Blackpool manager Ian Holloway insists he will stick to his team's attacking approach in future after a more defensive system backfired at Chelsea.
Defensive midfielder Alex Baptiste came in for forward Brett Ormerod but Blackpool conceded four first-half goals as champions Chelsea dominated. "The tactical change did not work at all," said Holloway of his selection. Holloway brought on an attacking player for a defender at the break and his team improved in the second half.
"I should have gone back [to our normal attacking system] earlier but when I went back to what we do the game was over by then," he added. "No matter what we do against the top teams we are light years off them. They are awesome with their mental approach and the way they go about games. I would have been silly to think we did not have to do something different against Chelsea but I think we would have lost no matter what we did." (BBC Sport)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Chelsea 4 - Blackpool 0
Blackpool struggled to cope with a rampant Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, as Ian Holloway's men went down 4-0 in the capital.
The manager made one change from the team which beat Newcastle, with Alex Baptiste replacing Brett Ormerod. This meant Baps went into the middle of midfield and Elliot Grandin operated out wide. Any game plan to stifle the Champions with a slightly more defensive formation was undone within 90 seconds. The home team won a cheap corner and from there the Pool defence were unable to deal with a routine ball into the box, allowing Salomon Kalou with an easy unmarked finish at the back post. As the ball came in, defenders were sucked to the ball which meant Kalou, who had dropped off, had no problems slotting home for 1-0. Set pieces were a thorn in the Blackpool eleven all day, with players unsure who they were picking up and where they were supposed to be stationed; it wasn't clear whether zonal marking was being tried or that the Blues were just too savvy to spring clear of markers. Before the Seasiders had time to settle - which they probably failed to manage until after the break - Chelsea were two up. Michael Essien and Didier Drogba were at the heart of the move, fashioning a close range chance for the in-form Florent Malouda who made no mistake, putting past Matt Gilks with ease on 12 minutes. Neal Eardley was getting ripped to shreds by Ashley Cole down the left hand side and chances came and went at regular intervals for the hosts. The former Oldham man didn't help himself by a lack of positional awareness as he allowed straight and diagonal balls to loop over him, leaving Cole with the freedom of Stamford Bridge. The midfield managed to secure a slight foothold in the game after the second went in, keeping the ball for short spells but weren't helped by the gallivanting runs of Alex Baptiste who, as a supposed holding midfielder, was the furthest forward a few times, leaving Pool susceptible to the counter attack. It wasn't a counter attack which brought the third goal, but an individual error in the middle of the park. Elliot Grandin got caught on the ball which ended up seeing Cole cross for Drogba who had his deflected effort unluckily fly in off Ian Evatt, leaving Gilks helpless. That was on 30 minutes, and 10 later there was the final goal of the day. Kalou was given far too much room by Stephen Crainey and found Malouda who fired home brilliantly to wrap up the scoring, thankfully! Going into the break it felt like the Blues could have hit six, seven, maybe eight in the mood that they were in. Sometimes you have to sit back and applaud to opposition and Carlo Ancelotti and his team look like Premiership winners already. There were chances for Blackpool, but Alex Baptiste saw a long range effort well saved and Dekel Keinan nodded wide from a corner. Ollie made an obvious change at half time, hauling off the out of depth Eardley to replace him with Gary Taylor-Fletcher (Baptiste dropping to right back), with the midfielder having a smashing game in the second half. Charlie Adam and David Vaughan were able to keep the ball more in the second 45 after knowing where they stood without a defender alongside them, which meant chances were created for the front three. DJ Campbell almost reduced the arrears as he sprung the offside trap before his one-on-one shot beat Petr Cech but not Ivanovic on the line. There were more opportunities to come as Pool produced a more characteristic attacking display. Taylor-Fletcher saw a chip brilliantly tipped over by Cech whilst Luke Varney had a volley fly wide. Stephen Crainey and Charlie Adam in particular were getting into decent crossing positions but the quality of ball into the box wasn't that of their more established opponents, which was perhaps the most glaring difference between the teams. There were more chances for the hosts to extend their lead, with Malouda being the biggest culprit for spurning them. Chelsea should have had a penalty in the last minute but Mark Clattenburg was extremely lenient and blew for full time instead. However, all in all, there will be bigger and better teams who lose by more than four at Chelsea and the players should be proud of their second half performance. Ian Holloway said after the game that we simply weren't good enough in the first half and that is probably the most disappointing thing to come out of the game. As a defensive unit they didn't do themselves justice at all but as Sky Sports noted, the game was a freebie and moving onto the Blackburn game as quickly as possible is the best course of action. (Vital Football)
The manager made one change from the team which beat Newcastle, with Alex Baptiste replacing Brett Ormerod. This meant Baps went into the middle of midfield and Elliot Grandin operated out wide. Any game plan to stifle the Champions with a slightly more defensive formation was undone within 90 seconds. The home team won a cheap corner and from there the Pool defence were unable to deal with a routine ball into the box, allowing Salomon Kalou with an easy unmarked finish at the back post. As the ball came in, defenders were sucked to the ball which meant Kalou, who had dropped off, had no problems slotting home for 1-0. Set pieces were a thorn in the Blackpool eleven all day, with players unsure who they were picking up and where they were supposed to be stationed; it wasn't clear whether zonal marking was being tried or that the Blues were just too savvy to spring clear of markers. Before the Seasiders had time to settle - which they probably failed to manage until after the break - Chelsea were two up. Michael Essien and Didier Drogba were at the heart of the move, fashioning a close range chance for the in-form Florent Malouda who made no mistake, putting past Matt Gilks with ease on 12 minutes. Neal Eardley was getting ripped to shreds by Ashley Cole down the left hand side and chances came and went at regular intervals for the hosts. The former Oldham man didn't help himself by a lack of positional awareness as he allowed straight and diagonal balls to loop over him, leaving Cole with the freedom of Stamford Bridge. The midfield managed to secure a slight foothold in the game after the second went in, keeping the ball for short spells but weren't helped by the gallivanting runs of Alex Baptiste who, as a supposed holding midfielder, was the furthest forward a few times, leaving Pool susceptible to the counter attack. It wasn't a counter attack which brought the third goal, but an individual error in the middle of the park. Elliot Grandin got caught on the ball which ended up seeing Cole cross for Drogba who had his deflected effort unluckily fly in off Ian Evatt, leaving Gilks helpless. That was on 30 minutes, and 10 later there was the final goal of the day. Kalou was given far too much room by Stephen Crainey and found Malouda who fired home brilliantly to wrap up the scoring, thankfully! Going into the break it felt like the Blues could have hit six, seven, maybe eight in the mood that they were in. Sometimes you have to sit back and applaud to opposition and Carlo Ancelotti and his team look like Premiership winners already. There were chances for Blackpool, but Alex Baptiste saw a long range effort well saved and Dekel Keinan nodded wide from a corner. Ollie made an obvious change at half time, hauling off the out of depth Eardley to replace him with Gary Taylor-Fletcher (Baptiste dropping to right back), with the midfielder having a smashing game in the second half. Charlie Adam and David Vaughan were able to keep the ball more in the second 45 after knowing where they stood without a defender alongside them, which meant chances were created for the front three. DJ Campbell almost reduced the arrears as he sprung the offside trap before his one-on-one shot beat Petr Cech but not Ivanovic on the line. There were more opportunities to come as Pool produced a more characteristic attacking display. Taylor-Fletcher saw a chip brilliantly tipped over by Cech whilst Luke Varney had a volley fly wide. Stephen Crainey and Charlie Adam in particular were getting into decent crossing positions but the quality of ball into the box wasn't that of their more established opponents, which was perhaps the most glaring difference between the teams. There were more chances for the hosts to extend their lead, with Malouda being the biggest culprit for spurning them. Chelsea should have had a penalty in the last minute but Mark Clattenburg was extremely lenient and blew for full time instead. However, all in all, there will be bigger and better teams who lose by more than four at Chelsea and the players should be proud of their second half performance. Ian Holloway said after the game that we simply weren't good enough in the first half and that is probably the most disappointing thing to come out of the game. As a defensive unit they didn't do themselves justice at all but as Sky Sports noted, the game was a freebie and moving onto the Blackburn game as quickly as possible is the best course of action. (Vital Football)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Ian Holloway wants Blackpool to play like world champions Spain
It was courageous and it was cutting edge but, above all, it was clever. Blackpool's perfectly executed game plan served as a masterclass, demonstrating how devastatingly effective genuinely attacking versions of 4-3-3 can be.
Ian Holloway had asked his unfancied, heavily patronised charges to make a challenging formation, requiring considerable positional interchanging and much attendant trust, work.
Admittedly they endured some hairy second-half moments and their goalkeeper, Matthew Gilks, shone but few would argue that Blackpool did not deserve to pull it off. Even more refreshingly their shock win had as much to do with Holloway's broad football philosophy as his chosen configuration.
"You've got to look at Tiki-Taka, you've got to look at Spain," he said. "How they pass the ball, how they keep the ball. They are little guys who run around passing and they are quite brilliant."
So much so that Holloway has adopted the World Cup winners as role models. "What's wrong with us, why can't we do it? I want my team to be more like Spain."
On Saturday this wish was granted. "I've got to be careful I don't burst with pride. These boys are amazing, they're getting better all the time."
Blackpool's £10,000‑a‑week wage ceiling dictates that Holloway cannot shop for the game's perceived elite. Indeed, handed a comparable budget, many of his peers would merely restrict their recruits to specific, regimented, duties within rigid, safety-first formations.
Refusing to bow to such convention, the Bristolian has instead asked players such as the impressive David Vaughan, Charlie Adam and Luke Varney to raise their personal technical bars. On Tyneside he reaped surprisingly rich rewards...Read More...
Ian Holloway had asked his unfancied, heavily patronised charges to make a challenging formation, requiring considerable positional interchanging and much attendant trust, work.
Admittedly they endured some hairy second-half moments and their goalkeeper, Matthew Gilks, shone but few would argue that Blackpool did not deserve to pull it off. Even more refreshingly their shock win had as much to do with Holloway's broad football philosophy as his chosen configuration.
"You've got to look at Tiki-Taka, you've got to look at Spain," he said. "How they pass the ball, how they keep the ball. They are little guys who run around passing and they are quite brilliant."
So much so that Holloway has adopted the World Cup winners as role models. "What's wrong with us, why can't we do it? I want my team to be more like Spain."
On Saturday this wish was granted. "I've got to be careful I don't burst with pride. These boys are amazing, they're getting better all the time."
Blackpool's £10,000‑a‑week wage ceiling dictates that Holloway cannot shop for the game's perceived elite. Indeed, handed a comparable budget, many of his peers would merely restrict their recruits to specific, regimented, duties within rigid, safety-first formations.
Refusing to bow to such convention, the Bristolian has instead asked players such as the impressive David Vaughan, Charlie Adam and Luke Varney to raise their personal technical bars. On Tyneside he reaped surprisingly rich rewards...Read More...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Superb Blackpool beat Newcastle!
Newcastle Utd 0 v 2 BLACKPOOL.
Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell burst Newcastle's bubble as Blackpool banked another three precious Barclays Premier League points on the road. The midfielder calmly slotted a 45th-minute penalty past keeper Steve Harper and immediately dedicated it to youth team coach Gary Parkinson, who is critically ill in hospital. Adam then produced the pass from which DJ Campbell sealed the win at the death, but only after keeper Matt Gilks had produced a string of superb saves to deny Newcastle an equaliser. Gilks, who had kept out Kevin Nolan's first-half effort, frustrated Joey Barton, substitute Peter Lovenkrands and Andy Carroll as the Magpies staged a committed fightback in front of a crowd of 49,597. The defeat, Newcastle's first on their own turf in 27 attempts, served as a reminder to the Chris Hughton's men, if they needed one, that their 6-0 victory over Aston Villa in the last fixture at St James' Park, was a start and nothing more. Five months ago, Blackpool had arrived on Tyneside as one of the few sides to have beaten the Magpies in the Championship, and left on the wrong end of a 4-1 beating which was every bit as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests. They returned to the north-east knowing that Villa had also been sent packing as Newcastle romped to a stunning victory 24 hours after they had lost by the same score at Arsenal. But there was a determination about Ian Holloway's men from the off that they would not be blown away, and when referee Lee Mason sounded the half-time whistle, few inside St James' could have argued they were value for their 1-0 lead...READ MORE ...
Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell burst Newcastle's bubble as Blackpool banked another three precious Barclays Premier League points on the road. The midfielder calmly slotted a 45th-minute penalty past keeper Steve Harper and immediately dedicated it to youth team coach Gary Parkinson, who is critically ill in hospital. Adam then produced the pass from which DJ Campbell sealed the win at the death, but only after keeper Matt Gilks had produced a string of superb saves to deny Newcastle an equaliser. Gilks, who had kept out Kevin Nolan's first-half effort, frustrated Joey Barton, substitute Peter Lovenkrands and Andy Carroll as the Magpies staged a committed fightback in front of a crowd of 49,597. The defeat, Newcastle's first on their own turf in 27 attempts, served as a reminder to the Chris Hughton's men, if they needed one, that their 6-0 victory over Aston Villa in the last fixture at St James' Park, was a start and nothing more. Five months ago, Blackpool had arrived on Tyneside as one of the few sides to have beaten the Magpies in the Championship, and left on the wrong end of a 4-1 beating which was every bit as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests. They returned to the north-east knowing that Villa had also been sent packing as Newcastle romped to a stunning victory 24 hours after they had lost by the same score at Arsenal. But there was a determination about Ian Holloway's men from the off that they would not be blown away, and when referee Lee Mason sounded the half-time whistle, few inside St James' could have argued they were value for their 1-0 lead...READ MORE ...
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