FM11: Blackpool - A New Era

[hedger_14]

So the season is underway and Blackpool kick off their season in the Community Shield against Sunderland. Who would win though in a nailbiting encounter? Which debutant manages to find the scoresheet and who had a game to forget? Find out in the August update coming tomorrow (probably).

 

[hedger_14]

Also forgot to mention that Porto went on to win the Champions League last season Beat Real Madrid on away goals in the Qtr Final, then came back from a 1-0 defeat at Leverkusen to win 7-2 at home to progress to the final where they played Barcelona. The game was a 0-0 draw but Porto won on penalties.

 

[Bevab]

Its actually a honour to lose to the team that wins the CL, especially when you put up a hard fight and when you have a team of lower quality.

Care to post Porto's squad?

And congrats on winning the league. BTW, what is your position in the information screen? Legend, Icon, Favoured personnal?

 

[JBlues08]

2nd May, whatever year

You have a match on that day, no wonder.

Set mine in July and never got them.

 

[hedger_14]

Well I'm updating Icons and legends and stuff regularly so only David Goodwillie from the current squad is an icon. I'm in the favoured personnel though.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool August Update​

9th August - Blackpool v Sunderland - Community Shield

We wanted to get off to a good start with a win in the Community Shield although I still played a few of the youngsters, Romano and Marcio thrown straight into the side while Bebe got a start on the left wing with Salomon Kalou on the bench. The first half was a pretty even affair but 3 changes within the hour mark from our team was the catalyst for everything as it was a match for the subs. Bilyaletdinov who had come off the bench for Sunderland opened the scoring in the 61st minute with a beautiful strike. Kalou won a corner for us though and Giovani dos Santos' cross picked out Michele Romano in the centre who headed the ball onto the crossbar but it bounced straight down and just crossed the line, a goal for Romano on debut. Grandin and Goodwillie were the other players to come off the bench and it was those two who teamed up for the second goal when Grandin put the ball in behind for Goodwillie to smash the ball home and take the lead for Blackpool. Tarik Brack's cross then set up Goodwillie for his double to put the game beyond doubt before Bilyaletdinov added a late consolation goal for Sunderland but we took a 3-2 win in the Community Shield. Bad news though was that Charlie Adam was out for two matches through injury.

15th August - Blackpool v West Brom - Premier Division

We had suffered defeat at the hands of West Brom in our last two meetings but we wouldn't want to repeat that in the first match of the season. The scores were level going into the break though. A beautiful ball from Ludovic Sylvestre and an even better first touch from substitute Chris Wood led to Chris Wood's first league goal in over 12 months and our first goal of the season. Things went from bad to worse though for West Brom when a two footed challenge from Youssuf Mulumbu left the referee no option but to send him off and West Brom were down to ten men. Hodson's free kick from halfway was perfect and Salomon Kalou put in a diving header to give us a 2-0 lead and it was a goal on league debut for Kalou. West Brom had very little chance of getting back into the game 2 goals down and 1 man down so we relaxed a little and settled for a 2-0 win on matchday 1.

22nd August - Wolves v Blackpool - Premier Division

A battle between the top two managers in England last year but Blackpool were still strong favourites following Wolves 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa the previous week. Charlie Adam's injury meant that Phil Jones was captain for the second week in a row and he led from the front when he opened the scoring, off Sylvestre's corner. Wolves didn't give up though but some strong defence held them out and an incisive breakaway and a beautiful cross from substitute, Stewart Downing gave Giovani dos Santos his first goal of the season and a 2-0 win to make it 2 from 2 this season.

29th August - Arsenal v Blackpool - Premier Division

It was always going to be a tough ask to get even a point at Arsenal but we would do our best. Charlie Adam made his way back onto the bench but he still wasn't at full fitness and would probably only make a appearance sometime in the second half. He was called to early though when Sylvestre had to go off injured and Adam made his way onto the field. Arsenal dominated the game but some strong defence and a third clean sheet and second MOTM award for Wilfredo Caballero held Arsenal to a goalless draw as both sides were now undefeated in their first 3 games. Tarik Brack's consistent performances got him second place in the Young Player of the Month and also a callup for Holland for the first time. It will be tough for Blackpool to hold onto him though with a ?9.5M bid from Sevilla turned down on the final day of the transfer window.

Premier League

2 wins and a draw from our opening 3 games had put us in 4th place in the Premier League after the end of August. Everton and Aston Villa were occupying the top two spots after both winning all 3 of their opening games. Arsenal, Blackpool, Chelsea and the surprise package of Peterborough were sitting on 7 points with Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool close behind. Preston's 3-1 win against Wolves meanwhile put them well above the drop while Wolves, Newcastle, West Brom, Wigan and Blackburn were all yet to get off the mark this season, with Tottenham also only one point from their first 3 matches.


Champions League

Somehow we managed to draw Real Madrid in our Champions League group again and we'll do well to progress also up against the Russian giants, CSKA Moscow who were runners up in the EURO Cup last season after losing to At. Madrid. Frankfurt were the other side in Group C and their first appearance in Europe since reaching the first knockout round of the EURO Cup in 2012/13. How far can Blackpool go this year though? Their first match is at home to Frankfurt followed by CSKA Moscow in Russia at the end of the month so they'll be looking for a strong start in those matches.

 

[hedger_14]

Tarik Brack has had a superb start to his international career. He made his international debut in a 3-0 win over Algeria in a friendly with 1 key pass, 1 key header and 4 intercepts with a match rating of 7.3 before being substituted in the 68th minute.

He again started in Netherlands Euro Championship qualifier where he was extremely impressive with 2 assists in Netherlands 7-1 win, a match rating of 9.2 for the wonderkid.

 

[JBlues08]

You bought Kalou?!! Oh my...

Anyway, good start to the season.

 

[hedger_14]

It was too good to turn down at only 4.5M

 

[JBlues08]

It was too good to turn down at only 4.5M

How are his performances and average rating so far?

I never managed him as the first thing I did when I started the Chelsea save was selling him off immediately!

 

[hedger_14]

Well he scored on his league debut with a rating of 7.4. He didn't make a huge impact against Wolves, a rating of 6.9 but didn't do much and he came off the bench in the last 10 minutes against Arsenal so really not a lot of time to do much.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool September Update​

12th September - Blackpool v Everton - Premier Division

A beautiful strike from Steven N'Zonzi gave us an early lead before Gary Cahill failed to clear a ball inside his own box and Goodwillie stole the ball and made him pay as he doubled our lead after 33 minutes. A good cross from Kalou in the second half then gave Giovani dos Santos a simple header to give us a 3-0 lead and surely we couldn't be caught. Rodrigo had been just brought on but it definately wasn't the start he wanted when he scored an own goal off an Everton corner and our lead came under threat when Romano brought down Benitez inside the box and was sent from the field, although his injury suffered minutes prior to the incident meant the ban wouldn't mean much. Macheda stepped up and brought Everton back to only be one goal behind with 20 minutes remaining. We defended well though and even a man short, we managed to hold on for a 3-2 win.

15th September - Blackpool v Frankfurt - Champions Cup

A highly anticipated match to kick off our Champions League fixtures and we would be looking for a win to get off to a good start. It only took 15 minutes to get on the scoresheet, when Ian Evatt played a beautiful long ball for Rodrigo to smash home. Bebe then hit the post before pouncing on the rebound and swinging the cross back in for Rodrigo to add his second of the game just before half-time but we really had put the game beyond doubt right on the stroke of half-time when Rodrigo hit the post only to fall to a beautifully positioned Bebe who found his way onto the scoresheet and the match was all but settled. Rodrigo was brought off in the 65th minute which didn't overly please the fans and neither did the media in the post match press conference but the match was pretty much over by then.

19th September - Fulham v Blackpool - Premier Division

Confidence was sky high after a fantastic start to the season but defeat had to come at some stage and it wasn't good when Fulham hit us on the break and Bakar finished in the bottom right corner to give them the lead. Charlie Adam played a beautiful ball in behind for David Goodwillie to score his second of the season and bring us back on level terms less than half a minute into the second half. A powerful header from Hangeland though off a corner gave Fulham the lead again and despite our attempts to pull back level, we fell to our first defeat of the season, but we probably deserved a point at least from this game.

23rd September - Blackpool v Preston - League Cup 3rd Rnd

A match we were firm favourites to win although it wasn't a good start for James McFadden in his first game of the season as he found his way into the books in the 3rd minute before having to go off injured a few minutes later. Phil Jones opened the scoring for us as he nodded home Charlie Adam's corner to give us the lead twenty minutes in but we took the foot off the pedal after that and just strolled to an easy win although we completely dominated and it could have been quite easily 5-0 rather than only the one goal in it.

26th September - Blackpool v Man Utd - Premier Division

Another capacity ground rolled in for the clash with Man Utd, as we had filled out the ground in every single home match this season. Eyebrows were raised over the signing of Salomon Kalou but he was proving his worth early on as he collected Tarik Brack's throw in before running across field and firing in a strike from 20 yards, straight into the corner of the net and we had taken an early lead. Goodwillie did even better though as he curled one in from 25 yards and we took a 2 goal lead going into the break but could we hold on for a memorable victory at Bloomfield Road. It seemed that way when Rodrigo provided a second assist for the game 2 minutes into the second half and David Goodwillie netted his 4th goal in 3 league games. Rooney tapped in a cross from Valencia to bring a small amount of hope for the Man Utd fans but our defence held strong to take a vital 3-1 win against Man Utd.

30th September - CSKA Moscow v Blackpool - Champions Cup

A trip to Russia to end the month and the players were enjoying their football. Chris Wood opened the scoring just over 20 minutes into the game as he hammered it past Akinfeev. Bebe was really battling hard for a first team position and he wasn't doing much wrong in the few games he had played in cup and continental matches as he put in a cross for David Goodwillie to double our lead. Cathcart put the game beyond doubt on the hour mark with an incisive header from Ivan Fatic's corner and we were 2 from 2 in the Champions league.

Premier League

It was really setting up to be a fantastic season, with the top 7 teams separated by only a point. Arsenal and Chelsea are sitting top of the table with 14 points while we sit in 5th place on 13 points but behind on goal difference to Everton and Sunderland. Wolves are still yet to pick up a point while Newcastle and Wigan are the other two teams sitting in the drop zone. Tarik Brack continued his fine form following his impressive start to his international career as he picked up the Young Player of the Month award with some impressive performances this month.


Champions League

Well it looked like it was only going to be between ourselves and Real Madrid in the champions league as we had both won our opening 2 games and sitting on 6 points, Real Madrid ahead on goal difference with +7 while our goal difference was only +6. Frankfurt and CSKA Moscow are still yet to get off the mark and their match later this month could settle third position unless either side can find some points against Real Madrid or Blackpool. Our match against Real Madrid will be eagerly anticipated by the fans and having drawn 2-2 in both of our games last season after being in front in both, we would be looking to find a win against Real Madrid for the first time at Bloomfield Road.

 

[JBlues08]

Good wins there especially the ones over United and CSKA Moscow. And coincidentally, I'm facing CSKA Moscow away next as well.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool October Update​

3rd October - Newcastle v Blackpool - Premier Division

It was a relatively straight forward match against an underperforming Newcastle side and it wasn't surprising to see Rodrigo open the scoring only 6 minutes in, when David Goodwillie's shot was deflected straight into the path of the Spanish striker. Steven N'Zonzi couldn't believe it though as he managed to put the ball past his own keeper giving Newcastle an equaliser. Phil Jones then headed home Charlie Adam's corner to give us back the lead and Rodrigo put the game beyond doubt when Chris Wood played a classy back heel and Rodrigo picked the ball up and slotted home the finish to give us a 3-1 win.

17th October - Blackpool v Blackburn - Premier Division

Giovani dos Santos showed some individual brilliance early on to give us a lead after half an hour as he ran past 2 defenders before curling one from the edge of the box leaving Robinson no chance. We doubled our lead 10 minutes into the second half when David Goodwillie's shot was deflected off a defender and Chris Wood ran onto the ball and smashed it home for his second league goal this season and we held onto a 2-0 win.

21st October - Blackpool v Real Madrid - Champions Cup

Our toughest match of the season but I was confident we could get a result. Controversy struck after 25 minutes when Sergio Ramos was accused of backing into Downing inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot, and Charlie Adam kept his 100% record from the spot since joining Blackpool, intact. A horrible challenge from Rakitic put Real Madrid in a spot of bother as they went down to 10 man after only 30 minutes. Higuain managed to find an equaliser for Real Madrid not long after though. Despite being down to 10 men, Real Madrid were far the better side and in the end, we had to settle for a 1-1 draw, a decent result to stay unbeaten in the Champions League. The point didn't come cheap though with Chris Wood suffering a fractured skull keeping him out for 2-3 months while Rodrigo would miss up to 3 weeks with a twisted ankle.

24th October - Aston Villa v Blackpool - Premier Division

It was going to be a tough trip to Aston Villa without Chris Wood, Rodrigo, Giovani dos Santos and Ludovic Sylvestre meaning Marcio got his first start for the season. Phil Jones opened the scoring early on, Charlie Adam picking up yet another assist. Marcio scored his first goal for the club when David Goodwillie cut the ball back across for Marcio to put the ball in an open net. Marcio didn't have to wait long to score his second when he scored a beauty from 25 yards right in the top left corner and Aston Villa were sinking without a trace. Necid got lucky for Aston Villa right on half-time when his second attempt hit the inside of the post but rolled in and he put Aston Villa right back in the game just after half-time with a good goal from the edge of the box. We managed to hold Aston Villa out though for a 3-2 win while Marcio was cheated out of the MOTM award by Tomas Necid.

28th October - Blackpool v Brentford - League Cup 4th Rnd

We definately got the easiest draw, home against last placed League 1 team, Brentford. David Goodwillie started after having failed to score in his last 4 games in a search for some goalscoring form and he did so with a goal in the 30th minute. Elliot Grandin added a second before Marcio scored another double and Ian Evatt scored his first goal of the season to put the game beyond all doubt and a 5-0 win was ours.

31st October - Peterborough v Blackpool - Premier Division

Peterborough were flying high in the league much thanks to inspired signing Hatem Ben Arfa who had scored 4 goals in the last 3 matches. We managed to keep him contained though and Marcio gave us the lead after 36 minutes with a nicely directed header off Adam's free kick. N'Zonzi was becoming a great ball winner for Blackpool and his interception led to our second goal as Kalou ran down the right hand side with dos Santos out injured although he nearly blew the chance when with took one touch too many but recovered well to put the ball across to Goodwillie who tapped it home but Kalou still should have passed it a couple of touches earlier. Jones was at the top of his game and added another goal to his season tally already with 4 league goals this season in 10 games.

Premier League

Our great start to the season meant we were sitting top, ahead of Man City on goal difference. Peterborough are still flying high in 5th place while Wolves are still yet to pick up a point and their upcoming matches against Chelsea and Man Utd doesn't improve their chances of that happening anytime soon.

Champions League

CSKA Moscow finally got off the mark with a dominant 5-1 win away to Frankfurt but will still need a miracle to finish in the top 2. Frankfurt look destined for last place still without a point in their opening 3 games and you wouldn't think that they would get anything in the latter half of their European campaign. Real Madrid are still ahead on goal difference but our match in a few days will likely determine who finishes first.

 

[hedger_14]

Will post next update soon but will be a few days until I post the December update.