TT BLOG

Steve Badcott

@stevebadcott

Steve writes about the late, great Paul Holmes

PAUL HOLMES

There has been a lot said already, by people who knew Paul Holmes very well, regarding the sort of man he was and how popular he was as a teammate. He was also incredibly well-thought of by supporters, not just for his composure as a fullback or his grace on the pitch but for being part of an era of players who left an indelible mark on the club. Anyone who watched the team from around that 88-92 era will think of Paul Holmes as one of those key players alongside the likes of Mark Loram, Matt Elliott, Sean Joyce and Dean Edwards; players who bridged the gap between Cyril Knowles and the promotion team of 1991.

Paul Holmes was the son of Albert Holmes, who himself had a very decent career mainly with Chesterfield. Both were fullbacks, consistent in their play, sound positionally, and like his father, Paul was a popular teammate with his peers.

A former teammate of Albert’s, Dave Blakely, was scouting for Billy Bremner, who was manager of Doncaster Rovers at the time. This resulted in Paul playing on trial as a 16 year-old during a pre-season tour of Scotland which was enough to persuade Bremner to sign the youngster. One of his teammates in the reserves at Doncaster was future Sheffield United and Leeds star, Brian Deane.

After just over 50 first team matches for Rovers, Paul was allowed to leave, as the manager at the time, Dave Mackay, released a lot of the players that saw Donny relegated from the 3rd tier. Many felt that Doncaster made a mistake in releasing Holmes, but it would be Torquay who would benefit from the decision and at £6000, he proved a bargain signing.

During the 80s, Torquay United, after years of mid-table anonymity, became a laughing stock thanks to Dave W*bb. If it were not for Bryn, they would have become the first team to be relegated from what is now the EFL to what we assumed (at the time) would be non-league oblivion. So when Cyril Knowles transformed the team that Bryn saved into the hardest, meanest bunch in Division Four, he gave us a side to be proud of. It was therefore a concern when Cyril broke that side up at the end of the 87/88 season: out went the likes of Kenny Allen, John Impey, Lee Sharpe, Dave Caldwell, Paul Dobson and Alan Pearce.

Cyril himself stated that he had hoped to replace those who left with similar players of similar experience but his original targets were family men who were put off by the price of houses in Torbay. So he had to adjust his strategy and sign young players instead. He remarked how this group would run and run and not many did so as well as Paul Holmes. He was one of those young players signed, who along with Sean Joyce, arrived from Doncaster Rovers where they had played a fair bit of first-team football prior to their move to Plainmoor. I remember it feeling quite a coup that the pair had uprooted from their native Yorkshire to come to Torquay. As it turned out, because Sean Joyce and Paul Holmes were best friends, Joyce (without a club at this point) came down with Holmes to share digs with him and they persuaded Cyril Knowles to give Joyce a trial which obviously turned out well. The pair weren’t the only new players either as Daral Pugh, Dean Edwards, Kenny Veysey, Richard Thompson all joined along with Jimmy Smith, John Morrison and Darren Leyden being promoted from the YTS squad.

Paul Holmes immediately became the first-choice right-back with the previous incumbent, Jim McNichol, moving to centre-back to replace the departed John Impey and he settled in with impressive ease, adding an attacking verve and poise that belied his youth and he quickly became a Pop Side favourite.

As the season went on, further young players were added, such as Matt Elliott, Ian Weston, Paul Hirons and Paul Smith as the club put aside mixed league form to have runs in the FA Cup and more famously, the Sherpa Van Trophy. Now my memory is hazy, as I’m assuming that Paul Holmes was injured as he didn’t feature in the final nor in many of the games towards the end of that season. However, two years later he would successfully convert his shot in that famous penalty shootout that saw Torquay claim their first promotion for 25 years at Wembley against Blackpool.

Torquay made a very poor attempt at being competitive in what was then still the third division and it was a shame as it was a league that saw us playing at the same level as Birmingham City, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion. The prolonged spell without a manager after the sacking of John Impey just led to an impasse where the club just drifted, frittering away that hard-earned promotion, lasting just a season before meekly surrending to relegation. It also marked the end of time at Plainmoor for the likes of Matt Elliott and also for Paul Holmes who were both sold for a pittance.

Holmes went to Birmingham for just £40000 but manager Terry Cooper didn’t use him to his full potential anyway, preferring Scott Hiley, who had been signed from Exeter. He played Holmes at left-back so during an unhappy period for the club and only being picked for a handful of games, it is probable that Paul Holmes thought any future move might be back down the pyramid rather than up but then came a move that took even Paul by surprise.

Howard Kendall had been staying in a nearby hotel and to relieve his boredom went to watch Birmingham and spotted Paul Holmes. After thinking the call from the Everton manager was some sort of wind-up, Paul was invited to play in a reserve game for Everton and from that offered a deal.

Paul Holmes said: “I didn’t need to be asked twice. Whatever wages they offered me I would have signed. It was just great to be involved with a club like that.”

As a Torquay supporter, seeing one of our former players making this unexpected leap to the top flight was something I think we all felt proud of. Paul Holmes, although Yorkshire born-and-bred, felt like one of our own and it was amazing to see him playing at that level.

And it was no fluke either; he played a fair few games and then continued playing at a high level when signing for West Bromwich Albion. At the time, he was the most expensive defender WBA had ever signed.

By late 1999, I recall there being rumours that Paul Holmes was coming back but it seemed fanciful considering the career he’d had after leaving Torquay. However, I seem to remember an FA Cup tie around November of that year, away at Forest Green Rovers, when Holmes came back and how exciting it felt to have him back playing for Torquay, as in reality, he was too good for us.

Paul Holmes played a lot of games for Torquay and over his two spells, he seemed to bridge what felt like a number of different eras: the Cyril Knowles era playing alongside the likes of Jim McNichol and Matt Elliott, to the promotion winning season containing players like Wes Saunders, Tommy Tynan and Chris Curran. In his second spell, he came back to play alongside the likes of Eifion Williams, Tony Bedeau and Kevin Hill and finished just as Leroy was putting the finishing touches on the squad Roy McFarland had put together with the likes of Steve Woods, David Graham, Jason Fowler and Alex Russell.

At Torquay, he played under Cyril Knowles, Dave Smith, John Impey, Wes Saunders and Ivan Golac before experiencing the likes of Howard Kendall in the Premier League. He came back to a Wes Saunders-managed Torquay and remained while Colin Lee, Roy McFarland and Leroy Rosenior led the team. When he first arrived, Lew Pope was the chairman and Plainmoor was a dump, with the old Pop Side, the crumbling Mini Stand and the uncovered three steps worth of an away end just three years after a fire caused part of the main Grandstand to burn down.

Plainmoor was almost unrecognisable from 1988 by the time he retired and when he called it a day, it marked the conclusion of a very fine career for a very fine gentleman. His horribly early passing certainly prompted an outpouring of affection and gratitude from supporters, and hopefully (knowing how fondly he will be remembered and how highly he was regarded) this will offer some comfort to his family and those who knew and loved him most dearly. The fact that a huge club like Everton marked his death so poignantly is testament to how widely Paul Holmes was cherished. There weren’t many like him.

Everyone at Everton Football Club is deeply saddened by the death of our former defender Paul Holmes.

Paul was just 56 years of age and passed away after a brave battle with cancer.

RIP, Paul. 💙
— Everton (@Everton) May 8, 2024