Blackpool started the final round of league matches as the outside bet for the end of season play offs, with taking care of their own business needing to be complemented by results elsewhere ‘going their way’. What transpired represented a veritable microcosm of what has frequently been a turgid, frustrating, and wasteful season.

It was therefore almost inevitable that either facet to precipitate an ultimately positive outcome would not go to plan, but it is especially galling to think that had Blackpool held up their own end of the bargain they would now be awaiting home and away fixtures with Bolton Wanderers, but the final outcome and the manner in which it arrived was of little surprise considering the chaotic, inconsistent, and often shambolic nature of the 2023/24 season.

Make no mistake, yesterday’s opponents Reading, as with Wigan Athletic, are far better than their league position suggests. Indeed, if the respective issues at both clubs can be satisfactorily resolved over the summer, I would expect both the Royals and Latics to be strong contenders next season. However, Ruben Selles’ men were there for the taking, particularly at 1-0 to the ‘pool and even after Sam Smith’s deserved leveller. Time and again this season Blackpool have failed in similar circumstances to put their foot to the floor; if there was ever a time to throw caution to the wind it was yesterday, but news of Barnsley and Oxford both being in the ascendency seemed to take the wind out the players’ sails. That though should not mislead readers: Blackpool have frequently been found wanting away from home, usually against markedly inferior opposition, and whilst Reading boast some fine players – Smith, Lewis Wing, Femi Azeez, and Harvey Knibbs – to simply say that score lines elsewhere were the chief culprits for such a supine second half performance is somewhat specious, and extremely misleading.

To have taken the season to the final day in regulation is all the more remarkable considering since the turn of the year Blackpool’s strikers have scored a handful of goals between them. Jordan Rhodes scored fifteen goals in three months but none after mid-December, although injuries rather than a drop off in form have severely hampered the Huddersfield loanee. It is the lack of form displayed by Kyle Joseph, Jake Beesley, and Shayne Lavery which has been of the biggest concern, and whilst Neil Critchley’s tactics do not always play to the strengths of his frontmen, each of the aforementioned have been responsible for some glaring misses and poor all-round play.

Defeats at Burton Albion – a result which in effect kept the Brewers in League One – Cheltenham Town, Port Vale, and Cambridge United were particularly damaging, but ultimately Louis Appere’s 96th minute equaliser at Oakwell meant a Blackpool win would see the Seasiders sneak into sixth place. By then, it was all too late but notwithstanding some impressive passages of play by Reading, Blackpool should have gone hell for leather to ensure that it wasn’t their own actions which denied the club a tenth stab at the play offs.

It has been well-documented how the players have at times been lost in a maze of Critchley’s own making, but I consider that owner Simon Sadler has overseen two seasons of failure on the pitch as result of exceptionally poor recruitment, perhaps stemming from an inadequate budget. When it is considered that big earners including Richard Keogh, Chris Maxwell, Gary Madine, Kevin Stewart, Jerry Yates, Kenny Dougall, Keshi Anderson, and Josh Bowler have moved on to pastures new, not only have most of these influential figures not been adequately replaced, but such a significant saving on wages has been blown on hiring (and getting rid of) Michael Appleton, Mick McCarthy, and Sporting Director Chris Badlan, as well as the considerable waste of money on Tom Trybull, Callum Wright, Liam Bridcutt, Ollie Norburn and yes, Kyle Joseph.

The owner has stated that should Critchley not get the club promoted this season, he’s expected to do so next time around. More fuel to the fire has been added by a senior figure at the club stating that Blackpool are expected to be challenging in the top half of the Championship, against remember sides who’ve benefitted from parachute payments, in less than three years. Neither of these scenarios will come to pass with the squad currently at Critchley’s disposal, nor that he’ll be left with after what will be a significant number of summer departees.

Of those out of contract, it is envisaged that Callum Connolly, Matt Virtue, Shayne Lavery, and Jake Beesley will be released, with Marvin Ekpiteta, Richard O’Donnell, James Husband, and Sonny Carey offered new deals. I anticipate Ekpiteta will seek a new employer, of whom there will be many interested parties. Karamoko Dembele, Hayden Coulson, George Byers, and Rhodes will return to their parent clubs, with Coulson the most likely to return on a permanent basis. Jordan Rhodes would represent an interesting acquisition, but I would be surprised if Simon Sadler wishes to part with significant wages for an injury-prone 34-year old.

Of those still under contract, it is anticipated by many supporters that Jordan Gabriel and goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw have played their last games for the club. With ersatz wing back CJ Hamilton somehow keeping positional specialist Gabriel out of the side, it would be no surprise if the former Nottingham Forest player took umbrage to his continued and baffling omission. Both Grimshaw and Gabriel would command sizeable fees which could be ploughed back into the squad, but I believe that most supporters would wish for both to stay in a side that should still be in the Championship, or at least be looking forward to participating in the end of season play offs. It is also feasible that Oliver Casey will wish to take his burgeoning but unappreciated talent elsewhere.

Both on and off the field, it is extremely difficult to predict what is going to happen at the club. Players under contract who form the core of the side may leave; some of those who are shoo ins to leave may continue their stay in FY1, whilst George Byers could return on the basis that Sheffield Wednesday are unlikely to offer the midfielder a new contract. The players whose immediate futures are cautiously predictable – Matt Pennington, Kylian Kouassi, and Albie Morgan – number few, and whilst these will likely be complemented by the likes of Rob Apter, the lesser-spotted Ryan Finnigan, Jack Moore, Daniel Sassi, and Zac Emmerson, this represents a low base from which to build a squad capable of gaining automatic promotion and surviving in the Championship. I therefore feel that the on field situation at Blackpool Football Club is one of the most convoluted and uncertain for as long as I can remember.

With a resurgent Reading, Wigan Athletic, and Charlton Athletic plus one or both of Peterborough United and Bolton, League One looks to be a tougher obstacle without mentioning a monied Stockport County, the circus that accompanies Wrexham, and probably Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town being added to the mix. Then are also the already in situ well-managed and overachieving Leyton Orient, Northampton Town, and Lincoln City; if in the unlikely event that Sadler dispenses with Critchley’s services, Richie Wellens, Jon Brady, or Michael Skubala would all be excellent candidates for the role.

If then the utterances from the club regarding promotion and becoming established in the Championship are to be realised, there has to be a significant statement of intent from Simon Sadler. I am not one to spend the owner’s money for him, but the time has long since passed that supporters have to be grateful to him because he isn’t an Oyston. There are season tickets to sell, which will not be shifted in the preferred number unless a clear objective is laid out by the club as to how setbacks of the last two seasons are not to be repeated. A large slice of humble pie must also be consumed, instead of a prickly and defensive response from the top that seeks to dismiss anyone questioning the owner’s judgment.

The retained list is eagerly anticipated, but it must be backed up with a joined up roadmap as to how to get the club to where most believe it should be. It’s never dull at the seaside: I wouldn’t therefore rule out a summer of intrigue and leftfield surprises.

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