Blackpool FC | The revival

[I3east]

Background

Founded: 1887
Ground: Bloomfield Road (17,338 capacity)
Owner: Owen Oyston
Chairman: Karl Oyston
Manager: Lee Clark
League: League One
Last season: 24th in the Championship

With the 2014/2015 season tarred by many protests at the owners and unreliable player recruitment and job security for managers, Blackpool slumped to bottom of the Championship having their relegation confirmed with 6 games left of the season. The last game of the season had to be abandoned as Blackpool supporters spilled onto the pitch in a protest against the owners and refused to move from the center circle.

With a huge 14 first team players out of contract this summer and limited funds available their is a huge rebuilding job to be done at Blackpool. Staff within the club is also severely short with only one scout and a handful of coaches, a huge area which needs to be improved should Blackpool be able to gain promotion back into the Championship.​

 

[I3east]

Holloway returns

Today Blackpool FC owner Karl Oyston has unveiled that Lee Clark has left the club by mutual consent and Ian Holloway is the man who is being brought in to transform the club into a challenging team once again. Holloway was only at Blackpool 9 months before he led them into the Premier League after winning the play offs following a 6th placed finish. Unfortunately, Blackpool only managed the one season in the top flight as they were relegated that year. The following year Holloway again led Blackpool into the Championship play-offs but they unfortunately lost out. Holloway left the club with a win percentage of 37.8% and was the clubs 9th longest serving manager in terms of football league matches he was in charge of.

Current squad

Current staff

 

[I3east]

Holloway interview

Reporter: Hello Ian, how is it to be back at Blackpool?

Holloway: It's good. I had great memories here and now i need to make it my mission to sort this magnificent football club out and get them back on track.

Reporter: How hard is it going to be gathering a settled squad for the start of the season considering there is only 5 first team players and three of them want to leave the club?

Holloway: It's going to be tough. I knew that when the Oystons approached me and i think there will be enough players available to us in order to assemble a decent squad for this level.

Reporter: How long do you think it will take to get back into the Championship?

Holloway: 2 seasons. One to consolidate and another to really push on.

Reporter: Have you had any discussions with players over joining Blackpool?

Holloway: Yeah i've been talking to a few agents here and there. I need players who will be 100 percent committed to the cause so i need to be careful when selecting these players.

Reporter: One name thrown around is Reuben Reid of Plymouth, your old club. He will command a fee but is he someone you're interested in?

Holloway: We'll have to see. We currently have a few coming in on trial for pre-season so i'll have to evaluate my squad throughout.

Reporter: Finally, Charlie Colkett has been released from Chelsea and is highly regarded as a future star. Blackpool have been heavily linked with him, is there any truth to this?

Holloway: Yeah there is, he's coming down for talks soon and hopefully we can sort a deal.


​

 

[Alain Orsoni]

Hi,
Blackpool seem like a club in mayhem until Oyston´s leaves. The arrival of Holloway will ease some of the pressure from the Oyston´s but I doubt Oyston´s will ever be accepted again.
I think the aim should be promotion first year, if things are done properly and Holloway does a good job. The club is still expected to be a big gun in League 1.
It remains to see who will be interested in joining the circus around the club atm though.

Nice choice Blackpool, I´ll be popping in to see how your doing.

Good luck.

 

[SamPeters]

I like the concept, be interesting to see what free players you buy, I been thinking about doing it so will follow

 

[I3east]

Hi,
Blackpool seem like a club in mayhem until Oyston´s leaves. The arrival of Holloway will ease some of the pressure from the Oyston´s but I doubt Oyston´s will ever be accepted again.
I think the aim should be promotion first year, if things are done properly and Holloway does a good job. The club is still expected to be a big gun in League 1.
It remains to see who will be interested in joining the circus around the club atm though.

Nice choice Blackpool, I´ll be popping in to see how your doing.

Good luck.

I like the concept, be interesting to see what free players you buy, I been thinking about doing it so will follow

Thanks guys!

I think the main problem will be getting a settled squad for the start of the season. There are some decent players who i am looking at who hopefully, all being well, should see us challenging in and around the top 6 as a minimum. I guess the main question will be whether they can all play together as a team as i pretty much need to sign 11+ players.

 

[I3east]

21 players sign for Blackpool

Today Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has announced that deals for 21 players have been agreed and they will all join the club for the start of pre-season. Blackpool, who only had 5 first team players at the start of this new season, are having to spend wisely and scout the free transfer market due to low funds. However, the funds have been eased due to the sales of players such as Nathan Delfouenso and Jose Miguel Cubero.

The 21 players are a mixture of youth and experience as Holloway looks to build for the future with players who know how to deal with the pressure of expectation but also the younger players who have potential to blossom in a club who are doing well in League 1.

Key players

Key prospects

 

[I3east]

Mixed pre-season form carries on into the season

Best player

Reuben Reid

Games: 6
Goals: 8
Assists: 2


August

What a match! Unfortunately the referee seemed to favour Scunthorpe gifting them three penalties! Paddy Madden was just unplayable scoring all 5 of Scunthorpe's goals, the only positive i could take from this game is 16 year old Gavin Swift scoring on his debut!

Well well well... The squad isn't settled at all, there seems to be no coordination within the team and nothing is coming off for them. Beckford is a shining light grabbing his second goal in as many games but that's about it.

Much much better. Swift again was my stand out performer despite only being 16 years old. The only worry was that the team got complacent and conceded two goals after going 3-0 up in 50 minutes.

Brilliant result against one of the favourites for promotion. We dominated the game in large spells and it was good to see Corry and Mellis forming a good partnership in central midfield. Pringle scored a decent 25 yard goal which we couldn't do anything about.

Another good result against top of the league. MK Dons are currently unbeaten and we gave them a good run for their money. Reid managed to grab his first league goal after being on the bench the last few games and another 16 year old signing, Hagan, managed to grab a goal as well.

Reuben Reid's pre-season form is now showing after scoring three goals in his last two games. He cause Peterborough all sorts of problems. Orlandi on the wing picked up man of the match grabbing two assists and coming close to scoring himself.

League table

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Gavin Swift (regen)

Games: 4
Goals: 2
Assists: 1

​