Karl Oyston must be replaced.

In all the years I’ve been supporting the ‘Pool (which is a hell of a long time) I have never known it to be this bad, whereby the chairman has openly gone behind the manager’s back to seek a replacement for him and then has the audacity to question Jose Riga’s professionalism! How the hell can he talk about another’s professionalism, when it’s the last thing he has shown since he’s been in charge of the club? Karl Oyston has managed to turn even the most loyal club supporters against him. So far as we know it, he has approached Owen Coyle for the 3^rd time, Gary Rowatt, a Spanish guy and we’ve heard today Mark Robbins. All apart from the latter (watch this space) have quite rightly turned him down. When is it going to dawn on him people do not want to work for him, especially if they are being asked to take over from someone who is already in the job.

Jose Riga is also very popular with us fans, simply because we know what a hard job he’s taken on in a very short time and despite having no support from a clueless chairman. The fans gave Jose a rapturous reception last Saturday against Wolves. The cries of “Oyston out” and “Riga,Riga,Riga” rang out throughout the game and he was given a standing ovation at the end. Even Kenny Jacket the Wolves manager commented that the fans were applauding Jose Riga after a 0-0 draw.

As I said earlier, it’s a bad time at the moment; we’ve played 6 games and only managed 1 point and are currently lying second from the bottom (an improvement on the week before, when we were bottom) with a game against Watford coming up tomorrow night. Yet the support for Riga remains constant, that to me says it all and puts what Oyston is trying to do in perspective. I dislike the man immensely, which when you consider he didn’t bother me in the past says a lot.

I am also annoyed at the lack of interest shown by the Owen Oyston over the current state of affairs. He is after all the major shareholder (and owner) and yet we have heard nothing from him at all. Does he condone his son’s actions? Is he actually telling his son what to do? If the answer is Yes to either of these questions then I’m afraid the club is going nowhere. I have joined the Blackpool Supporters Trust in the hope that we can exert more pressure on the Oystons to improve things. I think the major stumbling block of moving forward and repairing the damage done to the image of BFC is for Karl Oyston to be removed as chairman. Until that happens things are only going to get worse. 

New season, old problems?

It’s been a while now since I last blogged as I’m usually on Twitter these days catching up on what’s happening at BFC. I can’t believe what has gone on since we ended last season fighting for our championship life. All the players who took us to the premiership and beyond that have now gone. The chairman has managed to unleash an unprecedented amount of bad publicity in the way he has gone about running the club. He’s has even made headlines in the German press as well as a lot of the big hitters over here. I don’t propose to cover old ground by highlighting how he goes about things but suffice to say he has managed to excel anything that’s gone on before.

After a few shots in the dark and one U-turn he eventually installed

Jose Riga as the new manager 10 weeks ago. This is the guy who previously managed Standard Liege and the latter part of last season at Charlton Athletic. His brief there was to keep them in the championship, which he did, but despite that the owners there sacked him (that’s football owners for you). His appointment here was seen as a positive move by Oyston who announced it as the “Riga Revolution”. Oyston’s idea was to offer existing players contracts less attractive than they were previously on, so that the majority of them went elsewhere. This left us only with 8 contracted players on the books (this is what made the headlines) and as such the club was unable to honour most of the pre-season friendlies. In the midst of all this Oyston also managed to alienate Riga by dragging his feet over employing his backroom staff. This led to the manager and his staff refusing to sign their contracts, which because of a Riga media blackout we’re still not sure whether they’ve put pen to paper yet? Rumours during this time indicated that Riga was on the verge of leaving the club and his “Revolution” before it had even started. Even Oyston’s ally Glenn Bowley, chairman of the Blackpool Supporters Club, described the going-ons as a shambles. It even got to the stage where the club’s president Valeri Belekon wrote an open letter to the Oyston’s criticizing the way funds have been diverted away from the club instead of being invested in it. Protests by the fans have been increasing and a new body called the Blackpool Supporters Trust has been formed to try and gain shares within the club, so that the fans are better represented than at present.

Karl “don’t rush me” Oyston has tried to dismiss the criticism by saying he will not change the way he runs the club. He believes by leaving the signing of new players to the last minute it strengthens his negotiating hand when discussing contracts. All well and good, but this has left Riga with very little time in which to work with his squad. Activity has been frantic in the last 2 weeks with a whole host a new players arriving. Some including Ishmael Miller postponed giving an early decision because of the uncertainty surrounding Riga’s appointment. It was only after Riga assured him he was staying he signed.

So, tomorrow we are away at Nottingham Forest with a side who barely know each other hoping we’re not at the end of an almighty drubbing. Hopefully Miller can cause them a few problems being an ex-Forest player, but equally Andy Reid might do the same to us, especially considering how hopelessly unfit he was when he played for us and the stick he got because of it. In the past we have always done well against Forest, but all the players who performed well against them are no longer here, so it’s anyone’s guess how we’ll go on? We’ve about 3 or 4 players already injured and I can see this increasing due to the lack of match practice the players have had. Good to see Peter Clarke back for a second spell at Bloomfield Rd and wish him the best of luck.

The bookies have made us odds-on favourites to be relegated, which will happen if the chairman makes the manager’s job all the more difficult by not backing him when he needs it. Hopefully we can defy the odds and make the bookies eat their words.

The test starts tomorrow. Don’t lose the faith, because owners can come and go, but the fans are there for life.

What a shambles of a season and who are we getting next?

Normally I hate the end of the football season, but I make this one the exception. If last season was a bad dream this one has been an absolute nightmare.

Ok, Paul Ince managed to stop us getting relegated after the Ollie debacle, but thankfully his rule finally came to an end via a KO text. This followed a shambolic course of ill-discipline starting with him getting a 5 match stadium ban and players being sent off for fun. The club’s reputation was unravelling in front of our eyes. His style of management was always questionable and yet if we hadn’t got off to the best start we’ve ever had we might have been relegated. Ok, most of us knew we were bound to come unstuck because although we were winning, the way in which we did it was very lucky. Our play was awful to watch, relying too much on defensive rather than attacking football and we scraped wins by the odd goal, nothing spectacular, just boring stuff. Resentment started to grow when despite son Tom turning in mediocre performances he was never dropped and only very rarely substituted.

So when he finally went, Oyston was left with the problem of who to turn to as a replacement. Normally he would have installed Thommo as a stop-gap solution, but he decided it was time for Thommo to go as well. It was obvious he didn’t want to go through the embarrassment of advertising the job again, especially after being previously turned down by all and sundry. So it came about that Barry Ferguson was put temporary charge until the end of the season to keep us in the championship. Although his CV will confirm he did it, how he did it was more by luck more than judgement. He looked increasingly like the proverbial “fish out of water”, when defeat after defeat plummeted us down the league towards the drop zone. I didn’t fancy our chances against Charlton even at Bloomfield Rd, so the unexpected win at Wigan gave us the lifeline we were looking for. Matt Gilks’s penalty save was priceless and paved the way for a rare 2-0 win. Funnily enough we actually did the double over promotion seeking Wigan, firstly 1-0 at our place & 2-0 at theirs. We avoided the drop by 2 points in the end, but it was squeaky bum time all the way.

So now the search is underway to get a new manager installed within the next 5 to 10 days, according to Oyston. I hope for once his time scale is right and not another drawn out farce. Who he gets is another fear the fans have. Obviously his past reputation will be a big stumbling block for whoever he approaches. He has managed to frighten off many experienced managers in the past with his stringent attitude towards how the club should be run. It seems every player who comes here has to take a pay cut or failing that he resorts to signing loanees. With Matt Williams due to leave the club and take up the role of Chief Executive at Shrewsbury Town, Oyston will be without his right hand man in any negotiations with prospective managers. All we can do is hope Oyston has finally realised his way of doing things has got to change, otherwise we might not manage to stay in the championship beyond next season.

3 games to go.....

For the first time this season we find ourselves in the bottom three, mainly thanks to Ollie's Millwall beating an unpredictable Middlesboro 2-1. Although I thought we played reasonably well against Burnley, moving the ball about well and challenging more, yet again we never really looked like scoring. With games against Brighton, Wigan and Charlton coming up the chances of us getting any points is looking bleak. Not only that but we're still reliant on others to slip up, which has never been our strong point in the past. Both Brighton & Wigan will be going all out to grab a play-off place, whereas Charlton, like us will be fighting for championship survival.

 

So, do I think we still have a chance of staying up? If I'm being realistic, the answer is no. We've squandered the points we accrued and goal difference we earned earlier in the season and I don't think the team have the confidence the fight back. Despite the passion & desire shown by Barry Ferguson to succeed and keep us up, I don't think he has the managerial experience to pull us through, nor the tactical sense. He certainly doesn't know what his best 11 is, and too many faded stars have turned up promising they'll help to turn things around but failed. Chopra and Earnshaw to name two.

 

It's sad to see how far we've dropped since the Holloway days, but it goes to prove if you run a business on a shoestring without proper investment and foresight, you will eventually become unstuck. Karl Oyston's reputation is now well known throughout football circles for his unwillingness to spend and his rolling contracts. Respected managers, many still out of work have turned us down, so as a last resort he hire's managers with poor past records or as in the case of Barry Ferguson untried ones. You can tell Ferguson has the passion and desire but not the experience to succeed at present. He was also someone Oyston fell out with dramatically with last season banishing him to Fleetwood for a time. Add to this the number of loanees making up the squad who will be moving on at the end of the season and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

Whether or not we survive or get relegated the same problems will remain. We need a quality, experienced manager with a good scouting team behind him in as soon as the season finishes. So that they can get players in early and not get lumbered with end of season leftovers. Players with a desire and hunger to play for the club, a proper training ground and facilities. Otherwise next season will be a repeat of the last two. I expect season tickets sales to be hit badly if improvements are not made quickly. The fans unrest was clearly seen at the Burnley game and will continue because most fans have had enough of the false promises spouted by the chairman over the years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do points make........

...........possible survival.

 

With only 10 more games remaining and half of them away fixtures with a possible 30 points at stake, what are our chances of survival? At one time you could predict where we were going to get the points from, alas no more. These are my predictions, see if you agree.

Sat.    22/03/2014 Home.    Huddersfield Town……………..1-1 Draw 1pt

Tues. 25/03/2014 Away      Bolton W……………………………. 0-3 Loss  0pts

Sat.   29/03/2014 Away      QPR……………………………………. 0-3 Loss  0pts

Sat.   05/04/2014 Home      Yeovil T……………………………… 1-0 Win   3pts

Tues. 08/04/2014 Home     Derby C……………………………….1-2 Loss  0pts

Sat.   12/04/2014 Away      Leeds Utd…………………………….1-1 Draw  1pt

Fri.    18/04/2014 Home     Burnley (on Sky, ugh)………...0-2 loss   0pts

Mon.  21/04/2014 Away     Brighton H A………………………..1-3 loss   0pts

Sat.   26/04/2014 Away      Wigan………………………………….1-3 loss  0pts

Sat.   03/05/2014 Home     Charlton A……………………………2-1 Win  3pts

As you can see my optimism is not what it should be. I see us with a possible 8 points from the remaining games, making us reliant on teams around us dropping points, which is never a healthy option. I just hope our survival is not reliant on the final game against Charlton, especially now they've changed manager. Of course we could upset the odds and get a few wins we didn’t expect, but these are desperate times and we never seem to play well under pressure. We’ve got an untried manager, a team with no set pattern of play, which seems to change every week instead of having a settled side.

Still, now’s not the time to think we’re doomed to League 1, but equally the players have really got to start believing in themselves and not rely on other results keeping us up. So, prove my predictions wrong and get us the points we need and fight for your pride, because the fans will get behind you if we see determined effort. Just think this was us not too long ago.....

 

......let's do it again. Come on Pool. Fight for the points. UTMP.

The start of the run in.....

Well, we're entering the final run in and as things are going it's going to be an uneasy ending to the season. I thought last season was bad enough, but we don't seemed to have learnt our lesson. BF has been in charge for 10 games now and his record is not very encouraging. Yesterday's 3-1 defeat by Leicester undid the result against Millwall, but came as no surprise considering they're running away with the league this season. Strange when you think both sides were level on points at the start of the season. I don't what it is about Leicester I dislike intensely but I do. Oh, I remembered. The king of smugness that is Nigel "Mr Non-Personality" Pearson, who never manages to give any opposing sides credit especially if they beat his little Leicester boys. There is also the fact some Leicester fans suffer from delusions of grandeur, big time. Anyway enough of them.

 

Is BF the man for us? I don't think he is. You can't fault him for passion, but he's fallen into the trap of thinking because he's got the passion and experience of playing it automatically gives him the tools to manage. It doesn't. You only have to see how, despite playing at the higher level, some famous names have not hacked it as managers. Notice most of the successful managers of our time weren't necessarily good players, average maybe, but successful, not many. 

Do we give him time like we did with Simon Grayson, because he struggled at first. But Grayson experienced managing the reserves before being given the chance to manage the first team. With BF we don't have the luxury of giving him much longer, otherwise we're going to be relegated.

 

Unfortunately, trying to attract an experience manager to Bloomfield Rd is never an easy task, as proved in the past. That's why I can't see Karl Oyston shifting from his present stance. So, like most Blackpool fans we're just hoping we can scramble over the championship finishing line this season in the hope we can move on next season. But we need a complete rethink about investing in a quality manager and players, otherwise the progress motto on our badge will have to be ditched for good.

 

 

No longer the Guvn'r.........

Well,well,well, the Guvn’r has gone. Didn’t think it would have happened after yesterday’s proceedings. KO seemed to have chickened out, but today he took action. Not only was Ince Snr shown the door but so were Alex Rae and surprisingly Steve Thompson. Some fans think Thommo's sacking was a bit unfair considering the time he’s been at Bloomfield Rd. Personally I think Thommo should have moved on before now. KO for all his faults has stayed loyal to Thommo up until today, but I think he’s done the right thing. Why? Well for me, Thommo has developed his own little comfort zone at Bloomers and I honestly think he was the obstacle previous manager contenders had to negotiate. I think he might have been seen, rightly or wrongly by other prospective managers, as a spy in the camp for the chairman. I also don’t think despite what other fans say, he carried that much influence with the players. To me he was your typical

“Good Egg” type of a bloke. Honest, loyal and trustworthy but lacking that steely determination to take it to the next level as a manager. Well now he’s going to have to do something away from Bloomfield Rd. KO has used him as a temporary manager in the past, but I think he realised he’s not the one to be given the job permanently. So, I wish him all the very best and thank him for what he’s done, but it’s now time for him and us to go separate ways.

As far as the Paul Ince/Alex Rae departures, neither are going to be missed. Both have shown a complete lack of discipline, which has filtered down to the players. Ince has been the worst culprit having been banned for 5 games not only from the touchline but from the stadium. Something that’s never been heard of from a Blackpool manager in the past and hopefully never again. Privately, I think Tom Ince will be relieved his father has gone, because his form has never been the same since he took over. In the early days you could see the anxiety on Tom’s face when he thought he’d done something wrong on the pitch, because his father was quick to let him know he wasn’t happy. Last Saturday’s match led to a nasty confrontation between Tom and some of the fans, which is best forgotten by all concerned. Now, whether Tom moves on we’ll have to see. Apparently he has been in talks with a possible move to Monaco, but nothing definite as yet.

The managerial baton has now moved onto Barry Ferguson. He will be installed as the player/manager apparently until the end of the season. Not yet sure how this is going to go? After all Ferguson all though the current captain and a big voice in the dressing room has no previous managerial experience. Obviously KO has seen something in him to think he can do the job and it’s not the first time KO has installed a player in the manager’s role. He gave the job to Simon Grayson, who turned out to be quite successful in the role, only to be poached by Ken Bates and taken to Leeds Utd in a very acrimonious fashion.

But for the time being, I along with most, if not all fans are delighted to see the back of the “Guvn’r” and his assistant. They’ve gone and hopefully long forgotten. The fight back starts NOW. UTMP