Who cares what a bunch of disinterested hacks have to say when you can get the skinny direct from those to whom it matters most? Well, good news – Football Burp’s very own Jonny Forumer, lurker extraordinaire, is here to collate choice message board analysis so you can get the lowdown from the people who really know what they’re on about. Take it away, Jonny…
Morning folks, Jonny Forumer signing in. Ian Holloway’s startlingly successful rein as Blackpool manager came to an end when he left the Tangerines for Crystal Palace over the weekend, so I hotfooted it down to online Seasiders joint Back Henry Street to see whether the Bloomfield Road faithful were in the mood to remember him fondly or as a deserter. Folks sure had their theories, too…

MR-DD…
GoingUpThePool…
Ollie is a quitter. We were on a bad run, his wild tactics and team changes were not working and the fans were getting restless both at the games and online. What did he do? Quit and run given the first decent offer. As ever blowing smoke up KOKO’s arse. I would not trust this man.
whitstabletangerine…
Best manager since the the 1950’s, some people have very short memories.
WestLancsUnsocialClub…
ollie does seem to have forgot all the promises he made.
Statues, contracts, and the like.
seasider…
I think the majority appreciate what he has done.
I blame the management of Oyston, not Ollie.
MolDog08…
Fair play Ollie. When the dust has settled even the most petulant amongst us will remember the joy you brought to the fylde coast.
whitstabletangerine…
The Contract.
Let’s put this to bed once and for all.
When Ollie appeared at the interview stage he had been out of work as a football manager for some time and his record at QPR, Leicester and Plymouth where somewhat mixed.
It would have suited both parties but particularly the club to have a short contract for obvious reasons, if he had been utter rubbish the club could have got rid and for little cost compared to what a normal 3 or 4 year contract would have been.
Following what could only be described as “one fantastic season” Ollie completed his first year in style with a homecoming to the town every bit as good as the 53 final.
It was at this point when promoted to the EPL and the financial rewards that then followed for four years that most reasonable amongst us would have thought that the manager had proved himself and was worth a contract of substance say 2/3/4 years.
I just cannot believe that if any one of us had been in Ollie’s postion, we would have at least expected to be rewared with a lengthy contract, that the club would have seen what was achieved with so little money and how good the future looked.
The fact he was never given a proper contract, the yearly rollover is a nothing one, just a cheap way of getting out if needs be by the club, would have been a kick in the teeth to Ollie and as time went on he must have wondered what do I have to bloody do to get them to appreciate me.
Take Pompey as an example, in all sorts of problems last year but in November sign a manager on a 3 and half year contract, if a club in administration can do it why on earth couldn’t this club.
The club could not have thought much of IH otherwise they would have done something about it and he must have been rightly pissed off.
On the management side he did make some odd decisions at times, you could never second guess his team and subs but he did something for this club that I had thought we would never see again, he put us light years ahead of PNE brought the crowds back up from 7,000 in the 2008/09 season, the one before he joined us to double that now.
He was not a Judas, he was treated with contempt by the club when you take into consideration not only the contract but the promisses of training ground, the pitch and the players he was not allowed to secure.
Anyone of us under those conditions would have done the same, however much you love someone or something the day comes when you can take no more and that is what happened to IH in my opinion anyway.
Tangerine_Blood84…
I agree with all of that. But the problem is people still think that the Oystons care about the football side.
The real underhand part of this really is when KO has promised a training ground or a new contract. It comes across as just being said to shut Ollie up. Yes its wrong but that is what we as fans have to live with. They will never sell the club unless you have a spare 80-100M available.
Maybe I’m just getting old and with the realisation that they won’t sell have mellowed from stressing myself out about something which will never change. I prefer to enjoy watching the lads play and concentrate my energy on that now.
Bentent…
Nobody is perfect, he is a football manager they are renowned for lying and backtracking why are some people so surprised?
Don’t get me wrong i’m as pissed off as the next man over him leaving when he did, right before a game, that is unforgiveable especially as he told the players that he would be there before kick off and then wasn’t which dumped Thommo right in the shit!
But did we really want someone here who admits himself couldn’t be bothered anymore?
We had a three year rollercoaster which i’m very thankful for, maybe we’ll never see that again who knows, but if his heart wasn’t in it anymore then I would prefer he moved on and we got someone in with fresh ideas and a new impetus!
Good luck to Ollie in his private life, I hope Palace fail miserably (especially against us) but despite all that I don’t really care – I’m a Blackpool fan and I want what’s best for my club, and that obviously means not Ian Holloway but someone with a desire to do some good – he had his moment in the sun, now we should all move on!
Up the Pool
How do you feel about Ian Holloway now, Blackpool fans? Have your say in the comments section below…