Then Blackpool boss Ian Holloway gives a unique view of a classic clash on the west coast…
The 2010/11 campaign had begun well...
Fresh from winning the FA Cup the previous May and ending a 35 year-wait for a major trophy in the process.
There was a feel-good factor at the Club and the stellar new signings continued to arrive as Roberto Mancini’s first full season as City manager began.
With just seven games played, the Blues made the 50-mile or so journey to the Fylde coast to take on the Premier League’s surprise package, newly-promoted Blackpool.
The Seasiders, managed by Ian Holloway, had taken 10 points from their first seven games and sat just four points off a Champions League spot, while City knew a victory would mean moving up to second position behind leaders Chelsea.
With a capacity crowd of 16,116 – including a large and vociferous contingent from Manchester – the scene was set on a blustery autumnal day by the seaside.
Under the enthusiastic drive of Holloway – or ‘Ollie’ as he is affectionately known - Blackpool had been punching above their weight.
The Tangerines had reached the top flight via the play-offs and were in the Premier League for the first time.
Ollie used the fact his players had been written off by pundits and journalists as relegation certainties, and his collection of honest pros, loan signings and bargain buys pulled together for what would be a rollercoaster ride from start to finish – fitting for a side whose ground was in the shadow of the Pleasure Beach and the 'Big One'!
When Mancini and his star-studded squad rolled into town, Ollie’s Blackpool were ready for the challenge.
“I hadn’t made any special plans for the game,” recalled Ollie.
“I wanted to see if we could impose our style on City, who weren’t quite at the level they are today, but still had a fantastic squad.
“There was Carlos Tevez, David Silva, Vincent Kompany, James Milner, Joe Hart… to name just a few and this was a huge game for my lads.
“I just told them to go out there and focus on what we could do and play our game.
“We were at our place in front of our own fans, and I knew we’d give it a good go and looking back, I think it was one of our best performances of the season.
“I had no special plans because we set out to play exactly the way we had played for the past 18 months, and I couldn’t really do anything else because we trained to play a certain way and stuck to that.
"When Pep sends his team out, he trusts his players to do what they do, and I guess I was the same back then. It was just my style."
MANAGER: ROBERTO MANCINI
FORMATION: 4-4-2
SUBSTITUTES: DAVID SILVA (65), RICHARDS (76), VIEIRA (85)
“We’d lost 5-0 at Arsenal, but that was with 10 men and my players wanted to know what we were going to do to Manchester City rather than how we were going to stop them playing.
“That, for me, was a joy because they had bought into what we were trying to do completely.”
The first half was nip and tuck and Blackpool more than held their own.
The teams went into the break with the score 0-0, though Ollie felt that didn’t reflect the end-to-end game the fans of both sides had lapped up.
“I think the first half had been much better than that,” he said.
Blackpool, indeed, should have been in front.
Gary Taylor-Fletcher had what appeared to be a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside and DJ Campbell squandered a chance when he was one-on-one with Hart.
The sucker-punch followed not long after on 67 minutes when Carlos Tevez put City ahead.
James Milner’s backheel to David Silva – who had just come on as a sub – saw the Spaniard send a low cross into the six-yard box where Tevez wrestled into position to flick the ball cleverly home and put the Blues 1-0 up.
“I watched a replay of it, and he was onside, but there was no VAR back then, so it didn’t stand. I was saying, ‘that’s not right!’ – and then City go and score a goal that is offside, and it stands.”
It was another lucky break for City, with TV replays showing Tevez was marginally offside, but the skipper wasn’t complaining as he ran to celebrate with the travelling Blues, earning a booking for diving into the crowd.
Blackpool fans had every right to feel aggrieved, but on 79 minutes when Marlon Harewood glanced home Charlie Adam’s superb free-kick to set up a grandstand finish – only for Tevez’s deflected drive to restore City’s lead 56 seconds later.
The coup-de-grace for City came in the final minute of normal time when Silva carried the ball into the box, feigned one shot, then another before curling the ball into the left of the Blackpool goal to make it 3-1.
There was still time for Taylor-Fletcher to pull one back in added time, but Mancini’s side held on for a 3-2 win.
The stats back up the Seasiders’ belief that they should have taken more out of the game, with 16 shots to City’s 13 and bossed the possession 56% to the Blues’ 44%.
“When I think of the quality football that was played that day, it’s quite incredible,” says Ollie.
“To this day, for us to step up and match Manchester City is quite unbelievable, isn’t it?
“It was a fantastic game of football that just flew by. I still maintain two of City’s goals shouldn’t have stood and one of ours should, so we could have won 3-1 on another day.
“I spoke with Roberto afterwards and he was a very courteous man who was very complimentary about the way we’d played.
“He looked the part as well, and I just thought that’s how I need to look – I even had hair envy of him. He was just class.
“I probably let myself down with the press afterwards, moaning about the goals and whingeing about the referee.
“I had to pick the lads up because they thought we should have got something from the game, but I told them that if we did ever lose, it was about how we lost the game and losing in style – and if we do lose, I told them that we should lose magnificently.
“And I believe we did that day.”
David Clayton
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