Blackpool FC needs to get back in step with its supporters

Following a wholly avoidable relegation from the Championship and a League One season that flattered to deceive, there are many hearts and minds who Blackpool Football Club are in danger of losing. With the advent of Sky Sports+ streaming each EFL side at least twenty times during the 2024/25 campaign, the Seasiders really needed to make a bold, positive statement when announcing season ticket prices. What transpired was another example of the club failing to ‘read the room’.

This is not a post to say that x club is charging less/more in a higher, lower, or the same division. Each side has special circumstances attached to pricing, be that the ability of the local community to pay, size of stadium and wage bill, and realistic expectations. In the last two years, Blackpool have unequivocally gone backwards, and from a positional sense within the pyramid are back where they started when Simon Sadler took the reins five years ago. Whilst the stadium has been brought back from the brink of ruin, what has transpired on the pitch since the epic 2021/22 season in the Championship has been completely unacceptable, but we will never know for sure if this was precipitated by current boss Neil Critchley’s abrupt departure to collect cones for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa.

The subsequent appointment of Michael Appleton need not have been a disaster if one of the most unlikeable managers Blackpool have had in my time supporting them – the others being Neil McDonald and Lee Clark – had been given the tools to do his job. Some bizarre and utterly ridiculous panic signings brought nothing to the pitch, coupled with the worrying trend of the side’s best players being those who are on loan from elsewhere. In this case think Ian Poveda, Morgan Rogers, and Lewis Fiorini, whilst this time around it was Karamoko Dembele, Jordan Rhodes, Hayden Coulson, and George Byers. Appleton left the building some six months later, but the appointment of Mick McCarthy sealed the club’s fate.

Fast forward to Neil Critchley 2.0, a reboot far from popular with many, although others were willing to see if one of the best qualified coaches in Europe could (re)work his magic. The upshot was turgidity, giving far too many chances to players whom Critchley had signed during his first iteration at the club, and an over-reliance on the aforementioned quartet of loanees. It is ironic that Blackpool surpassed the 72 points benchmark usually needed to get the final play off position, albeit by a single point, but also had they not thrown away the lead against an admittedly superior Reading side, then a tenth appearance in the play offs would improbably been theirs. Failure to do so by such a thin margin did though come with an asterix against what was a double-edged sword: Blackpool were nowhere near good enough over the season, and would quite likely have been taken apart by Bolton Wanderers, or eventual winners Oxford United.

With some notable names – Shayne Lavery, Marvin Ekpiteta, Callum Connolly, plus the aforementioned loanees – leaving the club, Blackpool are left with a mediocre squad of those still under contract, but the likes of Oli Norburn, Jake Beesley, and CJ Hamilton are nowhere near good enough to mount a strong, sustained promotion challenge. Furthermore, nobody would be surprised if Dan Grimshaw and Jordan Gabriel both sought a Championship side with whom to showcase their talents, although it is anticipated that Ryan Finnigan and Rob Apter will both play significant parts during the forthcoming season. Nevertheless, Blackpool are massively short of what they need to be, as stated by the highest echelons of the club, promoted this coming season, and an established Championship side in less than three years time.

Therefore, whilst almost inevitable, the price increase of season tickets has gone down like the proverbial. Not only is Critchley’s football boring and more akin to hope(the type that kills you) than expectation, the lack of public utterances from Simon Sadler gives little indication as what supporters will be getting for their money. For those who opt to pick and choose games, whether due to financial, geographical, or employment reasons, a standard seat will cost either £27, or £31 for a Category 2 match, the latter most likely to be against Birmingham City, Bolton, and Wigan Athletic. Furthermore, for walk up tickets the 18-21 age bracket has been removed, meaning those at university and/or in minimum wage roles will have to pay as much as a middle-aged adult. Not for the first time in the last thirty years, Blackpool run the risk of losing a generation(or two) of supporters. Incidentally, £31 for third tier football is astonishing.

Football supporters are taken for granted by their clubs. There will always be those who will renew come what may, and I do not have a problem with that. However, the relationship needs to work both ways. Blackpool are not a club who can charge what they like, knowing that foreign-based supporters and football tourists will hoover up expensively priced tickets. It again must be remembered that Blackpool is one of the poorest towns in the UK, with the average person not having £100 lying around to take themselves and their kids to the football.

Whilst a new age category, under 14, has been added, children that age cannot attend football on their own. To put the released prices into context, a 14 year old, or their parent, would generally pay £109 for a season ticket, but four years later £395. It is somewhat perverse that the 18-21 category has been retained for season tickets but not for walk up ‘on the day’ tickets. Even so, a 17 year old would typically pay £159 but at 18 this jumps to £345, the latter figure being just £50 under the early bird full price for adult tickets.

For those who wish to pay by instalments, the process is so invasive and protracted that the many on low incomes will not bother, or even qualify. Whilst I completely agree with making football affordable in a town like Blackpool to fill the ground, I would never advocate getting into debt for such a reason.

Many argue that season ticket prices should not be released until the club has shown its hand; in other words, once a statement of intent has been made as in signings that will improve the squad. A counter argument suggests that most players will for the time being be on holiday, and that the contracts of those who have been released by other clubs will not expire until perhaps the end of June. I would though say that if Rotherham United can announce the signing of Jonson Clarke-Harris barely a week after the season ended, there is little reason why Blackpool cannot delay announcing the prices of season tickets until a few positive signings have entered the building. It would though be specious to suggest that the club, any club, needs to develop its budget around income from season tickets before deciding on the level of squad investment. If those at the top have modelled the likely uptake of season tickets and walk ups for the forthcoming season, all the while taking into consideration the significant levels of discontent within the fanbase, then there should be an element of concern, which will not be allayed by alienating many supporters yet further by the recent pricing announcement.

Whilst in part subjective, what the squad needs is nevertheless glaring. The re-signing of George Byers and Hayden Coulson should be a priority, although I am not convinced bringing back a now injury prone Jordan Rhodes, 35 in January, would amount to good business. However, the squad needs more authority figures, and in the absence of Richard Keogh, Gary Madine, and now Marvin Ekpiteta, Rhodes would certainly fit the bill.

Even if Rhodes does return, two further strikers are needed. I would loan out Kylian Kouassi, enabling the former Sutton United man to get more regular game time than he can realistically expect at the seaside. An experienced central defender, a third goalkeeper, and additional midfielder are also required, but much will depend on who Blackpool can afford to get in, plus if Sonny Carey and even Dominic Thompson can be fully rehabilitated. Conversely, should Critchley decide to give more chances to players who probably do not deserve them, this could indicate an inability to get better in than a further display of misplaced faith.

With Simon Sadler having recently made an appearance in a Hong Kong court on charges of insider trading, the immediate and longer term future remains uncertain. Again, a lack of communication from the owner, in light of but also abstract to recent developments in the Far East, does little to instil confidence that the club is able to get to where it says it wants to be. Competition in League One will be fierce – Wrexham, Stockport County, Reading, Wigan, Charlton Athletic, Birmingham City, Rotherham, Barnsley, Bolton, and Peterborough United will all expect to do well – but there is, at the moment, little evidence to suggest that Blackpool will be among the front runners.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/21564/13130980/efl-on-sky-sports-how-to-watch-your-championship-league-one-or-league-two-team-live-next-season#:~:text=Stream%20any%20game%20from%20the,a%20first%20in%20broadcasting%20history.

https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2024/may/20/2024-25-season-tickets-on-sale-now-/

Blackpool FC: Late in the day run for the play offs merely serves to paper over the cracks

With two matches in regulation remaining, Blackpool somehow have a chance of gate-crashing a play off party at which their presence should have all but been guaranteed, but instead, so far at least, have quite rightly been denied entry. Their name may have been down last August, but there has been scant evidence to suggest they were ever going to cross the threshold for anything other than a swift half and a vol au vent in the kitchen.

Just as with general elections, political parties and football teams tend to capitulate at crucial points rather than the opposition prevailing, and Blackpool’s still theoretical chance of reaching the top six is more to do with the inconsistencies of the likes of Barnsley and Oxford, as well as Lincoln City’s late, Doncaster Rovers-like burst of form starting to become less certain.

Ten points and consecutive clean sheets from the last four outings suggests that Blackpool are in form, but there is far more to that than meets the eye. Weak opposition – Wycombe Wanderers, Cambridge United, Fleetwood Town, and Carlisle United – have been ideal stooges for manager Neil Critchley’s turgid possession-based play, and whilst a win is a win, there has been a similar price to play at each. Boring, negative football where a seemingly obvious refusal to go for the jugular has seen close shaves against both Fleetwood and Carlisle, with misfiring strikers accounting for a paltry handful of goals since the turn of the year. To say Blackpool have made heavy weather of each of the last three wins would be stating the obvious, with maximum points garnered not quite by accident, but surely the execution was not by design?

We are now left with a scenario where Blackpool could finish anywhere between 5th and 9th place. With Saturday’s opposition Barnsley threatening to hit the buffers, it is feasible that two play off places are up for grabs, and not just the one occupied by 6th place Oxford United. Were the Tykes’ to lose at Bloomfield Road and in their final game at Oakwell, coupled with an unlikely victory for the Seasiders at Reading, Blackpool would overhaul Neil Collins’ side. Unlikely, but with so many permutations involving those currently in the play off places and Stevenage Borough, Lincoln, and Blackpool, one way or another the final make up of the top six is unlikely to be resolved until after the final round of fixtures.

Blackpool have a storied history of prevailing in the end of season play offs, but therein lies a not too subtle hint as to why the club has rarely finished in the automatic promotion places. A lack of on field investment throughout the Oyston era and arguably since Simon Sadler took control has meant that each respective squad has never quite been good enough to break into the top two. This season is no different, where a squad that so hopelessly failed in the Championship has been supplemented by loanees who represent the best players at the club, but ultimately belong elsewhere. The better players who left – Jerry Yates, Kevin Stewart, Gary Madine, Josh Bowler, Dujon Sterling, and Keshi Anderson – were never replaced, but should Blackpool stick or twist, their squad is woefully inadequate for the Championship, and is nowhere near good enough to mount a promotion charge next season. Too much faith has been placed in a core of personnel who time and again prove they cannot learn from repeated mistakes, but should Critchley remain in situ, don’t bet against the majority of Sonny Carey, Matt Virtue, Oliver Norburn, Jake Beesley, Shayne Lavery, CJ Hamilton, and Callum Connolly remaining at the club.

When it is considered that Blackpool do not own a proven striker – top scorer Jordan Rhodes has spend much of the last four months injured, and hasn’t scored since December – and that Hamilton is again keeping a natural wing back, Jordan Gabriel, out of the side, it beggars belief that the club are still talking about the play offs being a possibility. The superior attributes of George Byers and Karamoko Dembele have on several occasions dragged Blackpool off the canvas, but neither will be at the club next season. Indeed, has Gabriel been benched in a similar way to the now departed Kenny Dougall, who informed the club of his desire to leave? It would not surprise me if Critchley was picking Hamilton over Gabriel for this reason. I fully expect Gabriel, Dan Grimshaw, and Marvin Ekpiteta to leave the club in the summer, and will do with the fans’ blessing, but I firmly believe that the best players in the squad should be picked come what may.

With the likes of Rob Apter, Ryan Finnigan, and just maybe Josh Miles to figure highly next season, it is important that the club are able to recruit from within. However, with an expected high churn of personnel, some of whom may be those that supporters wish to keep hold of, a core of Matt Pennington, Oliver Casey, Albie Morgan, James Husband, Kyle Joseph, Kylian Kouassi, and the aforementioned triumvirate might be the best that can be hoped for. There is obviously a large job in Sporting Director David Downes’ in tray to confront, but without the type of budget where Blackpool are being seen to ‘have a go’, the aim of the club to be challenging in the top half of the Championship in less than three years time looks unattainable.

There remains much to ponder off and on the pitch, but as with David Moyes replacing Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, should we now be considering not the person who took over from the Oystons, but who might succeed him?

Blackpool FC: Another Away Day Debacle Sparks Wider Debate

Do Blackpool have the right to expect to beat Derby County? Of course not, but nor should the 1,200 supporters who braved bank holiday traffic to visit Pride Park be expected to put up with the recurring nightmare that watching Blackpool on the road has become.

Those who perhaps should know better carried hope of a victory, purely based on The Rams’ appalling number of injuries. It is though the hope that kills you, with another performance high on possession, but with nothing to show for it.

Make no mistake: if Blackpool had better players than Kyle Joseph and Jake Beesley on the park, they would have taken at least a point off Paul Warne’s men. The same could be said about the previous outing, at Wigan, which resulted in exactly the same outcome. Then there are the pathetic showings at Burton Albion, Lincoln City, Wycombe Wanderers, Port Vale, Stevenage, Leyton Orient, Cheltenham Town, and Cambridge United, where Blackpool got what they deserved – nothing. Indeed, the Seasiders have this season failed to score in eleven away games. This is not what is expected of a side relegated from the Championship, and one owned by an extremely wealthy Blackpool supporter.

The (re)hiring of coach Neil Critchley, astonishingly poor recruitment, and likely significant churn of personnel in the summer put Blackpool at a crossroads they should not be standing at. My theory is that Critchley was brought back to the club, when indeed he shouldn’t have been after the way he departed the first time around, as a cheaper option, not through the salary he’d command, but by dint of being prepared to work with a squad that was mainly his construct to begin with. If, for example, a Liam Rosenior or Tony Mowbray had been brought in, as had been rumoured since Critchley left in 2022, they may well have wanted their own squad of players, something that would have been financially anathema to owner Simon Sadler. As Critchley was more than happy to work with substandard players such as Callum Connolly, CJ Hamilton, Jake Beesley, Sonny Carey, and Matt Virtue, the need to expensively replace them diminished. Throw in those who are worthy of retention, for example Daniel Grimshaw, Marvin Ekpiteta, Ollie Casey, Jordan Gabriel, and James Husband, it was subsequently an easy re-integration for Critchley. This has though since turned into false economy, whereby players who aren’t up to the task having too much faith placed in them.

Over the last few seasons, recruitment has been highly questionable. From having a squad capable of mid-table Championship football which contained Gary Madine, Jerry Yates, Richard Keogh, Kevin Stewart, Kenny Dougall, Keshi Anderson, and Josh Bowler that complemented high-quality loanees Ryan Wintle and Dujon Sterling, Blackpool now do not own a proven striker, with arguably their most effective players – Jordan Rhodes, Karamoko Dembele, Hayden Coulson, and George Byers – belonging to other clubs. Throw in the exceptionally disappointing signings of Ollie Norburn and Kyle Joseph, Blackpool’s positive recruitment last summer consisted of Matt Pennington, Albie Morgan, and Kylian Kouassi.

The squad is therefore forever playing catch up, with midfield and striker positions in particular being short. The former has been so for several seasons, but I also ask, is Critchley using the 3-5-2 system he has predominantly favoured purely because he pragmatically felt that it was the best way to wring an extra few percent out of players who aren’t quite up to it? For the record, I don’t think anyone could get any more out of this squad; it is new blood which is needed, although the coach’s style of play and of course this season’s away record has precipitated many calls for his removal.

I therefore feel the failure of this season and poor recruitment is squarely the responsibility of the owner. Perhaps the budget is one of the highest in the division, we don’t really know, but if so, where the money is going does not represent value. To remedy the situation, again remembering that the club expect in less than three years time to be challenging in the top half of the Championship, Simon Sadler is going to have to spend more money than he perhaps comfortable with. I understand that Financial Fair Play must come into the equation, but money through the turnstiles will markedly drop unless the product on the pitch dramatically improves. In this instance, it is a ‘spend money to make money’ scenario that is not exactly, and quite understandably, a course readily endorsed by many club owners. Otherwise, there is a real danger of Blackpool slipping into obscurity with 6-8,000 crowds which will not fund much if any improvements, thus making unfeasible conditions for greater inward investment, with spending on wages not allowed to go above 60% of turnover.

There will obviously be many players who leave the seaside in the summer, whose wages will be off the books. The issue is not just though how many leave, but who. The players who I believe should move on may not necessarily do so, whilst those deserving of fresh deals or that are still under contract may not want another season of turgid League One football. The integration of Ryan Finnigan, Rob Apter, and maybe Jake Daniels could be akin to three new signings, but only Critchley knows if the aforementioned trio are up to the task. With no respect intended, the coach may be left with no choice but to ‘play the kids’, but I would say that Wigan Athletic, for example, albeit through necessity, have a greater chance of flourishing using younger players than Blackpool.

With a churn of anything between 10-15 players possible, and that’s not including the four loanees, the level of work to be done at the club may be beyond what Sadler wishes to undertake. It is all well and good pursuing a player acquisition strategy of developing and selling for a profit, but there are no guarantees that young players will become what the club hopes, in other words, realisable assets that can be sold for a healthy profit.

Finally, it looks likely this week that Blackpool will gain permission to build a training complex on a designated Green Belt site in neighbouring Wyre Borough, costing a reputed £40 million. Quite aside from my disgust that Wyre’s Green Belt will be further denuded, this time by a scheme which does not satisfy any of the exceptional criteria for building on Green Belt land, does the club, in League One, need such a large facility that is rumoured to cost in the region, or even a figure north of the figure quoted?

As an internet wag might say: can the new training ground play in midfield?

OPINION: Blackpool Football Club’s Half-Term Report Makes for Grim Reading

Supporters of Blackpool Football Club will be forever grateful that current owner Simon Sadler wrested control of the club from the Oystons, and in doing so quite likely saved it from almost certain oblivion, but five years on, there has to more to hang one’s hat on that the fact that Sadler isn’t an Oyston. Whilst the club is in financially safe hands, where is it actually going?

There are many things the club should be far better at, some of which are glaring, others less so. Whilst some of what is to follow should only be considered subjective, there is little to debate when it comes to morality.

In this correspondent’s opinion, Blackpool Football Club can and should be doing far better, and where applicable taking a moral lead, regarding the following:

STADIUM CONFIGURATION: Bloomfield Road does not work, both inside and out. These are of course legacy issues, in part due to the redevelopment of the stadium during the Oyston years. Blackpool can and should accommodate 4,000 away fans, but ticket sales are now restricted, for reasons oft-debated but still to be clarified, to just over 2,100. This obviously deprives the club of a significant amount of money, when for instance Bolton Wanderers, Carlisle United, and Wigan Athletic come to town. In an ideal world, away fans would not occupy a stand that runs the full length of the ground, but if half of it is going to remain empty, then at least (try to) sell those remaining seats to home fans.

Limiting away support could be due to the poorly thought out way fans are shepherded out of the ground at full time. Of course, it is easy to direct supporters to coaches on Central Drive, but not all visitors arrive using this mode of transport. In recent times, I have narrowly avoided confrontations with supporters of Peterborough United and the aforementioned Horwich, due to the infinite ‘wisdom’ of the local constabulary which opts to direct away fans into the path of Blackpool supporters who had exited the west and south stands. There seems to be a culture of the authorities failing to learn from past failings, instead placing the blame squarely on home supporters. Plus ca change.

SELLING OUT THE LOCAL AREA: Anyone who has visited FY1 will know what a poor area of a poor town it is. Despite often hypocritical and ironic, the favourite ditty of away supporters opining that ‘Blackpool’s a sh1t hole, I want to go home’ is not too far from the truth. The town is though not alone in the UK for being on its knees, representing the bottom(or top) of various negative indices. Therefore, what does the club do but jump into bed with such egregiously unsuitable sponsors as Leo Vegas, Moretti, and Heineken? I know that there’s money to made out of these and their like, but at what human cost? Where does that money come from? What about the incalculable harm of individuals and families? Drinking and betting will always go hand in hand with football, but to in effect propel the easily swayed and those who don’t need any persuasion whatsoever into the immoral arms of addictive pasttimes, is utterly unconscionable. Furthermore, children are not permitted to wear a Blackpool ‘Leo Vegas’ replica shirt, but as a lot of younger people now wear adult sized clothes, such an embargo is as specious as it is pointless, what with the visual exposure at the ground to all that is unhealthy, and potentially ruinous.

TRAINING GROUND PLANS: Blackpool FC are currently awaiting the decision of Wyre Borough Council’s Planning Committee on whether they can develop a GREEN BELT site in Poulton le Fylde to become their new training ground. I vehemently objected to this proposal, on the grounds of it not only being a green field site but it is on designated Green Belt land, not to mention within a neighbouring borough on a site where there is a Biological Heritage Site and a habitat rich for wildlife, but also represents a lazy choice precipitated by cheaper redevelopment costs attendant with green field sites. The regeneration within Blackpool’s own borough, of a brownfield site, affording greater geographical connection to the club, should have been one of Sadler’s priorities. I sincerely hope government legislation that recently came into force that demands a ‘brownfield first’ attitude to planning, along with biodiversity net gains will scupper the application. In its current form it is, in my view, totally unethical and indefensible.

FAILURE TO GROW THE FAN BASE: Instead of thousands of empty seats, make football more affordable for those who support the club but cannot financially justify attending. I guarantee there will be thousands of such people in Blackpool alone, many of whom illegally watch games on cheap firesticks. A large proportion of supporters live in the wealthy/wealthier areas of Poulton le Fylde, Lytham St. Annes, Thornton, Over Wyre, and completely out of the areas, but there is undoubtedly a disconnect between the club and lapsed/potential supporters in FY1-4.

Blackpool have never exploited their potential support, and don’t look to be any rush to do so now. This includes the tourist market, with many ‘walk ups’ being unable to acquire tickets due to a lack of a previous purchase history. There must be, surely, a way around this. If much smaller, and far less storied clubs such as AFC Fylde and Fleetwood Town can aggressively go after acquiring fans, then why cannot Blackpool get out of this frustrating holding pattern?

SQUAD INVESTMENT: Over the last few seasons, Blackpool have lost Gary Madine, Jerry Yates, Josh Bowler, Keshi Anderson, Richard Keogh, Kevin Stewart, and Kenny Dougall, along with high-quality loan players Ryan Wintle, Dujon Sterling, Ian Poveda, Morgan Rogers, and Lewis Fiorini. These, with a few exceptions, have been replaced with inferior signings and yet more loanees, the latter which now represent the best available in the current squad: Karamoko Dembele, Jordan Rhodes, George Byers, and arguably Hayden Coulson. In effect, loans have and are replacing the cream who’ve been moved on, in some cases for big money. When the aforementioned quartet leave at the end of the season, it is also quite likely that Marvin Ekpiteta, Daniel Grimshaw, and Jordan Gabriel will depart if, as seems highly likely, Blackpool fail to get promotion back to the Championship. Those remaining, for example Jake Beesley, Matt Virtue, CJ Hamilton, Oliver Norburn, Andy Lyons et al are not going to get the side promoted, which leaves a huge undertaking for the mandarins upstairs to get the club to where they want it to be in three years time: challenging in the top half of the Championship.

NEIL CRITCHLEY: Are Blackpool underachieving with their current squad, or are they simply not good enough? At/in the hands of Critchley, it is not easy to be categorically certain. The swashbuckling days of Ian Holloway now seem about as distant as can be, with the life being strangled out of the current side, with acrimony and discord in part replacing Blackpool’s famous atmosphere. Too much faith has been put in several players whose development has stalled, and in my view are never going to get any better. Are they being over-coached, by a coach who is, after all, on paper one of the best qualified in Europe? Yes, you read that correctly. In my view, Critchley should never have re-entered the building; over the last few years, the club could instead of attracted John Eustace, Tony Mowbray, Richie Wellens, Ian Evatt, Liam Rosenior, or Michael Duff…

PLASTIC SEASON TICKETS: If season ticket holders do not wish, or are unable, to use a smart phone to hold their season ticket, a fee of £20 is levied – just to carry a piece of credit card-sized plastic. It is outrageous, and autocratic.

RECRUITMENT: Results (and performances) of late have been shocking, but that goes hand in hand with some of the players who are not ones you would want to be in the trenches with. Furthermore, without a proven, experienced striker on the books – Jordan Rhodes is on loan from Huddersfield Town and in any case is injured – and Blackpool’s best two midfielders, George Byers and Karamoko Dembele, belonging elsewhere, there is little surprise that the team is going backwards. Throw in the appalling failures of Callum Wright and Dominic Thompson, two players who arrived for decent money and with impressive reputations, I really do wonder how a recruitment department that on the face of it exudes bona fide credibility has arrived at such a disjointed, imbalanced squad? Has Critchley been given too much rope? Is the budget given by Sadler insufficient? Has the owner been mugged off, or is he complicit? I suspect we’ll never know.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL: The commercial arm of the club has made great strides since the Oyston era. The club shop offering is excellent, not only compared to the previous era but in reality. There will always be things it doesn’t have – you cannot keep everyone happy all of the time – but credit where it is due.

On the pitch any current positives are thin on the ground. The emergence of Rob Apter, currently on loan at Tranmere Rovers and having recently signed a long term deal, offers hope for the coming seasons. Furthermore, the signing of Ryan Finnigan from Southampton is the type of acquisition which COULD offer optimism for the future. Are though these two players able, with the help of many others who are not even at the club, to get the club back to the Championship, albeit at the culmination of the 2024/25 season?

As the current season stands on a precipice, and in real danger of petering out, the club, again, has much soul searching to undertake.

Vanilla Critchley Reintroduces the Snooze Setting to Bloomfield Road

“Don’t look back; you can never look back” opined Don Henley. It is clear that Blackpool Football Club owner Simon Sadler is not a fan of the Eagles, nor the side projects of the supergroup’s drummer.

The fact that the Seasiders are in League One is still an extremely sore point, with Critchley’s abrupt departure in June 2022 and the club’s lack of succession planning in the event of undoubtedly precipitating an utterly needless relegation.

For those who remember Critchley’s ‘first time around’ in League One will think I lack faith, and patience. Perhaps so, and of course I am happy to be proven wrong. However, a very slow start which necessitated the recruitment of Colin Calderwood, arguably the power behind the throne, to assist the manager undoubtedly saved his bacon. Even then, a succession of turgid, ground out performances were ‘got away with’ due to games being played behind closed doors in line with novel coronavirus protocols.

There are though glaring similarities writ large only five games into the new season. The strange formation being used home and away, 3-5-2, should like any other system only be used if the personnel at Critchley’s disposal suit it. They don’t. This lends an air of negativity to proceedings on the pitch which translate into boredom for those in the strands with whom Mr. Sadler needs to build bridges with, even if he and the club do not exactly see it that way themselves.

The sourcing of players who are not what the club need – yes, I know this comment is highly subjective – whilst the squad is crying out for accomplished wing backs (and/or wingers) and experienced, proven strikers who can be the difference in tight games. Are Albie Morgan or Tashan Oakley-Boothe going to decisively tip the balance; are they better than what we already have, and get spectators off their seats?

The following, Championship-standard players have not been replaced: Dujon Sterling, Richard Keogh (Marvin Ekpiteta’s mentor), Kevin Stewart, Josh Bowler, Keshi Anderson, Jerry Yates, and Gary Madine have not been replaced. As it stands, there is not a proven goalscorer at the club.

The following, previously signed by Critchley or were at the club when he first joined are being given too much responsibility and game time considering individually and collectively they are not good enough to affect games, and should be moved on: Matthew Virtue, Kenny Dougall, Jake Beesley, Sonny Carey, and CJ Hamilton. The latter two are, despite their difference in age within a bracket of players who I would suggest cannot be coached out of the same weaknesses and mistakes exhibited game after game, and therefore will struggle to ever be consistent performers in a positive sense. Sullay Kaikai was a previous example of this.

In an attempt to lend some balance to this apparent hatchet job, Critchley can at least point to five clean sheets on the spin, and the surprising (re)emergence of Oliver Casey, who I and many others presumed would leave during the summer. The former Leeds United youngster who spent last season on loan at relegation doomed Forest Green Rovers has been akin to a new signing and more than adroitly has slotted in to replace new signing but the already injured Matthew Pennington. However, if Blackpool were still as I type ‘on the grass’ at Bloomfield Road and last Saturday’s opponents Leyton Orient now safely tucked up at home with their cocoa, the scoreline would still be 0-0.

The reappointment of Critchley was opposed by many, accepted by others, with those in between grudgingly accepting the outcome. I remember feeling something similar when Simon Grayson was reappointed, although there wasn’t the animosity attached to that rehire as to that of Critchley’s, now known to some as ‘the snake’ and for whom the metaphorical knives will be out if results and performances do not become drastically more pleasing on the eye and points column.

There are issues on and off the pitch at Bloomfield Road with which I remain deeply unimpressed by. Scrolling through my archive will detail much of my disquiet, none of which has been allayed by the club. I may revisit these issues at a later date but for now, I am hoping that crowd numbers do not start to dwindle as we approach darker, autumnal days and nights should floating fans and even those tangerine to the marrow become extremely disillusioned with the bland, unimaginative product being played out in front of them, and instead opting to stay in the warm to bask in the Champions League’s glow.

The club needs to stop using players that aren’t good enough because they are priced out of acquiring who are supposedly better. Missing out on the type of experience the likes of Adam Le Fondre, Billy Sharp, and Troy Deeney can offer, the latter having rather bizarrely gone to Forest Green Rovers, does not mean the club should pin all their hopes on untried players who may come good, but lack the necessary nous, experience, and game management to compete at the top end of a tricky third tier.

There is much to do in the next, final nine days of the transfer window, a folly in itself that should slam shut as soon as the season begins, but at this moment in time I remain unconvinced that all the necessary changes will be made – ‘mutatis mutandis’ – at Blackpool Football Club, or that Neil Critchley is the right man for the job. To quote Seymour Skinner: “Prove me wrong kids, prove me wrong”.

Blackpool FC chase easy alcohol and gambling revenue whilst seemingly overlooking the damage these industries cause the local area

Last season was a chastening experience for the supporters of Blackpool Football Club, with relegation nailed on as early as August but confirmed only during the dying embers of their Championship campaign. A succession of poor decisions was precipitated by the abrupt departure of Neil Critchley, who, perversely, is now back in the managerial hot seat, and brought about the inevitable demotion.

It is not though the dire transfer strategy centred on callow loan players, a managerial hokey cokey or the then new Sporting Director/Director of Football Chris Badlan exiting before he’d even got his foot in the door that have really made me question the club’s overall strategy, but a litany of issues that simply are not addressed or perhaps owner Simon Sadler is oblivious to. The alternative attitude is that he is simply uninterested in what may concern a sizeable number of the fanbase, and/or lacks the self-awareness and humility to acknowledge opinions that are not his own.

Firstly, I would not have reappointed Critchley, arguably the architect of a season to forget, but that ship has now sailed. Some vocal supporters will have got over it, although many won’t. I am though not sure if his re-entering the building will be enough to stop some fans attending, but a poor start to next season will see a not inconsiderable amount of opprobrium directed at Sadler and particularly Critchley.

For a club with such a storied history, Blackpool has never ever attempted to grow its fanbase. Let’s not forget – several generations of prospective supporters were lost in the 1970s as the club was allowed to wither on the vine. During the 1980s and 90s many parents refused to take their children to a rotting Bloomfield Road, resulting in their affections being lost to Everton, Liverpool, and Manchester United. The Oyston era frittered away any momentum it had gained through the exciting Premier League and Championship seasons, before a justified boycott kept many fans at home or occupied by alternative pursuits. A good number of these supporters have never returned.

Blackpool is one of the poorest areas of England, but how is this acknowledged through individual match and season ticket pricing? It isn’t. Equally, how are neutral holidaymakers encouraged to take in a game? They aren’t.

Instead of getting more people into the ground – don’t forget, Blackpool took 38,000 supporters to Wembley in 2010 – the club seems more intent on wringing extra cash out of those who do attend. The two strategies are not mutually exclusive, but opting to create Moretti and Heineken lounges does not encourage good habits amongst supporters, and their children. I would be interested to know if these two facilities actually turn a profit. The site of some fans hiking up to the aforementioned lounges before staggering bibulously back ten minutes after the second half has started is not a good one.

In recent times Blackpool have had a shirt sponsor titled ‘Get Vocal’, a local council initiative that encourages people suffering with mental health issues to talk them through, rather than turning to addict or even suicide as answers to their problems. As a settlement Blackpool is, after all, known to be an epicentre for ‘sh!t town syndrome’. Yesterday, the club responded to the myriad of social problems within the town, including poverty, low life expectancy, high drug dependency, poor housing and so on, by jumping into bed with the online gambling company, LeoVegas. Could the club try any harder to display a complete absence of self-awareness, all the while bizarrely opting for a sponsor totally at odds with the Get Vocal message?

If a club’s sponsor cannot be displayed on children’s replica shirts, which gambling firms cannot, then they should not be on at all. Children are not only the country’s future, but also the club’s. Exposing them to lounges sponsored by beer companies and online gambling is unconscionable, and is reminiscent of when during the Oyston years the shirt sponsors included such paragons of virtue as Wonga and Bet Sid – the latter being an anagram of Is Debt.

Simon Sadler is a Blackpool lad made good, and supposedly understands the problems of the local area… To me, a ruthless, self-made money man is being guided by the wrong principles whilst living in a bubble abstract from the realities of lives of many on the Fylde Coast.

I have been saddened by the club’s application to build a new training ground on green belt land that separates Blackpool from Poulton le Fylde, within a borough, Wyre, where the club isn’t even based. This land serves as a necessary area of separation to prevent boroughs coalescing, but crucially is not only designated green belt but also farmland. Building on agricultural land is one of the greatest follies of the Tory administration, and can never be replaced. Brexit and the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine have apparently taught the government nothing about the country being more self-sufficient, not to mention the further eroding of green belt and wildlife habitat within Wyre. Yes, I blame the club for opting for a comparatively cheap green field site – they have never divulged the identity of the other sites that were considered before opting for the land off Garstang Road West and Grange Park – but it will ultimately be the decision of Wyre’s planners if this land is sacrificed for absolutely no public good whatsoever.

Finally, and returning to the issue of fans attending (or not, as the case may be) the club continues to show a lack of imagination as to how best to configure Bloomfield Road on matchdays. It is common knowledge that many of the players disliked the whole of the east side of the ground being handed over to away fans. When there are the best part of 4,000 supporters within it it does seem to give the opposition an advantage, although that is difficult to prove considering how bad Blackpool were last season. However, this coming season, only Wigan Athletic, Carlisle United, Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers, and Port Vale have the potential to bring at least 2,000 supporters to the seaside, who will be put in a stand that for the best part of the League One campaign will be almost empty. Therefore, it will either be full of opposition supporters, or all but empty. The obvious solution is to sell the northern section of the east stand to home fans for the vast majority of matches at headquarters, ensuring there are Blackpool supporters in all four stands. This would certainly help the atmosphere, and reduce the depressingly conspicuous sight of empty tangerine seats. Furthermore, away supporters can also be housed in the south east corner of the ground, which usually sits empty even during the biggest matches. It just feels that the club lack the will to change and be creative, opting instead to travel down a predictable path of least resistance, all the while adopting a cynical approach to generating revenue from what are unhealthy and potentially very damaging sources.

Will a queue be forming this morning for the new ‘LeoVegas’ shirt? Perhaps, but I will not be in it. In fact, I am preparing for a season of League One football by completely stepping away from the club. I cannot in good conscience continue to attend home matches when I vehemently disapprove of the direction the club is being taken in. Blackpool are of course fortunate to be solvent and in the hands of a supporter, but that doesn’t mean I have to approve of the business model being adopted, especially because of its attendant moral implications. Once a Blackpool fan, always a Blackpool fan, but not at any price.

ADDENDUM

A further issue which I had completely forgotten to include has this week once more reared its head: the drive to make most financial interactions with the football club to be digital; in other words, cashless.

Supporters are by now accustomed, some but not all begrudgingly, to the refreshment areas within Bloomfield Road being ‘card only’. In fact, the ticket office and club shop are the only areas where cash is still accepted, although I am not cognisant as to whether The Corner Flag restaurant refuses physical legal tender.

As stated above, it is of course possible to buy season tickets, as well as individual matchday tickets, with cash. However, for the forthcoming campaign the club are insisting that season tickets are stored in digital wallets within supporters’ smartphones. If fans insist on persisting with the now tried and tested method of gaining admission by flashing their plastic season card against a turnstile sensor, the club will charge a whopping £20 extra for the privilege.

Now, I in some way understand the logic, but absolutely not the execution. It is specious to suggest this is a more environmentally-friendly way to issue season tickets, as many holders for the coming season will be renewals, and therefore already own a card that can have the current campaign loaded onto it. Apparently not.

It obviously does not cost £20 for a piece of plastic. Rather than passing on the cost of a credit card-sized piece of polymerized substance, it seems the club are attempting to bend fans to its will by taking a highhanded approach.

Many supporters, I respectfully suggest that their natural habitat is in Bloomfield Road’s west stand, will be of an age where the use of smartphones is completely unnecessary, or that they simply do not want them. That latter in particular could be said about any age, but what about those who don’t want to take a breakable/stealable/losable device to a football match? Perhaps there are those who spend far too long on their mobile devices and welcome a few hours away from them?

There are probably dozens of reasons why digital season tickets should not be forced upon supporters – I refrain from using the word mandatory only because the plastic card option is technically still available, but at a price to dissuade from its use – but whatever the views of fans, for and against, I think the club are again from a public relations perspective way off the mark by in effect metaphorically twisting supporters arms behind their backs in an attempt to create a uniformity which in the end entirely suits Blackpool FC, a single entity, and not fans who are all different including the issues they individually face in life, and are not just here to blink, walk, and use their mobile phones in unison to make the club’s life easier.

There are people who will not get a season ticket for the current season because of this. The club isn’t big enough to lose regular supporters, especially as a result of a rather aggressive and emotionless attitude to those it relies upon.

A cost of living crisis isn’t made any easier by creaming off a further £20 on top of a season ticket pricing structure that was hardly designed to fill the ground, all the while shoving a new shirt sponsor in fans’ faces that represents an industry which has a nasty habit of destroying lives and families.

Further information: https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2023/july/10/download-your-digital-season-ticket-today-/

Neil Critchley comes full circle back to the Seaside, but is he a busted flush?

It is not without irony that the author of the recently published book The Patron Saint of Second Chances is a Simon; Christine Simon, to be exact.

Why the irony? Well, another Simon, Blackpool FC’s owner and chairman, Simon Sadler, has just given the third manager of his four-year tenure at the club a second chance at the club. Neil Critchley, come on down.

Those who went before, Simon Grayson and Michael Appleton, are better best forgotten. Grayson got the ‘Pool promoted to the Championship in 2007, a mere 29 years after the Seasiders graced the second tier of English football, but his dinosaur-like qualities soon became apparent at the clubs he went on to manage. He did though gain success, and become something of a ‘go to’ for sides seeking a similar outcome to that at Wembley 16 years ago, but Grayson’s reappointment in 2019 was not exactly greeted with universal open arms.

With a team seemingly stuck in second gear, Blackpool often failed to take the game to their opponents. It was no surprise that in January 2020, ‘Larry’ was relieved of his duties. Enter the first coming of Critchley.

Once Covid intervened before games eventually took place behind closed doors, Critchley had an exceptionally slow start in League One before gaining traction – not in the least thanks to the appointment of assistant Colin Calderwood. Eventually hitting their stride to such a point that had the season been a couple of weeks longer Blackpool would have pipped both Hull City and Peterborough United to automatic promotion, elevation to the Championship was once more secured by the Wembley back door. It cannot though be forgotten that for all the clean sheets and late goals, Blackpool were appalling on the eye for much of the eventual promotion season, with a style of football that was formulaic and played the percentages, whilst relying on the occasional spark of genius from the likes of Sullay Kaikai, Jerry Yates, and Ellis Simms.

Into the Championship and Blackpool exceeded all expectations, although the appointment of Stuart McCall lent the feeling that the assistant was once more the power behind the throne. When McCall ended up back at Bramall Lane, there was definitely a sense that Critchley was more exposed than he was comfortable with. A highly respectable total of 60 points, in 16th place, could and should have been better, with the squad during the last six weeks in particular the final two games of the season looking to be already on the beach. There was a general feeling among SOME fans that all was not well with the club.

As May became June Critchley abruptly upped sticks and left, to become one of Steven Gerrard’s coaches at Aston Villa. Unrepentant to this day, and perhaps with some justification, Critchley stated such a move was too good to turn down, but one wonders what he thought after he and the rest of Gerrard’s management team were potted just four months at the Villa. After a short hiatus from the game Critchley re-emerged at Loftus Road, and lasted eleven games.

Rewinding back a year, something that proves that if a week is a long time in football, then a year is surely akin to a lifetime, Blackpool were coming to terms with Critchley’s outwardly emotionless and cynical decampment to the West Midlands. Those who could have been considered, Tony Mowbray and the Rob Edwards, the latter now a Premier League manager with newly promoted Luton Town, passed like ships in the night as a short shortlist was boiled down to Liam Rosenior and Michael Appleton. The former seemed to be in the box seat, only for Appleton to be given a four-year contract by his friend, Blackpool’s now former CEO Ben Mansford. That Appleton should have been sacked in November 2022 but wasn’t is the most obvious sliding doors moment from a season that will always be remembered as one calamity after another. After Edwards was sacked by Watford – rumour has it that one is never more than ten feet away from a former Watford manager – Blackpool had the chance to get their former central defender before he replaced Nathan Jones at Luton. Instead, Appleton took the players on a break to Spain during the World Cup break, and whilst I’m intentionally brushing over the remaining couple of months of Appleton’s time at the club, the subsequent disastrous hiring of Mick McCarthy and the all too late in the day redemptive but temporary appointment of Stephen Dobbie, we have now gone completely full circle back to Critchley.

Should we assume Critchley is back with a hair shirt to wear under his customary gilet? Perhaps. Is he back at Bloomfield Road with his tail between his legs? Again, perhaps. As stated above there was though a sense in his first interview after being reappointed of being nervous, almost conciliatory, but whilst also defiantly stating the chance to be a cone collector for Steven Gerrard doesn’t come around every day. I am ambivalent to his return to the club, but there will need to be a style of play with greater elan, panache, and expansiveness to appease those who are definitely not on the fence, or even the right side of it. That though might be easier said than done in League One, and will depend on who can be brought in to more than adequately fill the gaping holes in the squad left by the likes of Gary Madine, Richard Keogh, Kevin Stewart, Dujon Sterling, Josh Bowler, and quite likely Jordan Thorniley, Jerry Yates, and Keshi Anderson.

This time around Critchley will have to be more self-aware when thinking of fist pumping the north stand and vigorously slapping the Blackpool badge on his matchday attire. After such a dire season which resulted in the most unnecessary relegation in my time watching the club supporters want results, preferably brought about by play pleasing on the eye, and not what amount to duplicitous acts of loyalty and togetherness from a coach who it seems didn’t have to think twice before jumping ship. The best act of contrition Critchley can perform is getting a tune out of his charges on the training ground which is ultimately translated into results on the pitch. The fans will support the team, but whether the previous feeling that the board/owner, players, fans, and management are all in harmony will ever return, I’m not so sure.

There are though a sizeable amount of variables to overcome before Blackpool can be considered to back on an even keel, with the appointment of Critchley’s assistant being one of the most important. Player recruitment (and retention) amid a vast churn of personnel will be a fine balancing act within a yet unknown budget set by Mr. Sadler, who as far as the fans know is currently the only member of the club’s board. There are also the unresolved issues of who will be the next Director of Football/Sporting Director, and CEO.

An intriguing summer awaits, something which has been said ad nauseum for so many differing reasons over the last four decades regarding the goings on at Bloomfield Road. What is now required at the club are obvious acts of intent precipitated by the mea culpas from last season, and a squad of players that blends experience with exciting, emerging talent. We as supporters are fortunate to have a financially stable club in the hands of a supporter, but the mistakes of the past cannot keep happening. It is also time to grow the fanbase and club to a potential that has never yet been realised, something which will continually remain untapped whilst the club fails to recognise this, and be none the wiser how to go about it.

Opinion: Simon Sadler’s Unenviable Blackpool FC ‘to do’ list

A season that only ranks second in calamitousness to the Jose Riga/Lee Clark-debacle of 2014/2015, the mercifully soon to end current campaign has seen Blackpool lurch from one footballing disaster to the next. Why the season played out in such a way is one thing, how it can be expeditiously rectified is quite another. In no particular order, the following is what owner Simon Sadler finds piled up in his in tray:

A NEW MANAGER

Sourcing what will be Blackpool’s FIFTH manager in 12 months is a choice couched with little if any room for error. Will it be a) someone already in a job, whose parent club will demand compensation b) a manager currently without a job (why they haven’t must be scrutinised) or c) an individual from within the club; the obvious example being incumbent interim first team coach, Stephen Dobbie.

The first option relates to managers such as Richie Wellens, Pete Wild, and Ian Evatt. Wellens and Evatt are of course former Blackpool players and whilst they know their respective ways around the club, this fashion for going back to the past – Simon Grayson, Michael Appleton – does not automatically serve the club well. In a different but similar way former coach Neil Critchley, who arguably started the domino effect last June, might also be considered when in my view he should definitely be not. The ex-Newport and Walsall boss Michael Flynn, another former Pool player, may well have been considered during his time at Rodney Parade but has since seen his stock fall after a disappointing spell in the West Midlands. Leam Richardson, unfairly defenestrated from Wigan Athletic, an action which itself set in motion a comedy of errors at the DW Stadium, is another former tangerine looking for a way back in.

We have therefore identified some of the likely candidates, at least those bandied about on the betting exchanges who just list any manager currently without a gig, and those who have previous links to the Seasiders. With no disrespect the bar is now quite low, with League One football and a likely modest budget for the 2023/2024 season being significant impediments to attracting bigger names, not including those from Jurassic Park’s list of yesterday’s men. Dial back eleven months, if Blackpool had got Tony Mowbray or Rob Edwards (yes the latter is another former Pool man) then who knows what might have transpired, but the niggling feeling in me is that Critchley’s decision to abruptly leave was perhaps made all the more easy for him when being made party to his budget for the current, but soon to end season. It has been said before, but chances are that we’ll never get to that particular truth.

Critchley was hired as a coach to source and coach up and coming lower league players, and meld them with the those on loan or released from Premier League sides and some experienced older heads. Selling on players for a profit was a fundamental part of Blackpool’s emerging business model under Critchley and Sadler, and is a realistic approach for a club of its size. However, and this is another argument for a future day, Blackpool has never ever been marketed appropriately in ways to grow its fanbase, but to simply keep on board its current and floating supporters.

It is therefore plausible that the club might for example opt for an Eric Ramsay, a well-regarded coach at Manchester United, to follow in the ways of Critchley. There is though one fundamental flaw to this approach. Both Critchley (Liverpool) and Ramsay are used to the finest of everything, including elite players at all age groups up to and including the first team. This obviously includes facilities, mindset, and the training ground. Yes, to take the reins of a club where you can put your own stamp on it would in theory be very attractive, but the inevitable glass ceiling and comparative limitations in finance and ability will inevitably frustrate. With this in mind, perhaps it was not at all surprising that Critchley decided to head back to the monied good life, at Aston Villa with Steven Gerrard, even if it did all go very wrong, very quickly.

The third option is to stick with what the club has – Stephen Dobbie. Another former player, albeit one who has settled locally and was making significant strides with the club’s youth setup, Dobbie ticks several boxes but Blackpool must not simply opt for an emotional, cheap(er) appointment based on the feel good factor of fortuitously winning a couple of games amid the relief of Mick McCarthy leaving the building. Dobbie does not have the contacts that other candidates will enjoy, but on balance I feel League One is a better stage for him to cut his teeth than the Championship. If therefore Blackpool had stayed up, I don’t feel he would the right man for the job but now they haven’t, the less cutthroat but nevertheless difficult third tier might be an appropriate setting for him to make his name.

BOARD MEMBERS; OWNERSHIP; ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT

Simon Sadler needs someone on the board who understands football. By that I am not talking about the administration of the game, how to deal with agents and so on, but a former player or manager not necessarily a previous employee of the club but who can be brutally honest with the owner, rather than simply being a yes man to appease an undoubtedly frustrated and likely furious Mr. Sadler. Names such as Keith Southern and even Gary Bowyer would be interesting additions, the latter being schooled in what happens both on and off the pitch but for now is occupied elsewhere, but there needs to be someone Jimmy Armfield-like who can tell it straight to the owner from a position of knowledge, experience and authority. Now that Mr. Sadler’s trusted friend Brett Gerrity has resigned from the board, there is all the more urgency for the club to quickly fill the void and add another person besides who holds the above qualities. It can only be assumed that that is something which is already bubbling away behind the scenes; it is difficult to imagine that lifelong Blackpool supporter Gerrity would leave the board without it being known to him that someone is in the wings to take his place.

I presume, and hope, that Simon Sadler will continue as the owner of Blackpool Football Club. Those clamouring for him to sell the club have to be careful what they wish for. Blackpool now has a genuine fan in charge of the club, will never shaft it or bring it to the brink of extinction, and whilst many often glaring mistakes have been made, the club is on a stable footing that many others can only dream of. Yes, a certain amount of financial risk may have to be entered into for the club to get back into the Championship and to become established in the second tier, but I believe the club is now probably where the owner imagined it to be at this stage of his tenure. Yes, it is back in the same division it was in when Mr. Sadler took over, but the utter ruin he and his team found on gaining control of the club cannot be underestimated. A few examples include the stadium being in a terrible state, with the commercial side of operations being distinctly non-league. Many supporters do not appreciate the amount of layers there are to running a football club, many or most of which have been improved to a standard they’ve never previously been. Getting matters right on the pitch is always the most tricky part, but Blackpool as a whole are now a lot stronger than the last time they were in League One, which must give hope for next season.

Nevertheless, Mr. Sadler is not a bottomless pit, and nor should we as supporters attempt to spend his money for him. I am sure the owner has been taken by surprise by the scale of what it takes to run a football club, with sums of money large to even him being insufficient to enable Blackpool to compete at Championship level. I wonder therefore if any future board members might not just be those who bring footballing knowledge, but also financial clout? This would inevitably mean watering down Mr. Sadler’s hegemonic ownership of the club, but with a back story in high finance and Hedge Funds, it goes without saying that Blackpool’s owner will have some serious contacts in his rolodex.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE/CEO

It seems that current incumbent Ben Mansford is in the eyes of many supporters the fall guy for this season’s woes. That may or may not be true, but there can be no smoke without fire as player after player was missed out on whilst the appointments of Appleton and McCarthy were to say the least highly questionable! One such example is the should-not-have-been-appointed-in-the-first-place Appleton was finally given the players he wanted in January, a matter of weeks before his sacking which should have taken place after defeat at Wigan in November. There have been some public comments by Mansford which have subsequently seen him given the nickname of B——t Ben; he is paid, wait for it, a wage someone nearing £380,000 per annum! It is only right for supporters to expect far better. Please consider that Blackpool is one of the most poor areas of the country, with crowd numbers depressed due to many being unable to afford the admission prices. How, therefore, can any non-playing members of staff earn between £7,000-8000 per week? I guarantee this much – if Mansford is still at the club next season, a failure to significantly reduce his salary will precipitate justified uproar, especially but not exclusively should walk up ticket and season card prices again be financially out of reach for many.

PLAYERS

The potential churn of personnel during the summer is quite possibly on a level never seen at the club. Notwithstanding Ian Poveda, Charlie Patino, Lewis Fiorini, Charlie Goode, Morgan Rogers, and Josh Bowler returning to their parent clubs, there are many players out of contract with options for another year, several without, and those on longer-term deals. Then there are those – Matt Virtue, Reece James, Douglas Tharme, Oliver Casey, and Owen Dale who are due to return form loan stints in League One.

I view the squad with a air of not assuming anything. Players expected to leave may not do; some on longer deals may be sold, while some players returning from loan may be given a full chance by the new manager. Some of course may not want that. It is therefore presumptuous of many fans to assume so and so is under contract and will therefore start next season, whilst the likes of Keshi Anderson and Jordan Thorniley, both out of contract and without a year’s option, will automatically leave. There are so many variables to consider, including a player’s desire to leave, whether they are settled, as well as some being capable of playing at a higher level but with injury records that make them less attractive than they should be. I foresee Jerry Yates being sold to a Championship side, but there are few if any others that can be said about. Money talks, with certain individuals no doubt being swayed by better contracts at smaller clubs.

Of all the players at the club, including those returning from elsewhere, I hope the following can be retained:

Daniel Grimshaw; Andy Lyons, Marvin Ekpiteta, Jordan Thorniley, Douglas Tharme, Curtis Nelson; Keshi Anderson, Tom Trybull, Sonny Carey, Owen Dale; Shayne Lavery, Jake Beesley, Rob Apter, and Brad Holmes.

Some of the above will be retained whether I like it or not, but in the main they are who I hope will still be at the seaside next season. I did not include Jerry Yates as it unrealistic to expect him to stay – he would depart with the fans’ blessing – but nobody can really be sure what will happen until it does.

A fascinating pre-season awaits. I hope this time next year Blackpool are once more preparing for the challenges that the Championship presents, which with all of the above and more to consider, would be a huge achievement.

Blackpool FC 2022/23 season: I’m Glad It’s All Over

Barring the type of mathematical quirk that would bring into question the integrity of the competition, Blackpool will start next season in the third tier of English football. It has been a long time coming and isn’t a surprise, but to somehow drag out the agony until the last home game of the season seems particularly perverse considering Sky TV’s cameras were in attendance, along with a very disappointing 12,100 patrons.

With a chequered recent history when there for all the television watching public to see, Blackpool have put on some shocking performances during games that that particular television company have decided to lower themselves to cover a side who on occasion they’ve called ‘Blackburn’. I was at the game so couldn’t comment on any clangers dropped by ill-informed and patronising pundits, but it can be assumed the aforementioned would never be far away if a certain Glenn Murray was one of the ‘expert’ summarisers.

The theory went that if Blackpool could beat play off chasing Millwall and Norwich City and other results went the Seasiders’ way, the great escape could be well and truly on. That such an outcome would be thoroughly undeserved was eventually played out; notwithstanding points deductions the table never lies after 45 games of the season. Blackpool are the worst team in the Championship this season, and will quite likely finish bottom of the pile.

After a CJ Hamilton-influenced early setback Blackpool were gifted a penalty when the former Mansfield player went down under minimal contact just inside Millwall’s box. Penalty, which was duly dispatched with aplomb by Jerry Yates.

The Lions’ had further chances when they played through the lines with far greater effect and purpose than Blackpool have the ability to do so, and will have felt aggrieved to only be level at the break. Nevertheless, whilst there wasn’t much in the game during the second half I can barely ever recall a Blackpool side who ‘create’ so little in the opposition’s penalty area. Keeper George Long had little or nothing to do, except of course to hand over to officials the objects thrown at him by Blackpool’s ‘intelligentsia’. Millwall restored their lead as a through ball found Tom Bradshaw who slotted past the onrushing Daniel Grimshaw. Centre backs James Husband and Curtis Nelson were an acre apart, although Grimshaw did commit himself too early.

Without a goal threat due to Millwall’s rugged high line and impressive press, but also weighed down by a lack of confidence and admittedly ability, it would need to be something special from range for Blackpool to get back into it. Step forward Manchester City loanee Lewis Fiorini, who broke the habit of the season of Blackpool players shying away from having a pot from distance when his arrowed low drive flew unerringly past Long from at least 30 yards out.

In a strange case of symmetry Fiorini, like Hamilton, had a telling contribution for both sides as he scythed down Duncan Watmore in the penalty area, resulting in Zian Flemming’s decisive penalty. Ten minutes of injury time didn’t give much in the way of hope as Blackpool played it out with ten men, with full back Jordan Gabriel stretchered off with what appears to be ANOTHER serious injury.

Full time precipitated a round of applause from many Blackpool supporters who hadn’t already headed home. I was not one of those clapping the players off; such an act of acknowledging failure with a standing ovation is frankly bizarre, and shows what a small time mentality is evident within the stands. It is as if some fans think we’ve had our time in the sun but are now heading back to our rightful home. Despite a multitude of glaring errors made by the club during the last ten months this is a relegation that should never have happened.

The post mortem will be lengthy and was presumably already underway by owner Simon Sadler long before the events of yesterday evening. The reasons behind this season’s debacle are varied and in part subjective, but until the potential of Blackpool Football Club is fully realised and properly exploited, the entrenched small time attitude that many of its stakeholders exude will continue to hold it back. Remember: the club is based in the most popular coastal resort in the UK. How is that taken advantage of? Remember: the club is based in one of the poorest towns in the UK. How is that reflected in the ticketing price structure? Why is the seemingly mothballed new build training ground project not being incorporated in the wider east stand and Revoe development? These questions, and more, need to be addressed. Yes, Simon Sadler will have to put in a lot of personal money to establish Blackpool as a Championship side, but he can be helped far more by the paying public if the constraints that many live under can be acknowledged when trying to get rears on seats. Mr. Sadler, as a Blackpool lad made good, should have a marketing strategy that reflects the area the club is within, and not operate in some kind of bubble oblivious to real world problems such how a large number of potential customers cannot afford to attend, and the commensurate commercial opportunities unique to Blackpool as a town.

The future starts now. With a new management team and squad to assemble, plus presumably a fresh perspective in the board room to succeed the departing Brett Gerrity and perhaps a replacement CEO, this is a blank canvas on and off the pitch which understandably may be too much for the current owner. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward at Blackpool. The next few months will be the most challenging yet for Simon Sadler, if he decides to stay. I hope he does, but additional investment from outside the current ownership will in all likelihood be necessary to quickly right the many wrongs of a season to forget.

Blackpool sink to depths that could have been avoided, but have stability that many in the Championship could only dream of

Viewed in isolation, Blackpool had to at the very least redeem themselves for the shameful surrender at Deepdale the previous week. It was all the more surprising that 11,500 home fans turned up for the visit of Cardiff, although many will now wonder when they will again see their team in the Championship.

There is little doubt that Blackpool were promoted way ahead of owner Simon Sadler’s schedule, but once in the Championship they should have fought tooth and nail to stay there. Viewed by many rival fans as ‘little Blackpool’, a tag that has stuck due to atrophy during many but not all of the Oyston years and even arguably has its roots in the almost managed pre-Oyston decline of the club after the high point of the 1950’s and 60’s, the Seasiders did for all intents and purposes look to be an established Championship side between say 2009 and 2014, punctuated of course by a season in the big time. Other clubs and Sky Sports, those paragons of virtue and neutrality, viewed the ‘Pool as a middling to top end side in the second tier, with regular home support, not including away fans, that would be within the 12-15,000 range.

The ensuing massive collapse first hinted at during the last knockings of Ian Holloway’s reign accelerated under Barry Ferguson – not his fault – was in part hidden in plain sight by the undulating tenure of Paul Ince. By the time a supposed reset was announced where Jose Riga was drafted in to take the club back to the higher reaches of the Championship or even on a return journey to the Premier League, the club resembled a Potemkin House where the right things were initially being outwardly said, whilst behind the scenes the developing cracks threatened to sweep away the club’s status and indeed future from under its feet.

It has long been documented how Blackpool unravelled until the club was wrested from Owen Oyston’s grasp, ultimately ushering in a new era of fan ownership in the shape of a local man made good in the bear pit of high finance. I have thought long and hard about the mistakes that Simon Sadler has made, both from perhaps being too close to the situation as a fan normally is, and by attempting to run the club along the same lines of how he became so successful in the unforgiving Hedge Fund sector. He has in my view made honest errors by entrusting areas of the club to people who are either not up to the job, or who have pursued their own agendas when it was obvious that immediate action was necessary. In respect of the recent shock departure of sporting director Chris Badlan, the club sourced the former Coventry man using a world-renowned recruitment agency that specialises in such appointments. Badlan was therefore not some random hired on a whim, nor without good reason. We may never know the real reasons why he abruptly left – there are plenty of rumours circulating – but Sadler can hardly be blamed for attempting to do things the right way, only for those he trusted to take the club forward to badly let him down.

Yesterday’s defeat to Cardiff City followed a similar thread that has characterised Blackpool’s season. After a bright start Cardiff got an undeserved foothold and never looked back. As heads dropped so did levels of concentration, as well as the ability to do the simple things correctly. As ever a scapegoat was identified – Chris Maxwell – and whilst the player isn’t good enough for the Championship, I would never doubt his commitment. The reality is that there is not a goalkeeper at the club who metaphorically stands head and shoulders above the others.

The buck stops squarely with manager Mick McCarthy, as it has done since February, who seems determined to not pick the players who offer the best chance to win football matches. Even with first choices Marvin Ekpiteta, Jordan Thorniley, Gary Madine, Kevin Stewart, Liam Bridcutt, Charlie Goode, and Tom Trybull injured, as well as Shayne Lavery and Jake Beesley, and the mysteriously omitted Jerry Yates, yesterday Blackpool could still draw upon the talents of Josh Bowler, Andy Lyons, Lewis Fiorini, Morgan Rogers, Ian Poveda, and Charlie Patino. It is ultimately McCarthy’s fault to not be able to adapt his playing style accordingly based upon the tools at this disposal, as Neil Warnock has done to dramatic effect at Huddersfield.

Mistakes have been made at Blackpool ever since Neil Critchley abruptly exited stage left ten months ago, but the club had the chance to sack McCarthy’s predecessor Michael Appleton after a damaging defeat at Wigan in November prior to the World Cup hiatus. In a sliding doors moment that will sadly haunt Simon Sadler, Appleton was retained and the rest is history. Standing on the platform at Wigan North Western waiting for my train back to civilisation, I had a nagging suspicion that the die had been cast even only three months into the season. And so it has been proved.

I personally now hope that Blackpool, and Mr. Sadler, can be spared the ignominy of finishing bottom of the table. The only realistic way this is going to happen is for McCarthy to be sacked before the game with Luton Town on Bank Holiday Monday, with youth team managers Neil Eardley and Stephen Dobbie, those with Blackpool at heart, taking the reins. This is not intended to be a permanent solution but one to make the best of the final six games of a season many Blackpool fans will wish had finished weeks ago. If the aforementioned duo are appointed they’d immediately be able to free up the beleaguered squad from the stifling confines of McCarthy’s rigid, turgid, and antiquated style of play. We’ll see if this comes to pass, but McCarthy has proven to be one of the worst if not the worst managerial appointments in my 39 years watching the mighty tangerine machine.

Finally, a word or several for Simon Sadler. Rumours continue to circulate that he wishes to sell the club, despite only recent denials of this from the man himself. He will have learned some harsh lessons this season, not in the least that football is like no other business. For though some cretins to suggest that Blackpool are no better off now than they were under previous auspices is about as short-sighted and stupid as it is to possibly get. Sadler inherited a club and infrastructure utterly ruined, which needed significant and expensive redevelopment in every aspect of its operation. Some areas still need this, but it is not an overnight job. Mistakes will be and indeed have been made but Sadler is no villain of the piece, rather someone who is having to learn the hard way how football works. Compare a financially stable Blackpool to a Wigan, Preston, Reading, and other Championship clubs mired in debt, or ownership issues that fail to deliver wages on time, or who have overstepped the EFL’s financial bounds. Blackpool can in comparison count themselves extremely fortunate. I personally hope Mr. Sadler’s stay at the club is a long and fruitful one.

*STOP PRESS – McCarthy and assistant Terry Connor have this morning left the building, to be replaced by Dobbie, and fellow former players Matthew Blinkhorn and current goalkeeper coach, Steve Banks. The right decision, but several games too late.