Capital One Cup: The Dion Dublin column

By Mancunian Matters staff

Capital One Cup ambassador Dion Dublin was talking exclusively to Mancunian Matters….

It's the first round of the Capital One Cup this weekend, and one team I’ll definitely have my eye on is Blackpool, who are at home to Morecambe.

I’m a big fan of Ian Holloway. He’s priceless, a funny man you always want to hear interviewed.

He would have been disappointed not to get them back into the Premier League last year, and he will be missed in the top flight.

The last time they were up they really were a breath of fresh air and did incredibly well.

Someone had to go down though and if you’re down there at the end of the season, the chances are you deserve to be.

I’ve heard stories Blackpool are looking at Emile Heskey. I don’t know whether it’s genuine, but he would be an amazing signing, because he’s still Premier League class.

He doesn’t get the credit he deserves because he makes sacrifices for the team. He works his socks off defensively, too.

Admittedly he doesn’t get enough goals, and I’m sure he knows that. But defenders should still fear him – he’s a big old unit who can score and is a great team player.

Preston against Huddersfield is another interesting one because I like the managers of both clubs, Graham Westley and Simon Grayson.

Graham demands his teams work hard, and I like that style of management. It worked at Stevenage and I’m sure it will at Preston too.

I also know Simon quite well. He did really well to get Huddersfield promoted last year, and I’m sure he’ll build on that this season.

His management style is much calmer and he treats players as individuals, which helped him keep them on track after Lee Clark’s sacking.

Of course though, his job is made a little bit easier by having Jordan Rhodes up front.

It’s been a bit of a coup for Huddersfield to keep him, and I was amazed he didn’t get called up to Team GB.

If he carries on where he left off last year, he could have 15-20 goals by Christmas. The boy is on fire.

Dion Dublin was talking on behalf of Capital One, the credit card company and new sponsors of The League Cup. Round 1 of the Capital One Cup takes place from August 11 to 14.

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