The Mind Of Ian Holloway

Ian Holloway is a complex character. But what lays behind that complexity? I’ve come up with three possible explanations. As always, feel free to add to the debate in the comments section below or on our messageboard.

1. ‘It’s just Ollie being Ollie’ – Ollie is renowned for his ‘pithy’ comments; just look on Youtube and you’ll find countless examples. When he got the Blackpool job he claimed that his year out of the game had led to him re-assessing his outlook, and as such he was a changed character – a serious manager first, a joker second. I certainly think he’s found more of a balance between the two, but to completely change your behaviour is nigh on impossible, and that could well be we still see outbursts like the ones of late. Furthermore, the media interest in both Ollie and BFC is greater than ever; with more interviews etc taking place, there’s always likely to be more outbursts (Ollie himself has said that he sometimes loses control when a microphone is placed infront of him).

2. ‘There’s trouble at mill’ – Matt Gilks’ contract. Charlie Adam effectively suing the club over unpaid bonuses (and winning). Just two examples that highlight that whilst we’re Premier League on the pitch, we most certainly aren’t on it. Could it be that Ollie’s frustrations boil over at times and that his outbursts are his way of blowing off steam (as well as showing the likes of Oyston that he’s not to be messed with)? After all, we saw how deflated he was over the summer when things weren’t going his way…

3. ‘He’s playing the media like a grand piano’ – Ollie has spoken of how people should know better than to write Blackpool off, but then he himself plays down our chances to the media. Why? It’s simple really; he’s a) trying to take the pressure off the players by bearing the brunt of it himself and b) he’s trying to get journalists to write articles writing us off that he can use to stick up in the dressing room and fire up the players. And it’s working beautifully. The Ollie that faces the media is very different to the Ollie that the players see.

Conclusion: I think that all three explanations have played a part in Ollie’s behaviour this season. As calculating as he is, the ‘old Ollie’ still rears his head at times, and as complimentary as he is about Karl on the record, get him off record and it’s a different matter. In short, he’s a very complex character… but then geniuses always are aren’t they.