Kickers, meet Nick, Nick, meet the Kickers. (Hi Nick!)

I met Nick on twitter one day when I made some typically American bloviation about how Blackpool were going to probably come up from the League Championship and break a bunch of legs. Nick responded to me and gave me a proper bollocking, talking about their beautiful playing style and attacking mentality. Naturally, when someone kicks you in the ball, you remember their name.

This weekend, Arsenal’s home opener is against newly promoted Blackpool (7am PST, live on ESPN2 in the USA) and I thought rather than me give some uniformed rubbish about a club I’d never heard of until they were promoted I’d get the inside scoop from someone who knows both clubs inside out. See, Nick is both a Goonah and a Tangerine, though not a tangerine in the bad way like David Dein, and I thought I’d ask him what he thought of the upcoming match, their dream promotion, and what it’s like to have two loves.

So, without further ado…

First question: do you consider yourself an Arsenal man or a Blackpool man and why?
Well, if you put a gun to my head (and being an American, I’ve no doubt you would) I would say Blackpool, though Arsenal are a very special club to me.

How long have you followed Arsenal?
Since I first became aware of the game really – half my family are Islington exiles who had moved up north to Blackpool to make their fortunes (how times change! Most people go in the opposite direction these days). A couple of times a week the Islington Gazette would pop through the door on special order, and Arsenal on TV or playing one of our near neighbors here in the North West was a huge deal. One of my earliest memories is being taken to the Arsenal club shop in the late seventies and coming back dressed like a miniature David O’Leary!

Blackpool?
Twenty-odd years. A visit to my school by a couple of Blackpool players in the late-eighties (and more to the point, free tickets to the next game) sparked my interest and I fell in love with the sights, sounds and smells of match day, and all things Tangerine. It was plain to see that a near 500 mile round trip to North London every other week was going to be rather tricky whereas nipping down the road to watch The Pool was more easily achieved with £10 a week pocket money.

Have you been to the Emirates stadium?
No, I be making my first visit on Saturday. I’m really excited at the prospect and honestly never thought I’d see the day that Blackpool would be traveling down for a league game. When the fixtures came out, my first thought was Blackpool – Arsenal. I’ve been to Highbury a few times and absolutely loved the place, so it’ll be interesting to see how it compares.

There’s a now famous photo of a young Blackpool supporter who looks very passionate about their win over Wigan, what’s it like going to Blackpool games?
Pool fans, in the main, are vibrant and passionate in their support with a reputation for being some of the loudest fans in England. It’s actually great that we’ve got new fans coming through like the young lad who made all the papers – for a long time Blackpool was definitely not the club of choice for a lot of local youngsters. After decades in the footballing wilderness, the last 5 years we’ve seen miracles happen again and again, with improbable promotions and scarcely conceivable results, so the self-belief felt by everyone connected with the club couldn’t be greater. Pool fans bring real carnival feel and I think Arsenal fans will come away on Saturday feeling that they couldn’t have had better guests for the historic renaming of the Emirates stands to match their Highbury counterparts. The away end will be rocking whatever the result – make no mistake.

How would you describe Blackpool’s playing style?
Blackpool play a cavalier 4-3-3 with flying full backs and deep-lying central midfielders looking to play diagonal balls. Our manager recently said that he wanted to play more like Spain, and, funny as it no doubt sounds, our system isn’t a million miles away from theirs. Similarly to Arsene Wenger, Ian Holloway believes in the “you score 3, we’ll score 4″ mentality of relentless attacking football and in playing the game the right way. I doubt there’ll be any buses parked in front of the goal on Saturday, for better or worse.

Who is the player we (Arsenal) should look out for both offensively and defensively?
Offensively, Charlie Adam without a doubt. A Scottish International, he moved down from Glasgow Rangers for £500k after a successful loan spell and now must be worth ten times that. He’s a fantastic footballer with as sweet a left foot as you’ll ever see. Dead ball specialist too… as Cardiff found out to their cost in the Championship Playoff final!

Defensively we aren’t quite a strong as we are going forward, and if you’d asked me to pick a stand-out player a week ago I’d have gone for Keith Southern our holding midfielder, but he picked up a nasty injury pre-season and won’t figure till around Christmas. It’s actually difficult to predict who we’ll have playing at the back – we’ve just bought an Israeli International defender and he may well be thrown straight in at the deep end. I suppose the most exciting prospect we have defensively is Alex Baptiste, who usually plays in central defence but can also play as full back. We picked him up from Mansfield a couple of seasons ago for £50k when they were relegated out of the football league altogether but he comfortably held his own in the Championship last season, and I think he’ll do well this year.

Blackpool’s manager Ian Holloway is often described as a colorful character, what’s your favorite memory of him?
I attended a dinner in the midst of last season held in honour of Blackpool’s last (old) second division promotion winning team from 1969-70 and Holloway gave a speech about how in 40 years time, he wanted himself and his players to be remembered like that team (few could’ve guessed he was about to emulate their achievement). He spoke passionately about what it means to work for or support a club with tremendous history, and how touched he was that achievements here were remembered, celebrated and never forgotten. It was a different side to the man from his usual media persona, and gave a glimpse into how, beneath it all, he’s a man desperate to leave his mark in footballing terms, rather than just being remembered as a joker who gave great interviews…

…so, yeah. Either that, or as a joker giving a great interview after the Playoff Final…

Will the departure of the chairman Karl Oyston have any effect?
In the short term, no. I think news of his demise, to mangle Mark Twain, has been greatly exaggerated. He’s staying on as acting Chief Executive and the Oyston family remain in control of the club. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss… unless they sell up… and I don’t see that happening.

I saw that Blackpool is putting out a DVD of their 4-0 win over Wigan the average Gooner probably is rolling their eyes and thinking of Tottenham but this was Blackpool’s first win in the top flight since 1971 and quite a big deal. At Arsenal, it’s a huge deal if we don’t win with reports of fans from all over the world, literally, killing themselves after losses. What’s the difference for you in supporting two teams with such disparate expectations?
Hah! Well, as you say, it’s 40 years since we won a First Division/ Premier League match, so only slightly longer than the last time prior to last season that Sp*rs beat Arsenal in the league, but not by much.

There is a sense of entitlement amongst Arsenal fans, Christ I know I feel it too. The frustration at not putting lesser teams to the sword and the crushing disappointment at getting beaten by your peers is horrible, particularly as it has happened all too frequently in recent years. My mind is drawn back to 2003 during the Arsenal 2-3 Leeds match when that twat Viduka scored in the last few minutes and the despair I felt at having seen the title thrown away. Similarly, the 1991 Division 4 Playoff Final between Blackpool and Torquay was a black day, with Pool losing on penalties after 120 minutes at Wembley – it was desperate.

On the other hand you have St. Michael Thomas in ecstasy at Anfield in ’89… and for Blackpool, you only have to look back to 22nd May this year (Championship Playoff Final) to pinpoint what, for me, was the greatest day out as a football fan you could possibly have. The sheer improbability of the situation adds to the glory of it: sounds familiar doesn’t it? Expectations may be wildly different, but the emotional payoff is the same.

I would say that with Arsenal, you always know there will be another year to get it right. With Blackpool, anything could happen – the club nearly went out of business in the mid-eighties and it’s been a bumpy ride to get where we are. No less enjoyable for it though.

I fucking hate Viduka. What are your expectations for the season if Blackpool make the drop right away, would it be a big loss?
This season I expect Blackpool to develop the infrastructure of the club to bring us up to a level that can sustain progress on and off the pitch – this is already underway, we’ve got a new stand going up to take the capacity to over 17,000, and a new training ground is being bought and developed. These are much-needed developments that will hopefully secure the club’s future for many years to come.

On the pitch, anything is possible. I cannot second-guess what will happen after witnessing the miracles of the last few years. If pushed, I’d say 16th (with my most optimistic head on). If we were to be relegated, c’est la vie. There are 72 league clubs that would happily trade a season in the Premiership with whatever league they happen to be in now. The money is in the bank for the next 3 seasons anyway what with parachute payments for relegated sides.

What do you think the result will be?
2-1 Blackpool. Arsenal can win the other 35 games on a glorious run to the title with my very best wishes and support. (My head says 3-1 Arsenal).

Thanks Nick and I seriously hope that Arsenal don’t lose 2-1. With the tension I’m sensing among fans these day a loss would be like a Tunguska event.