Chris Holland: I’m just a lucky guesser

Chris Holland spent 48 seasons at Warren Social but now plays number one for Super League snooker outfit Shirley Working Men’s Social Club A.

During a record-breaking career, spanning 52 seasons in the Southampton & District Social Clubs League, Holland has collected 46 major snooker trophies, including 13 Town Championships.

His teammate Kevin Ridout remarked: “He’s doing alright.”

Despite being 69-years-old, Holland is a deceptively quick player. There’s no posturing around the table or lingering glances at the position of the balls.

“When I’m playing well, the first shot’s always the best,” he explained. “Pat Houlihan used to play exactly the same. Jimmy (White) does the same. Cue in front of the ball, two strokes and it’s gone. If you’re playing well, that’s all you need to do.

“If you’re playing snooker properly, as you go to the white ball you know where everything is, what goes or doesn’t go, unless you’re talking when the other fellow’s playing his shot. You should always know; that should always be locked in.

“Perhaps it’s just me; perhaps I’m just a lucky guesser,” he laughed.

Shirley Social A missed out on a place in the inaugural Super League after finishing tenth in the Premier in 2008/09. They were promoted at the end of last season as Premier champions after losing just three matches out of 30.

But Holland is not bothered about facing the region’s top boys.

“It’s no different to the Premier,” he said. “Two frames of snooker and a good night out.

“We’ve haven’t seen most of these players for a couple of seasons. Next year we’ll probably be bored to tears.

“For the amount of practice I’m putting in, I’m playing good snooker – so I’m happy. If I had three hours a day, like I used to down the Castle, I’d be upset. At this level you can break off and not get another shot. I’ve had that happen to me a few times.

“If you put the time in, you get something out of it. If you don’t put the time in, no matter how natural you are, you suffer. All these b****** that get grumpy and walk out of the door when they lose, they’re a pain in the ass. They learn after a while. You’ve got to be a loser before you learn how to win. I’m the only unknown quantity in the league at the moment because they’re never sure of me.

Holland added that he’s enjoying his snooker and the Shirley boys are “as good as gold”.

Azor, captain of Chandlers Ford Central A, compared Holland to the late Alf Hobbs.

“They don’t seem to lose any of their talent and they go on and on and on,” he said. “In another ten years time, he’ll still be playing against the best players in the town. There’s only a special breed who can do that and he’s certainly one of them. Chrissy’s got an eternal enthusiasm for the game.”

Shirley Social’s newly-wed captain Pete Glasspool said: “We’ve probably got a stronger team now with Chris coming in. We really enjoyed it last year - not just the snooker, there were a lot of good lads that we had a good laugh with. And we’re doing much the same now.

“We knew it was going to involve a struggle when we came up to play these teams because most of them are better than us on paper. Chris and Sean practise once or twice a week. Me, Dean and Daz (Darryll) pick up a cue on a Monday night, that’s all we do.”

Pete’s brother Dean, Darryll’s twin, said: “Chris is unbelievable. At his age now, he still holds his own.

“We did well last season. It was between us and Totton (Rec B) and Beaulieu (& East Boldre), but we just scraped through in the end. We’ve got a steady side; we’ve got no superstars in our team. We’ve had the same side for a little while now. It’s good to see the lads from the old Premier.”

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