This article originally published by Box2Box
JAMES Holland says his transition from Austrian club football to management was never foreordained, but on reflection his exposure to top managers right through his playing days goes a way to explaining his rapid ascent on the touchline.
Still only 37, Holland is in his second season as an assistant manager at a Premier League club. Joining Oliver Glasner’s team at Crystal Palace last season saw highs, lows and a European trophy; Glasner then moved north to Nottingham Forest in the summer with a fleet of assistants – including his Aussie ‘transition coach’ – in tow.
Holland achieved plenty in a career that included sixteen Socceroos caps, a trip to the 2014 World Cup and Champions League football, but in holding his current position at a relatively young age – and at a time when respect for Australian managers is growing – he seems once again on the verge of big things – just as he was when coming through the AIS and Newcastle Jets in the A-League’s early years.
“Last season was my first year out of playing and as an Australian in Austria who landed in the Premier League, I was pretty irrelevant here in the grand scheme of things,” Holland told Box2Box from his Nottingham apartment, shortly after their 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
“Firstly, I was just trying to find my feet. As a footballer, I was always thinking ‘what’s next, what’s next?’ But as a coach, I’ve wanted to just be where my feet are. My philosophy last year was very much to just take it all in.”
It’s now well-documented Holland and Glasner first crossed paths at LASK Linz, one of two big Austrian clubs where the former enjoyed his most consistent years on the park. Glasner was mid-way through a four-year revival project at a heavyweight fallen on hard times – ‘it’s pretty incredible when you look at the story’ – when he signed Holland in 2017.
“LASK were traditionally a big club but had been relegated for financial reasons, and Glasner was the one that brought them back up. I went there during the period they’d landed back in the first league.
“Once I landed I could tell relatively quickly he was on it. There’s his attention to detail… his ability to make the complex simple and communicate it to a footballer who needs simple answers in high-stress situations. There’s his drive and sheer force of nature, and want to win and get better every day.
“I could tell relatively early on that as a player, I was going to learn a lot from him.”
Now working together at a third club, Holland speaks to the beneficial combination of both proximity to Glasner, and the intensity of the Premier League. It’s also not just a working relationship; shortly after we spoke Holland was off to make his gaffer’s tee time, called upon for a round of golf on their day off.
“We played 60 games [last season]…I was with him every day in the car, driving home. As a young coach, seeing the amount of stress with all that’s going on up close and personal was a little bit overwhelming, but also a masterclass in how to deal with it all.
“Watching how he works and seeing how big that leadership component is – not just on the pitch, which is such a small part of being a coach – but seeing him lead a group and organisation. Managing up, down, sideways, the media. We had an incredible amount of press.
“We also started 18 games unbeaten (including games spanning back to the previous season), but later had a 12-game streak where we didn’t win. So to see the ups and downs, and in the end to win the Conference League, to me was a masterclass. I wrote a lot of things down!”
Holland first made his name as a member of the Jets’ Championship squad of 2007/08, starting in the Grand Final as an eighteen-year-old. Highly rated and soon to captain Australia at an U20 World Cup, he played just 23 matches before moving to AZ Alkmaar in 2009.
The Dutch side were flying at the time; the older and more established Brett Holman played a hand in their drought-breaking 2008/09 title, but Holland never cracked a senior game at the club. But while he may not have been thinking about it at the time, he was already under the tuition of some top managerial minds.
“At the beginning of my European career my first three coaches were Louis van Gaal, Ronald Koeman and Dick Advocaat – a nice little list to be able to learn from!
“Even going back to my AIS days I had some really good coaches, and then Gary van Egmond gave me my start at Newcastle.
“But for the first three years [in Europe] I felt like I was on a treadmill working as hard as I could but going nowhere, but learning a lot of lessons along the way, which was a great experience. It was a fun time in my career – a difficult time, but a fun time in life.”
Also during this time Holland debuted for the Socceroos, and after waiting patiently under Pim Verbeek and Holger Osiek, momentarily found himself near the front of the midfield queue during Ange Postecoglou’s 2013-14 overhaul – right on the dawn of the Brazil World Cup. Holland has spoken previously of his disappointment in not making the very most of those opportunities.
But while Postecoglou has a reputation of maintaining a cold, professional distance from his players, there are also many stories of his benevolence towards fellow coaches. Over a decade on from their first meeting, so it’s now proved with Holland.
“Ange is someone that’s obviously massive for most young Australian coaches. I only touched base with him during the National Team and would have loved to have worked with him for a lot longer. As young up-and-coming Australian coaches, he gave us permission to dream.
“At least from my experience, he’s also someone that always takes the time whenever you reach out. I was lucky enough to meet with him a few times last year, almost as a mentor, just to pick his brain, which is something I’m really grateful for.”
Nottingham Forest’s new coaching staff have a serious task at hand. Postecoglou was one of four permanent managers to pass through last season, which had started with their owner dreaming of winning the Europa League but ended just five points safe from relegation.
“After we lost to Leeds in the cup, I spoke to a few of the staff and you could definitely feel the heaviness of last season. Just to observe people around the place, being like ‘oh no, not again.’”
“You feel they’ve had a lot of coaches in, a lot of voices… and last year was obviously tumultuous. I could almost feel in the stadium, and within the group and staff, the expectation of the worst as opposed to belief of what’s possible in a positive sense.
“As a new coaching staff we’re not just instilling a new philosphy…we’re trying to shift the mindset and culture. That’s been an interesting part for me personally as a young coach, and something Ollie is very aware of.
“But the club’s full of good humans, and it’s a really nice place for me to work personally, and the coaching staff are all enjoying it. Everyone’s been open, helpful, and hopefully we can kick on from the weekend now, as well.”
So although not yet in an outright managerial position of his own, Holland again finds himself on the list of Australians plying their football trade abroad, who those across his homeland feverishly check up on at the end of each weekend from afar – just as it was during his long playing career.
“All this stuff post-football, I never, ever predicted, to be honest. From my experience, most footballers overestimate their ability and underestimate the job, but I certainly didn’t do that.
“I knew coaching was a difficult gig, but was lucky enough to get the opportunity and I’m embracing it, mate.”
