Among the new faces at Crystal Palace over the summer, one went largely unnoticed. There was no major transfer fee paid or announcement made on social media. Rather, he was merely integrated quietly into the Premier League club’s ranks.
Yet his could prove to be a very important addition.
James Holland is an integral part of manager Oliver Glasner’s backroom team, offering something different in his trusted circle of coaches. Just 36 years old, the Australian only retired from playing a year ago, ending a career which took him from his homeland to the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, to a spell in China and then back to Austria, where he wound down his time as a player.
Along the way, he made 17 appearances for Australia’s national team, too. But his relatively young age for a coach in top-flight football was a primary reason why Holland, an intelligent, studious hard worker, was courted by Glasner to join his staff in south London.
A psychology graduate who reads books and listens to podcasts on leadership, Holland also brings an extensive network of contacts to the table, accumulated across the various countries where he has played and as a result of his personable nature.
This “mental monster” — as Manuel Ortlechner, former sporting director of Austria Wien, describes him — appears to have much to offer.
“I really like him as a footballer, but also as a human,” says Ortlechner, who played alongside Holland during his first spell at the Vienna club from 2012-15 and then re-signed him in 2022. “I was so surprised by his people skills, how smart he is. He’s told me about his (life) goals. We became good friends.”
Holland in action for Australia in a World Cup qualifier against Kuwait in 2021 (Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images)
Glasner, himself an Austrian, favours familiarity and consistency in his approach, but he told The Athletic before the 2-0 win against Brentford last week that the Australian offers “fresh ideas”.
Holland becomes the latest Australian connection in Palace’s modern history — from Craig Moore and Craig Foster to Tony Popovic and former head of sports science Scott Guyett — and was pointed towards taking his coaching badges on the Welsh Football Association course by the club’s former captain, countryman Mile Jedinak, who had just completed his own studies there. A character reference from former Australia, Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou helped his application.
Glasner’s first link with Holland came when he signed him for Austrian club LASK in 2017 following a brief spell with China’s Liaoning Whowin. Over the next two years they forged a strong bond, with Holland appreciating his manager’s skill set and, in turn, seeing his dedication and commitment to the cause on the pitch rewarded.
Throughout his playing career, Holland was appreciated for his stamina and obsessive fitness regime, while also being known for his long throw-ins — an aspect of the modern game Palace are now seeking to utilise more. The system used by Glasner at Linz-based LASK has many similarities with the one he has implemented since being appointed at Selhurst Park in February last year.
“When he (Holland) started training under Oliver, he wrote down the exercises and drills,” Ortlechner says. “He was ambitious and thought he should learn more from Oliver for life after playing.
“He always had big problems with losing. It didn’t matter if it was in training or in games. He was an idol for the rest of the team. There was never a game where he didn’t give his best. Even now, he’s still like this. So ambitious, always wanting to learn and become better. He’s never happy with average, and he has a good balance in working hard but enjoying the good moments in life.”
James Holland playing for LASK in 2019 (Andreas Schaad/Getty Images)
Those attributes Glasner so clearly values, of fitness and attention to detail, were prominent in Holland’s role as a defensive midfielder, having converted from a more attacking role earlier in his career. Playing this new position gave him a deeper understanding of the game.
Glasner stayed in regular contact with Holland after his 2024 retirement but, at that time, the latter lacked the necessary qualifications to coach professionally. A year later, having secured his UEFA A Licence, he was able to join his Palace staff. He left a role as Austria Wien’s scout in Japan and South Korea to move to London, with Ortlechner’s blessing.
“He retired a year ago, so he is sometimes still thinking like a player,” Glasner said of Holland. “I’m 51. My (playing) career is long ago. It’s having people still thinking like players, giving you new input, I like many, many inputs to get a clear view on things and, hopefully, take the right decision. That’s why he is here. He’s also such a hard worker, and understands how we want to play.”
Paddy McCarthy is another native English speaker on Glasner’s staff, though he was in place before the Austrian succeeded Roy Hodgson and, to that end, their relationship is somewhat different. Holland is fluent in German and Dutch — he was nicknamed ‘Dutchy’, though perhaps more because of his surname than his linguistic skills, during a three-year spell in the Netherlands with AZ, which included a half-season on loan to Sparta Rotterdam. That he also speaks some Japanese may be helpful with Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada also at the club.
Although Glasner joked that the Australian would be his “personal translator”, speaking multiple languages is of huge benefit when the need for clear understanding and instruction is instrumental to a team’s way of playing.
“James supports me, because there are many things I have to do that aren’t related to the game, but the work is done in the best possible way,” Glasner said. “I wanted to add one more person (to the coaching staff), and I know James from when he was in the last years of his career. He’s a great guy and is native speaking (in those languages), which helps in a few situations.
“He is close to the players’ mindset, which helps — some of the players are younger than my sons. We wanted to not be too far away from the younger generation, and he’s so hard-working.”
Oliver Glasner with his assistants Ronald Brunmayr and Michael Angerschmid (Ben Whitley/PA Images via Getty Images)
Glasner places significant emphasis on personality as well as ability, and often discusses the need for having interests outside of football. These are all things Holland appears to have no issues with.
“He’s a good person, and you can talk to him about things other than football as well. You can start a discussion about what you think of the new mayor of New York,” Ortlechner says. “He’s very interested in the world and liberal in his thinking. He’s the kind of guy everyone likes, always coming in with a good mood and always motivated.
“James told me Glasner is the best at having an idea of football and executing this idea in how he trains and communicates his idea in exercises to the players. A lot of coaches have a good idea but don’t have the ability to bring the idea into the players’ heads. You do it with team talks and exercises.”
Holland’s contribution at Palace is varied, but it is perhaps that understanding of how their manager wants to play, established not just from working under him as a player but in conversations since, that is most valuable.
The man who came to Selhurst Park without fanfare over the summer has a huge part to play in Glasner’s team.