12/3/94 v Ipswich (h) 2-0 Premiership
Chris Holland had a memorable debut setting up both United goals with some great right wing crosses. "Chris Holland was one of the nicest lads in the world. Too nice for his own good at times. When he had the ammonia sprayed into his eyes he went to A&E down the hospital and was told he's have to wait an hour or two. Instead of telling them he was a Newcastle player and that it was vital he got immediate treatment he just went home. It was only after seeing a doctor later that he realised how serious it was and if he'd left it any longer he could have had some serious permanent damage. "The attack was totally unprovoked, anyone that has met Chris would know he would never get into any trouble, in fact I don't think I ever heard him swear in his time at Newcastle, I'm not sure he even knows any swear-words! The lad who attacked Chris ended up going to Durham nick and I hear that some Newcastle supporters in there made sure he got some special "treatment"....
"Chris could be a bit naive. I remember he came to me one day and told me he needed some insurance. 'Car, house, life insurance,' I asked him. 'No, for when I'm finished playing.' I realised he meant pension. I suggested he paid me a weekly sum and when he finished playing he could give me a ring! 'Is that what I've got to do?' he said in all seriousness.... He eventually got himself an agent and I kept an eye on him from then on to make sure he wasn't being ripped off, although it rebounded on me slightly. "Chris wrote off a brand new car and when he tried to get insurance afterwards they quoted him £3,500. I got my insurance company to sort him out a deal for about £1,700 and I paid it for him while he waited for his signing on fee to come through. Before it did he was off to Birmingham, so it took a while before I got that back!
"He was also incredibly fast, one of the fastest players I've ever worked with. We had a "bleep" test where you had to do 20m shuttle runs when a machine bleeped. Chris got the record time. I'm sure he could have been an outstanding runner if he hadn't chosen football.
All quotes are taken from John Beresford's interviews for NUFC.com
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