FM11: Blackpool - A New Era

[JBlues08]

A good run of results there and shame you couldn't get a win at the Bernabeau. Otherwise, you would still have a chance to finish top. Nonetheless, it's still a great achievement to qualify for the KO stages.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool December Update​

6th December - Blackpool v Blackburn - Premier Division

We were pretty unlucky not to come away with all 3 points after being the much better side. Giovani dos Santos didn't have a lot of luck in front of goal but you would have to give credit to the Blackburn defense especially Bosingwa and Samba as well as Robinson in goal. Jones had a very good game for us winning nearly everything in the air and making some crucial interceptions. Evatt and Hodson were strong as well at the back.

10th December - Blackpool v Feyenoord - Champions Cup

In the end, the result in this game wouldn't have mattered as Real Madrid beat Benfica but at the time, we were needing a win. Grandin opened the scoring within 20 minutes but Feyenoord quickly fought back with 2 goals in the space of 10 minutes to go 2-1 up into the break but Chris Wood finally equalised early in the second half and 2-2 was how it remained at full-time. Elliot Grandin was probably our best player although Leroy Fer picked up the MOTM award from their team. Benfica's loss meant we finished 2nd behind Real Madrid, undefeated in the group stage despite only winning one game.

13th December - Swansea v Blackpool - Premier Division

It should have been an easy win against Swansea and Phil Jones made it look that way with his first goal of the season with a well directed header on 5 minutes. It wasn't looking good though when Ched Evans equalised on the half-hour mark before Andrew Davies gave Swansea the lead just after the break. David Goodwillie was gifted probably the easiest goal of the century as a mixup between Richards and the goalkeeper ended up with Richard pushing it away from the goalkeeper before the two just stood and watched for a few seconds before Goodwillie tapped it into the open net. We really needed a win though and it was Goodwillie who gave us the win with a 91st minute goal on the back of a good N'Zonzi ball in behind the defence for the Scottish striker to finish off.

20th December - Blackpool v West Ham - Premier Division

We would hope to continue our run back at home against West Ham and it was David Goodwillie who gave us an early lead, Stewart Downing picking up the assist. We really dominated the game with all the attacking opportunities but we couldn't convert them into more goals but we held out for an important 1-0 win and go top of the table for the first time this season.

23rd December - Blackpool v Aston Villa - Premier Division

It was always going to be a tough match playing Aston Villa even at Bloomfield Road and they showed us that after an even first half when they took the lead after 50 minutes through Gabby Agbonlahor. Goodwillie scored his 4th goal in the space of 3 matches though as he smashed home a Grandin cross which Hennessey could do nothing about. N'Zonzi had only shown glimpses of quality this season but he seemed to be there when needed and a superb pass gave Rodrigo a 92nd minute winner to steal the game from Aston Villa, and our perseverance payed off.

27th December - Blackpool v Birmingham - Premier Division

It was our 5th capacity crowd in a row pretty much with the West Ham game bringing in just short of the capacity 20,000 but the stupid board don't think there is enough evidence of the fanbase expanding in the future so they won't let us build a new stadium even though we do have a fair amount of money in the bank and our average attendance just under 19,000 for the season. Anyway, a strong Birmingham defence held us to a 0-0 draw despite taking control of the match as we had 21 shots to Birmingham's 10 but we could just not find the back of the net but another great month, as we stretch our unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions, last losing to Newcastle in the League Cup.

Premier League

Another great month puts us in first place by a point to Man City and Arsenal after 20 games but that's about it with Man Utd sitting 7 points behind City and Arsenal but the battle for fourth is heating up with Man Utd, Tottenham, Everton and Sunderland separated by 2 points. Leicester are currently in last with Swansea in front of them by 5 points but sit 3 points behind Fulham and West Brom, West Brom above the drop because of goal difference but it will be interesting to see who goes down by the end of the season. Here is the league table going into new year.

Champions League

We probably had the best draw of the second placed teams following our second place finish in the group stage, going up against FC Porto in the first knockout stages but it will definately be tough to progress beyond the first round, but we'll do our best. Here was the group table.

 

[JBlues08]

Congrats on your progression to the KO stages there and it's amazing to qualify by winning just 1 game and drawing the other 5!

And top of the league table of 20 games, nice! If only you have beaten Blackburn and Birmingham, you will be 5 points clear.

By the way, who is managing Chelsea now anyway?

 

[hedger_14]

Leonardo is managing Chelsea atm. So far in the premier league, he's won 2 matches, 1-0 wins against West Brom (H) and Fulham (A), drew Newcastle at home 0-0 and lost 1-0 to Everton at home.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool January Update​

3rd January - Blackpool v Nottm Forest - FA Cup 3rd Rnd

It was a game we should have been winning and I made a number of changes to my side as I tried out a few players. Jordi Alvarez finally scored his first career goal when he gave us the lead on 7 minutes. Nelson Oliveira then added a double, 2 of the easiest goals he would ever score, the first resulting from a Charlie Adam free kick which rebounded for Oliveira to score a tap in before late in the second half, dos Santos' shot was saved straight into the path of Nelson Oliveira who had the goal at his mercy, as we took a deserved 3-0 win.

6th January - Arsenal v Blackpool - Premier Division

We confirmed the signing of Bojan on loan from Barcelona for the season in a deal worth 925k with an agreed price of 5M to make the deal permanent. He lived up to those expectations early when he scored in the 5th minute when Goodwillie put him in on goal and a slight deflection off the defender resulted in the goal. Downing then swung in a cross which dos Santos put home 10 minutes later and we were up 2-0 away to Arsenal. Robin van Persie pulled one back though in the 19th minute through a free kick but Goodwillie extended our lead again when Adam stole the ball from Fabregas before setting up the Scottish striker for yet another goal. Goodwillie was in everything as he set up dos Santos for his second goal in the 31st minute and we were up 4-1 on the half-hour mark. van Persie pulled one back before half-time and Walcott scored on the hour mark but we held out for a memorable 4-3 win, dos Santos picking up the MOTM award although Goodwillie would have been disappointed not to have after scoring 1 goal and setting up 2.

10th January - Blackpool v Tottenham - Premier Division

We were happy to announce the future transfer of young centre-half, Michele Romano who will join on a free transfer from Italian club, Brescia at the end of the season when his contract runs out. The Italian 18 year old is touted to be the next Fabio Cannavaro but will have to work hard to live up to those expectations. He is an extremely quick back with good pace and great acceleration which is something a lot of central defenders lack. The match against Tottenham wasn't going to be easy and a draw would have probably been a fair result, only for Rodrigo to score in the 93rd minute when Goodwillie snuck the ball in behind the opposition defence and Rodrigo finished to score his 12th goal of the season. This was the third time over the past month, Blackpool had secured a winner in stoppage time and this was what Hedger said, "The players know to play until the final whistle. The game isn't over until the final whistle is blown and this mentality is paying off as we have gained vital points in the table through stoppage time goals."

18th January - Man City v Blackpool - Premier Division

The less said about this match, the better. Jones got us off to a flying start with a goal from a set play but Tevez responded instantly before Schelotto took the lead for City after 20 minutes. The match was in the balance up until half-time but when Tarik Brack was sent off, the game changed and the scoreline was made to look worse when searching for an equalising goal as Destro scored two late goals to secure a 4-1 win for Man City which also took them ahead of us on the ladder, on goal difference.

25th January - Blackpool v Man Utd - Premier Division

We needed to rebound from the loss against Man City the previous week but we felt much more confident at Bloomfield Road where another capacity crowd rolled in. It didn't look good though when Valencia scored early to give Man Utd the lead but Charlie Adam made sure the lead didn't last long when a ball was floating around in the box and Adam smashed it past Asenjo to equalise. United were playing the better football but we were defending well and our determination payed off when Charlie Adam put Goodwillie who had come off the bench, in behind the defence who drew a penalty from Vidic, the referee with no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Charlie Adam stepped up and smashed it into the top left corner, leaving Asenjo no chance as he scored his second goal and gave us a 2-1 lead. We held onto that lead to take a extremely vital win in our race for the title, still behind Man City on goal difference.

Premier League

The race for the title was heating up with ourselves and Man City on 53 points but they hold a significant goal difference advantage. Arsenal sit 6 points behind us, and Sunderland and Liverpool a further 3 points behind. Man Utd's loss cost them as they dropped to 6th and Tottenham, Everton, Chelsea and West Ham round off the top 10. Leicester seem destined for relegation on only 14 points and 4 points behind Fulham, West Brom and Swansea in a battle to evade the drop. Peterborough and Birmingham aren't much above with a loss meaning they could fall into the relegation zone but Wolves sit 6 points ahead of Birmingham meaning they are safe for the time being.

 

[ARay]

Good stuff Hedger! I should say quite an upset!

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool February Update​

1st February - Blackburn v Blackpool - FA Cup 4th Rnd

It wasn't looking good, 1-0 down at half-time but the team responded well as Giovani dos Santos changed the game. We drew back level on 67 minutes when Grandin's cross was spilt by Robinson and dos Santos was there to hit it home. Giovani dos Santos was too hot to handle and a careless challenge from Gael Givet on the Mexican winger gave the referee no option but to point to the spot and Charlie Adam who had come off the bench scored his 3rd goal in 2 matches as he converted the penalty to give us a 2-1 win and keep our FA Cup hopes alive.

4th February - Blackpool v Liverpool - Premier Division

Liverpool were the slightly better the team to start the game and it wasn't surprising to see Bryan Ruiz open the scoring in the 27th minute but the half-time break brought the confidence back into the team as we were much better in the second half as Cathcart levelled things up 10 minutes into the second half, as a perfectly placed corner from Charlie Adam resulted in yet another goal from set plays. A beautiful phase of football finally gave us a deserved win as Bojan finally put Downing through on goal and he finally scored his second goal of the season, after having last scored back against Man City in September. We held on for the win to keep up with Man City in the title race.

7th February - Everton v Blackpool - Premier Division

We were having a habit of falling behind in games and it was no different this match as Benitez opened the scoring right on half-time. Our good 2nd half form continued though as Goodwillie found the net for the first time since the Arsenal victory, Chris Wood getting the assist off the bench. We tried finding a winner but in the end, we had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

14th February - Fulham v Blackpool - Premier Division

Dembele took the lead early on with a 6th minute goal to put us in a position we were very familiar with as we had conceded the first goal in the last 5 matches. Goodwillie pulled back level though 10 minutes later when he stole the ball from Hamalainen inside the box and he easily finished to bring the scores level at 1-1. Fulham learnt the hard way not to leave Craig Cathcart unmarked on set plays as Charlie Adam picked out the free man at the far post from a free kick and Cathcart slotted it home for his 3rd goal this season. Normally it was us scoring stoppage time goals to win games but this time it was Fulham who secured a point in the 94th minute following a deflection off Jones from Dembele's cross which set up Kljestan for a simple goal from 10 yards and we had to settle for a point.

18th February - Blackpool v Porto - Champions Cup 1st KO Round - 1st Leg

This was the match everyone anticipated. We knew the importance of getting a result at home and Boateng sent the fans into a frenzy when his shot from the edge of the box deflected in off the crossbar. It should have been 2-0 after 57 minutes but a corner was deflected twice off the line in the space of 5 seconds and Porto hit us on the counter and Falcao capped off an incisive break away and instead, it was 1-1. Despite our attempts at taking back the lead, we had to settle for a draw and now we needed to beat Porto away from home or score goals and draw the game.

22nd February - Tottenham v Blackpool - FA Cup 5th Rnd

It wasn't the best draw for us, having to go up against Tottenham away from home and the downpour made it even more miserable on the sideline. Elliot Grandin found the back of the net though only 25 minutes into the game and things were looking good. Tottenham got lucky in the second half as Corluka smashed the ball against the post in the 50th minute and it rolled along the line before finally getting over the line and Tottenham had the equaliser. I couldn't say I was a fan of replaying draws but I fancied our chances back at home and we managed to hold out for the draw. Should we beat Tottenham in the replay, we will face West Brom away from home in the 6th round.

Premier League

Following Man City's 2-1 defeat at West Brom, we only sat a point behind the leaders but Arsenal are closing in, only 2 points behind us in third place. A good month from Man Utd put them back in contention for a top 3 finish, only 3 points behind Arsenal. Chelsea continue to drop down, now in 12th position and we play them in our next match, so we fancy our chances. They have a comfortable gap between them and Newcastle though of 5 points and Newcastle have already played their 28th game while Chelsea have only played 27. West Brom's surprise win against Man City pushed them out of the relegation zone although only just, Fulham in 18th and level on points, while Leicester's chances are as good as gone and you would think Swansea need a win in their next 3 matches if they want to stay in the top tier.


Champions League

It all comes down to the away leg at Porto but we'll go out and do our best. There were a few upsets in the first leg as well in other matches, Sporting CP upstaging Barcelona to win 1-0 but you would think Barcelona would come back to win at Camp Nou. Leverkusen took a 2-1 win against Inter while Fiorentina and Kyiv managed draws against FC Bayern and Lyon respectively.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool March Update​

1st March - Blackpool v Chelsea - Premier Division

I didn't expect anything less than a win so I was annoyed when Chelsea scored in the 17th minute when Gilardino headed home Bertrand's corner. Tarik Brack showed he should be a regular corner taker when he swung one in perfectly and Goodwillie on the far post nodded it home to level things up. It seemed set plays was where the goals were coming from as a corner resulted in Chelsea's second goal Huseklepp getting his name on the scoresheet and we were 2-1 down going into the break. Adam scored a screamer though in the 51st minute when the ball was only cleared as far as him and his left footed strike found its way into the back of the net. N'Zonzi showed his skills were just as good as Adam's when he found the back of the net 3 minutes later in almost identical fashion. N'Zonzi put the game beyond doubt with a second goal in the 77th minute before Bertrand scored a consolation goal minutes before full-time. Man City's draw against Peterborough meant we had taken top spot again.

4th March - Blackpool v Tottenham - FA Cup 5th Rnd Rep

Phil Jones proved his talents yet again with a MOTM performance to get us over the line, as he scored the opening goal, won 11 headers including 6 key headers and made 3 intercepts. Chris Wood finally broke his goal draught with a goal in the 79th minute before Jonsson pulled one goal back towards the end of the game but we held on to take a 2-1 win.

7th March - Newcastle v Blackpool - Premier Division

A masterclass of attacking football gave us an easy 5-1 win at Newcastle and all it was missing was a David Goodwillie hattrick. Charlie Adam set up Phil Jones for a simple header to give us the lead after 5 minutes. A beautiful ball minutes later from Giovani dos Santos then set up Goodwillie who kept calm and finished well. David Goodwillie scored one of the goals of the season though as he ran across field before curling it in the top right corner and we had a 3-0 lead, also Goodwillie's 20th league goal this season. Newcastle finally found the scoresheet after Evatt conceded a penalty and Taylor stepped up to score his first goal of the season. Goodwillie was very unlucky not to get his hattrick as he hit the woodwork once, had two beautiful shots only to be saved by stunning dives from Barreto. He put in a wonderful long ball though which gave dos Santos a simple goal. dos Santos' pace was too extreme for the Newcastle defence as he was in behind them on the back of a stunning long ball from Charlie Adam and he finished to score his 2nd of the game and 8th of the season, to give us a 5-1 win.

11th March - Porto v Blackpool - Champions Cup 1st KO Round - 2nd Leg

We needed to score at least once in this game to have any chance of progressing but things didn't look good when Porto hit us on the break and Falcao smashed it home from 5 yards out. As much as we looked for that equalising goal, we just couldn't find it and we had crashed out in the first knockout round, going down 2-1 on aggregate but we would learn from this experience and hopefully go further next season.

15th March - West Brom v Blackpool - FA Cup 6th Rnd

Now that we had got to the 6th round of the FA Cup, we would have liked to go all the way and win the competition but it didn't look good when Dorrans opened the scoring within 2 minutes. Bojan equalised soon after though when a brilliant run was rewarded in the equaliser. Monnet-Paquet took back the lead for West Brom though after 17 minutes and we had to come from behind again. Ian Evatt found our second equaliser off a James McFadden corner to put us back on level turns but West Brom took the lead again right on half-time through a precise finish from Dorrans, right in the bottom corner. We tried to find the equaliser in the second half but this year wouldn't bring the FA Cup home as we lost 3-2 but now we only had to focus on the league.

21st March - Blackpool v Sunderland - Premier Division

We were back at home after 3 consecutive matches away from home and the confidence and fluency was back as we scored 2 goals within 20 minutes, Evatt nodding home Charlie Adam's corner for his 2nd goal in as many matches and Bojan put a beautiful ball in behind the defence for David Goodwillie to pick up and slot home 4 minutes later to give Sunderland a very difficult task. We had all the chances though and we would have been a bit disappointed not to have scored more but we took another vital win to keep our position at the top of the table.

Premier League

Man City responded well to their draw at Peterborough as they recorded a 2-1 win away to Blackburn before hammering West Ham 6-0 at home thanks to a hattrick from Destro. Arsenal lost their first game of the month against Blackburn but 2 wins in their other 2 matches this month keeps them up there in 3rd but time is slowly running out for them. Swansea hit back well with a superb month as they took draws against Birmingham at home and Tottenham away before upstaging Man Utd to take a memorable 2-1 win but Fulham's win in their last game this month meant Swansea still sat a point below the drop but they had it all to play for, late in the season. Peterborough's league cup win meanwhile secured them an unlikely spot in Europe.

Transfers

Following a disappointing spell at the club, we confirmed the sale of striker, Nelson Oliveira to Birmingham for a fee of ?7.5M. Without scoring a goal in 9 league games and only 4 in all competions, the club had no choice but to let him go and were happy to pick up the money. He will join his new club in June. Blackpool invested that money in another Benfican striker, Brazilian 19 year old Marcio. He joined for Benfica back in 2013-14 after a couple of years at Corinthians and has scored 11 goals this season with 9 man of the match performances. He has a huge amount of talent and will add a lot of flair to Blackpool's teams in the following seasons. He will join Blackpool at the end of the season for a fee of ?2.5M upfront plus another ?3M over 18 months.

 

[P Squared]

Blackpool in the champions league!!!!! You're a master at this game

 

[hedger_14]

And btw, I forgot to mention that Phil Jones was injured in training before the Sunderland game and will be out for the first 3 games in April. Good news though is that he has no chance of picking up the suspension for 10 yellow cards now

 

[Umair7]

Now blackpool only remain in league hope they win the league

 

[hedger_14]

Would have liked to go further in the Champions League though

 

[JBlues08]

Shame that you couldn't get past Porto. Other than that, you have achieved some great results there. What is the run-in like for the Top 3?

 

[hedger_14]

Well I've already played April but I'm not going to do the update until Wednesday afternoon and I wouldn't mind getting a few more posts cause screenshots are filling up this page a whole lot atm.

Anyway, the top 3.

Blackpool - April:

Wolves (H)
Peterborough (A)
West Brom (A)
Leicester (H)

May:

Blackburn (A)
Swansea (H)
West Ham (A)
Aston Villa (A)


Man City - April:

Tottenham (H)
Man Utd (A)
Birmingham (A)
Liverpool (H)

May:

Chelsea (A)
Sunderland (H)
Wolves (A)
Leicester (H)


Arsenal - April:

Man Utd (H)
Liverpool (A)
Tottenham (A)
Chelsea (H)

May

Sunderland (A)
Wolves (H)
Leicester (A)
Swansea (H)

 

[Spoobir]

Wow you have the easiest run by far! Taking the title should be a walk