There are times when we wished Ian Holloway would keep schtum. The Wayne Rooney issue of 2010 perhaps, maybe the ‘well, I’m having a laugh’ outburst following an FA Cup defeat to then-League One Southampton in 2011.
2012 has a winner as well, when Holloway decided to entertain questions on the future of star winger Tom Ince. Asked about recently speculation linking the England Under-21 international with a move to Manchester United, the manager replied: ‘I can’t keep anybody. I am working with them to get them to a Manchester United or Arsenal.
‘That’s what I want to do for these boys. I have got to keep turning them out and that’s how it is. If we are not successful this year, do I want to stand in his way? Probably not. But we deserve a fair amount of money for him.’
That is fine. No problem. It is to be expected that Ince won’t be at the club longer than the end of the season. But these comments fuel speculation that the 21-year-old will up sticks in January, even though he was so loyal over the summer.
Rumours abound that Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to launch a £6million raid when the transfer window opens is a compliment to the way in which Holloway, Steve Thompson and more poignantly John Murphy – given the amount of goals the player has added to his game – have shaped the attacker.
But the United boss doesn’t need to know of his quality, that the club need to offer x, y or z, or that Ince has the ability to become an England senior regular. ‘I don’t think [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain and [Theo] Walcott are better than him. If Arsenal had bought him, he would be playing for England now.’
We would like him to stay for as long as possible, please.
As for tomorrow’s game, Ince faces a race against time to be fit for the visit of Charlton Athletic. Craig Cathcart is still battling against injury while Holloway has challenged striker Nouha Dicko – Tuesday’s matchwinner – to learn how to play for a full 90 minutes.
The Seasiders are again expected to make a raft of changes.
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