How to Be a Football Manager: Enter the hilarious and crazy world of the gaffer

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From our lofty perches, it seems like child’s play, but former QPR and Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has been there, done it and got the stories to prove it’s a lot harder than it looks. Holloway will be at Blundell Park for Grimsby's match against Salford City on 1 January as he aims to steer the side away from the drop zone. He's been head honcho at clubs in all four divisions in English football, experiencing everything from the giddy heights of taking Blackpool to the Premier League to fighting relegation from the Football League with Grimsby Town.

As mentioned already, one of the great strengths of Holloway, that comes across so explicitly in this book, is his honesty, but not only honesty, a complete candidness and forthrightness. He has also managed Queens Park Rangers (where he won promotion from Division Two in 2003–04), Plymouth Argyle, Leicester City, Blackpool, Crystal Palace and Millwall. On 23 October 2013, after a 4–1 loss against Fulham, Holloway left the club by mutual consent after less than a year in charge.But when it comes to player acquisition, chairmen strife and press conferences, off-piste coaching and handling players, Holloway may very well be in a league of his own. On 27 May 2013, Holloway guided Crystal Palace to promotion to the 2013–14 Premier League after beating Watford 1-0 through a penalty converted by Kevin Philips in extra time. He usually played on the right side of midfield, and made his name as one of the more promising players in the Third Division (now League One).

On 27 April 2021, Grimsby were relegated back to non-League for a second time, former Mariners player and BBC Humberside co-commentator Gary Croft blamed Holloway: "He's done miles more than me in the game, Ian Holloway, but I feel like it was just a bit of a play thing, a toy for him to play with. In the 2013–14 Premier League season, Crystal Palace started with just three points from the first eight games as Holloway came under pressure to keep his job. Reflecting on his time at Leicester, he said "Leicester City is a marvellous club and I am as devastated as anybody that this great club suffered relegation.

This is not a handbook to tell you when to play a Christmas tree formation or throw on a false nine – it’s about dealing with the ridiculous, fighting your corner and always having a comeback. The reason given by the QPR board was that the constant rumours linking Holloway to the vacant managerial position at Leicester City were causing too many problems for the club. Without Holloway, the game has lost one of its larger-than-life characters, but during his hiatus, his book offers a refreshing, eye-opening insight into the real world of football management.

Only giving it three stars because the structure of the book feels like it has been thrown together and some anecdotes appear multiple times. In June 2005 a book of his quotes, "Let's Have Coffee: The Tao of Ian Holloway", was published; and in June 2006 he came 15th in a Time Out poll of funniest Londoners. In a long playing career 'Ollie' racked up 675 appearances across three separate stints at Bristol Rovers and spells at Wimbledon, Brentford, Torquay United (on loan) and QPR. He had been in charge just under a year, leaving them 20th in League Two with only five wins from nineteen games.Well, ask most football fans, and they’ll probably think they can do a better job than some managers, and they may not be wrong. He failed to do so, as QPR finished second from bottom and were relegated to the third level for the first time in 34 years. What is the point of the technical area considering managers walk where they like anyway including stepping on to the pitch sometimes?

Holloway marked his century of games in charge of Blackpool with a victory, the 37th of his reign, over Ipswich Town at Bloomfield Road on 10 September 2011. Holloway was suspended (sent on gardening leave) as manager by Queens Park Rangers on 6 February 2006. Holloway, stunned by the claims, had his lawyers look at the statements, while Mandarić accused Stapleton of " sour grapes" over Holloway's move to Leicester, saying Plymouth Argyle should be thankful for what he had achieved during his time there. A native of Kingswood, near Bristol, Holloway grew up in Cadbury Heath, where his mother, Jean, lived in the same council house until her death in April 2018. A total of five players left Plymouth in the January transfer window, which he claimed was all Holloway's fault.The twins were born profoundly deaf, as both Ian and Kim had a recessive form of a certain gene meaning that there was a higher chance that they would have deaf children. Holloway made a host of signings that included his former Blackpool players Billy Clarke and Elliot Grandin. Before the start of Blackpool's first top-flight season in 40 years, media reports suggested that Holloway was set to resign as manager following an alleged dispute with club chairman Karl Oyston.