Blackpool

Ian Holloway hasn’t been short of controversy and random comments so far in his tenure as a Premier League manager, yet he has turned heads more than ever with his remarks about efforts to buy Blackpool’s best player, Charlie Adam.

Whether he calls the offers from clubs “insulting,” or makes it clear that Adam should only be playing for the best clubs, such as Manchester United, he continues to surprise us.  

What I find strange is that Holloway seems to think that some decent results and a mid-table position for Blackpool come mid-January makes his team one of the bigger ones in the Premier League, and that Blackpool have the ability to look down on clubs such as Aston Villa, purely because of their positioning in the Premier League table.

He also seems to have lost sight of the fact that Blackpool F.C. is a business, and like every other team has to negotiate offers on a private basis to reach a sensible deal for both Blackpool, and the potential buyer of Charlie Adam.

Instead, Holloway thinks that any offer below Blackpool’s valuation should be complained about in the press, and stated that Adam is worth £46 million, the money received for staying in the Premier League for another season, before reducing this to £10 million, still way above the offers from other clubs.

This is all wrong for a few reasons.

Firstly, by saying that Adam is worth £46 million, simple mathematics tell us his valuation for the rest of the team is £0. Although I know this wasn’t a serious valuation, it is interesting to think how Holloway’s actions in the press are seen by other players.

Results such as the two wins against Liverpool didn’t happen just because Charlie Adam was on the pitch, but through the efforts of the entire team, and although I’m sure Holloway realises this, he isn’t showing it very well.

Secondly, whether Blackpool like it or not, they will have to sell Adam at some point, and he has never played better at any point in his career, so this transfer window would be a perfect time to cash in on the player, especially with financially fitter clubs interested in buying.

To make the most of this clear opportunity for Blackpool, they have to be serious in their negotiations with other clubs, something the bidders have done by keeping the business quiet but something Holloway hasn’t done well at all.

Thirdly, this will certainly make teams less likely to do business with Blackpool again, as they are likely to be humiliated should Holloway act in the same way once again, which could financially be a disaster should Blackpool be relegated either this year or next.

So take this bit of advice, Mr. Holloway, it is perfectly fine to reject offers below the clubs evaluation, but just don’t insult the bidding clubs when doing it—it could be dangerous for the football club. 

It is odd to go a week without some gripe from a football fan about how certain teams in the EPL engage in negative tactics. I can't stand the way they play and hope they are relegated, is the hue and cry, typically from fans of bigger more well furnished sides. 

We all know the teams that are spoken of, they need not be named at this moment.

The team that typically engages in negative tactics can not actually be singled out however, as all teams engage them at certain times. Richer club sides especially, when they find themselves in certain predicaments during challenging seasons or cup runs, are known to engage in the seemingly necessary evil that is a tactically negative setup. 

The ones most often pointed to are the sides who have a manageable budget for survival if the right combination of players can be found for the season. These sides are more likely to have to play the type of football that causes such wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst purists everywhere. The managers saddled with such sides are often forced to set the team up for survival rather than goal scoring exploits. 

It is often seen, however, that certain lesser funded teams throw caution to the wind and attack with swashbuckling recklessness that often gains them the admiration of fans everywhere.

This is seen in the EPL presently at the former club of English legend Sir Stanley Matthews, Blackpool.You would think the man dubbed the "Wizard of Dribble" would approve of Ian Holloway and his side's efforts.

They did, however, lose today, to one of the very sides that is often criticized for negativity in Birmingham City, who went out and attacked in a positive fashion and though they squandered a host of opportunities along the way, they finally won in the last minutes. 

Here is the perfect example of a team that gets labelled as negative, when playing against the better-funded sides, "having a go" as the saying goes, against a side that are either equal to or below them in terms of budgetary capabilities and personnel.

Blackpool have enjoyed a charmed run in the league, shocking several sides and being terribly unlucky against Manchester City as well, who funnily enough could probably buy the town of Blackpool and use it as a training facility, when they were denied by terrible officiating that meant instead of gaining three much needed points, they lost three.

Coincidentally there would have been huge bets riding on City winning, a subject on which if the mind wanders, could lead to all sorts of strange possibilities being conjured up.

As it stands though, tactically the two teams at the top play a fairly negative and unattractive style at times, though one of them is typically though of as a rangy attacking side despite the defensive fare they occasionally serve up. This team, of course, being Manchester United, who have been grinding out results this season in the manner of an overwrought miller grinding out the last of his bread during a famine.

Interspersed have been moments of magic that keep the dream of total football alive, as is often the case with every team in the league. There would be a fan of any of the clubs in the top tier willing to share an amazing memory of brilliance by someone from their club's history if you were willing to listen.

Sometimes these moments can be in horribly dour cup finals or league encounters where the stakes are in the realms of the ridiculous. Or sometimes you get the disgustingly depraved scenes that were witnessed at several World Cups in the '90s of World Cup finals played between two teams so terrified of losing that they decide not to play at all.

This is actually now seen often in the premier league as well, particularly by sides up against more financially well endowed opponents, but disturbingly often you get scenes like the one where Chelsea entertained Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and defended their way to a two-nil victory.

For after all, wouldn't you expect a team boasting some of the best attackers in the world, attacking? Instead Arsenal tried to attack and were soaked up and hit with counter punches that sent the Gunners away feeling strangely bereft of that winning feeling.  

It has been called anti-football by some and is often times easily explained and equally as often despised. The reality is that it is with us for the moment and will probably be with us for a good period of time yet. 

Teams lining up playing 8-1-1 and the like, balls being blasted from goal line to goal line by goalkeepers desperate to keep the ball as far away as possible. Managers selecting entire teams of defensively built players, whose attempts at finesse resemble elephants dancing in the tulips. Teams sent out with the sole intention of not conceding at all costs.

There is, of course, always a silver lining. That moment of class that is like a lightning bolt on a clear day, snaking into the earth before you, like some finger of god.

A defensively deranged performance by two teams intent on never keeping the ball in their vicinity for longer than three seconds, is suddenly graced with one of those strangely exhilarating moments that makes you forget for a little while the unanswered questions of the eternal universe.

A magic moment when time seems to stand still. Which immediately erases the torture of the spectacle being gainfully endured for some, while making it 50 times worse for others.

The possibility of the magic is always with us though, and is a fundamental of the game, the reason many carry on hoping that something wonderful will happen, while they sit through match upon match of horrendously contrived stalemates.

It would appear at this juncture that such things are to be expected in the future of football, one just has to hold onto hope really, hope that the universal secrets will be discovered and we can leave our obsession with people playing a game behind and embrace the real reasons why humans exist.

Either that, or that the club's new signing scores a screamer in the 90th minute on debut for a one-nil win and it remains etched on some person's consciousness for the rest of their days.      

Fulham vs. West Brom

This is a clash between two teams that come into the game in the worst possible manner, with Fulham once again back in the drop zone and West Brom fresh from a defeat at the hands of Manchester United. While drawing matches has been the problem for Fulham, the Baggies recently have found it difficult to score goals at the right time.

West Brom played well against Manchester United throughout the match, but had they scored the penalty, along with being more clinical with their other chances, they would have come away from the match with all three points. However, as it is, West Brom is at the bottom of the form table going into this match and so is Fulham.

Mark Hughes will be hoping that they get something out of this game, because failure to do so will result in the gap between them and safety stretching out.

West Brom is now just three points above the drop zone and Roberto di Matteo will be very cautious about not ending up in the slog war that is the relegation battle. Mark Schwarzer is the major casualty for Fulham, as he joins up with the Australian team for the Asian Cup.

Fulham vs. West Brom kicks off at 21:00 CET on Craven Cottage.

Blackpool vs. Birmingham

Blackpool will be hosting the first game at Bloomfield Road in over a month, and they could not have asked for a better fixture as they prepare to host a struggling Birmingham City side.

Blackpool has been promising as of late, but their last defeat against Manchester City did not do them any favours. If you thought that Blackpool's situation worsened as a result of the Manchester City defeat, Birmingham City is in an even deeper mire after a 3-0 home loss to Arsenal put them into the bottom three for the first time this season.

However, Alex McLeish will be confident going into this match, having already beaten Blackpool in the reverse fixture this season. If they can repeat that result, then Birmingham's troubles will be put aside for at least one week.

Even though Blackpool is in a comfortable position at 11th place in the Premier League table, Ian Holloway will be hoping to avoid consecutive defeats within one week. David Carney is the prominent absentee for Blackpool, while James McFadden is still not back for Birmingham City. However, that aside, McLeish has a full strength squad to put out.

Blackpool vs. Birmingham kicks off at 21:00 CET on Bloomfield Road.

Man Utd vs. Stoke City

Manchester United will be very happy to come back to Old Trafford once again, as they have endured a torrid time away from home this season. The weekend victory against West Brom was just one win among a sea of draws, which does not make for good reading if the club wants to challenge for the title.

Stoke City has also been unspectacular over the past few months, and Tony Pulis has not been able to put in a steady run of results. Hence, they find themselves unable to challenge Sunderland and Bolton for the European qualification places.

Alex Ferguson will be boosted by the return of Wayne Rooney on the scoring sheet, but he has revealed that Rooney will be facing a late fitness test in order to determine his participation in the game. Likewise, Patrice Evra is also a doubt for this game. Stoke City has been boosted by the return of Robert Huth, who returns to the side after a one-game suspension. Apart from the injury to Mamady Sidibe, Pulis has a full-strength squad to play in this match.

Man Utd vs. Stoke kicks off at 21:00 CET on Old Trafford.

Xavier @ mysportshub.co.uk

To use a synonym from the beaches for which it is famed, if Manchester United and Chelsea were high-rise sand palaces, Blackpool would be a small turret, dented slightly by the unwanted intervention of a stray beach ball.

In other words: They shouldn't be very good. But they are.

In the past, Blackpool was renowned as a beach, a pleasure park, a home for donkeys, an empty façade concealing the town of Blackpool within. Blackpool FC and the mercurial Ian Holloway have given the town its colour. No longer of secondary consequence to the beach and pleasure park it contains, the once pale town of Blackpool is now orange.

To put the team's achievements over recent seasons into perspective; all predictions at the beginning of last season tipped Blackpool for relegation. They "should" be in League One, yet they’re just outside the Premiership's Top 10. The tale of Blackpool really is one of triumph over adversity, perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Blackpool is a club steeped in heritage. The 1950’s side of Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen yielded the most successful era in the club's history. Up until their relegation in 1966-67, Blackpool were an established top division side. That was as good as it got for Blackpool.

However, numerous changes of manager and a lack of continuity on the field led the club to spiral downwards into the nether-regions of the football league Pyramid. To put it into perspective, 18 years ago, if Blackpool had been relegated, they would have become a non-league side. They didn't. They were promoted, and the tracks were set in motion, culminating in the Blackpool FC of today.

It wasn't until the last few weeks of the 2009-10 championship season that Blackpool fans dared to dream.

After a slow start, no one expected the tale that was about to be told. Around March though, people began to sit up and take notice. Blackpool started to win, and then win again and again. Nottingham Forest, Cardiff, Leicester and Swansea, the teams in the promotion places at the time were looking over their shoulders. Little Blackpool were hunting them down.

Schooled on an attacking 4-3-3 formation, Holloway’s boys continued their indomitable march to the promised land. The rest is history. Blackpool gained sixth place in the league, booking a playoff spot in the process, and relegating Swansea to another season of Championship football.

Nottingham Forest were next to the sword, 2-1 at Blackpool and an amazing 4-3 at the City Ground. And, in the biggest match of them all, "The 90 Million Pound Match," Blackpool completed the remarkable as they came from behind to beat hotly fancied Cardiff 3-2.

To many people, promotion for such a side was deemed cruel. How can a team who only scraped through the championship, a team whose record signing (for £500,000) for club captain and best player, was "a reject" from Scotland, hope to compete with the millions on offer in the Premier League? "They’re gonna do a Derby," came the shout, and, to be honest, I believed them.

Blackpool’s current situation, in my mind, defies all reasonable logic.They are a team bereft of any world-class players—many Premiership class players even.

But, and here lies the crux of the issue, they are a team.

Blackpool are the Spartans of the Premier League, a single impenetrable unit. Theirs is a team made up of journeymen, rejects and those who have never even had the chance. Each and every one of them has something to prove, to fight for and that, in essence, is the spirit of Blackpool. Small budgets, big hearts. No big names, just one team, man to man, fighting as one.

The maverick who masterminded the renaissance, up until this season, was by many considered a joke. A master of the press conferences, where his witty one-liners and anecdotes bemused many a journalist, Ian Holloway’s teams on-field exploits hadn't lived up to their manager's hype.

Man and club seem to share an intrinsic bond, unfashionable, underrated as Holloway himself said: "I love Blackpool. We're very similar. We both look better in the dark." Under a shroud of darkness, Blackpool and it’s master of ceremonies have taken the Premier league by storm.

At the start of this season Blackpool had become most peoples' second team. More out of wild hope than expectation, the nation had taken the eclectic bunch of players and decidedly quirky manager to their hearts.

Now though, the situation has changed. Blackpool is still many peoples' second favourite team. We still want them to avoid relegation, but now, the reality is they probably will. The future of Blackpool is most certainly tangerine.

"Blackpool had a good reaction after the first half, they made some chances to score and also we didn't play so well, After 4-0 up it was difficult to maintain concentration and stay in focus in the game, we had a lot of opportunities to score but it was not fantastic play like the first half.

The first half was very good for us, it was a pleasure to watch my team playing like we played first half. But I am not angry about the second half because I know very well there are a lot of games in this period and maybe the players are looking to these next games. Maybe they lose a little bit of concentration during the game.

It could be that it is an easy start, We didn't play against the top teams but we played very welland this is the most important thing. Now it is important to maintain the same level of play against the top teams but I think that we are able to do this.

It is important to have confidence in our play and now we have confidence and we know very well that the next game will be more difficult. It is an important test to show the same level of play away against a fantastic team like Manchester City.'

"The tactical change did not work at all. I should have gone back [to our normal attacking system] earlier but when I went back to what we do the game was over by then.

No matter what we do against the top teams we are light years off them. They are awesome with their mental approach and the way they go about games. I would have been silly to think we did not have to do something different against Chelsea but I think we would have lost no matter what we did.

I thought we were absolutely useless in the first half, but we drew the second half, Chelsea showed a champion's mentality from the first corner and all our game plan went out of the window after about a first minute.

Some teams have taken us for granted but the champions didn't. Some of their movement was a bit different, I had not seen that before and it caused my players problems. I have seen in the flesh now how good Drogba and Essien are. I have seen some football in my life and the way Chelsea played is an absolute credit to Mr Ancelotti and their players. Some of their moving and passing and running is phenomenal.

As an avid football fan i find that the usual after match press conferences/interviews to be quite timid. With managers or assistants in Manchester United’s case with the BBC, showing respect and having their hands tied with fear of upsetting someone or being fined, what a refreshing change to have somebody with the style, charisma and character of a soon to be Sir Ian Holloway.

Ian Holloway, in my opinion is the true speacial one. Not for his managerial abilities but for his personality. Like his team’s shirts this year, this man is going to light up the usual boring segments between highlights on Match Of The Day. This man speaks his mind, is never afraid to put his foot in his mouth and provide entertainment to the fans whom adore him.

In an industry that is usually far too serious, step forward Sir Ian to lighten the mood. Never has somebody come out with such entertainment. Below are some of my favourite Holloway quotes over the years. With Blackpool playing their first home game of the season against Fulham today, the future is bright, the future is orange, the future is Holloway.

“I can’t see where we are going to get 10 points this season” (Ian Holloway’s prediction to Blackpool’s chances in the Premier League”

“He’s six foot something, fit as a flea, good looking – he’s got to have something wrong with him. Hopefully he’s hung like a hamster – That would make us all feel better. Having said that, me missus has got a pet hamster at home, and his cock’s massive.” – talking about Cristiano Ronaldo.

“To put it in gentleman’s terms if you’ve been out for a night and you’re looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they’re good looking and some weeks they’re not the best. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She weren’t the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let’s have a coffee”
- on the “ugly” win against Chesterfield. This is perhaps Holloway’s most famous quote.

“It’s like the film Men in Black. I walk around in a black suit, white shirt and black tie where I’ve had to flash my white light every now and again to erase some memories, but I feel we’ve got hold of the galaxy now. It’s in our hands.”
- Holloway on QPR’s financial situation.

“When you’re a manager it’s a case of have suitcase will travel, and I certainly didn’t want to travel with my trousers down.”
- October 2006

“It was lucky that the linesman wasn’t stood in front of me as I would have poked him with a stick to make sure he was awake.”
- Holloway states his opinion about the linesman’s performance in a game against Bristol City.

“I call us the Orange club – because our future’s bright!”
- on QPR’s potential.

“He’s been out for a year and Richard Langley is still six months away from being Richard Langley, and I could do with a fully fit Richard Langley.”
- on midfielder Richard Langley’s injury rehabilitation.

“It’s all very well having a great pianist playing but it’s no good if you haven’t got anyone to get the piano on the stage in the first place, otherwise the pianist would be standing there with no bloody piano to play.”
- after being criticised for using defensive players in midfield.

“I am a football manager. I can’t see into the future. Last year I thought I was going to Cornwall on my holidays but I ended up going to Lyme Regis.”
- asked whether QPR would be able to beat Manchester City.

“You can say that strikers are very much like postmen: they have to get in and out as quick as they can before the dog starts to have a go.”

“I always say that scoring goals is like driving a car. When the striker is going for goal, he’s pushing down that accelerator, so the rest of the team has to come down off that clutch. If the clutch and the accelerator are down at the same time, then you are going to have an accident.”

“I’ve got to knock that horrible smell out of my boys, because they smell of complacency.”

“I have such bad luck at the moment that if I fell in a barrel of boobs I’d come out sucking my thumb.”

“Every dog has its day, and today is woof day! Today I just want to bark!”
- Holloway after securing promotion to the Championship.”

“Sometimes it’s time for hen fap, and now is one of those times!.”

“When my wife first saw Marc for the first time, she said he was a fine specimen of a man. She says I have nothing to worry about, but I think she wants me to buy her a QPR shirt with his name on the back for Christmas.”
- on QPR’s new Danish striker Marc Nygaard.

“Paul Furlong is my vintage Rolls Royce and he cost me nothing. We polish him, look after him, and I have him fine tuned by my mechanics. We take good care of him because we have to drive him every day, not just save him for weddings.”
- on veteran striker Paul Furlong.

“We need a big, ugly defender. If we had one of them we’d have dealt with County’s first goal by taking out the ball, the player and the first three rows of seats in the stands.”
- after a defeat against Notts County.

“You never count your chickens before they hatch. I used to keep parakeets and I never counted every egg thinking I would get all eight birds. You just hoped they came out of the nest box looking all right. I’m like a swan at the moment. I look fine on top of the water but under the water my little legs are going mad.”

“There was a spell in the second half when I took my heart off my sleeve and put it in my mouth.”

“I don’t see the problem with footballers taking their shirts off after scoring a goal? They enjoy it and the young ladies enjoy it too. I suppose thats one of the main reasons women come to football games, to see the young men take their shirts off. Of course they’d have to go and watch another game because my lads are as ugly as sin.”
- about the new rule restricting footballers from removing their shirts during a match.

“Sometimes when you aim for the stars, you hit the moon.”

“I believe in what I am doing totally and once people speak to me they do too – I could sell snow to the Eskimos.”
“We’ve got a good squad and we’re going to cut our cloth accordingly, but I think the cloth that we’ve got could make some good soup, if that makes any sense”.
- Despite popular belief, Holloway was in fact misquoted as saying “soup” but actually said “suit”.

“I want to try and spread the support with my Bristol connection. Rovers are in the bottom division so why can’t I try and convert some of them into Argyle fans? We’re in the West Country so it’s not that far away. Only two and a half hours away in a slow car, an hour and a half in a fast one – or 10 minutes in a rocket! As long as you aimed it right, you’d be down here really quickly. Don’t land it on the pitch, though, because you’d ruin it!”

“It was a bit cheeky wasn’t it? But I don’t think it was that bad. It would have been worse if he’d turned round and dropped the front of his shorts instead. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a couple of butt cheeks personally. (…) If anybody’s offended by seeing a backside, get real. Maybe they’re just jealous that he’s got a real nice tight one, with no cellulite or anything.”
- on Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton mooning Everton fans

“Hasney’s bust his hooter. He can smell round corners now.”
- on an injury sustained by central defender Hasney Aljofree

“”Sir David Beckham? You’re having a laugh. He’s just a good footballer with a famous bird. Can you imagine if Posh was called Lady Beckham? We’d never hear the end of it!”
- on rumours about a possible knighthood for David Beckham.

“Have you ever seen The Incredibles? They have a a kid and he’s just so quick, like ‘WOOSH’ and he’s gone, and they call him ‘Dash’.
- on Scott Sinclair, then on loan at Argyle.

“And I think Mr. Incredible looks like Iain Dowie.
- on fellow manager Iain Dowie.

“If I was in there I wouldn’t try to be everybody’s friend. I’d have to say ‘Excuse me, hang on a minute, I think you’re wrong there. Don’t raise your voice at her like that, don’t get like that. It’s just an Oxo cube, we got it wrong and we’re all in this together’. It’s like the Witches of Eastwick. They need Jack Nicholson to come in and sort them right out.”
- on the bullying of Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother 2007.

“I’ve ridden a horse but I’m rubbish at it. I look like a crab sat on a horse with my hunched back. I’ve got rounded shoulders so I’m in all sorts of trouble and the bloody horse seems to know it as well! Many a time my wife’s seen me in excruciating agony when I’ve gone down instead of going up – let’s just say those bloody saddles are rather hard.”
- on riding horses.

“There was a woman in it who was quite well-endowed and two boys who used to get drunk and have a fight – it had everything for me.”
- on Dukes Of Hazzard.

“He is the oldest swinger in town but at this level he will add a touch of class.”
- on veteran midfielder Teddy Sheringham.

“Toad of Toad Hall ?.”
- on then Chelsea manager Avram Grant.

” He’s a complete fruitcake, that bloke, isn’t he? We’ve got to be careful with him, he’s after the old crazy mantle and he’s going to win it hands down.”
- on Stephen Ireland.

I cannot take credit for comiling these quotes as somebody else compiled them, i just thought it was nice to share them with the world and let the Premier League Fans know what we are in for over the next 8 months

If anything this man, makes any fan feal less sour after seeing their team loosing. If you don’t believe me, just search his name into YOUTUBE.

Arsenal's defeat at Blackburn Rovers at the end of last season exemplified what made the end of what was, on the whole, an enjoyable, if ultimately unsuccessful, season so disappointing. Arsenal were outfought by a team that wanted the win more than them, and got it as a result.

The lack of passion that day from Arsenal was quite exasperating.

Yes, there was very little to play for but pride, but since when did the pride of Arsenal football club not matter to its players? A lot of players were missing due to injury and that should be taken into consideration, but the players that came in seemed to turn their nose up at the chance to impress and that sort of attitude is inexcusable.

We've already heard from Andrey Arshavin who wants to right the wrongs of that game, and that attitude needs to run through the squad. Several crucial players that didn't play in that game will play today, and that will help. Players like Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song who will simply not allow Arsenal to be bullied off of the pitch.

Although certain figures in the media continue to question Arsenal's ability to handle a physical challenge away from home, I think it's something the team have improved with massively over the last couple of seasons. I don't think kicking Arsenal scares them into not competing as we know they can anymore and Blackburn will need more tricks than that to beat them.

I think today's game is one Arsenal can have a reasonable hope of winning. Blackburn were an effective side at home last season and Arsenal were not alone in being a top side not to get a result there, but they are at the end of the day, a bit rubbish. They can certainly be beaten and it's down to Arsenal to find a way of doing that.

I didn't agree with Arsene Wenger's complaints about Blackburn's style after the fixture last season.

I think Sam Allardyce, much as I hate to say it, was tactically spot on in that match and sometimes I struggle to back Arsene Wenger up when he says teams that are full of big strong players that are mostly good in the air shouldn't play to those strengths. Neither can you blame Blackburn for putting a bullseye on a goalkeeper they know is good for a mistake, I would expect Arsenal to do it if their opponents had such a goalkeeper after all.

Arsenal know what they'll get from a Sam Allardyce side, it's a tactic that's been used against them time and time again, and Arsenal should consistently be finding an answer to it now. The team have the ability and the know how to beat a team like Blackburn away from home, it's just a matter of how successfully that is put into practice. If Arsenal get rattled and allow Blackburn to intimidate them, then they'll be in trouble.

In terms of team news, Laurent Koscielny should return from suspension, and it will be a big test for him.

Arsenal fans have expressed concern all through preseason about how he needs more muscle to stand up to the big lads like Blackburn's, and we've heard him say he's relishing the challenge. I guess we'll find out how much he relishes it today.

As careful as the manager has been with Fabregas and Van Persie so far this season, I'd be surprised not to see both start this lunchtime. Arsenal's biggest strength in this game is their significant technical superiority to Blackburn, and that needs to brought to bear as much and as early as possible.

New signing Sebastien Squillaci is not in contention which is a pity as he seems up for a scrap, which is what Arsenal will get today. It must be a bit annoying for him to join the team only for most of the squad to go off on international duty after the game today. He himself has not been called up for France, so that should at least leave him to find his feet at his new club.

I don't have any prediction for the game, I think it purely depends on how well Arsenal handle the challenge presented to them by Blackburn's tactics. If they can overcome that, then it could be a comfortable win, if not, it could be a difficult early afternoon.

As fans of course, it's impossible to overlook how dislikeable Blackburn Rovers are. In fact if anyone can think of a redeeming feature, I invite you to post a comment for consideration. The fact that they are so easy to hate makes the occasions that we beat them all the more satisfying. Fingers crossed then, for some seriously satisfied Arsenal fans later on.

Enjoy the game.