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Winger described as the ‘new Thierry Henry’
Blackpool's Matt Phillips
MATT Phillips has been described as Blackpool’s Thierry Henry.
The winger is in the form of life and can’t stop scoring – making it ten goals in ten games with his FA Cup strike at Sheffield Wednesday.
It is a remarkable scoring streak, given that Phillips netted just once in his first 15 months at the club.
But Ian Holloway reckons he has seen something similar before.
The Pool boss said: “When Thierry Henry went to Arsenal, he was hardly prolific but they worked with him and every time he went through he looked like he was going to score.
“It is about belief and that is happening with Matt now.
“Young men take time to develop and it is great to see how he has come on over the last six months.
“He isn’t panicking when he has a chance any more. He isn’t trying to blast the ball – he is rolling it in.
“He also knows that if he does miss I am not going to have a go at him, and that goes for the rest of the lads.
“It is why I wasn’t concerned one bit when Nouha Dicko missed a decent opportunity at Cardiff last week. It doesn’t matter – it is the fact we are creating chances that is most important.”
Phillips has had the lion’s share of publicity for his goalscoring achievements, but Holloway says the rest of the squad deserve to share the spotlight.
The manager added: “What Matt knows is that without the team he has around him he wouldn’t get a chance to shine as brightly as he is.
“We have some really good, creative players and they are giving him the opportunities to score. Every credit to Matt that he is taking them but he knows others are playing a big part.”
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Weather for Blackpool
Wednesday 30 May 2012
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