John Hollins
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![]() Hollins playing for QPR in 1975 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | John William Hollins | ||
Date of birth | 16 July 1946 | ||
Place of birth | Guildford, Surrey, England | ||
Date of death | 14 June 2023 | (aged 76)||
Position(s) |
Full-back, midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1961–1963 | Chelsea | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1963–1975 | Chelsea | 436 | (47) |
1975–1979 | Queens Park Rangers | 151 | (6) |
1979–1983 | Arsenal | 127 | (9) |
1983–1984 | Chelsea | 29 | (1) |
1989 |
Cobh Ramblers | 1 | (0) |
Total | 744 | (63) | |
International career | |||
1967 | England | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1985–1988 | Chelsea | ||
1997 | Queens Park Rangers (caretaker) | ||
1998–2001 | Swansea City | ||
2001–2002 | Rochdale | ||
2003 | Stockport County (caretaker) | ||
2004 | Stockport Tiger Star | ||
2005–2006 | Crawley Town | ||
2008 | Weymouth | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
John William Hollins
He subsequently played for
Playing career
Born in Guildford, Surrey, Hollins was born into a footballing family – his father, grandfather and three brothers were all professional footballers as well. One of those siblings, Dave, played international football for Wales.
Chelsea
Hollins joined Chelsea as a youth player and made his debut for the Blues against Swindon Town in September 1963 aged only 17. A talented and hard-running midfielder, usually wearing the number 4 shirt, he was known for his dedicated attitude to the game and went on to become a regular and eventually club captain. Hollins played 592 games, and scored 69 goals in his first spell at Chelsea, and was part of the successful Chelsea sides of the mid-1960s and early 1970s. After establishing himself in the Chelsea side in 1964, he rarely missed a game over the next decade, appearing in 400 out of a possible 420 league games, at one point making 167 consecutive appearances, a club record.[3]
Hollins played in the first leg of the 3–2 aggregate victory over
Hollins had his most prolific goalscoring season for Chelsea in the 1971–72 season, finding the net 17 times. Chelsea also reached another League Cup final in 1972, losing to Stoke City, but declined thereafter, though Hollins remained until the side's relegation to the Second Division at the end of the 1974–75 season, when he was sold to nearby Queens Park Rangers.
Queens Park Rangers
In June 1975, Hollins signed for Queens Park Rangers for £80,000, reuniting with his former Chelsea manager Dave Sexton. He was with QPR for four seasons, playing 183 matches in total, In his first season with the club, QPR notably finished behind Liverpool by just a single point. Hollins, along with ex-Chelsea veteran David Webb and ex-Arsenal veteran Frank McLintock (captain of the Arsenal double winning team) had combined to so very nearly be First Division champions.
Arsenal
In the summer of 1979, the 33-year-old Hollins made a surprising move to
Return to Chelsea
Hollins returned to Chelsea on a free transfer in 1983, and helped the club gain promotion back to the First Division in 1983–84, playing a further 30 times. He retired at the end of that season, having played 939 first-class matches in total.
Managerial career
Chelsea
Hollins was immediately appointed coach at Chelsea; a year later he became first-team manager following John Neal's retirement. Chelsea built up a strong title challenge in 1985–86 and went top in February, but they finished sixth after collecting a mere nine points from a possible 33 during their final 11 games.[5]
Chelsea won the
Hollins was sacked in March 1988 with the club in the midst of a four-month run without a league win which would see the season end in Chelsea being relegated in the first ever two-leg relegation/promotion play-offs against Middlesbrough .
Post-Chelsea
After leaving Chelsea in February 1989 he came out of retirement to sign for Irish club
Hollins then set up his own sports promotion and agency company, before being tempted back to join the coaching staff of his old club QPR in 1993, and stepped in as caretaker manager between Stewart Houston's dismissal and Ray Harford's appointment during the 1997–98 season. He later had spells as manager of
Hollins was most successful in his managerial reign with Swansea City where he quickly established himself as a fan favourite and guided Swansea to the Division Three title in 1999–2000, but was sacked after they failed to sustain themselves back in Division Two. He steered Rochdale into the play-offs in 2001–02 but was notoriously sacked by fax that summer after prevaricating over a new contract.[7]
Hollins spent a short time as the assistant manager at Raith Rovers in 2004, under Claude Anelka—the brother of Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka.[8] He resigned following disagreements over tactics and team selection with Anelka.[8]
On 21 November 2005, Hollins was announced as manager of
In 2007 when Kenny Jackett left Swansea City, Hollins re-applied to become the manager of Swansea City for the second time. He did not get the job as it went to Spaniard, Roberto Martínez.
In January 2008, Hollins took over as manager of Conference National side Weymouth. He was joined just days later by Alan Lewer who filled the role of Hollins' assistant for the second time as they were together at Crawley Town.
On 13 November 2008, Hollins was suspended from his duties by Weymouth, while the
Personal life and death
Hollins was appointed a
Hollins's son, Chris, was the main sports presenter on BBC Breakfast between 2005 and 2012 and he also has a daughter Elizabeth.[citation needed]
Hollins died from a heart condition on 14 June 2023, at the age of 76.[12][13][14]
Honours
Player
Chelsea
Arsenal
Individual
Managerial
Chelsea
- 1985–86
Swansea City
- 1999–2000[19]
References
- ^ a b c d "Everything there is done with style". Arsenal.com.
- ^ "West Brom's Gareth Barry on the cusp of setting new Premier League record: 'I'll know when I've had enough'". The National (UAE edition). 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ "John HOLLINS – League appearances for Chelsea. – Chelsea FC".
- ^ Harris, Jeff (1995). Arsenals Who's Who. Independent UK Sports Publications. p. 186.
- ^ "The forgotten story of ... the 1985-86 First Division season". The Guardian. 27 November 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "Hollins to Ramblers". The Irish Times.com.
- ^ "Hollins leaves Rochdale". BBC Sport. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Hollins quits Rovers". BBC Sport. 25 September 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ Weymouth suspend manager Hollins. BBC Sport. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ Terras sack Hollins. theterras.co.uk. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ United Kingdom: "No. 49008". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 1982. p. 14.
- ^ "John Hollins: Former Chelsea player and boss dies aged 76". BBC Sport. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "John Hollins MBE 1946–2023". Chelsea FC. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "John Hollins obituary". The Times. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ a b c "John Hollins: Former Chelsea player and boss dies aged 76". BBC Sport. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ISBN 0354 09018 6.
- ^ "John Hollins: Profile". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ISBN 9780600615491.
- ^ "Where are they now: John Hollins". Swansea City.net.