Blake tried to persuade Guy Whittingham to move to St James's Park only for the Portsmouth front-man to join Oxford, then return to Portsmouth, and he was also foiled in his bid to sign Chester striker Steve Finney.
Initially, Blake had wanted to sign Finney on a month`s loan to assess the former Swindon striker's fitness, but was told by Chester owner Terry Smith he could only have him on a permanent basis.
Finney returned to the Deva Stadium and Blake's quest for a forward took him to West Ham where The Grecians enjoyed considerable success last season in obtaining a loanee.
Gary Alexander moved from East London to Devon and became an instant hit with the Exeter faithful, scoring 19 goals and scooping all of the club's various player of the year awards.
Blake will be hoping Holligan can replicate Alexander's spell at Exeter, and he is expected to make his debut in City's match against Hull on Tuesday evening.
The 20-year-old striker joined The Hammers in a £100,000 move from non-league Kingstonian in 1998 and spent some time with Leyton Orient on loan at the beginning of last season.
But the Lambeth-born hit-man started only one league match at Brisbane Road, failing to find the scoresheet before returning to Upton Park.
