God. Have you seen Ian Holloway's face lately? The poor bloke looks like he's gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson after having surgery to remove what doctors feared might be skin cancer. And yet there he was, standing on the touchline for Swindon Town last Saturday like nothing had happened.

I've always had a soft spot for Ollie. Back in 2010, I watched his Blackpool side play some of the most entertaining football I'd ever seen in the Premier League. The way he talks - that thick Bristolian accent and those bizarre metaphors - makes him one of football's true characters in an era of media-trained robots.

When the sun comes back to bite you

The 62-year-old manager went under teh knife last week to remove a growth on his face, and the aftermath is genuinely shocking. The swelling makes him look like he's been in some kind of bar brawl.

"I'm in a wonderful time in my life now. I'm getting all sorts of bits and pieces falling off me," Holloway said with that trademark self-deprecating humor before Swindon's 0-0 draw with MK Dons.

But behind the jokes, there's a serious message.

Seriously, put the damn sunscreen on

Holloway didn't hold back when describing his ordeal. "You can see it, but I used to go out in the sun, I get skin cancer problems," he explained.

"My advice to anybody is please don't do it. Don't let your kids get burnt. Don't go out there if you've got fair skin like I have."

I remember getting absolutely roasted at a pre-season friendly in 2018... spent the next three days looking like a lobster and peeling like a snake. Wish I'd listened to advice like this back then.

"Put [Factor] 50 on, keep covered, because I can't do anything about these bits, and I've got a huge scar on the right-hand side of my face now."

The bear won this round

"It looks like I've had a fight with a bear and lost. You can't hide that fact," Holloway admitted.

He's not wrong. The images of him on the touchline are pretty startling. My wife walked past while I was researching this article and actually gasped. Her exact words: "What the hell happened to him?"

Luckily, doctors were able to remove the growth, and they're currently analyzing it. As Holloway put it: "There'll probably be more bits of me in a jar somewhere than there is sat here." Classic Ollie.

From relegation fears to mid-table comfort

Despite everything, Holloway guided Swindon to a respectable 12th place finish in League Two. Not bad considering they were hovering just above the relegation zone when he took over.

The club clearly values him - they've tied him down until 2028. That's a lifetime in football management terms!

After nearly four years away from the dugout, Holloway has reminded everyone why he's such an asset to the English game.

Fans rally behind their beloved Ollie

The outpouring of support for Holloway has been immense. After Saturday's game, Swindon's official account posted "Speedy recovery, Gaffer" and the responses came flooding in.

"Get well soon Ollie. What a guy!" wrote one supporter.

Another added: "Football is better with you involved."

Couldn't agree more. The game needs characters like Holloway... especially ones brave enough to show up for work days after surgery with their face swollen to twice its normal size.

Listen. If you're heading to the beach this summer, remember Ollie's words. Slap on that Factor 50. Skin cancer is no joke - and none of us want to end up looking like we've gone ten rounds with a grizzly.

Get well soon, Ian.