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Holmes spurs Coleman to full recovery from leg break
* Former Ireland international saw his top-level career ended by a horror injury suffered in Bulgaria
On Friday, as it was announced that Seamus Coleman had signed a new five-year contract at Everton just weeks after badly breaking his leg at the Aviva stadium , it was a privilege to be in the company of Jimmy Holmes, the youngest-ever Ireland international whose career at the top level was ended by an almost identical injury when also playing for his country. Holmes, a full-back like Coleman, suffered the same double fracture of his tibia and fibula and never quite got back to his best — which was very good — but regarding Coleman’s chances he remains confident.
“I would say that he has an 80% chance of being a top player again. I hope and pray that he is because he would be sadly missed. He is fit enough and he has a great club behind him. They will look after him all day and he will get the best of everything.”
Which is more than can be said for Holmes, virtually from the moment his leg was broken in a World Cup qualifyier against Bulgaria in Sofia, aged 25, bringing his career at Tottenham Hotspur to an end. “I got to 25 caps quicker than anybody,” Holmes recalls, clutching the statuette given to him by the FAI to mark that achievement back in 1978. “The only thing I didn’t do was captain my country which was my dream.”
Through the pain, he feared that dream was dead as he was transported by a rickety ambulance through the cobbled streets of Sofia on that fateful evening in May 1979. His right leg, snapped in a studs-first tackle by Ivan Iliev, was then put in plaster by Bulgarian surgeons, but that was a disastrous procedure. Holmes felt that the plaster had been put on too tightly and on the plane home with the rest of the team the following day — remarkably he was allowed to travel — he was in agony. Holmes barely recalls being taken off the aircraft in Geneva and brought to hospital, while the rest of the team flew on to England.
“Apparently I fainted on the flight. Things got a bit serious and I remember getting to the hospital with the Irish team doctor, who explained the situation. They got the saw out and sawed through the plaster and it just sprung open. They then took off the tight bandage. The relief was amazing.”
After the botched procedure in Bulgaria, Holmes was operated on again in England, but his recovery was hampered by an infection and he started to lose hope that he would ever play again. He also started drinking too much. The Spurs physios decided on some shock treatment and he was despatched to the British army rehabilitation centre.
“I had to do the training sessions with these guys who had no legs and were on crutches. It just hit me so hard. I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’ It made me realise how lucky I was.”
That spurred Holmes to do as much as he could to recover, but still he couldn’t get back to the level he was at before. “I lost a couple of yards of pace and you can’t do that at the top level. Hopefully, Seamus doesn’t, because he is quick. If he loses that little bit of pace he will soon be found out.”
The worst thing for Holmes, post-injury, was the uncertainty. “Pushing off you are thinking ‘is this going to go again’. You can tackle people, but are you going to tackle somebody, then jump up and sprint after somebody. Or do you check for an instant that you are ok? And then you go after them. In that fraction of a second they are gone.” About a year into his rehabilitation, Holmes says he was approached by the Tottenham manager, Keith Burkinshaw, with an offer; retire and join the coaching staff, at which point the club would apply for £200,000 insurance money, with £50,000 going to the player, along with a testimonial. Giles, who had rated him as one of the best left-backs in England before his injury, was also monitoring his progress as manager of both Ireland and the Vancouver Whitecaps. As a result, Holmes joined Vancouver where he spent three years and felt comfortable playing at that level.
Back then, an international player was awarded a testimonial on reaching 50 caps and Holmes felt players were getting a pay day which they didn’t really need or deserve. He had been injured earning his 29th cap. He wrote to the FAI asking for a testimonial and his wish was granted.
That was held at Dalymount Park, the same ground where he made his international debut as a substitute in 1971. Another agonising experience; Mick Meagan had sent him on as a right-back, which he hated, as he was a left footer. He was so “petrified” in front of his family that he ran over to the other side of the pitch and told Tony Dunne the manager wanted him to play on the right.
Holmes did eventually get into coaching on retiring, but couldn’t bear it if he wasn’t playing. It opened another door however as he was helping police in a project to coach local children and it was suggested that he then join the force. And so, for 23 years, the footballer from the Liberties in Dublin became PC James Holmes 9482. In 2007, he was commended for his bravery in arresting an offender with a gun. He is now the driver for the Lord Mayor of Nuneaton, the town in the English Midlands where he lives and has just written his autobiography. The dream ended cruelly, but he still managed.
* The Day My Dream Ended; the autobiography of Jimmy Holmes, Apex Publishing
The Sunday Times
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THE DAY MY DREAM ENDED
Coventry Telegraph
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THE DAY MY DREAM ENDED
Nuneaton News
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THE DAY MY DREAM ENDED
Sports Trader Magazine
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