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Houllier hits back at Holloway

Image: Houllier: Unhappy with Holloway

Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier has hit back at Ian Holloway, accusing him of double standards

Villa chief accuses Pool boss of double standards

Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier has hit back at Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, accusing him of double standards over the Charlie Adam transfer affair. Houllier believes Holloway has singled him out for criticism, despite the fact that other clubs have bid for the midfielder through the same channels. Adam's future at Blackpool has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks with Villa, Birmingham and Liverpool all tabling bids for his services. The Scot has handed in a transfer request which was quickly rejected by Blackpool. Houllier is angry that Holloway distanced Kenny Dalglish from the offer made by Liverpool, yet did exactly the opposite when talking about Villa's bid. "I noticed this weekend that I was not treated the same way as my friend Kenny Dalglish," Houllier said. "Ian said 'it must not come from Kenny' when Kenny makes a bid, 'it comes from the club'. "He called me all sorts of things because our club, officially, did the right things, and went to them. "He went back to the press having a go at me." Houllier also alluded to the comments he made last week, when he said he had been victimised by other managers due to his nationality after also coming in for criticism from Sunderland boss Steve Bruce over the deal for Darren Bent.

Easy target

"I was stunned, but hey, easy target, as I've said," he said. "I'm not happy with him, I'm not happy with what he said. I think it's very, very unfair." The Frenchman joked that Saturday's match between Blackpool and Sunderland would have been a meeting of managerial minds. "He must have had a good conversation on the touchline with Bruce last weekend," joked Houllier.

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