At times, Holloway has struggled with the insufficiency of duty and sense of purpose when out of work. You lose a notable part of your identity. More than just a task, control can be a compulsion. He loves having a team of players who take control away from him.
“You need to make all the decisions: What days are they on? What time are they training? Who’s involved and who’s not? You have to deal with all those emotions. The moment you lose your job, you don’t have to make a decision. decision. You have nothing to do. It’s quite the opposite,” he says.
Despite his frustration at this allure of football, Holloway has lost none of his boundless enthusiasm. Living with his wife Kim, a mix of country, painting, experts and after-dinner chat, helps him stay busy.
“I’ve had such a wonderful week that I’m not complaining anymore, no matter what,” he says.
“They’ve given me eight grandchildren that I’ll see all the time. I’m trying to learn to be an artist and make portraits. I just want to care about this world.”
Nowadays, you get your football fix in different ways.
“You look back at what you’ve accomplished before and see what’s happening lately,” he adds. “You are aware of the games and you analyze them. You are continually learning. I will take my grandson Ethan, who is 10, for a coaching consultation. Maybe he would say something to one or two of the younger players there and our goal is to inspire them.”
Still, he knows that nothing matches the enthusiasm of management.
“It’s about creating a crowd and a mentality. The good thing about it is that you can create your own atmosphere. I think that’s what I overlook the most. When everything is going well, no one is afraid to fail. That’s when it happens witchcraft,” Holloway says.
“I’m very hopeful. I’m a bit like Tom Hanks in Forged Away: you never know what order the broadcast is going to go in.”
Unlike Holloway, Wade Elliott has so far only held a permanent managerial role. He retired from playing in 2015 and went straight into coaching, eventually becoming assistant to his former teammate Michael Duff at Cheltenham Town.
“I’ve always been a bit of a football fan. I spend a lot of time interested in the sport. You can have a lot of influence as a coach but, in the end, the leader is the person who puts his fingerprints on the crew,” Elliott says.
“For a group of countries, managing is an itch that is important to scratch. You have to put yourself on the front line and enjoy it.”
When Duff left to take charge of Barnsley, Elliott was encouraged to apply for the vacant manager’s position. He was appointed in July 2022 and spent 65 games in charge. After successfully keeping them in League One, he was sacked last September following a poor start to the season.
“When you are in charge of a team that is not qualified in eight games, you can’t really object to the club and want to aim for something else,” he explains.
“They definitely judge me on those 8 games and not on all the work, but I am clearly aware of everything that happened: the demanding moments and situations.
“Cheltenham’s success in League One persists, but you won’t get much credit for it and you won’t be able to use it as a springboard.
“I always aimed for control. My thought going into it was, ‘Even if it ends the way it’s likely to end, I’ll be better off enjoying it.'”
