Plymouth Argyle had the last laugh after Ian Holloway, Leicester City controversy: View | OneFootball

The Pilgrims boss jumped ship for the Foxes in 2007, although the Pilgrims came back to haunt him months later

Ian Holloway might have been one of the most loved men in football during his heyday, but in the green half of Devon he turned out to be public enemy number one.

While there will be those who roll about laughing over his quips about badgers, teabags and whatever else that pops into his mind, there was nothing funny about the way the Bristolian left Plymouth Argyle to join Leicester City in 2007.

With the Pilgrims seemingly on the cusp of something special, the decision to jump ship for the Foxes is still something that wrangles the Green Army to this day, with ‘Hollowords’ unlikely to be a guest of honour at Home Park anytime soon.

But it was the Greens who had the last laugh during that 07/08 season, as they contributed to his new employers’ demise into the third tier, and seemingly loved every moment as their old boss could only watch on in despair.

Ian Holloway leaves Plymouth Argyle for Leicester City

It all happened in the blink of an eye; one second Ian Holloway is waxing lyrical about Argyle and the aspirations for the football club, the next he is shaking hands with Milan Mandaric at the King Power Stadium after agreeing a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Foxes.

In a similar way to how the Pilgrims have been stung recently with both Ryan Lowe and Steven Schumacher, those at Home Park had bought into their boss’s rousing speeches and enthusiasm for all things green, and thought they had something special brewing in Devon, only for it all to be pulled out from under their feet.

The Greens were playing some of the finest football in their history during the Holloway era, with a never-say-die attitude and a wealth of talent at their disposal, with genuine ambitions of trying to break into the top six of the Championship before too long.

But within days the jubilant feeling around the place had turned into despair, and outright hatred, as Holloway switched the South West for the Midlands, leaving Argyle in the lurch as he supposedly went on to bigger and better things.

Speaking at the time, Holloway said to the club's official channels at his unveiling: “Once you make a decision in life it has to be from the heart. I just felt that I couldn't turn this down. I can't wait to get started.

"I have met the lads down the training ground I have told them all about how I feel and what I expect. Hopefully, in the weeks to come, people will understand and get to know me.

"I am going to be so enthusiastic because I love everyday of my life. This is a whole new challenge, which throws me into a whole new ballpark. I feel like I have been acting in Coronation Street all my life and now I’m in King Lear."

While the boss may have thought he was about to take to the biggest stage, the only show Holloway was about to be part of was the Leicester City pantomime, in which he was to have a central role.

Ian Holloway fails after Leicester City switch, and Plymouth Argyle revel in his misery

While Argyle welcomed back club legend Paul Sturrock into the dugout with open arms, Holloway struggled to get to grips with life in his new role, as the Foxes fiasco continued to unravel.

A win in his opening match in charge against Bristol proved to be a false dawn, with no victory to come for the next seven league games, as City stated to circle the drain as Christmas came around.

The sight of their former boss failing to turn the ship around was only too pleasing for Argyle fans, who travelled up to the Midlands with a vengeance in the following February, as they faced their old boss for the first time.

The shirts may have been green, but the air was blue inside the away end of the King Power that day, as the travelling Green Army made their opinions heard in no uncertain terms, with Holloway receiving both barrels from those who had travelled from Devon.

By that point in his tenure, he was probably receiving it from the home fans as well, with just four of his 15 league matches ending in victory before then, with the threat of League One coming ever larger by the day.

And how Argyle celebrated as Peter Halmosi rifled one in just after the half-hour to put them in the lead, with their former boss only watching on and wondering what might have been if he had stayed put, instead of chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

A 1-0 victory had never tasted much sweeter, with the travelling Greens heading home happy, knowing they had got one over on their old foe, with Leicester’s plight looking more worrying by the day.

With form failing to materialise before the end of the season, the Foxes were fighting for their life at the bottom of the table, with a draw with Stoke City on the final day not enough to rescue them from the drop, as they tumbled into the third tier for the first time in their history.

With just one point the difference between staying up or going down, Argyle will have taken great solace in the fact they played their part in seeing their old boss get his just desserts, with justice served in the best possible way.