Change is overdue.

It's a while since I posted anything but in a way it's no surprise. The start of the new season commences on Saturday, with Blackpool away to Colchester but to say I'm excited would be a complete lie.

The dilemma I find myself in is similar to many die hard fans of Blackpool FC. We passionately want the team to do well but equally our loyalties have been stretched beyond repair by the antics of the owners. I, like many others have stopped attending Bloomfield Rd because we feel by doing so we are propping up individuals who we do not trust and who are hell bent on pushing the self-destruct button on our club. Never before have I felt so annoyed, frustrated and embarrassed by what is happening. I do not condone pitch invasions but I can understand why some fans thought it necessary to do it. It's an act of civil disobedience aimed at publicising the problems within the club to a wider audience and to that aim it has succeeded. Other fans see it as just a few troublemakers creating more problems for an already doomed club in the way of fines and possible points deductions if the disruptions continue. To me protests take many forms and only come about when communication channels are no longer accessible. I am pleased the Gazette, the once mouthpiece of the owners, has joined the growing band of people worried about the present situation and raised our concerns through Will Watt in their paper. But to prove how vindictive the owners can be over any form of criticism, that particular mouthpiece has now been gagged. The one bright star on the horizon is Blackpool Supporters Trust's offer to buy the club. I am glad
Owen Oyston has replied to their proposals and at least some dialogue has been opened, but whether anything comes of it is something we will have to wait and see. Whatever the outcome the one thing which needs to change in the interim is the permanent removal of Karl Oyston as chairman. His running of the club has been disastrous and the main reason we are in the state we currently find ourselves in. The reason the club is financially sound is NOT down to the stewardship of the disgraced chairman but to the fact that we made it to the premiership with Ian Holloway. Karl Oyston alone has managed to ostracise more fans than anyone else and will continue to do so if he is allowed to continue. The start of any new season is always an exciting time for the fans, but for the majority of Blackpool fans any excitement has been dampened by events on and off the field in recent years. Enough is enough, change is overdue.

Football matters....

Well, since I was last on here there’s been plenty to talk about in the football world. My beloved Blackpool Football Club are still holding up all the other clubs in the championship despite a rare win against Millwall last Saturday. Poor old

Ollie, he never seems to do well against teams he’s managed before. I remember when he was with us, his nemesis were Leicester City, could never get anything out of them. It looks like his days at the Den could be numbered too if results continue to go against him. It’s hard to believe they are now in the bottom three with us considering the start they had, when at one time they were unbeaten at the top of the league. I like the bloke very much, but I believe he will never replicate the success he had with us with any other team. Why? Well, when he came to us he had been out of work for about 12 months and after failing to resume his managerial career elsewhere he persuaded Karl Oyston to take him on, this despite Oyston’s well documented desire to employ Alan Knill for the job because of the success he was having at Bury (and the fact he was possibly easier to manipulate). Ian was brimming over with enthusiasm and raring to go. The rest is history. He came here at the right time for himself and the club. Alas since then it’s been downhill. Ian has been a victim of his own success and is in danger like us of slipping down the divisions. I always thought it grossly unfair for some fans to criticize him for leaving; after all he stayed with us for over 3 three years (a lifetime in footballing terms) and especially after what he achieved. We’ve had numerous replacements since the heady days of the premiership, all of which have found it impossible to do what Ian achieved.

This brings me onto the current problems at the club. Yet again chairman Karl Oyston seems to be at the hub of what fans think is wrong with the club. I personally do not know either Owen or Karl Oyston or any other members of their families, but I do know some of their actions have been unacceptable with Oyston Junior the biggest culprit. He was involved in a confrontation with a fan online and had to issue an apology when his derogatory comments went viral. It eventually came to the attention of the football authorities, who are currently investigating the matter. Embarrassing when you come to think he is a member of the Football League committee overseeing football protocol, but worst still his comments brought further unwanted publicity to the club.

At present the owners have started legal proceedings against the former chairman of the Blackpool Supporter’s Trust (BST) and against

one particular fan for £150,000 for printing online what the owners believe to be inaccurate and defamatory allegations about the club’s financial affairs. These actions are hardly going to improve the relationship between the fans and owners and tellingly the original unofficial voice of the fans the Blackpool Supporters Association (BSA) have now distanced themselves from the chairman. What the owners have to appreciate is, the club is only as strong as its fan base and if relegation becomes a reality, which is a likely possibility, that fan base will reduce even further, which in turn will affect revenue.

OK, the owners could quite rightly say the club is presently financially sound (mainly due to our brief premiership tenure & subsequent parachute payments) but for this to continue the owners will need to re-think their policy of running the club the way they do. They should forget about venting their combined spleens on suing individual fans and concentrate more on getting fans on their side by showing they really care about our club.

The Ched Evans affair is still rumbling along with some clubs appearing to want to sign him, including his original club Sheffield Utd, only for them to drop their interest once they realise the majority of the public disagree. Evans was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment & put on the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely. He was released recently on licence after serving half of his sentence. He has always maintained his innocence despite the conviction. I always thought to qualify for parole the offender had to admit to the crime before he could be considered for release? His continuing denial has also had consequences for his victim.  Her anonymity was compromised and as a result she has had to move address several times because of the abuse she received. Like most of us I didn’t attend the trial nor hear the evidence the jury heard, so we should accept their verdict and subsequent sentence. I understand Evans admitted to having sex with his victim following her having sex with his friend. I also understand the victim was in a vulnerable state and unable to protect herself in the way she could if she was less vulnerable. Too much alcohol by anyone is not compatible with common sense or with the ability to make a sound judgement and as such should be avoided. Nevertheless, to have sex with anyone who isn’t fully in control of their actions is both stupid and irresponsible. Apparently his victim was left in the Rhyl Hotel after the incident to recover on her own. Something else Evans should not be proud of or the fact by carrying out this act in the first place he was cheating on his girlfriend. Perhaps it’s time some of these high profile privileged footballers, some of whom are paid more than they deserve to take a step back and realise they are not above the law. I don’t think the victim’s situation was helped in anyway by Steve Bruce’s interpretation of the case findings, which to say the least was naïve and misguided. Perhaps he was looking at trying to recruit Evans himself as a means to help him avoid getting Hull relegated and him the sack. Evans now finds himself like many other ex-offenders in trying to find employment on release from prison. He now realises it’s not easy, but his success in resuming employment would be helped if he genuinely showed remorse for his irresponsible actions, have the website taken down promoting his cause and publicly offer his victim an apology. That way at least will allow everyone a chance to get on with their lives and try to put the whole sordid affair behind them. If he feels unable to do that he’ll find the public just as unforgiving.