A Question of Taste with Matt Holland

FORMER Republic of Ireland midfielder Matt Holland played with such clubs as Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic before his retirement in 2009. He now works as a video analyst and pundit with Setanta. Here's waht matters to him when it comes to a question of taste.

Best recent book:

Now You See Her by James Patterson was the most recent book I’ve read. I picked it as it was set in Miami where I was going on holiday.

Best recent film:

Million Dollar Arm, starring John Hamm.

Recent gig:

I recently took my wife to watch Pharell Williams. Not my cup of tea and not a great concert to be honest.

Formats for listening to music:

CDs, radio and ITunes.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately:

Bastille’s Bad Blood album.

Best pre-match music for a dressing room:

I wasn’t too bothered about music pre-match as I preferred to concentrate on the game but was happy to have it as loud as you like if we’d won.

First ever piece of music or film or gig that really moved you:

I remember crying at ET — I was only about 7 at the time!

TV viewing:

I like Homeland, The Blacklist, The Following, etc, which I usually record and watch at my convenience. And I will watch pretty much any live sport.

Radio listening:

Talksport.

Best recent holiday:

I recently went to Miami to visit my eldest son at uni and didn’t want to come home.

Best celebrity encounter:

Cristiano Ronaldo once left me tickets for a match at Old Trafford.

Most expensive item of clothing you’ve ever bought:

Probably a suit. Couldn’t tell you the exact price but I would guess at £600.

Tech habits:

iPad/iPhone for Twitter, Facebook and searching the internet. Sat Nav in the car. I use the Sky Go app.

Weekend treat:

Watching my youngest son play football followed by a home cooked Sunday lunch.

Health/Fitness:

I try to watch what I eat and do run occasionally. I also tend to walk further than I should on the golf course!

Unsung heroes:

All the production staff at Setanta for all the hard work is done by them.

You’re king for a day— what’s your first decree?

I would make the M25 run smoothly 24 hours a day. I’ve spent far too many hours stationary on it!

Des O’Driscoll