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Holland didn't see it coming
9:40am Thursday 20th November 2008
STEVE Holland had no idea the axe was about to fall on Tuesday afternoon.
In fact the 38-year-old had vowed not to quit earlier in the day despite mounting pressure and the full fury of fans during last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at home to Leyton Orient.
“If I felt it was the right thing for the club and I thought I’d lost the plot, it might be different."
Steve Holland
And in a rather cruel twist of fate, the genuinely amiable guy wanted to repay a rare faith in today’s game.
It’s worth revisiting how he saw his immediate future which was changed by an emergency board meeting just hours after speaking to the media.
“The easy thing to do would be to hold up the white flag and quit,” he said.
“I am not a quitter but it is based on what I see.
“If I felt it was the right thing for the club and I thought I’d lost the plot, it might be different.
“But I’m determined to turn this around and I think it is possible given the games have been close.
“Sooner or later it will turn and I am determined to see it through given the opportunity.”
He felt the quick-fix attitude applied at most clubs in today’s game has few success stories.
“I appreciate that is the way it is although it doesn’t make it right,” continued Holland.
“Hitting the eject button as soon as things go wrong doesn’t always work.
“Last season Port Vale and Gillingham still dropped out of the league despite making changes.
“The fact that the board still have faith in me is something I do appreciate but at the end of the day it is not my decision.”
It wasn’t, and although there was a clear consensus the time had come for change, no one should or will feel good that Crewe’s honourable plan for the future ultimately failed.
Whether you felt the wheels were already coming off or not, Holland’s appointment 16 months ago was made to keep the continuity that had served the club so well over two decades.
After 18 years with Crewe, he’ll feel the disappointment that it didn’t work out more than anyone.
Currently mulling over his future with the club, he’ll either stay or leave with everyone’s best wishes.
And that itself is a rarity in the game.
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