Holloway speaks out aginst EPL bias

[Old Master]

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway riled by final-day build-up

Most important game of my life - Holloway

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway insists his side's chances of a win over Manchester United on Sunday do not depend on the champions fielding a weakened team.

Holloway said the theory is "baloney", but also alleged that the Premier League would be glad to see the Seasiders drop out of the division.

"They will be relieved if we lose and get relegated. Then I am not badgering them," said Holloway.

The Premier League rejected the claims, insisting it had "no preference".

"We don't wish any team to be relegated," a Premier League spokesman told BBC Sport.

"At the end of the season the league table is the league table and those who deserve to get relegated, get relegated.

"We have no preference over which team goes down."

Holloway vociferously defended his corner against a Premier League charge earlier in the season after coming in for criticism for making 10 changes in his selection for the 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa.

The Premier League fined Blackpool £25,000 for fielding a weakened team, while Wolves were handed a similar punishment for an offence in the previous season.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has already won the Premier League title and have the Champions League match against Barcelona on 28 May to consider when it comes to picking his side to face Blackpool.
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How dare they talk about Sir Alex like that? Haven't they seen how successful he is?

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway

Holloway believes his United counterpart may also be offended by suggestions that he would not want to win his side's final home game of the season.

"I am so annoyed. Sir Alex Ferguson is a winner. He would never dream of not being interested in winning any match," said the 48-year-old, whose side led 2-0 before losing 3-2 in January's reverse fixture.

"That man deserves to pick whatever team he wants to pick. No one should question it.

"Those people running the game, what planet are they on? They must have beamed down from planet Zarf.

"How dare they talk about Sir Alex like that? Haven't they seen how successful he is?"

Ferguson made eight changes for the second leg of his side's Champions League semi-final against Schalke, but United went on to win 4-1 on the night to underline the strength in depth at Old Trafford.

"Ask Schalke if they think Manchester United have a weak team," added Holloway.

"On Sunday, we have to try and do the impossible. It's got to be perfect. No one else has beaten them. And if we do, they might get fined because we are rubbish."

Blackpool are one of five clubs - along with Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham and Wigan - who could join West Ham in the Championship next season.

With just one point covering the five relegation candidates, Holloway side's fate is partly dependent on other results.

Eighteenth-placed Blackpool, could be relegated despite becoming the first side this season to win at Old Trafford, or lose and stay up.

[God is an Englishman]

brilliant mind games from the young apprentice, only one person is better in the epl at these sorts of games and that's fergie himself.

[Le King]

Yeh he speaks his mind.
How can the FA have stupid rules like this about putting an average side out.
At the start of the season you have to register 25 players in your 1st team squad, surely you can use all them players.
Fergie just should say that Bebe has been performing better then Valencia in training and start with Bebe lol

[Outlaw 2.0]

brilliant mind games from the young apprentice, only one person is better in the epl at these sorts of games and that's fergie himself.

That's not "mind games" that's honesty, which is why Ian Hollaway has been so successful in his short career

[God is an Englishman]

brilliant mind games from the young apprentice, only one person is better in the epl at these sorts of games and that's fergie himself.

That's not "mind games" that's honesty, which is why Ian Hollaway has been so successful in his short career

The mind games are the part where he compliments fergie and the point about the weakened shalke team. He's basically saying that fergie should be able to put whatever team he wants out.

That's bollocks though, fergie should have to put the best team he can't on the pitch or it's unfair on west brom/wigan etc..

[Outlaw 2.0]

The mind games are the part where he compliments fergie and the point about the weakened shalke team.

He compliments Sir Alex because he has been one of the most accomplished football managers of all time and jests about schalke (a champions league club) who were on the receiving end of Manchesters "reserves".

That's bollocks though, fergie should have to put the best team he can't on the pitch or it's unfair on west brom/wigan etc..

True, United should be able to field whatever team they want, Ian Holloway will be the first one to tell you that after he was fined 25,000 quid for feilding a "weaker" side.

ALL HONESTY.....

[Le King]

brilliant mind games from the young apprentice, only one person is better in the epl at these sorts of games and that's fergie himself.

That's not "mind games" that's honesty, which is why Ian Hollaway has been so successful in his short career

The mind games are the part where he compliments fergie and the point about the weakened shalke team. He's basically saying that fergie should be able to put whatever team he wants out.

That's bollocks though, fergie should have to put the best team he can't on the pitch or it's unfair on west brom/wigan etc..

Our 2nd string 1st team can beat em
Look at when we played hull away 2 seasons ago on the last game before the cl final. We rested all our players and still won 1-0.. Fletcher, Nani, Brown and Neville were probably 1st team regulars

[El Pibe D'Oro]

Was that against Barca - that didnt help you one bit if thats the case.

[BulkBilled]

That's bollocks though, fergie should have to put the best team he can't on the pitch or it's unfair on west brom/wigan etc..

Bollocks. whilst I hate the cunt he should be able to utilize anyone in his squad.

[Judge Judy]

That's bollocks though, fergie should have to put the best team he can't on the pitch or it's unfair on west brom/wigan etc..

Bollocks. whilst I hate the champagne he should be able to utilize anyone in his squad.

[God is an Englishman]

That's bollocks though, fergie should have to put the best team he can't on the pitch or it's unfair on west brom/wigan etc..

Bollocks. whilst I hate the champagne he should be able to utilize anyone in his squad.

spectators pay to see the best, not also rans.

If they lose, they should be fined. Morally, they also owe it to the other teams fighting against relegation.

[Facts and Stats]

Yeh he speaks his mind.
How can the FA have stupid rules like this about putting an average side out.
At the start of the season you have to register 25 players in your 1st team squad, surely you can use all them players.
Fergie just should say that Bebe has been performing better then Valencia in training and start with Bebe lol

That 25 player list is for players over 21.

Fergie can play 11 17year olds who have never even played reserve team football if he wants on Sunday.

[Le King]

Yeh he speaks his mind.
How can the FA have stupid rules like this about putting an average side out.
At the start of the season you have to register 25 players in your 1st team squad, surely you can use all them players.
Fergie just should say that Bebe has been performing better then Valencia in training and start with Bebe lol

That 25 player list is for players over 21.

Fergie can play 11 17year olds who have never even played reserve team football if he wants on Sunday.

Ofcourse he can do that, but lets face it, hes not. So is it wrong if he leaves Rooney on the bench in this game and plays Berbatov instead? After all nobody should complain if Berba starts, hes the top scorer in the epl?

Fergie aint a loser, hes a winner, and the team he put out against schalke proves that our second string side can do the job

[Facts and Stats]

Schalke were never going to turn it round, it was a dead match. This is different.

[Old Master]

What 'Ollie is saying is that the EPL have already decided that if Blackpool win, or draw, then ManUre should be fined.

They forget that when we played them at Bloomfield Rd we were 2 - 0 up and cruising, until we had a third goal wrongly disallowed, which allowed them back into the game and they ended up winning 2 - 3.

As for the game against Villa, we only lost that game in the 94th minute and were actually the better team on the day.

So how can that be a weak team?

[God is an Englishman]

What 'Ollie is saying is that the EPL have already decided that if Blackpool win, or draw, then ManUre should be fined.

They forget that when we played them at Bloomfield Rd we were 2 - 0 up and cruising, until we had a third goal wrongly disallowed, which allowed them back into the game and they ended up winning 2 - 3.

As for the game against Villa, we only lost that game in the 94th minute and were actually the better team on the day.

So how can that be a weak team?

because you MIGHT have won if you'd fielded a proper team.

14th April 1999 Millwall 2 colchester 0
They made 11 changes from the saturday game to the midweek game and then 11 changes again for the Auto Windscreen Final the weekend after. If we hadn't have won we would have been fined for fielding a weaker team.

[Le King]

Schalke were never going to turn it round, it was a dead match. This is different.

They were still outplayed by a reserves side
and remember, schalke did put 5 against inter milan AT inters ground

did united get fined by eufa for fielding a weak team in the 2nd leg of the semis?

[Facts and Stats]

Van der Sar
Rafael
Smalling
Evans
O'Shea
Gibson
Scholes
Anderson
Valencia
Berbatov
Nani

Hardly a reserve side

[God is an Englishman]

Schalke were never going to turn it round, it was a dead match. This is different.

They were still outplayed by a reserves side
and remember, schalke did put 5 against inter milan AT inters ground

did united get fined by eufa for fielding a weak team in the 2nd leg of the semis?

what was the score?

[Outlaw 2.0]

Van der Sar
Rafael ---- Evra
Smalling ---- Vidic
Evans ---- Ferdinand
O'Shea ---- Giggs
Gibson ---- Carrick
Scholes ---- Fletcher
Anderson ---- Hernandez
Valencia ---- Park
Berbatov ---- Rooney
Nani

Hardly a reserve side

The way I was taught was if your not a first your a reserve for a first

[Facts and Stats]

its a squad game these days.

if bebe, owen etc had played then it's reserves.

[Outlaw 2.0]

its a squad game these days.

if bebe, owen etc had played then it's reserves.

So your saying for it to be classed as a reserves side it has to have all "reserves" players in it?? Does that mean If Ferguson dropped Rooney and Vidic their reserve side would actually be their first team?? try to keep up here.... or does that mean that Manchester have one huge reserve squad and no first team at all because surely their reserves side is made up of predominantly "reserve" players ie: players that are in reserve in case something happens to a first choice....

No?

[Facts and Stats]

I don't know what we are discussing - I am lost now

If Utd field the same team v Backpool as they did v Schalke I don't think there is anything wrong. All those players are good enough.

[Nice One Cyril]

The EPL squad rules are stupid. They've either got to say that you name an 18 man squad or, if they want to have a 25 man squad, let the manager play who he wants. It's rubbish otherwise and it's not Fergie's job to worry about Wigan or Wolves or anybody else.

It's completely subjective because if your 'weakened' team goes out and wins 5-0 then nothing happens. So, at kick-off it was a 'weakened' team, but 90 minutes later it's not? Do me a favour.

[Facts and Stats]

Cyril, at least your game won't have any weakened sides! C'mon Birmingham

[Le King]

play the reserves who gives a fuck
we got bigger things to worry about then blackpool

btw if United put a reserves team out there and they win, would United still get fined?

[Nice One Cyril]

Cyril, at least your game won't have any weakened sides! C'mon Birmingham

Rather hoping for a Fulham, Man City, Spurs and Villa accumulator this weekend.

[ronaldo07]

play a weaker side, and prevent the injury !!!
if we get fined, im gonna sell or my mortgage and hire a lawyer to sue the FA !!

[BulkBilled]

If they lose, they should be fined. Morally, they also owe it to the other teams fighting against relegation.

So if a player is injured you postpone the match so that so the manager can play the same team he did against an opponent the previous week?

[Old Master]

I don't know what we are discussing - I am lost now

If Utd field the same team v Backpool as they did v Schalke I don't think there is anything wrong. All those players are good enough.

Exactly.

Why should the EPL be able to decide that is not a full strength team when the Governing Body of European Football said nothing?

Interesting that the same Schalke side that was thrashed by ManUre won the German Cup Final against Duisberg yesterday - 5 - 0.

:?