club won the League One championship and was promoted to the Championship.
Holt scored his first goals of the 2010–11 season in the League Cup. He scored two goals against Gillingham. His first league goal of the season was a late goal in a 1–0 win against Scunthorpe United on August 14, 2010. He scored his first league hat-trick against local rivals Ipswich Town on November 28, 2010.
During his time at Norwich, he reached 150 career goals. This happened when he scored a penalty in a 3–1 win over Bristol City. He scored his 50th goal for Norwich City on April 2, 2011. He achieved this by scoring a hat-trick in a 6–0 win against Scunthorpe United. He was nominated for the Championship Player of the Year in 2011, but Adel Taarabt won the award. Holt won Norwich's player of the season award for the second year in a row. The club was automatically promoted to the Premier League.
Holt started the first game of the 2011–12 Premier League season. Norwich drew 1–1 with Wigan Athletic. He played alongside Steve Morison in attack. This meant he had played in all four English football divisions. He scored his first Premier League goal in the third game of the season against Chelsea. For the first part of the season, Holt was mostly a substitute. He became a regular starter again later in the season. He scored 15 league goals and was voted the player of the year for the third season in a row. He was added to the Norwich City Hall of Fame on March 20, 2012. Holt's great first season in the Premier League earned him a lot of praise. Some even talked about him possibly joining Roy Hodgson's first England squad for the 2012 European Championship.
On May 18, 2012, Holt asked to leave Norwich City. This was six days after he was voted Norwich's Player of the Season for the third year running. Norwich City immediately rejected his request. On June 1, Holt repeated his request to leave Norwich City on his Twitter account. However, he then signed a new three-year contract with the club on July 3. He played in 34 league games during the 2012–13 season. He scored eight goals as the club stayed in the Premier League. He scored a goal in his final game for the club, a 3–2 win against Manchester City.
Moving to Wigan Athletic
Grant Holt joined Wigan Athletic on July 8, 2013. He signed a three-year deal for a fee believed to be around £2 million. He played his first game for Wigan on August 3, 2013. He scored in a 4–0 win against Barnsley. He then scored a penalty in a 2–2 draw with Middlesbrough.
On January 14, 2014, Holt joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the 2013–14 season. He made his Aston Villa debut five days later. He came on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw against Liverpool. Holt scored his first Aston Villa goal in a 2–1 loss against Fulham on April 5, 2014. He made ten appearances and scored once before returning to Wigan.
On September 27, 2014, Holt joined Huddersfield Town on a short-term loan. He made his Huddersfield Town debut on the same day. He came on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Millwall. His first goal for the club came in a 4–2 win over Blackpool on October 18, 2014. After his first goal, his loan with Huddersfield Town was extended.
On December 28, 2014, Holt returned to Wigan. This was after he had a successful knee operation. However, the injury kept him out of action for nine months.
On October 30, 2015, he moved on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers until January 2, 2016.
Later Football Career
On February 18, 2016, Holt joined Rochdale until the end of the season. In June 2016, Holt signed a one-year contract with Scottish club Hibernian. He scored seven goals in 39 games for Hibs during the 2016–17 season. The team won the Scottish Championship that season. Hibs released Holt in May 2017 when his contract ended.
On October 9, 2017, Holt signed for Southern League Premier Division club King's Lynn Town. He joined manager Ian Culverhouse, who had been an assistant manager at Norwich City when Holt played there.
Less than a month later, his former club Barrow asked him to join as a player-coach. Holt moved to Barrow, which was in the higher-level National League.
On July 16, 2018, it was announced that Holt would be leaving Barrow.
He played three games for Wroxham in the 2019–20 Eastern Counties Football League and scored two goals. One of these goals was against South Normanton Athletic in the FA Vase. Holt made three more appearances for Wroxham in January 2022, playing in defense.
In February 2024, he became part of a group that partnered with Dereham Town. As part of this, he was registered as a player for the club.
Coaching and Other Roles
Holt's first coaching job was at Barrow. He worked there as a player-coach during the 2017–18 season.
In August 2018, Holt announced that he was ending his playing career. He accepted a coaching position with Norwich City, working with their academy. In December 2021, Holt left Norwich to become a scout for West Ham United.
Holt is also the Director of Football at Langley School, Loddon.
Wrestling Career
In May 2018, Grant Holt signed a professional wrestling contract with WAW. He won his first fight in a 40-man Royal Rumble. He was the last person standing, which earned him the Crusher Mason Memorial Trophy. In total, he wrestled three matches, with his last one in June 2019. He won all three of his wrestling matches.
Personal Life
Grant Holt was born in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. He is married and has three daughters.
Awards and Achievements
Barrow
- Northern Premier League President's Cup: 2001–02
Norwich City
- Football League One: 2009–10
- Football League Championship runner-up: 2010–11
Hibernian
- Scottish Championship: 2016–17
Individual Awards
- Nottingham Forest Player of the Season: 2006–07
- Football League Two Player of the Month: November 2008
- Football League Two Player of the Year: 2008–09
- PFA Team of the Year: 2008–09 League Two, 2009–10 League One, 2010–11 Championship
- Shrewsbury Town Player of the Year: 2008–09
- Norwich City Player of the Season: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
See also
In Spanish: Grant Holt para niños
