Captain Cleanpants signed for Charlton from Ipswich Town on 1st June 2003 in a deal which became worth £900,000 to the Tractor-fanciers, probably much to the annoyance of smarmy (yet hilariously-named) Chairman, David Sheepshanks - Ipswich had previously accepted a £4.5million bid from Aston Villa. Cheer up David, you can buy four John Deere 9620Ts and still have change out of your £900k for a Massey Ferguson MF8480 Dyna-VT.
Since signing, Matthew has sported a vast array of hair styles. Sometimes short, sometimes neat, but never either long or untidy. Matthew Holland is, in every sense of the phrase a model footballer.
Matthew, who is English and was born in Bury and has lived in England for his whole life, has a Welsh middle name (Rhys) and a surname of another European country. Therefore it should be of no surprise to learn that he has 49 caps for Ireland.
Matthew deserves a place in Charlton's list of all-time greats. Not just for his battling leadership abilities, his general "professionalism", nor even for the fact that not a jot of scandal is ever written or broadcast about him. But mainly for the way in which he takes time to thank each and every area of the home support after every game. He doesn't have to do it. And, frankly when your lungs are bursting and your legs are turning to jelly, from covering every blade of grass at The Valley, the last thing you want to do is an impromptu extra lap clapping fast-exiting fans. Trust me, I know.
I enjoy playing at the club and think we've got a manager who's well-equipped to get us back into the Premier League. Full article...
Factoid: Matt's official website, www.matthollandweb.com is described as the "Matt Holland Official Site – Ipswich and Ireland", thus making it at least four years out of date, even more than this one.