ONLY POOLS AND HORSES

Joker ‘Olly turns Serious

“This time next year, we’ll be millionaires”.

Those are the words that are uttered on nearly every episode of Only Fools and Horses, by the irrepressible Del Boy Trotter.

Ian Holloway could not have dreamed of saying those words when he took over at lowly Blackpool in May 2009. Yet only a year and a day after he took charge, Holloway was celebrating promotion to the Premier League with Blackpool, after winning the £90m play-off final at Wembley.

However, much like the Trotter’s doomed jackpot win, which saw them go from paupers to princes and back again, Holloway, seems to be far from settled sitting at English football’s top table.

‘Olly seems to be someone who has got it all having won the jackpot (i.e. won promotion to the Premier League). Yet now he is there he is finding that it is not everything he had ever wished for.

The recent debacle over his ten changes to the side which narrowly lost 3-2 to Aston Villa, was blown out of proportion by many in the media, but also worsened by Holloway himself. A siege-mentality has been adopted by him recently that is totally unlike the man who would come up with a press-conference cracker every week, not so long ago.

His attitude towards the media has become surprisingly defiant and bullish recently. Surprising for a man whose entire managerial career up to this point, has been the stuff of YouTube legend, with bloopers and quotes almost becoming his trademark.

His bizarre blackmail threat, offering his resignation if found guilty of fielding a weakened side, only made the situation even more complex. It also signified that Holloway is a different character to the one painted as a lower-league jester. It would seem he is keen to shake off that impression, and instead be portrayed as a very serious and competent football manager.

Contract wrangles, rushed signings and talks of financial penalties have so far eluded Holloway in his career, and they have undoubtedly marred his impression of the top flight now that they have become commonplace.

As far as the results on the pitch are concerned, have been nothing short of outstanding, yet they have they do have the look of a timid Hull City not so long ago, in their first season, in the sense that they like to attack and outscore teams, rather than hold out for an edgy 1-0 win.

Victories at Anfield and St James Park have gone some way to showing that Holloway’s bunch of lower-league journeymen and foreign unknowns may actually survive amongst the big fish.

They also have an individual match-winner in Charlie Adam, much like Geovanni was for Hull when he first joined. The key is keeping up the results and morale, after Christmas, when the euphoria and hype over the Seasiders will have surely wilted. That is something that will be arguably the hardest part of Holloway’s task; keeping momentum going, whilst trying to add sensibly to the squad to ensure survival.

When comparing Holloway to the Trotters, it is ironic that both have had sniffs of the big-time, the money, the limelight etc. But the question is will Holloway’s moment, and Blackpool’s for that matter, last longer than a season. If it does, it will have been an outstanding achievement.

If he was to break up the relationship between him and the seaside club, purely because of a disciplinary rule or a contract wrangle, then there are many that would believe he would be a “plonker” to do so.

LTA FACING CRUCIAL MATCH POINT

THE CONSEQUENCE OF REWARDING FAILURE

Like an under-pressure top seed serving to stay in a Grand Slam, British tennis is in a state of disarray currently.

At a time when many sporting clubs and institutions are cutting their cloth, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is still receiving its more-than-generous funding of £26m, with hardly any justifiable reasons for doing so.

The institution has come under scathing criticism in recent years for failing to produce a sufficient amount of prospects like Andy Murray or Laura Robson.

When evaluating the success or failure of the organisation in recent years, many people simply suggest one name: Alex Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic, 26, has become a laughable figure in the game, due to a succession of wildcard Wimbledon entries which sees his record stand at eight consecutive first round exits.

The case of Bogdanovic is just one aspect that falls under the LTA’s umbrella of failure.

In order to combat the problems faced by British tennis, earlier this year Sports minister Hugh Robertson announced that a greater emphasis will be placed on the game at grassroots level,. He said:

“We expect tennis to play a prominent role and to capitalise on the huge demand and potential that exists in schools as part of our plan to set up an Olympic and Paralympics-style competition. This will be a nationwide competition that is open to every school and every child in the country”.

It would seem this initiative is aimed at producing a better standard of players in the future years; nevertheless, the matter of today’s prospects must also be questioned.

James Ward is 23, and is ranked as British number 2, yet only scrapes into the world’s top 200 and is virtually unknown by even the most diehard British tennis followers.

Ward featured in the recent Davis Cup debacle when Great Britain, minus Murray, were embarrassed in a 3-2 defeat to Lithuania that signalled the team’s sole dependence on the world number four, aswell as highlighting the deficiencies within our ranks from the Scotsman’s understudies.

Murray’s shoulders must be close to buckling, given the weight of expectation that he is carrying. The LTA’s reputation is on the line every time he enters a major tournament, and with each failure, a harmful blow is dealt to them from scathing critics.

Many from within the game have talked about a cut in funding, with the intention of teaching them that their failure cannot continue to be supplemented so graciously.

Whatever the solution, it needs to be quick, in order for the LTA to avoid the infamous game, set and match analogy that surely faces them at this moment.