A Tangerine Dream

Ian Holloway is an interesting character. As large an understatement as the hole in Blackpool's defence and as large as the heart they continue to show. The scope of what he has achieved so far with the plucky seasiders cannot be underestimated, but while the fate of his team will be decided across a 38 game season, Holloway's own may be bought to an altogether more untimely end, and all because he has his finger on the trigger, and is aiming squarely at his own head.

Blackpool are most certainly formed in the image of the eccentric Bristonian. His desire to succeed courses through the veins of the side and has driven Blackpool onto results most thought impossible. He is without doubt the heart of the team, and if his threat to quit if charged by the F.A over fielding a weakened team becomes a reality, Holloway may just be confirming his caricature as a joke figure rather than an accomplished manager, and rip the heart out of everyone's second favourite club.

"He has his finger on the trigger, and is aiming squarely at his own head"

Harry Redknapp recently said; “even Jose Mourinho would struggle to do better than Ian Holloway has done”. Most will agree with this but a glance into his checkered past casts doubt over his credibility. The three month spell at Plymouth and relegation with QPR do not hint at a successful Premier League manager, although it seems he has found a home at Blackpool, a place where he can put his coaching skills to practice. However it is not his coaching skills which are in doubt, but his managerial skills - and he must balance both to ultimately succeed. It seems it's now time to lose the eccentric interviews and the outlandish comments. Holloway is a man who cannot now hide behind his personality - in the Premier League he will rightly be judged on the results he achieved.

Quitting would not only hurt his career but put Blackpool in serious jeopardy. Holloway should, no needs, to learn the lessons of Mick McCarthy and Wolves and move on to complete the job he has started. As much as most can agree that the F.A charge is ridiculous, most will agree that Holloway's response bears the same hallmark. To undo the hard work and to jump off the roller-coaster mid-loop would be sheer lunacy, the act of a mad man. Oh dear.......

The Cockerel and the Cannon

North London has always been about more than eleven men and two nets - It would never allow itself to be so crude. Style is as deeply embedded in the aesthetic of the area's leading teams as the piercings of the punks sat on Camden lock. And, after all, what self respecting scenester would be seen dead strutting around Chalk Farm in last season's away shirt? Perhaps the last remaining English purveyors of footballing style over substance are to be found here, and Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have more in common than most rivals.

"Both teams are set on not only putting the ball in the net as many times as possible, but looking damn good doing it."

Ten days before the two teams meet and the fixture is distorted into an hateful, petty cacophony of soundbites and sideswipes, it pays to realise what the fixture is really all about. The swagger of two confident teams on an upward trajectory. The sheer quality of some of the talent on display, genuine world class talent. Both Arsene Wenger and Harry Redknapp have shaped the clubs in the image of themselves (somewhat unfortunate for Spurs fans – sorry Harry) and drawn on the past to put together teams set on not only putting the ball in the net as many times as possible, but looking damn good doing it – and this binds the teams together inexplicably.

Many may look on Spurs as inferior neighbours just as much as they look upon Arsenal as lacking the killer instinct to mark themselves truly as a great team, but that is to miss the point. More is at stake here than three points. In a game of ankles and shins shattering at the merest look from Lee Cattermole , the likes of Jack Wilshere, Cesc Fabregas, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale provide light where there is mostly dark. And in the money driven, modern footballing era of win at all costs, teams who want to win looking good are a rare and precious commodity. Even the current champions are known for their clinical efficiency more than astounding audiences for crying out loud.

Both teams are blighted, flawed and carry an element of unfulfilled potential, of that there is no doubt. Tottenham carry the weight of a glorious past around their necks more than most and only now look capable of shaking it loose. Arsenal are all too often reminded of the trophyless seasons since 2004 which blight Wenger's record. Inconsistent form and recent unpredictable goal laden meetings only serves to add to the mystery and intrigue of the fixture. But after the adoring crowd witness Rafael Van der Vart's laser guided left foot, Samir Nasri's winding runs, or Robin van Persie's deft first touch and the final whistle blows, more than just a football game will have been won, lost or drawn. The beautiful game will most likely have been reconfirmed as just that. And I can't wait to see it.