Ian Holloway might have been one of the most loved men in football during his heyday, but in the green half of Devon he turned out to be public enemy number one.
While there will be those who roll about laughing over his quips about badgers, teabags and whatever else that pops into his mind, there was nothing funny about the way the Bristolian left Plymouth Argyle to join Leicester City in 2007.
With the Pilgrims seemingly on the cusp of something special, the decision to jump ship for the Foxes is still something that wrangles the Green Army to this day, with ‘Hollowords’ unlikely to be a guest of honour at Home Park anytime soon.
But it was the Greens who had the last laugh during that 07/08 season, as they contributed to his new employers’ demise into the third tier, and seemingly loved every moment as their old boss could only watch on in despair.
It all happened in the blink of an eye; one second Ian Holloway is waxing lyrical about Argyle and the aspirations for the football club, the next he is shaking hands with Milan Mandaric at the King Power Stadium after agreeing a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Foxes.
In a similar way to how the Pilgrims have been stung recently with both Ryan Lowe and Steven Schumacher, those at Home Park had bought into their boss’s rousing speeches and enthusiasm for all things green, and thought they had something special brewing in Devon, only for it all to be pulled out from under their feet.
The Greens were playing some of the finest football in their history during the Holloway era, with a never-say-die attitude and a wealth of talent at their disposal, with genuine ambitions of trying to break into the top six of the Championship before too long.
But within days the jubilant feeling around the place had turned into despair, and outright hatred, as Holloway switched the South West for the Midlands, leaving Argyle in the lurch as he supposedly went on to bigger and better things.
Speaking at the time, Holloway said to the club’s official channels at his unveiling: “Once you make a decision in life it has to be from the heart. I just felt that I couldn’t turn this down. I can’t wait to get started.
“I have met the lads down the training ground I have told them all about how I feel and what I expect. Hopefully, in the weeks to come, people will understand and get to know me.
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