WHEN STAN MEETS OLLIE

Tomorrow afternoon at St. Mary`s promises to be an interesting occasion in more ways than one.  The Saints entertain Premier League side Blackpool in the next round of the FA Cup - a competition won by both clubs in the past.   I remember Blackpool winning it in 1953 in what has been known ever since as the Matthews Final, when the late, great Sir Stanley Matthews turned the game on its head by producing a masterclass of wing play to enable Blackpool to beat Bolton Wanderers 4-3.  

It was just after my Dad had bought our very first television set - a small screen black and white job with a kind of magnifying glass stuck onto the screen so as to make the picture a bit bigger.   He always claimed that he had bought the tv so that my Mum could watch the Coronation, but I think his real motive was so he could watch the Cup Final.

Anyway, Blackpool are currently doing well in their first season in the Premier League and Saints are lying second in the League One table, but even so the gulf between the two clubs is considerable.   Blackpool`s priority is to retain their Premier League status, whereas Saints` priority is promotion out of the third tier of English football.   So the respective motives for tomorrow`s game will be interesting.   Already Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has said he will field a weakened team, which might even things up a bit and might see the inclusion of former Saints players Brett Ormerod, Stephen Cranie and Jason Euell to appear once more on the St. Mary`s stage.

But the real entertainment might come from the respective team managers.  Ian `Ollie` Holloway has carved a niche for himself as a `character,` with his broad Bristolian accent getting broader still, the further away from Bristol he travels.  Ollie tells it like it is.  What you hear is what you get.  Some of what he has to say is mirthful, tongue-in-cheek winding up, but some is straight to the point, challenging the authorities and fighting the tangerine corner.

And then there is Saints manager Nigel Adkins, with his Stanley Unwin-esque sentence mangling and use of obscure phrases which have become essential parts  of his pre and post match interviews.   So, given the doubtful importance of tomorrow`s result on the pitch, I`ll be looking to see whether Stan or Ollie comes out best from the fine mess their teams might get them into.