Ian Holloway; A hard working football Manager

23/10/2013 23:28

                                                                          

Ian Holloway has taken the decision to leave Crystal Palace after leading the South London side to the Premier League via the play-offs; it has to be said he's done an incredible job! 

He leaves with his head held high and that's exactly what I'd expect from the former midfield terrier. He looked tired, in need of a break and who can blame him? He is one of the hardest working men in football; he has his finger on the pulse at every level at all the clubs he's managed. He is out on the training ground everyday and the mileage he's clocked up must be in excess of a hundred thousand miles and that's only over the last couple of years.

   Maybe a break is what is needed; we all need a break every now and again but I hope for the game of football's sake it's not too long. Some of Ollie's quotes are so humourous and at other times his passion for the game can overflow. He is one of the game's big characters;he can get into trouble for speaking his mind but that is Ian Holloway, a man that wears his heart on his sleeve.

“I don’t see the problem with footballers taking their shirts off after scoring a goal? They enjoy it and the young ladies enjoy it too. I suppose thats one of the main reasons women come to football games, to see the young men take their shirts off. Of course they’d have to go and watch another game because my lads are as ugly as sin.” – about the new rule restricting footballers from removing their shirts during a match.

“Apparently it’s my fault that the Titanic sank.” – on criticism from Plymouth Argyle fans during Leicester City’s match against Plymouth Argyle.

“Paul Furlong is my vintage Rolls Royce and he cost me nothing. We polish him, look after him, and I have him fine tuned by my mechanics. We take good care of him because we have to drive him every day, not just save him for weddings.” – on veteran striker Paul Furlong.

“It was lucky that the linesman wasn’t stood in front of me as I would have poked him with a stick to make sure he was awake.” – Holloway states his opinion about the linesman’s performance in a game against Bristol City.

                                                                      

“He’s six foot something, fit as a flea, good looking – he’s got to have something wrong with him. Hopefully he’s hung like a hamster – That would make us all feel better. Having said that, me missus has got a pet hamster at home, and his cock’s massive.” 

“To put it in gentleman’s terms if you’ve been out for a night and you’re looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they’re good looking and some weeks they’re not the best. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She weren’t the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let’s have a coffee” – on the “ugly” win against Chesterfield.

    (Source; https://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/ ).

  In nineteen ninety six Ian Holloway was given a chance at football management from a club he joined for the third time; it was also his home town club, Bristol Rovers. It was soon clear that his style of play was similar to his style as a player; his teams just couldn't be shaken off, He took Rovers in the right direction and so started his relationship with the play-offs; he loved and hated it all at the same time.

  He spent five years with 'The Pirates' before moving to another one of his former clubs, Queens Park Rangers. He was welcomed like a long lost Son as he'd played nearly a hundred and fifty games for the West London outfit and fans knew he loved the club. He was tested to the full in his time at Loftus Road, in his first season the club were relegated! This is when the Bristonian came into his own. He built a side of hard working players that could grind out results. Finally promotion and Holloway was in the second tier as gaffer for the first time. Two midtable finishes were followed by survival and only just in twenty first place. The club put him on gardening leave before letting him go after five years.

  Plymouth Argyle was his next port of call but not for long, just as happened at QPR, he was linked with the Leicester City job.

'I had a year out of football and had to think about what went wrong in my life. I was given some decent values from my mum and dad in our council house, and one of them was honesty and trust and loyalty. And I forgot to do all that at Plymouth. I left them. And I made the biggest mistake of my life.' After just a year Ollie was on the move again, this time to Lancashire and Blackpool. The sea air and the odd stick of rock totally agreed with him and he was enjoying himself. He lead them to the promised land and just as he'd done as a player he got the the Premiership by good old hard work. It wasn't to be a long stay in the top flight but Blackpool certainly brought colour both in their kit and the Manager. He couldn't take them back up and he left his position for a return to the capital, South London this time and Crystal Palace, he took over a day after leaving the seasiders. In his first season he managed to get the 'Eagles' to the play-offs after finishing fifth in the Championship.They beat Watford by one goal, a penalty, scored by Kevin Phillips. He had once again taken an unfancied side to the promised land. Looking from the outside in I'd suggest 'player power' could be part of the reason as to why he left Selhurst Park.                                                                  He needs some 'timeout' of football to recharge his batteries and just to take a well earned break. He hasn't left Palace in the lurch, there is still plenty of the season to go and you never know in football.  Maybe he'll get a job with one of the 'big boys' on his return to the game or is he just a great Championship Manager and the Premiership is a step too far?  The beautiful game needs more people like Ian Holloway, but not too many or the whole world would go mad. A fact; his win percentage as QPR Manager was just under forty per cent, his highest success rate. His lowest win rate was with Crystal Palace, just over thirty per cent.   Written by Paul Moore, a football fan.