You look at the Andy Carroll deal that took him from Tyneside to Merseyside, and you can’t help at baulk at the figures in question. Don’t get me wrong, he might well turn out to be the next big thing, but for a player in his mould it’s certainly risky business. There are others out there at the moment that play like the England man; Crouch, Carew, Davies… albeit they’re arguably not as good.
There is another man that I’d put into this category of player who this year has gone on to show a goal scoring ability that’s been threatened for years.
I first remember the name of Grant Holt when he was banging them in for Rochdale. He’d already had a great spell in non-league with Barrow Town before a less poignant year with Sheffield Wednesday. During his time at Spotland he became a cult hero, pushing Rochdale towards the top end of League 2 before sealing a move to a rocky Nottingham Forest side. It was there where it seemed that Holt would be one of those players that made the step up but fell back down into anonymity before he could really settle. Two years went by with little playing time in a struggling team. Holt found himself back in League 2 with Shrewsbury after they broke their bank balance, spending a whopping £175,000. It was then when I really started to take note of the big striker. I remember at the time thinking that the move was a massive step down for a player of his quality, and a major coup for the Shrews. Sure enough he was only there for one season, an impressive one at that, before Norwich snapped him up for just under half a million pounds.
I am sure any Canaries fans will agree with me that Holt is top class. He’s a bit of a cross between Shearer and Stevie Howard, and I think his presence will ultimately fire Norwich into the top flight next year. But at 29, I can’t help but feel that Holt’s career is one of those that could have been so much more if he’d made the right moves, in particular not moving to Forest at that time. I really do think the player could have been, and maybe still could be a top Premiership striker. On the day he penned what is likely to be his last top contract, I’m craving to find out if the hunch that I first felt some six years ago when he was at Rochdale will be eventually be proved right. There’s only one way to find out…
Up the Canaries!
Simon Bourne