Ian Holloway’s Blackpool side have made an impressive and unexpected start to the season as the largely inexperienced squad have seemingly adapted to Premier League life ahead of schedule and have claimed the scalps of both Liverpool and Newcastle in recent weeks, fuelling the fairytale feel surrounding Bloomfield Road.
Should Holloway’s men claim yet another unexpected victory this weekend they will move to within one point of the Manchester side and will have amassed a respectable total of thirteen points from eight games.
Holloway, however, remains cautious about the rapid progress of his team and has remained true to his expectations and hopes from the start of the season. In his eyes, a successful season for the men in tangerine would be to safely secure their Premier League status for another year. Anything that is achieved after that would be seen as a bonus by the former QPR and Plymouth Argyle manager.
Roberto Mancini, on the other hand, knows that anything else than a win would be seen as a disaster for his heavily experienced side. The Manchester men are currently second in the Premier League but already find themselves four points and fifteen goals behind reigning champions Chelsea.
Another concern for the City manager may be the mental state of midfielder Nigel De Jong. The Dutch player was recently dropped from the national team squad following a rash challenge on Newcastle forward Hatem Ben Arfa in City’s recent 2-1 win, and Mancini may see fit to allow De Jong some time away from the spotlight by resting him from this weekend’s clash. The extent of the reaction by the media has been no less shocking than the actual challenge itself with even on-loan Ben Arfa’s parent club Marseilles threatening to take legal action against De Jong.
How Times Have Changed
The last time Manchester City travelled to the seaside town of Blackpool, the year was 1999 and the Manchester club had just sunk to 12th in the third tier of English football, the lowest point in their long and sometimes painful history.
The scores were level at 0-0 on that bitterly cold January day and as the seaside mist drew ever closer both sides contemplated a less than successful existence, Blackpool, plying their trade in the ruins of their old stadium and City sinking further and further into the mire.
Manchester City climbed out of the division that year, with a memorable play-off final victory over Gillingham, as the point gained at Blackpool launched a twelve-match unbeaten run that propelled Joe Royle’s side up the table and into the play-off places.
Blackpool, the former club of greats such as Stanley Matthews and Jimmy Armfield, remained in the lower tiers or English football mediocrity until the combined efforts of Simon Grayson and more recently the charismatic Ian Holloway propelled this once famous club to the glitz and glamour of the Premier League.
The Manchester City captain that day, Steve Morrison, now assistant manager at non-league Northwich Victoria, recently spoke about the dark days that faced his beloved club.
Speaking to MEN Sport, Morrison revealed the key part the Manchester City fans played in their eventual play-off success that season as the penalty heroics of Nicky Weaver and Paul Dickov secured promotion.
“There was no Plan B. If we hadn’t got out of that division that year, Lord knows what would have become of City,” Morrison said.
“The City fans don’t forget it, because that season there was a coming together of everyone at the club. The camaraderie we found in that adversity was amazing – but we all knew how bad things were.
“The City fans were brilliant. They knew the score, and got right behind us, which is exactly what we needed.
“There were no superstars and the fans knew it – but they also began to believe that we had a team that could start to get them back to where we belonged.”
The former Citizens captain, who also played for Blackpool, made his feelings clear on the momentous rise of the seaside club.
“I don’t think, back then, there were many people who would have guessed this would happen,” he added.
“City’s rise has been staggering, and Blackpool’s even more so, in some ways – a real fairy tale."
TEAM NEWS
Blackpool
The Seasiders will look to continue their impressive early season form on Sunday with a win over the Premier League’s heavy spenders Manchester City. One key figure in Blackpool’s rise from Championship mediocrity to Anfield victory fame will, however, be missing for the ninth-placed Premier League side.Blackpool manager Ian Holloway will serve his one-match touchline ban at the weekend after appearing to call referee Mike Dean “useless” in the tunnel following the 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Holloway was fined £9,500 after the incident and has since apologised. It remains to be seen how his absence from the touchline will affect the performance of his side.
In terms of playing staff, Blackpool are without two first-team players for the visit of City. Long-term absentee Billy Clarke continues his prolonged spell on the sidelines as the former Ipswich striker endures a frustrating start to Premier League life with a knee injury. In a knee injury of far less severity, Alex Baptiste, used both in defence and midfield this season, will miss the clash with the Manchester side.
Possible starting XI: Gilks; Eardley, Evatt, Cathcart, Crainey; Grandin, Adam, Vaughan; Harewood, Varney, Campbell.
Manchester City
Roberto Mancini’s cash giants Manchester City have made an excellent start to the season, already felling last season’s champions Chelsea in a highly competitive affair and rising to second in the Premier League.Mancini, however, will be concerned with the fitness levels of his, so far, watertight defence in which Belgian international Vincent Kompany has excelled in a central role this season.
The City boss will be without four full-backs for the Blackpool clash as left-backs Alexandar Kolarov and Wayne Bridge miss out as well as the right-back pairing of Pablo Zabaleta and Micah Richards who is rated doubtful and likely to face a late fitness test.
Another late fitness test will be needed for summer signing Yaya Toure who is doubtful with a knee injury. The former Barcelona midfielder is yet to make a significant impact since his big money move and any injury lay-off is likely to disrupt his progress in a Manchester City shirt.
Possible starting XI: Hart; Boateng, Toure, Kompany, Lescott; De Jong, Barry, Milner; Johnson, Tevez, Silva.
Prediction
It's hard to see Ian Holloway's men getting anything from an experienced and well-drilled Manchester City side. Blackpool's buccaneering attacking tactis may cause the Manchester City defence some problems as the home crowd will provide vocal support with every single pass.
Roberto Mancini's men need to win these sort of games if they are to challenge for a top four spot and beyond, and with the relatively inexperienced Blackpool side faced with the likes of David Silva and Carlos Tevez, the possibility of a goalscoring flurry is high.
Roberto Mancini's men need to win these sort of games if they are to challenge for a top four spot and beyond, and with the relatively inexperienced Blackpool side faced with the likes of David Silva and Carlos Tevez, the possibility of a goalscoring flurry is high.
Blackpool 1-4 Man City 
