FM11: Blackpool - A New Era

[hedger_14]

Blackpool Overview​

Nation: England
Year Founded: 1887
Status: Professional
Reputation: Continental
Legends: Stanley Matthews, Jimmy Hampson, Stan Mortenson, David Goodwillie, Jimmy Armfield
Icons: Alan Suddick, Brett Ormerod, Peter Doherty, George Farm, Harry Bedford, John Murphy, Tony Green, Brendon Hedger, Ian Holloway
Fierce Rivals: Preston, Burnley, Bolton
Other Rivals: Oldham, Tranmere, Wigan
Estimated Value: 99M (Loan Debt: 10.5M)
Squad Personality: Highly Ambitious
Captain: Charlie Adam
Vice Captain: Phil Jones
Most League Apps for Club: Jimmy Armfield - 568
Most League Goals for Club: David Goodwillie - 163

Blackpool Recent History​

Blackpool have grown in stature as a club recently and it all started with manager, Ian Holloway who successfully guided Blackpool to promotion in the npower Championship in the 2009-10 season in his first season in charge after finishing 6th and winning the playoffs to secure the final promotion spot. Charlie Adam proved to be a vital signing in that season, bought for a fee of 500,000, the highest fee paid by Blackpool in their history, and he didn't let Blackpool down.

After being promoted to the Premier League, Holloway was hit by a mysterious illness which forced him to stand down as manager for a little while and it was the unknown, Brendon Hedger who took up the role. He only made 3 new transfers in the window but broke the record fee paid for a player, when he signed striker, David Goodwillie on a 1.4M deal and also snatched up Michael Ball and Christophe Gregoire on free transfers. Things did not start brightly for Blackpool though as they went down in their opening 2 games against Chelsea and Liverpool before drawing Newcastle away from home. Things started to look better though as Blackpool took victories against Birmingham and Bolton and then took a point against both Man City and Arsenal in consecutive games before going through in the League Cup 4th round with a penalty win over Fulham. Goodwillie's superb form continued when his double inspired a huge 5-0 win over Sunderland at Bloomfield Road and went on to beat Wolves and Wigan in that same month before defeating Burnley in the quarter final of the league cup after scoring 3 goals in extra time. Blackpool continued well and by January were sitting in a respectable 12th position. 3 transfers were made in the January window with Lee Hodson coming in from Watford for 1.7M, Rolando Zarate in for 200K and also the huge signing of goalkeeper, William Caballero for 3.5M as Kingson was dropped from the squad. Despite winning the first leg of the League Cup semi final, we went down in the second leg to Sunderland and the dream run came to an end but we continued to pose a threat in the Premier League taking down Man City away from home 1-0 and then defeating Everton 2-0. A great run at the end of the season, with 3 wins and 2 draws from our final 5 games pushed us up to an unbelievable 9th place only losing to West Ham on goal difference, while Arsenal took the title. Goodwillie scored a fantastic total of 22 goals to go with 9 assists in the season while Caballero was superb late in the season in the keeping role and Charlie Adam was great as a captain despite only scoring the one goal as he put in 5 assists.

The 2011/12 season saw the signings of Chris Wood for 2.5M, Jonathan Woodgate and Mark Noble on free transfers and also the huge signing of Birmingham's James McFadden for a record 5M. The team showed that it wasn't a miracle last season as they did event better, finishing 8th in the league and Bolton wasn't even close in 9th position, while we nearly won the League Cup, only to be knocked out my Man Utd in the final after going to penalties. Goodwillie again shined as as he scored 23 goals while Chris Wood was the perfect partner for him up front with 12 goals and 8 assists, picking up third place in the Young Player of the Year Award while Hedger took the Manager of the Year Award with the stunning season Blackpool had.

Blackpool made a fair few new signings going into the new season with Dorsin coming in from Everton for 2M to hopefully resolve our left back problem while Ospina on a free transfer was a gun one, and now we weren't short on keepers at all and Edu Bedia, Jeffren and dos Santos were also brought in on free transfers with Bebe our only other signing, securing him from Man Utd for 2.5M. It wasn't a good start though to the season as we failed to win in our first 4 games as Goodwillie tried to make something happen scoring in 3 of them but things started to look better when we won the next 3 matches to move right back up into 7th before we hovered around there for much of the season before going on a dream run into January, signing Phil Jones for a huge 10M fee and he didn't disappoint at all as went unbeaten in our next 10 games, with 7 wins and finally went down to Man Utd at the end of March. With not long to go in the season, we were sitting 4th with 3 matches to go, but a disappointing draw against Stoke before going down to Tottenham put us in 5th with one match left against Liverpool who sat 1 point above us meaning a win would put us into 4th and it seemed like we were going to steal that place when Goodwillie's goal put us 2-1 up and just as it was looking like we had held out, Ospina managed to put the ball into his own net and we drew 2-2 and they held onto 4th place but we had managed to qualify for the Euro Cup. Goodwillie continued to show his class throughout the season topping the league goal charts with 28 goals and coming runner up in the Player of the Year Award while Chris Wood secured the Young Player of the Year award with 20 goals and 10 assists while our 2 goalkeepers were superb, with the role having to be shared between the classy keepers and Phil Jones, Charlie Adam and James McFadden were invaluable to the team, scoring 7 goals and setting up 12 goals between them.

With the new season soon approaching, it could be tough for Hedger to hold onto Ospina who is attracting attention from some major clubs including Arsenal and Juventus while Dekel Keinan and Bebe could be making their way out of the club, unhappy with the lack of game time they are getting.

Blackpool Current First Team Squad​

Goalkeepers:

Wilfredo Caballero - 35
David Ospina - 28
Danny Spence - 21


Defenders:

Neal Eardley - 28 (Right)
Lee Hodson - 25 (Right)
Craig Cathcart - 28 (Centre)
Phil Jones - 25 (Centre)
Tarik Brack - 22 (Left)
Ivan Fatic - 28 (Left/Centre)
Michele Romano - 21 (Centre)
Per Mertesacker - 32 (Centre) - On Loan from Barcelona


Midfielders:

Jamie Edge - 23 (Defensive)
Giovani dos Santos - 27 (Right/Striker)
Charlie Adam - 31 (Centre)
Ludovic Sylvestre - 33 (Centre)
Bebe - 26 (Left/Centre/Right)
Israel - 23 (Left) - On Loan at Charlton
Stewart Downing - 32 (Left)
Steven N'Zonzi - 28 (Centre)
Salomon Kalou - 31 (Left/Right/Striker)
Paul Richards - 21 (Left/Wing Back)
Marcin Zajac - 18 (Right)
Othmane Abdellaoui - 19 (Centre)
Paulo Henrique - 27 (Centre)


Strikers:

Chris Wood - 25 On Loan at West Ham
David Goodwillie - 28
Jordi Alvarez - 21
Rodrigo - 26
Glenn Flynn - 20
Marcio - 21
Vinicius - 20
Alberto Paloschi - 27

Season     Team                 Country    League                      League Finish    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Blackpool            England    English Premier Division    9th              League Cup Semi-Finalists
2011/12    Blackpool            England    English Premier Division    8th              League Cup Runners Up
2012/13    Blackpool            England    English Premier Division    5th
2013/14    Blackpool            England    English Premier Division    3rd              Europa League 2nd KO Round
2014/15    Blackpool            England    English Premier Division    1st              Premier League Winners, Champions League 1st KO Round
2015/16    Blackpool            England    English Premier Division    1st              Premier League Winners, Champions League Winners, Community Shield Winners, FA Cup Runners Up, League Cup Semi-Finalists
2016/17    Blackpool            England    English Premier Division    1st              Premier League Winners, Champions League Semi Finalists, Club World Championship Winners

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool Complete Signing of Tarik Brack​

Today, Blackpool completed the signing of 18 year old PSV defender, Tarik Brack for a sum of ?1.7M, on a 3 year contract. The Dutch left back has appeared in 6 matches for the national U21 side and also took 2 MOTM awards for PSV last season in 12 appearances. Blackpool also faced some competition for his signature with FC Kobenhavn but Brack signed with Blackpool instead.

Charlie Adam has also expressed his delight at the new signing, who has a very high opinion of him and believes he has a bright future at Bloomfield Road. On signing the young left back, Hedger stated, "We've had troubles in the left back position over the past few seasons with Ball declining as a footballer over the past 2 seasons and now retiring and Dorsin slowly fading away now 31 so it was essential we signed a young left back. Brack is a fine young player and with some guidance from Mikael Dorsin and the others at the club, I think he can be developed into a World Class player." Blackpool are also interested in signing Milevskyi on a free transfer from Dynamo Kyiv and also rumoured to be interested in signing Filip Pivkovski if that deal falls through.

 

[hedger_14]

Jordi Alvarez Makes the Move to Blackpool​

Real Madrid's 17 year old striker, Jordi Alvarez has just confirmed his ?900K move to Blackpool in hope for a first team place. He found himself on the transfer list at Madrid and failed to make a single appearance for the club during his time there and was relieved at making the move. The young striker has a huge amount of potential and Blackpool will be looking to harness that potential to develop him into a superb player.

Blackpool looked towards the player after Artem Milevskyi rejected their contract offer to move to Man City, forcing Blackpool to look to new alternatives. Brendon Hedger had this to say, "I've been tracking Jordi closely over the past few months and despite his lack of game time at Madrid, I saw him to be a promising striker. He was a bargain at only ?900K and I definately believe he is much better than the fee suggests. I will be looking to give him some game time and may send him out on loan to get more experience."

 

[hedger_14]

Kaiserslautem Loan Bebe​

Blackpool midfielder, Bebe has finally moved away from Blackpool in a ?130K loan deal with a future fee of ?2.5M to make the deal permanent. The Portuguese winger is considering leaving the club and whether he will return the club is yet to be known.

Blackpool have also loaned out Jamie Edge and Jordi Alvarez to Tranmere and Scunthorpe respectably. Defensive midfielder, Jamie Edge is looking to gain vital first team experience by going out on loan, still yet to play a match for Blackpool in his two seasons there, while Jordi Alvarez will also be looking to make an impact for Scunthorpe, who were promoted from League 1 last season. Whether Blackpool will make a move for any other players is not known but there are many transfer rumours going around which Hedger has denied in a recent press conference.

 

[hedger_14]

Jones Selected as New Vice Captain​

Coming up to the start of the new season and Blackpool have released the news that central defender, Phil Jones has been given the vice captaincy role at the club, with Charlie Adam remaining the current skipper. Hedger commented on this, "Jones is a fantastic young player and I think he will shine in his new role and it will help him to become an even better player. Woodgate is getting a little too old and I think it was time the deputy role was given to someone else, however Woodgate is still in my first team plans for the time being." Blackpool open their season against Newcastle in one weeks time at Bloomfield Road and will hope to start their long season with a win.

 

[Iridium]

I've just gotten into FM11 recently (even though I don't follow the damn sport). Be interesting to see how you go about things.

 

[hedger_14]

17th August - Blackpool v Newcastle - Premier Division​

It was going to be a thrilling opening match at Bloomfield Road with Blackpool slight favourites. Lee Hodson and DJ Campbell were both ruled out for Blackpool, while Mike Williamson and Jonathan Obika would be sitting on the sidelines with injuries for Newcastle. Since Hedger took charge at Bloomfield Road, the teams have met 4 times and Newcastle are yet to win, Blackpool winning twice and the other 2 games resulting in draws. Could Newcastle turn the result around today though?

Blackpool would go into the game with no reserve strikers apart from Giovani dos Santos to back up Goodwillie and Wood if needed. Tarik Brack came into the starting XI at the back while Eardley would play at right back in position of the injured Lee Hodson, and the middle is pretty much as expected. Matthew Gilks will make a return to his former club as he starts as the Newcastle keeper, while David Vaughan also returns however starting on the bench. Jordan Spence will be one of the key men for Newcastle and he will need to perform well if they want to win, especially up against two of the best marksmen in the premier league at the moment, in Chris Wood and David Goodwillie, while Phil Jones has been excellent since joining the club and he can prove to be a huge threat in setting up attacks as well as being a strong central defender. This is going to be one huge match.


Blackpool:

GK: David Ospina

DL: Tarik Brack
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Jonathan Woodgate
DR: Neal Eardley

ML: James McFadden
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
MR: Jeffren

ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Chris Wood

Subs: Wilfredo Caballero, Mikael Dorsin, Ian Evatt, Craig Cathcart, Edu Bedia, Israel, Giovani dos Santos


Newcastle:

GK: Matthew Gilks

DL: Jose Enrique
DC: Jordan Spence
DC: Fabricio Coloccini
DR: Jose Angel Crespo

ML: Chris Brunt
MC: Kevin Nolan (C)
MC: Joey Barton
MR: Wayne Routledge

ST: Andy Carroll
ST: Michel Platini

Subs: Jamie Langfield, Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor, James Vaughan, Nathan Delfouneso, Joe Mattock, Adam Matthews


Blackpool got off to a horrible start when Newcastle scored within 5 minutes through Chris Brunt. Routledge's cross picked out the man perfectly and Brunt's header was hit well, giving Ospina no chance to save. Newcastle continued to stay on top for the rest of the half, as Blackpool rarely got any chances to score, but they held on to be only 1-0 down at half time. Both teams came out after the break and it seemed to be Blackpool who looked better off, as Hedger's words must have done something but Blackpool still couldn't hit the target. Newcastle continued to hold onto their narrow lead, before Blackpool made a triple change, hoping for something. Jonathan Woodgate, Jeffren and Ludovic Sylvestre were all brought off for Ian Evatt, dos Santos and Edu Bedia respectively. The change worked to immediate effect as Chris Wood finally drew Blackpool back level as Brack's ball took a deflection of Spence only to pop up for the New Zealand striker who somehow put it in from an impossible angle and after 65 minutes, it was all level. The next twenty minutes were pretty quiet as Blackpool only had one decent chance, while Newcastle didn't even trouble Ospina at all during that period and the game looked like it was going to be a draw. Goodwillie nearly took the game away from Newcastle though in the 84th minute, before Blackpool won a corner. Adam stepped up and put in a near perfect ball but the defence was definately not good enough as the ball bounced perfectly for substitute, Ian Evatt to hammer it and even though it hit the crossbar, bounced down into the goal and Blackpool had snatched the victory late in the game. Despite some late pressure from Newcastle, Jones and Evatt stood strong to deny Newcastle any chance of an equaliser and Blackpool had won the opening game of the season in front of a 16,000 home crowd.

Charlie Adam was superb picking up the MOTM award, completing 35 passes, including 5 key passes, picking up an assist and taking 4 intercepts and 2 key headers. Jones was also a stand out player for Blackpool as he won 12 of 13 headers, 5 of them key for Blackpool and picking up 8 intercepts. On Newcastle's side, there were no real stand out performers although Jose Enrique worked very hard for the team completing 57 of 64 passes, making 9 intercepts and travelling a total of 10.1km over the course of the game. The win means that Blackpool have won their first league game for the first time since Hedger took over as manager. Phil Jones after the match praised manager, Brendon Hedger, claiming that it was his words at the half-time interval which inspired the team to overturn the deficit and emerge victorious at the final whistle. The Seasiders would now play SV Mattersburg in the Euro Cup qualifier first leg during the week and Lee Hodson should make a return for that match.

 

[JBlues08]

Why not choose the 'Split View' option to have the 'Overview' on one side and the 'Match Stats' on the other? Save space.

 

[hedger_14]

Good idea, I'll do that now

 

[hedger_14]

22nd August - Blackpool v SV Mattersburg - Euro Cup 4th Qualifying Round​

Blackpool would play the first leg at home so they would need to win today to give themselves the best chance of progressing to the group stages of the Euro Cup. There are no injury news for Blackpool apart from DJ Campbell out with a broken leg while SV Mattersburg will be without Kascelan, Sitoe and Berisha for the match but Blackpool will have to watch out for young striker, Tiago Alves who is on loan from Real Madrid. Blackpool are even favourites to win this match so it should be a comfortable win for them.


Blackpool:

GK: William Caballero

DL: Tarik Brack
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Craig Cathcart
DR: Neal Eardley

ML: Israel
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
MR: Giovani dos Santos

ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Chris Wood

Subs: David Ospina, Lee Hodson, Ian Evatt, Jonathan Woodgate, Edu Bedia, James McFadden, Jeffren


SV Mattersburg:

GK: Jurgen Riegler

DL: Alfred Wernig
DC: Antoine van der Linden (C)
DC: Peter Ban
DR: Josef Steinbacher

ML: Leon Benko
MC: Markus Grabher
MC: Philipp Schuster
MR: Tim Vincken

ST: Tiago Alves
ST: Patrick Burger

Subs: Alfred Beck, Marko Kostic, Nermin Pirker, Stefan Almer, Edson Sitoe, Josef Leitner, Daniel Vujic


Blackpool started the match off well with Charlie Adam getting a good opportunity to score but failing to hit the target before Goodwillie put Israel in behind the defence but the angle was too tight for the winger and all he could do was hit the side netting. Goodwillie should have definately opened the scoring though in the 30th minute when he broke through the defence but the shot was very wayward and went high into the stands. They finally got on the board though in the 36th minute when Adam put Goodwillie onto a good ball who cut it back for Chris Wood who finished it off nicely to put Blackpool up 1-0. SV Mattersburg were sinking without a trace though when Charlie Adam added to the lead 5 minutes later after Israel put the ball back to him to curl in the top corner. That was all the scoring though for the first half as Blackpool went into the break 2-0 up and in complete control.

Edu Bedia came on for Ludovic Sylvestre after the half time break and he would be hoping to make an impact early on. Blackpool didn't go all out as they did in the first half and SV Mattersburg nearly hit back when Burgers' header hit the post. Craig Cathcart was taken off in the 66th minute in place of Ian Evatt hoping to keep the opposition scoreless and have a mountain to climb going into the second leg. The rest of the game was very quiet though as neither team could create many chances as Jeffren came on as a late substitute. Goodwillie had a couple of late chances to get his name on the scoresheet but he couldn't and Blackpool came out 2-0 victors in the opening leg and would definately be favourites going into the second leg.

Charlie Adam took another MOTM award thanks to his goal but also made 3 key passes, made 3 runs and took 2 intercepts to complete another great game for the central midfielder, while Wood was strong in the air winning 13 of 16 headers to add to his goal in a vital performance and Jones was again superb at the back not missing a tackle, including 2 key tackles and winning 10 of 10 headers to cap off a stunning performance. It was a great performance all-round though nobody really let them down. None of the SV Mattersburg players' really made a huge impact and that was what let them down the most, you would think with the players needing to step up on such occassions. Blackpool will now travel away to Tottenham for their next Premier League match in 3 days time.

 

[hedger_14]

25th August - Tottenham v Blackpool - Premier Division​

Tottenham had started their season off well with a win on the road against a tough Arsenal side to give them a huge amount of confidence, while Blackpool was also looking to get on a roll after a narrow win against Newcastle and then defeating SV Mattersburg in the Euro Cup a few days ago. The two teams have met 6 times since 2010, 3 of them resulting in draws and Tottenham winning 2, while Blackpool has only beaten Tottenham once in those 6 encounters, despite being a comfortable 3-0 win but they would be looking to make it the first win on the road to Tottenham in that period. Tottenham go into the game as favourites not surprisingly but I could see Blackpool pulling off an upset if they play well. Tottenham's Niko Kranjcar would be doubtful for the game while the only news for Blackpool was that they were again without striker, DJ Campbell. Blackpool went in with the same starting XI that they did against Newcastle apart from Ian Evatt being brought in for Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Hodson coming in for Neal Eardley, although Grandin gets a spot on the bench instead of Israel. James McFadden will be playing his 75th game for Blackpool today. For Tottenham, Edin Dzeko was left out of the starting XI again but would be looking to make an impact off the bench if he gets a chance, but Blackpool will have to watch out for Jermaine Defoe who scored the winning goal against Arsenal and maybe he is in for a better season having only scored 2 goals over the past 2 seasons.


Tottenham:

GK: Gomes

DL: Emiliano Moretti
DC: Michael Dawson
DC: Younes Kaboul
DR: Vedran Corluka

ML: Royston Drenthe
MC: Wilson Palacios
MC: Borja Valero
MR: Aaron Lennon

ST: Jermaine Defoe
ST: Rasmus Jonsson

Subs: Howard Barnes, Edin Dzeko, David Bentley, Alan Hutton, Peter Crouch, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Ledley King


Blackpool:

GK: David Ospina

DL: Tarik Brack
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Lee Hodson

ML: James McFadden
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
MR: Jeffren

ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Chris Wood

Subs: Wilfredo Caballero, Neal Eardley, Craig Cathcart, Jonathan Woodgate, Edu Bedia, Elliot Grandin, Giovani dos Santos


Tottenham got off to a good start winning a corner early on and Ospina was put to the test when a powerful header was hit at him but he stood strong and hit it on to the crossbar before it was cleared. Both sides created a number of chances over the next 30 minutes and Goodwillie could have had at least 2 goals but Wood nearly got his name on the scoresheet with a powerful effort, only to be saved by Gomes. Goodwillie had the perfect opportunity to score though minutes before half time when he was free on goal but somehow managed to miss. A very entertaining first half came to an end though with the scores still level and I don't think either team could be too disappointed with that scoreline.

Dzeko off the bench though set up Jermaine Defoe for a simple goal just under 10 minutes into the half to open the scoring although it looked very tight and the linesman may have made the wrong decision. Dzeko nearly got his name on the scoresheet when he headed the ball in from 5 metres but he was clearly offside and the goal was disallowed, while Edu Bedia was brought on for Charlie Adam. Giovani dos Santos was brought on for Chris Wood with just over 20 minutes to go and Blackpool nearly fell further behind when McFadden gave away a penalty, only for Dzeko to hit the post and Evatt was brought off for Woodgate. Despite all efforts from Blackpool, they failed to equalise and Goodwillie probably should have scored with numerous chances, Tottenham going home 1-0 victors.

Michael Dawson took the MOTM award with a stunning match defensively, winning 8/8 tackles, 3 key headers and making two intercepts although the rest of the backline contributed heavily. Lee Hodson and Charlie Adam were the key performers for Blackpool, Hodson taking 11 intercepts and winning 2 key headers, travelling over 10km as well, while Adam made 4 key passes, won all 3 tackles that he had attempted and picked up 2 intercepts before being subbed in the 60th minute. Goodwillie was one of the poorest players on the pitch as he had 5 shots on goal, 3 of which were on target but still failed to find the net and probably should have on at least 2 of those occassions. Blackpool would now need to bounce back for the second leg of the Euro Cup qualifier against SV Mattersburg, away from home.

 

[hedger_14]

29th August - SV Mattersburg v Blackpool - EURO Cup 4th Qualifying Round (2nd Leg)​

Blackpool would go to Austria with a 2-0 aggregate lead over SV Mattersburg and would be firm favourites to progress despite being away from home, with Mattersburg needing a 3 goal win to go through or a 2-0 win to force the game into extra time. Blackpool would go in with not quite a full strength side, resting a few of their key men but it would still be a tough side to beat.


SV Mattersburg:

GK: Alfred Berisha

DL: Alfred Wernig
DC: Antoine van der Linden (C)
DC: Edson Sitoe
DR: Josef Steinbacher

ML: Leon Benko
MC: Peter Ban
MC: Mladen Kascelan
MR: Tim Vincken

ST: Tiago Alves
ST: Patrick Burger

Subs: Jurgen Riegler, Stefan Almer, Josef Leitner, Marko Kostic, Markus Grabher, Daniel Vujic, Philipp Schuster


Blackpool:

GK: William Caballero

DL: Mikael Dorsin
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Neal Eardley

ML: Israel
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Edu Bedia
MR: Elliot Grandin

ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Giovani dos Santos

Subs: David Ospina, Lee Hodson, Craig Cathcart, Jonathan Woodgate, Ludovic Sylvestre, Jeffren, Chris Wood


It didn't take Blackpool to extend their lead when Grandin scored within 3 minutes, after a beautiful long distance strike on the back of a good Charlie Adam pass and SV Mattersburg would now need 4 goals to win. Blackpool continued to pose a threat to the opposition defence and Goodwillie finally broke through just after the 20 minute mark and his finish showed what skills he was capable of, leaving the keeper no chance. Blackpool put the game beyond doubt when Israel played a pass in for a simple tap in for Giovani dos Santos. Kascelan pulled one back just before half time though after a lapse in concentration from the defence.

Disaster struck for Blackpool 10 minutes into the second half though when the skipper, Charlie Adam was forced off with an injury. Blackpool didn't have the touch they had in the first half and Burger pulled another goal back after 67 minutes and Blackpool made a double change with Cathcart and Wood coming on for Evatt and dos Santos. Goodwillie got himself on the scoresheet again hammering it into the top of the net after receiving a superb pass from Edu Bedia. Cathcart added insult to injury on the 85th minute when he converted Sylvestre's free kick which picked him out perfectly and Blackpool led 5-2, and 7-2 on aggregate. It wasn't over quite yet though when Wood on as a substitute tapped in a cross from Goodwillie on 88 minutes. Blackpool ended up 6-2 winners, completely dominating their lowly opposition and will progress to the EURO Cup group stages, the only bad news being Charlie Adam's injury.

David Goodwillie not surprisingly took the MOTM award with 2 goals and an assist. He made 4 key passes, won 5 of 7 headers and made 2 intercepts and runs as well to cap off an excellent performance. It was a real team effort though and noone really let them down at all. Kascelan put in a hard working performance for SV Mattersburg and without him, the result could have been a lot worse, as he scored a goal, completed 3 crosses, worked hard in defence winning 4 tackles, taking 3 intercepts and making 2 runs, while the skipper, van der Linden really let them down with a match rating of 4.1 unable to make an impact at all.

 

[hedger_14]

1st September - Blackpool v Blackburn - Premier Division​

Blackburn are still looking for their first win of the season, after going down to Sunderland and Arsenal in previous fixtures while Blackpool are coming off an emphatic 6-2 win over SV Mattersburg a few days back, while Blackburn did win in the league cup earlier in the week as well, so both sides have had not much time to rest. The odds are pretty even, Blackpool going in slight favourites, probably due to the home advantage they have, but Blackburn have had a horrible run against Blackpool not winning in their last 6 encounter, although 3 times have resulted in draws. Charlie Adam was fine to play while Edu Bedia's fine form during the week earnt him a spot in the starting XI, with Sylvestre on the bench and dos Santos was brought back onto the right wing with Wood and Goodwillie partners up front. Christopher Samba will make his 225th appearance for Blackburn today, while Kalinic is playing in his 100th game. Will Kevin Strootman and Ross McCormack make their debut off the bench today though? This is going to be a good game but Blackpool should come out on top.


Blackpool:

GK: William Caballero

DL: Tarik Brack
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Lee Hodson

ML: James McFadden
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Edu Bedia
MR: Giovani dos Santos

ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Chris Wood

Subs: David Ospina, Neal Eardley, Craig Cathcart, Jonathan Woodgate, Ludovic Sylvestre, Jeffren, Elliot Grandin


Blackburn:

GK: Paul Robinson

DL: Petar Zanev
DC: Gael Givet
DC: Christopher Samba
DR: Brett Emerton

MC: Herold Goulon
MC: Steven N'Zonzi

AMC: Morten Gamst Pederson
AMC: David Dunn
AMC: Vladimir Weiss

ST: Nikolo Kalinic

Subs: Jason Brown, Kevin Strootman, Andrew Surman, Martin Paterson, Jose Fonte, Ross McCormack, Vasyl Kobin


Blackburn started the game positively as Gamst Pederson ran through and put the ball in the back of the net, only to be called offside and rightly so. The match went quiet for the next 15 minutes though before Goodwillie attempted a thunderous drive off a Charlie Adam pass and Robinson could only watch as it flew into the top of the goal and Blackpool were up 1-0, and Goodwillie had opened his account in the Premier League this season. McFadden nearly extended that lead half an hour in when he broke through the defensive line but could only find the side netting with his shot. McFadden again nearly had himself a goal when he chipped the ball over the keeper but it hit the post and Wood was in the right position at the right time as he headed the ball home, Givet not getting a good bounce. Blackburn had a few chances on the counter later in the half to pull back the deficit but The Seasiders hung on to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Blackburn came out with positive intent but the Blackpool defence was hard to crack and Goodwillie nearly extended their lead when he found himself with some space but the ball cannoned back off the post. 60 minutes in though, Blackburn hit them on the break and it was Gamst Pederson who finished off a lovely Blackburn move and put them back in the game at 2-1. Sylvestre and Jeffren were brought on about 70 minutes in with Charlie Adam and Giovani dos Santos starting to look tired. Blackpool manager, Hedger was seen screaming though when poor defence cost Blackpool their lead as Paterson coming off the bench equalised for Blackburn. Grandin was given a run with 15 minutes to go with Ludovic Sylvestre coming off hoping to do something. Time was running out for Blackpool to regain the lead and they won a corner with 5 minutes to go. Sylvestre swung the corner in and it was Ian Evatt who brought the house down when his header was hit hard and low and despite taking a small deflection by the man on the post, it went in and Blackpool were up 3-2 with minutes remaining. Blackpool held on though and Jeffren nearly penalised Blackburn more when his shot was saved well by Robinson, and with seconds remaining, there was no rush to take the corner and the final whistle was blown, Blackpool coming out 3-2 winners at Bloomfield Road but there were some issues with the Blackpool defence which would need to be addressed before their next match.

Ian Evatt took the MOTM award, although much thanks to the winning goal he scored, but was strong in defence most of the time, taking 10 intercepts and winning 3 key headers in the air. Chris Wood was strong up front scoring a goal and winning 10 of 11 headers and making two intercepts but it was a good all-round performance and noone really let them down. David Dunn and Steven N'Zonzi were two of the better players for Blackburn, Dunn completing 4 key passes, winning 3 tackles and setting up a goal while N'Zonzi completed 5 key passes, won 2 headers and took 3 intercepts. Neither team had any players who did really poorly but both teams could lift as a whole going into future matches. Blackpool now has a much easier run, going away to Coventry before coming back to Bloomfield Road to play Middlesbrough and then have to play Cardiff in the League Cup followed by Fulham away from home.

 

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EURO Cup Gr. Stage Groups Drawn​

The EURO Cup groups for the group stage have been drawn today and Blackpool will join Turkish club Galatasaray, Russian Dinamo Moscow and Latvian club, FK Ventspils. Galatasaray is predicted to finish first in Group E while Blackpool and Dinamo Moscow will probably be fighting it out for second and Ventspils will need to do a huge job to come away with anything from the group. Group D will be one of the toughest groups to progress in, with Valencia, Bursaspor, Aalborg and Dnipro making up that group while Group H is also one of the better groups with English team Sunderland joining PSG, Hannover in Young Boys in that group. Here are all of the groups. Group B consisting of Anderlecht, Braga, FC Utrecht and Zurich is also set to be a closely contested group.

Group A: Benfica, Atlanta, Metalurg Zp, M. Tel-Aviv
Group B: Anderlecht, Braga, FC Utrecht, Zurich
Group C: Zenit, Deportivo, Banska Bystrika, Anorthosi
Group D: Valencia, Bursaspor, AaB, Dnipro
Group E: Galatasaray, Blackpool, Dinamo Moscow, Ventspils
Group F: At. Madrid, Toulouse FC, Kasimpasa, Motherwell
Group G: Olympiakos, Unirea Urziceni, RC Lens, Stab?k
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Sunderland, Hannover, Young Boys
Group I: OM, Spartak Moscow, Vorskia, CSKA (Sofia)
Group J: Stuttgart, PSV, Maritimo, SK Rapid Wien
Group K: Villareal, Aris, Lokomotiv Moscow, Aberdeen
Group L: CSKA Moscow, Dortmund, Trabzonspor, Br?ndby

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Tarik Brack Out with Injury​

The news that Tarik Brack would miss up to a month with injury would really hurt Blackpool, meaning he would miss at least 4 games, and the match against Fulham would be the earliest possible return date otherwise he would probably be available for the EURO Cup match against Ventspils during the week or the huge Premier League clash with Man Utd that weekend. The 18 year old suffered a broken rib during Holland U19's 2-1 victory over Russia U19, Brack very solid at the back for them before being injured very late in the game. The injury is a big blow to Blackpool although Hedger declined to comment on the subject. Meanwhile, Jones put in a solid performance as the skipper of the England U21 side helping his team keep a clean sheet against a not so strong Estonian side, as they won 3-0.

 

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24th September - Coventry v Blackpool - Premier Division​

Coventry sat in 18th place going into this game and people would want to know how they managed to be favourites against the classy Blackpool who have been in the top half of the Premier League since joining in 2010. Coventry would be without Danny Simpson and Nabir El Zhar with Marc Tierney doubtful while DJ Campbell and Tarik Brack would be the only players missing from the Blackpool squad. Dorsin in for Brack was the only change Blackpool made to their team against Blackpool, Caballero playing in his 275th career appearance. Daniel Pacheco meanwhile would be the key threat for Coventry, the striker already having scored 2 goals in 3 matches this season but they will need a huge team effort to overcome a solid Blackpool side.


Coventry:

GK: Tom Heaton

DL: Andrew Taylor
DC: Richard Wood
DC: Zhivko Zelev
DR: Martin Cranie

ML: Shaun Maloney
MC: Tom Cairney
MC: Gary Deegan
MR: Paul Green

ST: Jay Rodriguez
ST: Daniel Pacheco

Subs: Keiren Westwood, Oscar Vega, Admir Vladavic, Danny Batth, Sjoerd Ars, Hal Robson-Kanu, Calum Davenport


Blackpool:

GK: William Caballero

DL: Mikael Dorsin
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Lee Hodson

ML: James McFadden
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Edu Bedia
MR: Giovani dos Santos

ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Chris Wood

Subs: David Ospina, Neal Eardley, Craig Cathcart, Jonathan Woodgate, Ludovic Sylvestre, Jeffren, Elliot Grandin


Deegan didn't take long to get his name in the book, receiving a yellow card after pulling on Chris Wood's shirt and McFadden nearly opened the scoring in the 8th minute put onto a beautiful Goodwillie ball but Heaton stood up and made the save. Blackpool really looked on top though as they had a number of chances to score but Coventry were holding on. Giovani dos Santos then found himself in the book with about 10 minutes to go in the half for a shirt pull. Goodwillie should have definately scored on half-time though when they hit Coventry on the counter following a corner, and with the keeper to beat, Goodwillie couldn't get it passed him. The teams went into the break level but Blackpool looked much the better team.

Blackpool came out in the second half and nearly had the opening goal 2 minutes in but some scrambling off the line kept Coventry alive. Blackpool would have been kicking themselves though when Coventry scored against the flow, Cairney's free kick swinging in nicely and Pacheco's header was aimed perfectly into the bottom corner, leaving Caballero no chance. The time continued to pass as Blackpool couldn't get the chances they needed and 61 minutes in, Giovani dos Santos was taken off for Elliot Grandin. Time was running out for Blackpool as they failed to make an impact and going into the final 10 minutes they were still behind. McFadden finally equalised though after Goodwillie put pressure on Crainey who had to rush his clearance from an attacking throw and all he could do was pop it straight up for James McFadden on the edge of the box who blasted it right at Heaton, but he could only touch it on into the goal and Blackpool had equalised. Now with the scores level, Chris Wood was brought off for Ludovic Sylvestre who was slotted into the midfield with James McFadden moving up front. With minutes remaining, Ian Evatt gave away a free kick right on the edge of the box and Coventry had the chance to take back the victory but Crainey hit it straight at the wall and the ball was cleared up field. Blackpool were the ones who snatched the victory though on the 90th minute when Goodwillie found himself on the edge of the box on the end of an Edu Bedia ball and he decided to have a crack and blasted it into the top of the goal, leaving Heaton no chance and Blackpool had managed to take a victory from nowhere. Evatt managed to get himself booked late in the game though in a needless challenge but Blackpool came out 2-1 winners and the Coventry fans couldn't believe it.

James McFadden had a great game for Blackpool picking up the MOTM award, working so hard, travelling 13km, completing 2 key passes, winning 5/5 tackles, taking 2 intercepts and making 2 runs to go with the very important late goal he scored to level things up. Ian Evatt was solid in defence as he continues to be in the managers good books, keeping Cathcart and Woodgate out of the starting XI, as he made 1 key pass, winning 8 of 10 headers, 4 of them key for the team, and taking 3 intercepts but most of the team contributed in some way. For Coventry, it was Daniel Pacheco who stood out who added another goal to his yearly tally after scoring 29 goals in the Championship last season, and also completed 19/20 passes, won 4 headers and made 3 runs, troubling the Blackpool defence and had he more support, probably could have had another couple of goals. Hedger commented on the team's comeback after the game, "The team have kept their heads up on numerous occassions this season and pushing the opposition all the way and have got the results because of this. In previous seasons, the team was falling off in the second half although made it up with the defence but this season, we hope to be different and prove to be a constant threat for the full 90 minutes, and we don't want complacency to creep into our game." The win moves Blackpool up to third on the ladder behind Tottenham and Arsenal but the season was only 4 games old so there's still a long way to go.