West Ham manager Sam Allardyce

The fixtures gods have conspired against us for the past two years and denied everyone the prospect of a weekend trip to Blackpool, fish and chips, donkey rides and all.

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In the event, last year's Premier League clash was scheduled as a wintery midweek clash, and now, thanks to the Tangerines' cup run, it has happened again this time round. Sadly this means Ill probably be keeping tabs with the Irons progress from a distance, which, however unconvincing the performance, is always a more nervy experience.

I'm wondering whether Big Sam will send out 11 players at the start of the game, or whether hell just keep one back in the dressing room to save us all the inevitable ruckus when we get someone sent off in the opening 20 minutes.

Whatever the ins and outs of Matty Taylor's sending off on Tuesday night, the player should never have got himself in the situation where he is forcing the referee to make a decision like that. Billy Sharp's theatrics were probably a contributing factor, but why grab him round the throat in the first place?

Indiscipline wasn't something that I envisaged being a problem under Allardyce. It's one thing getting sent off for genuine ball-winning challenges, but Taylor's red card, like Jack Collison's at Reading in December, were examples of players losing their rag unnecessarily.

All in all, it was a solid performance and a satisfactory result to hold Southampton to a draw, but Blackpool could well prove to be an either sterner challenge. Ian Holloway's team are playing their football in a way that most idealistic Irons supporters probably wished we played nowadays.

Whether the match turns out to be a contest between style and functionality, or whether Allardyce changes tact and takes the game to the opponents, remains to be seen. Knowing the safety-first approach of the manager, however, I wouldn't hold my breath.