Chester City FC: Ex-Blues striker Chris Holroyd ready for take off with Brighton & Hove Albion

Feb 4 2010 Chester Chronicle

WHILE his former team-mates are left to wonder what the future holds for them at crisis-crippled Chester City, Chris Holroyd’s career is ready for take-off.

The 23-year-old striker has signed an 18-month deal with Gus Poyet’s Brighton & Hove Albion after proving himself to be one of the hottest properties outside of the Football League with Cambridge United.

It is a far cry from 18 months ago when Holroyd was deemed surplus to requirements by Chester, then in League Two. Needing, in his own words, to ‘drop down to come back up again’, he joined non-league Cambridge.

A steady first season followed, including an appearance in Cambridge’s Blue Square Premier play-off final defeat at Wembley. But it is this season that Holroyd has begun to fulfil the potential he was unable to unleash at Chester.

Sixteen goals brought an England C international call-up and a whole host of admiring glances from League bosses. But it was former Chelsea star Poyet, now manager of League One strugglers Brighton, who secured Holroyd’s transfer for an undisclosed fee.

“It’s a brilliant move and as soon as I heard Brighton were interested, I was desperate to come here,” said Holroyd, who hit a brilliant hat-trick for Cambridge on his first return to the Deva Stadium in August.

“I heard how big a club it was and I just thought it was the right time to make the step up.

“When I left Chester, I still had to prove myself. I went to Cambridge looking to play games. I did that last season, although I only started about half the games, but this season I’ve pretty much started all of them, and I’ve scored some goals.

“I had to get my career going again because it was a bit bitty at Chester. Sometimes you have to drop down to come back up again, and I wasn’t fazed by that.”

Macclesfield-born Holroyd, who made his debut for Brighton in their 1-0 home loss to Milwall on Saturday, is sad to see what has happened to Chester since he left.

“I always look out for their results and I still know a few of the boys like Kev Roberts and Shaun Kelly,” said the former Crewe Alex academy player.

“Chester gave me my chance and I will always be grateful to them for that. I just hope it gets better for them in the future.”