Holloway frustrated by Blackpool
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway says he was frustrated with his side during the 4-0 loss to Chelsea.
Chelsea romped into the huge lead before half-time. Blackpool improved in the second-half but Holloway has admitted that it was a poor and inadequate display that shows the work his side has to do.
The manager said: "I thought we were absolutely useless first half, but they showed a champion's mentality from the first corner.
And all our game plan went out the window after a minute or so. I was much happier with the second half but they took the foot off the gas.
We drew the second half and created a couple of chances but it was all about pride then, it was too late."
Blackpool is still one of the favourites to go down this season and the manager wants the side to compete for longer during games against the bigger sides in England.
There are many areas that Blackpool can improve on. However, it's important to remember that the side was playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and the champion's first-half display would have been too good
for a lot of other teams.
Areas to improve
Blackpool crumbled under the pressure of playing Chelsea away and went behind after 73 seconds. The side needs to do more in future matches to make sure matches are still even after the first 15 minutes.
The side was trying new tactics against Chelsea. The defensive line was too high and this allowed fast Chelsea players to find yards of space when the offside trap went wrong. Blackpool must drop deeper
against faster teams.
Holloway has to play more to the strength of his team. He admitted before the game that he was trying something new. Playing the champions away is not the time to do this and the match was over before
Blackpool started to play normally.
Reality of the situation
Blackpool supporters and officials have to remember the reality of the situation. It can be very easy for a club to get carried away after a big defeat. Chelsea has a fantastic
home record and Blackpool will not be the last team that gets comprehensively beaten at Stamford Bridge.
Man for man Chelsea has a much better team than Blackpool. Chelsea's players looked faster, sharper and more experienced than the Blackpool team put together. Blackpool
has to bring in a higher quality of player before the gap with the bigger clubs decreases. The just made it in the Premier League and didn't add a huge amount of talent over the off-season unlike other teams.
Holloway added: "I put a centre-half in midfield and we didn't get near
anyone. The minute we switched it and went back to what we normally do, we looked a little bit better.
I think we've got to look about going forward because defensively we're not good enough at this level, collectively."
Betting advice
Blackpool has shown enough this season to suggest that the club may just survive by next spring time. The club is taking points from sides it can compete with and if this
continues then the Tangerines will be safe. Have a punt on them staying up.
There are a number of players in the Blackpool team that look very talented. DJ Campbell and Marlon Harewood are good strikers. However, only back these players when the
club is not facing one of the stronger teams in England.
Chelsea looks as strong as ever. The odds on the club winning the Premier League will be very short at the moment. Betting on a match by match basis and in play will offer
much more value than a longer bet relating to the season. Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda are scoring goals at will.
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