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 

A truly Memorable Day.

It was 12 months ago this week when we got our club back and we all marched down to Bloomfield Rd to regain our seats in the stands. A truly memorable day.      

Since then things have changed for the better. We now have a new owner, a local lad, one Simon Sadler. He’s been open and honest with the fans from the off. He’s promised to improve the club but it will take time and money. He will prioritise what needs doing and he wants to see the team challenge for promotion to the Championship within the next couple of seasons. He appointed Simon Grayson as manager and although we made a positive start to the season getting up to 4th place, it seemed we were punching above our weight. We went on an unbeaten run even though our performances were lucky to say the least. This gave the fans a belief we could get promoted this season, albeit with tongue in cheek. I think most of us knew we weren’t good enough to go up.

Since this heady start our results & performances have taken a downward spiral. Fans were getting frustrated with Grayson’s tactics and the lack of improvement, despite having more money made available for new players, more back room staff and better ground/pitch facilities. He only managed one win in the last 12 games. Grayson’s time came to an end after the Tuesday night  2-3 defeat against Gillingham. Sadler had flown over from Hong Kong to attend the game and wasted no time in sacking Grayson on Wednesday morning. This proved the new owner had listened to the fans reaction to the defeat and did what was needed. I think the decision was what the majority of fans wanted. 

We now move to the next stage of searching for a new manager, which is both exciting and wary of who we get. Several names are in the frame already. Former club favourite Ian Evatt currently doing great things with Barrow is a lot of fans choice to take over. I’m not sure it’s the right time for Ian yet. He still has a job to do at Barrow and to get them promoted back into the Football League would be a great achievement from when he took over and great addition to his CV. Whereas if he left them now with the job half done and came here to be our manager there’s no guarantee he would be as successful and it could knock back his managerial career.

Hopefully in the next week or so we should know who takes over.

I hate to sound despondent but......

........The reason I've not written on here for quite a long time is simple. This season has been the biggest non-event I can ever recall as far as Blackpool Football Club is concerned. Normally I would be on here giving my views on the goings-on of the club, manager & players with an enthusiasm associated with the Ian Holloway era. Now I can't even tell you the names of the players, their positions or what they look like and this is coming from someone who was born in the town and who has followed the Seasiders since he was 7 years old. It has taken a lot for me to stop going to Bloomfield Rd, but I made a conscious decision at the beginning of the season to boycott everything associated with Oyston Football Club. I, like many other supporters, have taken this stance because we feel by attending home matches we are condoning & financially propping up this despicable family. Yes, we know Owen Oyston bought the club & put his money into saving it from administration, but he's certainly not out of pocket from doing so. The one saving grace as far as he is concerned is that he does have a personality, albeit a tarnished one. He was always the showman, not frightened of taking risks and putting forward grandiose ideas about how he intended to build a new stadium with a removable playing area, which could be turned into a Rock concert venue. I remember him going through a signing of the contracts ceremony on the Bloomfield Rd pitch all those years ago, waving the signed contract aloft like a latter day Neville Chamberlain. Like Chamberlain the contract wasn't worth the paper it was printed on, nothing materialized.

Today, as you know, we have his unspectacular son masquerading as chairman. Unlike his father Oyston Junior has no personality whatsoever. This is the man who rode on the success of past managers culminating in Ian Holloway's successful tenure when he managed to get us into the premiership and turn a bunch of ordinary players into a fighting outfit. Oyston Jnr showed the lack of foresight & proactive leadership needed to compete in the premiership and to keep us there. His parsimonious approach to everything football was plain to see and yet he had the audacity to claim some responsibility for getting us there, then saying his famous “we're the envy of the Football League” quote. At least Ian Holloway left us a legacy to be proud of, whereas this excuse for a human being as left us with broken promises, threadbare teams and clueless managers.

I won't list the managers who have been and gone (too many to mention) but suffice to say there has not been many memorable ones.

The strange situation I find myself in this season is one of mixed loyalties. I want to see the 'Pool win and definitely not get relegated ( which is looking decidedly ominous )but equally I think if we do managed to stay up the misery will just continue and the situation will not improve. Who would have thought a couple of seasons ago that our League 1 survival rests with Fleetwood Town, how ironic is that. I don't know whether to feel sorry for Neil McDonald or to think he deserves all he gets for taking on the job knowing full well the owners are at war with the majority of the fans, myself included.

I can see Blackpool Football Club ceasing to exist in the next year or so if we continue with the present owners. They have made enough money to swan off to wherever they want to even if the club folds, but the town could lose a valuable asset. Let's hope we can unshackle ourselves from the owners of the modern day Titanic before we sink forever.