Holloway: Oyston gets buzz out of winding up Blackpool fans

Ian Holloway says Karl Oyston gets a 'buzz' from winding up Blackpool's fans.
Ian HollowayIan Holloway
Ian Holloway

The manager who guided the club to the Premier League in 2010 believes Pool’s supporters will one day get their club back but warned that battling the Oystons may not be the way to do it.

Holloway is unlikely to return to Bloomfield Road any time soon, despite being one of the bookies’ favourites to replace Neil McDonald.

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The 53-year-old said: “I think he gets a buzz out of winding the fans up. It’s gone too far now.

“This is one of the most difficult things you could ever imagine, for the area and the club.

“If you don’t want something, you shouldn’t have it. But the fans are not going to get the club off the Oystons by fighting them.

“I honestly don’t know what to suggest. I’d love to sit them all down and bang their heads together, to be honest.

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“This is a phase, and Blackpool fans have to believe that one day their support will get their club back.

“All I can I remember is the joy the area had when we did well. How difficult is the contrast now.”

After three and a half incredible seasons at Bloomfield Road, Holloway quit for Crystal Palace in November 2012.

He revealed he tried to change chairman Oyston’s stance but was wasting his time.

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Holloway said: “I’ve never met anyone quite as stubborn and he’s not going to change.

“After I’d taken Palace up, I rang Karl and asked him if I could have done anything differently at Blackpool.

“He replied, ‘You’ll never change me, son, so why did you even try?’

“I just wanted to know if I could have done something else to get some of that money to keep our club building.

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“I had a dream. We were going to do this and that – all I got were pop-up sprinklers.

“The club and the town deserve more. It’s awful to see at the moment.”

Holloway, who has been out of management for over 14 months and has spent this season working as a Sky pundit, pointed to the departure of Matt Williams as a crucial turning point

Pool have suffered back-to-back relegations since their former club secretary, now general manager at Premier League Burnley, left Bloomfield Road for Shrewsbury.

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Holloway explained: “Karl used to have a great fellow called Matt Williams, who worked with him when I was there.

“Matt had a way of dealing with Karl and that really helped.

“Between the three of us we had a little dream team there. Between us we would make sense out of it all.

“Karl’s so stubborn – that’s his biggest strength but can also be his biggest weakness.”