Holloway knows Blackpool need towering performance
Ian Holloway is on the dance floor, let’s be honest he is no John Travolta. But he catches the eye of an absolute stunner across the room; he two-steps his way over to her and despite being way out of his league she accepts his offer for a drink and they make their way to the bar. But the job is only half complete. More work is required to achieve the feat of reaching the promise land or “getting her in the taxi”.
Blackpool manager Holloway, who is no stranger to describing a situation in such terms, needs to carry on his good work in tonight’s Championship play-off final second leg against Nottingham Forest.
His side produced a gutsy performance at Bloomfield Road on Saturday to win the first leg 2-1, but with Forest a totally different animal at the City Ground, it will take a monumental effort to secure their place at Wembley on May 22nd.
But the Tangerines have spent a whole season proving people wrong so don’t expect them to roll over tonight.
Blackpool, baring midfield maestro Charlie Adam, are a side full of lower-league stalwarts. Nothing spectacular, just hard working pro’s who, as a team are a formidable force at this level.
Pre-season odds of 66-1 to be promoted represented the thoughts behind Blackpool’s chances; survival and stability were the aims for the Tangerines. But on a budget which is reported as the smallest in the league, Holloway has moulded a team together that has taken advantage of the inconsistency showed by the bigger sides around them to sneak into the play-off picture.
The former QPR boss, who tasted a play-off final defeat in 2003, is confident his side can continue to defy the odds. “Past results against Nottingham Forest will count for nothing,” Holloway told the club’s official website.
“Billy [Davies] knows what it takes, just like Dave Jones at Cardiff, to get promoted in this way and both have rested players for the last few weeks.
“We've not been in a position to do that ourselves but we'll just go flat out and see what we can do. We're coming into this game on our best run of the season and we don't want this trip to end,” Holloway added.
However, on the banks of the River Trent tonight, Blackpool may find it a bridge too far.
Nottingham Forest, who have flirted with automatic promotion throughout the season, are ruthless at the City Ground. They are unbeaten in 19 league matches and have not conceded a goal at home in eight matches. The last side to beat them on their own patch were in fact Blackpool, but the words “smash-and-grab” pop up in a number of reports of the match, which tells a rather clear story.
Forest manager Billy Davies believes his side can make the home advantage count. "We are intending to go out there and do what we've normally done at The City Ground this season,” Davies told the club’s official website.
"The fans will be expecting it and they will also remember our first meeting with them back in September when we could have got six goals. It's all about playing our normal game."
Forest will welcome back influential fan favourite Guy Moussi for this clash whilst Captain Paul McKenna and Chris Cohen should also keep their starting places after returning from injury in the first leg. Rob Earnshaw should come in to partner the misfiring Dexter Blackstock in attack.
All the stats point towards a convincing home win and it will take a brave man to bet against ruthless Forest.
But Holloway is on the verge of pulling the girl of his dreams, and has to be respected.
Prediction – Nottingham Forest 3 Blackpool 1
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