Mutual Slump

It was late summer and things were looking fittingly rosy for all concerned. Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool were three eager young things defying expectations and grabbing points from the startled hands of the mighty, like cheeky cockney pickpockets running amok on the cobbled streets of a Dickensian novella. They were fresh and fearless and causing havoc. But since the nights drew in, the law of the land has caught up with them in a jarring manner.

Back in October we spoke about how refreshing it was to see three relatively youthful managers bringing teams into the Premier League. Four months on and only one remains standing, the others victims of their superiors’ over-ambition and/or panic. Chris Hughton departed St James' Park with Newcastle resting in 11th place going into the Christmas schedule. What a shame he, like now-ex-WBA honcho Roberto Di Matteo, won’t get the chance to see his good work from last season through to its conclusion, whatever that may be. Not only did they drag their teams out of the notoriously closely contested Championship but they also, especially in Hughton's case, made vital contributions to the futures of their former employers. Di Matteo worked under a technical director at WBA, an echo of the failed “continental-style” management structure used to such disastrous effect by Mike Ashley when he first arrived in Tyneside pint-in-hand, and bought into the club's ideology of attractive football in the face of more feted opponents. Hughton, meanwhile, played a key role in Andy Carroll's remarkable ascent, progressing to first choice centre-forward under his and Steve Clarke’s watchful eyes. With Alan Pardew at the helm Newcastle will be fine, but when Ashley opens his next bank statement, he’d do well to pay a personal note of appreciation to Hughton when he sees a rather sizeable deposit dated “Jan 31st”.

As far as Blackpool are concerned, it isn't just their form that is gradually deserting them – the wave of goodwill that swelled beneath Ian Holloway at the beginning of the season seems to be steadily breaking. In the autumn his unique brand of homely metaphor and gritty, us-against-the-world combativeness appeared to charm all and sundry. Recently though, there’s a creeping sense that where once his party-crashing was exciting and cool, it’s now become a little worn. Instead of barging in unannounced, pouring drinks for Fleet Street revellers and regaling them with stories from the road, he’s now merely making unfocused noise in the hope that someone is listening. He was new and dangerous; now he’s just drunk in the corner.

Admittedly much of this indifference has come from the press and not the public, and just because the hacks may have lost interest doesn't mean that ordinary football folk are drawing any less pleasure from his seemingly bottomless well of chirpy bravura. After all, the precedents for witnessing good men broken down by the glare of the media lens are there for all to see, and the media loves nothing more than to see a good man broken. Maybe it’s the rather gruelling Charlie Adam saga that has chipped away at this particular rockface, because on the field his team – despite having about as much success since Christmas as President Mubarak – have continued to enthral. In footballing terms at least, Holloway’s swashbuckling philosophy is keeping his admirers satiated.

In general it pleases me that Holloway continues to speak his mind, yet beneath the bravado lays an underrated footballing mind. His is not a reputation forged overnight, as colourful spells at Bristol Rovers and QPR will tell you, and his much-adored bar room zen wisdom has always undersold his tactical acumen and eye for raw and misunderstood talent. Adam is the perfect example: drifting at Glasgow Rangers, he now finds himself painted as the next Xabi Alonso. When you study the career trajectories of the likes of DJ Campbell, Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Matthew Gilks, it's hard not to admire Holloway's knack for unearthing buried gems.

But it's tricky to deny that the whole 'will-he-won't-he-oh-who-cares' farrago surrounding Adam did begin to grate and Holloway has worryingly started to resemble an overprotective parent of late, reluctantly acknowledging that his boy must soon fly the nest and make his own way in the world, but still struggling to let him go. How he savours every wash of junior’s dirty kit; the misty-eyed tackling of those tough, ground-in grass stains, making sure his protégé’s whites are whiter-than-white and ready for training. Let’s all eat as a family tonight, Charlie – like we used to. How about a bedtime story, Charlie? You know, just for old time’s sake?

When it comes to the bigger picture I fear for Blackpool, not due to some patronising desire to see the underdog have his day, but because they have genuinely entertained and gone about their campaign, for the most part, as thoughtfully as they have courageously. Unfortunately (but perhaps inevitably) their blunderbuss start has vanished, replaced by the kind of form which in recent years did for Burnley and (despite somehow hanging on for another a year) Hull City. Now the adrenaline has run a little drier and results have started to turn, Blackpool find themselves with a coach and a group of players who between them have next-to-zero experience at mooring a sinking top flight ship. They need to rediscover their sea legs quickly. West Brom, by comparison, have acted to replace Di Matteo, the vibrant, young, strangely-headed coach that took them back up at the first time of asking, no doubt to bring in a man of experience with a suitably old school, no-nonsense mentality – a battler, perhaps, who has been there, done it and bought the “17th place finish” t-shirt. Holloway, despite the threats to resign over weakened team-fielding, will be there at the end and hopefully beyond, wherever they sit come the thirty-eighth final whistle.

Make no mistake, Holloway's task is immense; the effort required to pull it off Herculean. After showing he has the makings of a mate, a mentor, a talent spotter and an inspirational coach when the going stays good, he now needs to prove he possesses the mettle and the aptitude to save Blackpool. It’ll be one of the league’s greatest ever feats if he does.

~ Matt