New old man takes over at Bloomfield Rd.

 Well, they say a week is a long time in politics, the same I could argue applies to football management as well. Only last week I was lamenting on the demise in the fortunes of Michael Appleton's tenure as Blackpool's Head Coach. Never a popular choice of many fans, but like I previously said whoever is appointed as Head Coach I would back them, but after the lack lustred performance against Watford I too came to the conclusion it was time Appleton went. Losing and alienating the fanbase is as bad as losing the dressing room (which might have happened too?) and the lack of passion and motivation on the touchline was another contributary facture. 

So, on Wednesday it was announced by the club that Mick McCarthy was to be installed as the new Head Coach along with Terry Connor as his second in command with immediate effect. 

The appointment came as a surprise to many after a number of names had been mentioned as possible replacements, but on the whole having someone with the experience McCarthy has swung it for him and more importantly he was a popular choice with the majority of the fans. I think it was imperative an experienced coach took over rather than having another untested rookie taking the reins because of the dire position we currently occupy and the danger of the points gap widening with the teams above us. Both men will be in charge until the end of the season with the aim of keeping us in the Championship. Whether they both continue in the role will no doubt depend on how successful or unsuccessful they are. 

Their first opportunity to see the players in action came on Saturday against fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town at Bloomfield Rd. Whether fate took a hand in proceedings we'll never know, but the game was called off late morning due to the pitch being frozen over despite efforts by the ground staff who had covered the pitch and placed heaters on it to get it into a playable state. On a personal level this news came too late for me to cancel my train journey to the ground and it was only when I reached Preston I heard it was off. I know the interest and enthusiasm generated by Appleton going and McCarthy taking over had reached a level on a par with the first homecoming game after the Oystons had departed. It was so noticeable how everyone I spoke to were determined to come and fill the ground in the hope our fortunes would change for the better. Only time will tell but at least now the passion and optimism has returned. #UTMP

I hate to say this, but it's now time for a change.

 Well the last time I wrote was just before the World Cup started. At that time I felt the break would do use good and we would be able to regroup, get some of the injured players back into the squad and generally restart our season. Then we were just above the relegation zone and within points distance of other clubs. Our last game before the break was against Wigan away who were in the relegation zone and who had just sacked their manager. Unfortunately, despite leading 1-0 at half time even after Ekpiteta was sent off after just 17 minutes we were holding our own, but you just knew it would only be a matter of time before that would change. Sure enough in the 2nd half Wigan were a different team and it ended with them winning 2-1. 

We resumed our season again in December with draws against Birmingham, Cardiff and Hull and a 2-1 defeat against the then league leaders Sheffield Utd. Our first game of the new year was another 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland again after leading 1-0 at half time. Our hopes were lifted last week with a resounding 4-1 thrashing of Nottm Forest in the 3rd round FA Cup tie. Added to this was the news that Josh Bowler was returning to us until the end of the season and were signing

Morgan Rogers on loan from Man City and permanent signing of German midfielder Tom Trybull.

This was what we were hoping for in the transfer window, new additions in areas we were lacking in and hopefully some more signings to follow? 

Armed with all this information brought a new sense of optimism to the fans and you could sense the enthusiasm at yesterday's game they were really getting behind the players. The team selection caused a few ripples of surprise mainly with the absence of in-form Ian Poveda who apparently suffered a groin injury prior to the game and failed a fitness test. Trybull too didn't feature despite being a named substitute. Watford were a completely different team to the one we beat 3-1 at our place earlier in the season, a score which I thought flattered us at the time. It was 1-1 for most of that game until we got two goals in quick succession. They harassed us from the start yesterday and stopped us building any momentum at all and even though we went in at half time 0-0 you just felt they had enough skilled players to get a win, which they did late on. Maxwell had saved us from going behind earlier on a couple of occasions but made a clumsy attempt to stop their player in the box resulting in a game changing penalty. Ekpiteta added to our woes by having to go off with a hamstring injury. Like Slaven Bilic said Blackpool didn't do enough to hurt us so we added more to our attack. A 2-0 defeat after a long visit down to Watford in atrocious weather was little comfort to the long suffering Pool fans. A result which has left us 2nd from the bottom on 26 points along with Huddersfield who have a game in hand over us and who we play on Saturday. A game we MUST win. 

Which all brings me to my original thoughts of 'it's now time for a change'. Since Michael Appleton was appointed as manager I have tried to be as objective and unemotional about his appointment as possible. I know a lot fans didn't want him here for reasons too numerous to mention, but like anyone who comes to the club as manager I hoped he would turn the critics into fans and prove the doubters wrong. The club was left in a sorry state when badge kissing Critchley left us with the speed of a frightened cat to join Gerrard's sinking ship. Appleton didn't have a lot of time to get to know and shape the team to something of a cohesive outfit. He also inherited an horrendous  list of injured players some of which are still injured to this day, illnesses, Covid, players unavailable through dismissals and so on. His record so far reads:- Played 27, Won 6, Drawn 8, Lost 13, 26 points. If I was a neutral I would say he's had 14 positive results as opposed to 13 negative ones. That's if you class draws as positives. Personally I have sat through some awful games this season and to be fair when Critchley was in charge too, but we are now in a worst position than we've ever been. It doesn't matter how good a coach a person is or isn't, if they are not able to gel with the fans they'll never win them over. Appleton unfortunately comes over as a dour disciplinarian who lacks any sort of personality and who seems to lack any motivational skills during a game. Simon Grayson showed the same aloofness during his second spell here and look what happened to him. I think a result other than a win this Saturday against Huddersfield should be his last. Who would take over from him, I don't know? But it needs to be someone with proven experience who is capable of inspiring the players and changing the way we play quickly otherwise I see the gap between us and the teams above us growing.

Thanks for reading this and I would welcome any comments you may have.

Unrest in the Blackpool camp.

 Well it's November 2022 and we're one game away before the World Cup break. Normally the World Cup competition is usually held in the summer so  it doesn't affect the various domestic leagues. Unfortunately, due to the fact Qatar was awarded the rights to hold it meant our home fixtures have been put on hold for a month. These breaks can be a blessing or a damn nuisance depending on how well or badly your particular team are performing.

 In our case it's a blessing. Why? Currently we're in 21st position with 22 points having played 20 games, won 6, drawn 4 and lost 10 and just above the relegation zone having played one game more than two others in the zone. This Saturday we travel to Wigan, (who as a matter of interest have just sacked their manager) they are in 23rd position on 20 points. 

As a matter of interest and to get a better perspective of how Michael Appleton is doing at this stage compared to Neil Critchley's first 20 game stint in the Championship I've put together their results. 

Critchley's figures were:- Played 20, Won 7, Drawn 6, Lost 7, Points 27.

Appleton's figures were:- Played 20, Won 6, Drawn 4, Lost 10, Points 22.

and yet the criticism aimed at Appleton seems totally out of kilter to what is only a 5 point difference to Critchley's record. Especially considering Critchley's next 5 games leading up to the New Year resulted as follows:-

Played 5, Won 1, Drawn 0, Lost 4. Points 3. Grand total of 30 points.

I know a number of fans didn't want Appleton re-instated as coach, citing his last stint as manager under the Oystons, which lasted all of 65 days as an example of why he was unsuitable to be given another chance. Yet if he had stayed working for the toxic owners his reputation would be equally tarnished. Other reasons given were he is an ex-Nobber, he has  a PNE tattoo on his leg (he hasn't), he's been a crap manager at his previous clubs (wrong again), he's miserable and shows no enthusiasm on the touchline so how can the players be motivated by him? Yet, by people involved in football he is regarded as a good coach and a promoter of young players. Not forgetting the number of players in the squad currently out injured has been and is a real problem. Even Critchley could never name the same side week by week. 

 I do feel some fans are being a bit unrealistic in their assessment of Michael Appleton. Instead of giving him more time to shape the squad into how he wants them to play they just want him out. That poses a number of questions?

1) Who would be his replacement? Bearing in mind we've always had a problem recruiting managers/coaches in the past.

2) The cost of any any compensation to him would be high.

3) The new manager/coach would still have the same group of players both Appleton and Critchley had/have (most of which were recruited by Critchley.) and the current injury problems.

I also get tired of listening to other fans criticising Simon Sadler for not doing enough to sign new players or the lack of progress regarding the training ground, new east stand etc. Some complain we're going to get relegated now and seem to take satisfaction when we lose as though it's vindication of what they are predicting.  These people have very short memories, they seem to forget how disastrous the Oystons were. How they benefitted financially from being in the Premiership and yet the club was run on a miserly shoestring for years. Sadler said right from the start it would take time to get things to how we want them. In fact we are now ahead of where we expected to be because we got promoted to the Championship earlier than we thought. These fans need a reality check, we average a gate of around 10,000 fans, daily costs of running a club is expensive, owners need to be billionaires to finance the type of managers and players fans want, but then they are the first to complain if the price of tickets are increased. They also fail to realise that their combined negativity has a detrimental effect on the recruitment of new players especially when calling for the manager to be sacked or worst still criticising the owner. 

I hope we manage to get three points tomorrow at Wigan, but it's not a life or death situation if we don't. 

 

A summary of recent events.

 

There's one thing about being a Blackpool fan is that nothing surprises you. Who would have thought looking back to November 2021 seeing Neil Critchley signing a new 4 year contract and talking about his plans for the future, including building upon what he had already started that  he would depart from his Bloomfield Rd office quicker than Simon Grayson did when he went to Leeds Utd. 

At least the latter was going to his boyhood club as the new manager, unlike Critchley leaving as manager and going to be an assistant manager at Aston Villa, a move which shocked everyone. 

Let's have a look at how Neil Critchley's managerial career started. He was picked as the replacement for Simon Grayson who's second stint at Bloomfield Rd never really took off. Simon Sadler took a gamble in appointing him as manager in March 2020 despite not managing previously apart from a couple of stand-in games at Liverpool in the absence of Jurgen Klopp and being in charge of the Under 18s there. He came with good coaching qualifications including UEFA's elite badge. His first part of being in charge at Blackpool was disrupted by Covid, which ruined any chance of his team plans progressing. Then in season 2020/21 despite not having the best of starts he achieved the unthinkable by winning promotion via the play-offs to the Championship finishing third behind Hull City & Peterborough Utd, a good 12 months ahead of the target set by Simon Sadler. Critchley became a crowd favourite from the off with his honest, down to earth approach. He quickly built up a rapport with the fans especially with the North Stand with his fist pumping ritual at the end of a winning performance, 

which made his departure all the more surprising to them.

It appears the move to Villa was instigated by the departure there of Steven Gerrards's assistant Mike Beale's who became manager of QPR last week. Gerrard wasted no time whatsoever in getting in a replacement by going to Critchley's home to persuade him to join him. I still think it's a detrimental move for him. Admittedly he's joining a Premiership club, but Gerrard is already under pressure to produce the goods there especially with some big signings on the way. If it doesn't go to plan both he and Gerrard will be shown the door. Critchley obviously thinks it's a gamble worth taking, but only time will tell?

Looking back on his last season with us it was a real mixed bag of results. We started off as we finished, awful. Losing game after game not being able to hang onto a lead, playing some awful negative football even when losing. Then we started to string some good results together and managed to accrue enough points to establish our Championship status for another season. But games to remember for all the wrong reasons were the defeats against Forest 1-4, PNE 0-1, WBA 1-2 (last kick of the game), Derby 0-2 and worst of all that disastrous 0-5 defeat by Peterboro. OK, you could say we beat Birmingham 6-1 but did we honestly thrash them? I thought they gifted us most of the goals, they were so bad I was convinced Lee Bowyer would be sacked straight after the game. 

My thoughts about where we came up short was the lack of having a settled side. Yes I know some of the team changes were forced onto us by injuries, which considering the high number involved caused me to think why so many? What was happening in training or perhaps the lack of training that caused so many injuries to so many different players? Did not having a settled side or the right formation cause a lack of confidence with some of the players? After all we signed more players at the start of the season than we usually did, but many were either not used, sent out on loan or were never seen again and some just didn't justify their place. What happened to our promising youth players? Some came on as late subs & despite playing well never got another chance. 

I liked Critchley as a person and stuck up for him when I thought he needed it, but I did think at times he got his tactics wrong. I found our play was far too negative especially when we were a goal ahead or worst still when were losing. I lost count of the times we were in the last third of the opponent's half only for the ball to be knocked all the way back to our defence who would then start passing the ball about aimlessly. All that did was to allow the opponents to reform & gain possession and to be honest our defence didn't look that confident doing it. We lacked the ability to shoot on goal accurately, our free kicks, corners, crosses & set pieces generally were schoolboy level. I could never understand why we took quick free-kicks only for it to go backwards instead of taking the opponents by surprise by attacking their defence. What happened to players turning with the ball instead of passing it backwards to someone in a worse position & under pressure than themselves?

Like most of us I don't know at this time who will be our next manager, but my choice would be for someone with previous managerial experience, someone who is attack minded & who can get the best out of the players.

My last appeal to Neil Critchley is to explain to the fans why you chose to leave the club because the way in which you departed so quickly without explanation has left a bitter taste behind with many of the fans.

Has our season peaked too soon?

It's been a while since my last Blog, but I thought now would be the right time to express a few of my thoughts about what I see as the problem we're currently experiencing as we're reaching the end of the season.

Firstly, let me just say how delighted I am that we are even in contention of a play-off spot after the faltering start we had to the season. It took a while for the large squad to get to know each other and for Neil Chritchley to get accustomed  to his new role of Head Coach. Added to the fact that Covid has had a massive impact on football matters, it's not been an easy time for anyone.Secondly and most importantly the unbeaten run we had, which has been unbelievable finally came to an end against Rochdale on Tuesday night, unfortunately we repeated the same mistakes again yesterday against Shrewsbury Town. Both teams are currently lowly placed in League One  and are fighting relegation. That said it's not the first time we've struggled against sides lower than us who play in a certain way. We have beaten all the tops sides in the division mainly because they play in a more attacking style, which makes for a more entertaining watch. Where I see our problems start is when these sides adopt a very defensive line-up, which we find hard to break down and which highlights our lack of goal scoring opportunities.

When teams first come to Bloomfield Rd you can tell they are a bit wary of our reputation, because they know when we set our minds to it we play well. The trouble is if we don't get an early goal we start to lose our initial confidence, which the opposition usually picks up on and then they start to control the game more. Too many times in our last two games our formation went out the window. At times I didn't know what formation we were supposed to be playing. Yesterday in particular our midfield was all over the place. Embleton was playing too far wide and too deep instead of being in the centre of midfield, which left Dougall and Ward trying to cope with their attack. 

I think the main reason we don't score enough goals is because we rely too much on our strikers. We need to be more adventurous coming forward instead of allowing the opposition to control the game. Statistics may show we have a greater percentage of possession in games, but if that possession includes aimless sideways, backwards and so called safe passing then it is meaningless. I find it absolutely frustrating seeing us resort to this type of play when we're behind in a game or if we are just leading by the odd goal. Equally frustrating is when we manage to get into the last third of the opposition's half only to see us pass the ball all the way back to Chris Maxwell because it is the easier/safe option. We should be running at defences and shooting more. Teams hate having to defend against adventurous sides, it not only forces them into mistakes but it also disrupts their rhythm. Our set plays and ball crossing is woeful. We constantly take quick free kicks that go nowhere? Why? I was always told never pass to a colleague in a worst position than yourself and yet it happens time and time again. What happened to the art of turning with the ball and going pass the defender? What we see now is a player getting the ball only for them to pass back to the same player? Again why do that, it only takes the pressure of the opposition and puts it back onto us. Ok, I know we're missing a lot of players who can give us different options, but don't forget we still managed an unbeaten run and win games with a lot of these players missing. We also did the same mistakes we do now when they were playing. What I find amusing is during pre-match warm ups we have sessions of shooting at goal and yet during games testing opposition keepers is something we seldom do. Why? 

Despite these latest set backs we are still in a play-off position albeit on goal difference but with a game/s in hand. So it is still in our own hands to get promoted via the play-offs. We can do it, but we need to address where we are going wrong before it is taken out of our hands. #UTMP 

Well what a week....

What a difference a week makes in football. Two late winners and you can sense the optimism returning. Where once if we went behind we would struggled to get back on terms and generally lose our way. Now there is a belief we can turn things around if we’re hit with a setback. 

What’s caused the turnaround? Well, the signings in the transfer window has had a big impact on our performances. Now, if we have injuries or suspensions we have replacements ready to move on up, which in turn puts pressure on the players out to perform better if they want their places back. No one now has a guarantee of a starting place, which is a good thing. Too many times in the past players maintained their positions even though their work rate and commitment was to say the least, below what was required. Hence the slide down the table.

The other big factor was the sacking of Simon Grayson. It’s no surprise that results have improved since his departure. Personally, I wasn’t jumping for joy when he was given the job, but like most fans you support whoever is in the hot seat. I could see why he was originally approached to take over. He was out of work, he had previous knowledge of the club this being his first managerial job and he had success at this level before too. At the beginning of the season it looked like it would work out. We were getting results and up there in the play-off positions. That said, you could see we looked very disorganised and prone to silly mistakes, the mistakes and loses grew as the season progressed. I was always disappointed with his aloofness on the sidelines, which had a bearing on how the team reacted to him. Something was missing, his man-management skills weren’t there, his tactics were predictable, so much so, opponents knew how to play us and this was affecting team morale. So the owners took the questionable decision to sack him. I say questionable, because some fans thought he should have been given longer to get things right, especially after the club agreed to sign so many players in the transfer window under his watch. Others said, why get rid of someone if there is no replacement to take over? I think the owners like the majority of fans knew he wasn’t the right man for the job. Managers who have had previous successes at clubs very rarely replicate that success if they return and so it proved with Grayson. 

It’s been well documented how trying to get a manager has been difficult. Names are springing up all the time as are the odds. I’m not worried how long it takes, because at the moment with David Dunn in situ results are encouraging.

He’s made it obvious he doesn’t want to be considered as the new manager and wants to remain a coach instead, you have respect his decision. But we have all seen the big improvements he has made to the players. He has them playing in positions, which suit their skills. He has made them sharper, better organised and willing to take on opposing defences, something that was totally lacking previously. The midweek rearranged match against Bolton was a good example of never giving up. Playing Bolton at the beginning of the season would have been a lot easier for us, because their situation is far different now. Even though Bolton equalised late on and we all thought the game would end up as a draw, up popped Dewsbury-Hall

with a cracking winner. Yesterday’s game followed a similar pattern with another exciting 2-1 finish in injury time. We again thought we would end up with a draw but that was until the much maligned Joe Nuttall headed in a superb winner from a Liam Feeney cross. In fact if it wasn’t for a brilliant game saving stop by Chris Maxwell minutes earlier the result could easily have gone to Ipswich. But his long ball up the field made all the difference.

I was hoping to finish this blog yesterday, but fate must have taken a hand in events. Simon Sadler and his board have announced this morning that they have appointed Neil Chritchley as the new Blackpool coach, who was until today the Under-23 coach at Liverpool. 

Neil has been given a contract until the end 2022/3 season, which is testament to the faith the club have in the appointment. Personally I think this is a very positive step. Neil is only one of 16 coaches who has achieved the highest UEFA coaching qualification. Although this is his first managerial position he has been both the Under-18 and Under-23 coach at Liverpool FC over the last 6 years there. He was born in Crewe and previously worked as Academy Director at Crewe Alexandra. Looking forward to welcoming him to Bloomfield Rd and to a successful time here. I’m sure the fans will give him the welcome he deserves.

Finally, I would like to thank Dave Dunn for the improvements he’s made to the team in the short time he’s been in charge. 

Another defeat but......

We travelled down to Bristol Rovers today following a pretty eventful week at Bloomfield Rd.We saw Simon Grayson depart after a depressing defeat by Gillingham. David Dunn was installed as the interim manager whilst the search goes on for a new manager.

Today’s game was Dunn’s first  in charge. With captain Jay Spearing forced to sit out the game due to being concussed in the midweek game, Dunn made three changes with Husband, MacDonald & Virtue in the starting lineup.

After a much improved all round performance by the team and after going 1-0 ahead in the 2nd minute with a Madine strike, we ended up suffering a 2-1 loss.

The sending off of stand-in skipper Ben Heneghan in the 43min for a reckless tackle didn’t help our cause but we got to half time still 1-0 ahead.Unfortunately in the 2nd half we were playing against a swirling wind, but nevertheless we had several chances to increase our lead and nearly squared things up in the last minute when Nathan Delfouneso effort was deflected past the far post. Today’s loss is a continuation of our current luck, not helped a lot of the time by poor officiating, today was no exception. Still, we can’t keep using that as an excuse for the results. 

This next coming week will hopefully see a new manager installed or at least identified as suitable.

Several names have come up including  Nathan Jones & Ian Evatt. The only hopeful who has officially put his name forward is Gary Taylor-Fletcher. It’s surprising how many managers are currently out of work, so perhaps an outsider could still take over the reigns. David Dunn has already indicated he’s not interested in taking the job on permanently. 

One person who hasn’t gone down well with us fans is former manager and favourite for a return to Bloomfield Rd, Ian Holloway.

His recent comments about the sacking of Simon Grayson as being disgusting hasn’t done his reputation with fans any good. In fact I would say any chance of a return here has now gone for good. Perhaps that’s how it should be, because as in the case of Simon Grayson, a return to a previous managed club is rarely the same. 

Looking forward to see how the forthcoming week will develop and who our new manager will be. There’s one thing for sure he’ll be working for a great owner in Simon Sadler, who will back him but who will expect results, after all he’s one of us. UTMP