FM11: Blackpool - A New Era

[hedger_14]

Blackpool November Update​

3rd November - Real Madrid v Blackpool - Champions Cup

It was always going to be a tough trip to Real Madrid but we didn't really expect to lose so heavily to the Spanish giants. Lassana Diarra opened the scoring early before Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo took Madrid out to a 3-0 lead. Gonzalo Higuain added to the lead in the second half to take his goal tally to 9 goals in 4 matches, having scored 5 against CSKA Moscow before scoring one in his last 2 matches and two today. Marcio added a consolation goal but it was a disappointing 4-1 defeat. The one good thing that came from this match though was no bookings.

7th November - Blackpoool v West Ham - Premier Division

We rebounded from the mid-week defeat in Madrid to smash a sorry West Ham 3-0. It took only 2 minutes for Kalou to open the scoring before Hodson set up Charlie Adam for a screamer to double our lead. David Goodwillie was having a good start to his season and he scored another beautiful goal in the last 10 minutes to put the game beyond doubt and a 3-0 win to get our confidence back.

11th November - Blackpool v Preston - Premier Division

The fans were demanding a win over fierce rivals, Preston in the West Lancashire Derby. We dominated the match from start to finish but it took until after half-time for the first goal to be scored when David Goodwillie pounced on a rebound from Charlie Adam's shot and some precise finishing got his name onto the scoresheet. Steven N'Zonzi doubled our lead from a good Stewart Downing cross and it was a comfortable 2-0 win but it could have been a lot worse for Preston.

21st November - Tottenham v Blackpool - Premier Division

David Goodwillie had scored 7 goals for Scotland since the match against Preston, 2 against Albania before slotting in 5 goals away to Lithuania. He couldn't repeat that form against Tottenham though as he went scoreless as Tottenham pulled off a comfortable 2-0 victory with goals to Michael Dawson on the brink of half-time and Alberto Costa added a late goal to deny us any chance of grabbing a late equaliser. We did have enough chances to score though and I was pretty disappointed that we couldn't convert those chances into goals as we suffered our second league defeat of the season.

25th November - Frankfurt v Blackpool - Champions Cup

A win would guarantee us a spot in the knockout stages but it wasn't looking good when Diego Biseswar opened the scoring after 6 minutes. The team responded well though as Bebe, Marcio and Downing all scored before half-time to give us a decisive 3-1 lead going into the second half. We relaxed a little but defended well and held Frankfurt out to secure a top 2 position.

28th November - Blackpool v Liverpool - Premier Division

Our home form was impeccable having won all league matches at Bloomfield Road this season. We were the much better side but we just couldn't convert chances into goals. Our defence held strong though when tested, to make sure we kept another clean sheet before Kalou finally scored a deserved goal just before full-time with a precise finish from the edge of the box. Our defence has been superb this season having only conceded 10 goals in 14 games which is made even better by the inexperience in our back-line with Tarik Brack aged 20, Hodson 24, Jones 23 and Romano 19 with Cathcart 26 as Evatt has been forced out of the lineup to be the fourth choice centre back. Romano picked up the Young Player of the Month award while Tarik Brack continued his great form with third place. Another yellow card for Steven N'Zonzi meanwhile means he will miss one match through suspension although luckily it is our cup match against Leicester which he will be miss.

Premier League

Our loss against Tottenham meant we dropped down to third place but Man Utd are equal on points and have a slightly better goal difference while Man City lead the league after 14 games, one point ahead of us. Liverpool are now 6 points behind us with Arsenal, Sunderland and Everton all one point behind Liverpool. A horrible month for Chelsea with only one win against Wolves along with 3 draws and one loss including a draw home to Wigan and losing to West Brom, meant Chelsea had dropped into the bottom half of the ladder. Preston had a tough month with matches against Blackpool, Arsenal and Everton but a win away to Wigan meant they were still 3 points above the drop. Wolves finally got their season underway with their first points coming through a win against Blackburn. Newcastle and Wigan are the other two teams sitting in the drop zone.


Champions League

Real Madrid have all but sealed their top at the top of the ladder, 3 points ahead of us and a much superior goal difference. Apart from that, the group has been all settled with still one match to play, Blackpool guaranteed second, Moscow 4 points behind us in third and Frankfurt are still yet to get off the mark and it doesn't look any bit more likely, their last match away to Real Madrid.

 

[hedger_14]

fried chicken my life. I had done my December update which was bloody long (9 games) and I fried chickening press search on google. I had over half of it saved (well ready to paste) just in case I lost it but in a last ditch attempt to save anything, I tried copying everything but ended up losing everything so I'm back to nothing. I spent over an hour writing it as well Anyway, I'm not even going to bother. Here are the results. Sorry about it, I'm just not in the mood.

Leicester (H) - 2-1 aet. - LC - Jones, Rodrigo
Chelsea (A) - 4-3 - PRM - Jones(2), dos Santos, Terry o.g.
CSKA Moscow (H) - 3-3 - ECC - Marcio, Cathcart, Bebe
Man City (H) - 1-0 - PRM - dos Santos
Wigan (A) - 4-0 - PRM - Adam, Goodwillie, Rodrigo, Downing
Sunderland (A) - 3-0 - PRM - Kalou(2), Jones
Stoke (H) - 4-0 - PRM - Downing, Goodwillie, N'Zonzi, Adam(pen)
West Brom (A) - 1-0 - PRM - Bebe
Wolves (H) - 4-1 - PRM - Rodrigo, Marcio, Jones, Kalou

Club League Stats after 21 games:

Top Goalscorers:

David Goodwillie - 9
Phil Jones - 8
Salomon Kalou - 7
Giovani dos Santos - 5
Rodrigo - 4
Marcio - 4
Steven N'Zonzi - 3
Charlie Adam - 3

Most Assists:

Charlie Adam - 15
David Goodwillie - 8
Rodrigo - 4
Ludovic Sylvestre - 3
Salomon Kalou - 3

Best Pass R:

Ludovic Sylvestre - 84%
Charlie Adam - 84%
Steven N'Zonzi - 83%
Tarik Brack - 82%
Marcio - 79%
David Goodwillie - 79%
Stewart Downing - 78%
Salomon Kalou - 78%

Most MoM:

Phil Jones - 4
Charlie Adam - 4
Wilfredo Caballero - 3
Michele Romano - 2
Salomon Kalou - 2
Rodrigo - 1
David Goodwillie - 1


League Table:

Champions League Final Table:

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool have confirmed the transfer of 18 year old Spanish midfielder, Othmane Abdellaoui, a talented young midfielder who will likely fill in for Steven N'Zonzi in the defensive role of the centre midfield. He is a good all-round player and will only improve. He will join Blackpool on a free transfer at the end of his contract.

He has massive potential, 3 star CA, 4.5 star PA according to scout reports. And Bebe looks like he'll be moving on a free transfer after turning down my latest contract offer.

 

[Bevab]

He has to improve on his teamwork, although with age it'll get to 15 or 16.

----------

And it might be because you don't have good defensive midfielders in your squad.

 

[JBlues08]

Nine points clear at the top. The title is yours.

So, who you're gonna face this time in the Champions League KO stages?

 

[hedger_14]

So, who you're gonna face this time in the Champions League KO stages?

I was going to post that with my normal update but I was very annoyed so I forgot to. Anyway, I'm playing Zenit in the first KO Round. All the other matches are:

Olympiakos v AC Milan
Werder Bremen v Arsenal
Roma v Real Madrid
Bordeaux v Man Utd
Valencia v Porto
Galatasaray v FC Bayern
Fiorentina v Man City

And it might be because you don't have good defensive midfielders in your squad.

Well N'Zonzi is a natural defensive midfielder but I've retrained him as a central midfielder to get him from accomplished to a natural central midfielder. It will much be the same with Othmane. I play N'Zonzi as a ball winning midfielder.

 

[JBlues08]

I was going to post that with my normal update but I was very annoyed so I forgot to. Anyway, I'm playing Zenit in the first KO Round.

Same here.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool have secured the signature of young talent, Marcin Zajac for a fee of ?4.6M. He has huge potential and has expressed his delight at moving to Blackpool.

 

[Bevab]

Looks amazing. His high determination too would do wonders.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool January Update​

2nd January - Blackpool v Shrewsbury - FA Cup 3rd Rnd

A simple task against a lowly team but we couldn't become complacent. We were helped by a first minute own goal by Mohsni before our dominance finally payed off in the second half when Marcio sealed the result as we took a comfortable 2-0 win as our big stars were rested.

Final Score: 2-0
Attendance: 19720
Goals: Mohsni o.g. (1), Marcio (57)
Booked: Fatic, Marcio
Man of the Match: Neal Eardley



5th January - Blackpool v Arsenal - Premier Division

Marek Hamsik was one of the stand out players this season and we couldn't do much to prevent him from opening the scoring for Arsenal. Kalou levelled things up on the half hour mark after some quick passing between Goodwillie and Rodrigo before Kalou finished things off. Arsenal immediately regained the lead though through a second goal from Marek Hamsik as he put the ball in the net off the inside of the post. A second half brace from Rodrigo gave us a memorable win against Arsenal as a scramble in the box following a corner allowed Rodrigo to get a foot in and equalise after 52 minutes before Phil Jones showed some flair in the midifeld as he opened up the space and allowed Rodrigo to smash one home from the edge of the area and we held onto that lead for a beautiful 3-2 win at Bloomfield Road.

Final Score: 3-2
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Kalou (30), Rodrigo (52, 69) - Hamsik (11, 33)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Rodrigo



9th January - Everton v Blackpool - Premier Division

We had beaten Everton earlier in the season but our record against the Toffees wasn't great with no wins in the 5 matches prior to our clash earlier in the season. We were cautious and it ended up costing us the match as we went in 1-1 at the break, Bebe's stoppage time equaliser cancelling out Benitez's earlier goal. Jack Rodwell who was rumoured to be moving to Blackpool then scored early in the second half and we couldn't find a reply as we fell to our third defeat of the season.

Final Score: 2-1
Attendance: 38584
Goals: Benitez (27), Rodwell (49) - Bebe (45+1)
Booked: Jones
Man of the Match: Jack Rodwell



13th January - Blackpool v Chelsea - League Cup Semi Final 1st Leg

A match we would want to forget as soon as possible as we were thrashed 3-0 at home. Luis Suarez opened the scoring early, putting us on the back foot but things looked better when Alex was given a straight red for a professional foul denying Marcio an equaliser millimetres outside the box. We couldn't find an equaliser before the break and goals from Kevin and Suarez within 10 minutes really put the game beyond doubt and it would be near impossible to progress with a 3 goal deficit going into the away leg.

Final Score: 0-3
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Suarez (27, 56), Kevin (49)
Sent off: Alex
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Luis Suarez



17th January - Man Utd v Blackpool - Premier Division

It wasn't going to be easy coming off 2 straight defeats. Phil Jones got us off to a flyer though with a goal in the 12th minute but Rooney brought us back down to earth with a goal ten minutes later. We kept strong at the back though and despite not being able to find a winner, we held out for a deserved draw at Old Trafford as we looked to hold our spot at the top of the ladder. We were hit with the bad news of an injury to Lee Hodson though which would likely keep him out 6 matches with a likely return against Zenit in the 1st leg of the Champions League 1st KO Round.

Final Score: 1-1
Attendance: 75797
Goals: Rooney (23) - Jones (12)
Booked: Romano, Adam
Man of the Match: Phil Jones



23rd January - Blackpool v Fulham - Premier Division

Despite a point at Old Trafford, we really needed to get back on a winning note and it was a perfect opportunity against Fulham at Bloomfield Road. David Goodwillie broke a 4 game goal draught when he opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Diabate brought Fulham back on level terms though about 5 minutes before half-time. I knew what we needed and a talk to the lads seemed to work as we played much better in the second half and Goodwillie scored his second after 64 minutes and we held on for a vital 2-1 win to go 7 points clear at the top of the ladder.

Final Score: 2-1
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Goodwillie (25, 64) - Diabate (38)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: David Goodwillie



27th January - Chelsea v Blackpool - League Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg

We didn't really have much chance going into this match but we gave it our all. We dominated possession and territory, had all the shots but it was never easy after conceding early and we just couldn't find our way into the back of the net as we went down 1-0, losing by 4 goals on aggreggate.

Final Score: 1-0
Attendance: 41425
Goals: Elia (3)
Booked: Wood
Man of the Match: Petr Cech



30th January - Blackpool v Coventry - FA Cup 4th Rnd

We couldn't underestimate Coventry. We might have won our four previous meetings in the Premier League against them but 3 of them was only by a goal and they seemed to always prove a tough opposition. They had relegated from the Premier League a couple of seasons ago and after having finished 8th in the Championship last season, they were flying high this season currently in 1st place by 4 points. It was a debut for Marcin Zajac on the right wing but didn't find much of the football in the first half and misplaced most of his crosses, before being substituted at half-time. It was a frustrating match as we had all the shots and just as it looked like it was going to fizzle out into a boring draw, David Goodwillie broke the deadlock in the 80th minute. He then buried the game with an 88th minute goal to take a 2-0 win and put us through to the 5th round of the FA Cup. Could we go on to win the competition though?

Final Score: 2-0
Attendance: 19231
Goals: Goodwillie (80, 88)
Booked: Romano
Man of the Match: David Goodwillie



Premier League

Well we're sitting top on 62 points but the gap is slowly closing with Liverpool only 7 points behind and closely followed by Man Utd, Arsenal and Man City. Preston continue to fall behind, now 6 points behind Newcastle in 19th place while Wolves climbed above Newcastle and are now only 3 points behind Stoke. Michele Romano meanwhile won the Young Player of the Month for the second time in 3 months.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool February Update​

3rd February - Blackpool v Newcastle - Premier Division

Newcastle were sitting just below the drop in 18th position but we couldn't become complacent. Salomon Kalou found his way onto the scoresheet in the 11th minute though when Romano pulled back Rodrigo's free kick for Kalou to shoot into an open net and give us the lead. Our dominance finally resulted in a second goal 20 minutes into the second half when his powerful shot was saved straight back to him and his second shot was powered in again and just beat the keeper as we managed a comfortable 2-0 win, Goodwillie picking up the MOTM award.

Final Score: 2-0
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Kalou (11), Goodwillie (67)
Booked: Eardley
Man of the Match: David Goodwillie



7th February - Blackburn v Blackpool - Premier Division

It was a horror start for us when Razak Boukari opened the scoring within 2 minutes and we were on the back foot early. Vladimir added to his early assist with a goal of his own after 20 minutes and we were really in trouble. We found our way back into the game though with a brilliant individual goal from Stewart Downing but the match levelled out after that and we were unable to find an equalising goal as we suffered our fourth defeat of the season.

Final Score: 2-1
Attendance: 21319
Goals: Boukari (2), Weiss (21) - Downing (27)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Vladimir Weiss



13th February - Blackpool v Peterborough - Premier Division

It was back to winning ways after a dominant performance against Peterborough. Chris Wood was relieved after finding the back of the net for the first time since coming back from injury but only his third league goal in 2 seasons was a worrying sign for the New Zealand striker who could find his way out come transfer window but Hedger continues to stick with him hoping he will regain the form which saw him win the Young Player of the Year Award in 2012-13 and 2013-14 with 30 goals and 15 assists over the 2 year period. David Goodwillie extended the lead less than a minute into the second half and had put the game beyond doubt with a second 10 minutes later. Korey Smith found the scoresheet to give Peterborough a bit of hope and when Hatem Ben Arfa converted from the spot following a foul from substitute, Ian Evatt, there was some doubt in the result. We overcame that 15 minutes of complacency though as we held out for a 3-2 win. An injury to Michele Romano who set up the first goal overshadowed the result as he would miss the next 2 cup matches with the Champions League clash with Zenit and the FA Cup clash with Sunderland but would be in line for a return against West Ham at the end of the month.

Final Score: 3-2
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Wood (17), Goodwillie (46, 56) - Smith (61), Ben Arfa (pen 73)
Booked: Wood, N'Zonzi, Eardley
Man of the Match: David Goodwillie



16th February - Blackpool v Zenit - Champions Cup 1st KO Rnd 1st Leg

It was vital that we got off to a strong start in the home leg and after 30 minutes, we were rewarded with the opening goal as Bebe swung in a cross for Salomon Kalou to head home. It was 2-0 less than 2 minutes later when Kalou added a second in identical fashion, heading home another Bebe cross and it was 2-0 after 34 minutes. A 2-0 win would have been perfect but we conceded in the 65th minute through a Alberto Paloschi goal from a corner. We did manage to hold on for the 2-1 win and confidence would be high going into the away leg which we would likely need a draw or a high scoring 1 goal defeat to go through, or of course a win.

Final Score: 2-1
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Kalou (32, 34) - Paloschi (65)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Salomon Kalou



21st February - Blackpool v Sunderland - FA Cup 5th Rnd

We had only got to the 5th round of the FA Cup once during my time in management which was last year when he were knocked out in the 6th round. The board's expectations were to reach the 6th round so I was disappointed when Denilson opened the scoring after 5 minutes. Gyan then doubled Sunderland's lead on 11 minutes. We needed a response and it came through Salomon Kalou who was brought down inside the box on the half hour mark and he converted from the spot with Charlie Adam on the bench. Sylvestre then swung in a corner which Phil Jones headed home for the equaliser. Sylvestre added a second assist when he slid in on Rasmus Elm as the ball fell to Rodrigo who smashed it home off the inside of the post. Sylvestre's great game was ruined though when he was injured making a tackle right on half-time being forced to come off but the team continued on without him as Charlie Adam set up a goal for Bebe who was having a habit of playing well in cup and continental matches. Christophe Berra added a consolation goal in the 68th minute but we held on for a 4-3 win to take us through to the 6th round where we managed to draw Sheffield Utd at home.

Final Score: 4-3
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Kalou (pen 29), Jones (39), Rodrigo (45), Bebe (59) - Denilson (5), Gyan (11), Berra (68)
Booked: Jones, Fatic, Hodson
Man of the Match: Ludovic Sylvestre



27th February - West Ham v Blackpool - Premier Division

Following Man Utd's 3-0 win against Wolves earlier in the day, we really needed to win this match, now only 2 points ahead of Man Utd. Possession in the match was pretty even but we really had all the attacking opportunities but our failure to put the ball in the back of the net was costing us as the game went into stoppage time still at 0-0. It was some flair though from substitute, Giovani dos Santos which cut open West Ham's defence in the last minute of stoppage time which gave us a dramatic winner, as he brought two players out of position with a run infield before playing a beautiful through ball to a free David Goodwillie who wasn't going to miss from 10 yards who showed you don't have to blast the ball as he picked his spot perfectly and guided it home for the winning goal. Despite the win, it wasn't a great performance and we would need to pick up our game if we were to take the title.

Final Score: 0-1
Attendance: 28927
Goals: Goodwillie (90+3)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: David Goodwillie



Premier League

Liverpool dropped 5 points against Man City and Chelsea combined allowing Man Utd to climb above them into 2nd place after 4 straight wins and now only 5 points behind us. We have 3 league matches this month, firstly home to Aston Villa before we face the 6th placed Tottenham also at home and finish our month off with an away trip to Liverpool and although we should be winning at least 2 of those games, a champions league trip to Zenit and a clash with Sheffield United in the FA Cup would make focusing on the league a lot harder. April doesn't get much easier for us as well with a trip to Man City and home matches against Chelsea and Sunderland in 3 consecutive matches which would likely decide who would win the title. We do finish however with an away trip to Stoke and finish our season at home against Wigan, who are sitting in 19th and 16th respectively. Preston are sitting 6 points below Stoke and 8 points below the drop presenting Preston with an extremely difficult task to avoid relegation while Wolves had escaped the drop zone for one match after a win against Chelsea but a loss against Man Utd dropped them into 18th position again, 1 point behind Newcastle. Chelsea meanwhile confirmed a spot in Europe after winning the League Cup after beating West Brom in the final.



Champions League

It wasn't a great week for the home teams apart from ourselves with not one other team managing to win against the top placed teams. AC Milan showed their quality with a 3-0 win over Olympiakos while Real Madrid and Man Utd pulled off two goal wins. Man City overcame a tough Fiorentina side to win 2-1 while last years' winners, Porto could only settle for a draw at Valencia. Werder Bremen managed a scoreless draw against Arsenal meanwhile and FC Bayern were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Galatasaray. Will we be able to progress though after a trip to Zenit? We would have to wait and see.

 

[hedger_14]

Also, Tarik Brack's first international goal. Added an assist to that in Holland's 6-0 thrashing of Finland.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool March Update​

5th March - Blackpool v Aston Villa - Premier Division

We got off to a flying start as David Goodwillie opened the scoring within 16 seconds as Kalou played a perfect ball in behind the defence allowing the Scottish striker to smash the ball past the keeper. The game evened out after that and a bit of complacency crept into our game allowing Gabby Agbonlahor to score a 69th minute equaliser to deny us all 3 points as we had to settle for a 1-1 draw as Man Utd defeated Newcastle to now only be within 2 points of us.

Final Score: 1-1
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Goodwillie (1) - Agbonlahor (69)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Gabby Agbonlahor



8th March - Zenit v Blackpool - Champions Cup 1st KO Round 2nd Leg

It wasn't going to be easy securing a result at Zenit but we were confident after our 2-1 first leg win. We didn't get off to the best start though when Bernardo gave Zenit an early lead on 15 minutes and we would need to score at least once to progress. It took only 10 minutes to find a reply when Rodrigo hit back, Sylvestre setting him up for the equaliser. We were given a controversial penalty 5 minutes later but we would take it and with Charlie Adam sitting on the bench, Ivan Fatic stepped up to score his first goal of the season. Zenit had it all to do, now needing to score 3 more times. Time slowly ran out and Alberto Paloschi's goal proved a late consolation but we were through to the quarter finals!

Final Score: 2-2
Attendance: 41973
Goals: Bernardo (15), Paloschi (71) - Rodrigo (24), Fatic (pen 29)
Booked: Marcio, Rodrigo
Man fo the Match: Rodrigo



13th March - Blackpool v Sheff Utd - FA Cup 6th Rnd

We got a very handy draw for the 6th round of the FA Cup who were sitting just below the promotion places in the Championship. We were going to make sure complacency didn't become an issue though as Romano opened the scoring on 3 minutes before Marcio and Elliot Grandin added another 2 before half-time and the result was already settled. Rob Makepeace was then sent off minutes after half-time and it would be extremely difficult to overcome a 3 goal deficit a man down. Still, they kept trying though and Joao Silva gave Sheffield some hope but we held strong and Downing got himself onto the scoresheet in stoppage time to secure a 4-1 win as we would now play Arsenal in the semi-final.

Final Score: 4-1
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Romano (3), Marcio (18), Grandin (34), Downing (90+1) - Joao Silva (58)
Sent off: Makepeace
Booked: Evatt
Man of the Match: Elliot Grandin



20th March - Blackpool v Tottenham - Premier Division

Back to Premier League football and we needed to respond after our draw against Aston Villa. We did just that as David Goodwillie scored his 17th league goal of the season and Rodrigo finished Tottenham off with his 60th minute strike, David Ospina having a blinder in goals to keep a clean sheet and earn the MOTM award. Unfortunately, Salomon Kalou went down injured and would miss the premier league clash with Liverpool and the Champions League 1st leg against Man City with a possible return against Preston.

Final Score: 2-0
Attendance: 19721
Goals: Goodwillie (10), Rodrigo (60)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: David Ospina



26th March - Liverpool v Blackpool - Premier Division

It was a very frustrating game against Liverpool as we dominated the shots but were unable to even grab a point. Fernando Torres opened the scoring 7 minutes in, before later missing an easy goal. Goodwillie equalised just before half-time, Downing playing a good ball in behind defence. The decision to bring Craig Cathcart backfired as he gave away a penalty and Fernando Torres stepped up to give Liverpool a 2-1 win. However, Man Utd could only manage a draw against West Ham, still giving us a 2 point advantage.

Final Score: 2-1
Attendance: 45258
Goals: Torres (7, pen 73) - Goodwillie (41)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Fernando Torres



29th March - Blackpool v Man City - Champions Cup Qtr Final 1st Leg

We were pretty happy with the Champions League draw, against fellow English side, Man City meaning we wouldn't have to leave England for the away leg and I felt more confident playing a team we were used to and had gotten the better of in recent times. It was necessary that we secured a result in the 1st leg though and it was great when Marcio scored after 33 minutes. We didn't have the lead for long though as Ben Khalifa equalised 3 minutes before half-time. David Goodwillie was brought on after the half-time break and it took less than a minute for him to get on the scoresheet with a beautiful goal. Man City were made to rue missed chances though as they couldn't find an equaliser. Man City managed 17 shots to our 8 but quality finishing was the difference as we managed 6 shots on target to their 5. Now we just needed to grab a draw at Manchester.

Final Score: 2-1
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Marcio (33), Goodwillie (46) - Ben Khalifa (42)
Booked: Jones
Man of the Match: Wilfredo Caballero



Premier League

The title race was now at its climax with only 2 points separating ourselves and Man Utd with Man City and Liverpool a further 5 points behind United. 5 of the last 6 games would be played during this month and along with Champions League and the FA Cup semi final, it was going to be a busy month. Our season would likely be settled by the results home to Chelsea and away to Man City with a home match against Sunderland a must win game. Man Utd have a nice start to the month but their final 3 matches, Tottenham at home, Liverpool away from home followed by Chelsea at home to finish the season. Wolves crept out of the relegation zone with draws against Sunderland and Blackburn while Newcastle slumped to 3 straight defeats as Preston seemed set for relegation, now 6 points below Stoke. Despite losing all 3 matches this month, Wigan still sit in a handy position, 5 points above the drop zone in 16th place but they would still need to fight hard to avoid relegation.

Champions League

Well the first round brought no surprises with all of the top placed finishers progressing except Zenit who lost to us. In the quarter finals, Real Madrid drew Porto, and lost 2-1 in the first leg at home giving them a hard task to overcome last years winners. Bayern defeated Arsenal 2-1 at home in the first leg, we defeated Man City 2-1 and AC Milan managed to overcome Man Utd to win 3-2 in a tough encounter but Man Utd would be confident going into the second leg.

 

[JBlues08]

Fascinating. Looks like it's going to be a very close fight for the title as well.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool April Update​

2nd April - Preston v Blackpool - Premier Division

Despite being away from home, we were hot favourites playing against rivals, Preston. It was a pretty easy match in fairness as Goodwillie opened the scoring after 25 minutes before Rodrigo grabbed a second right on half-time and it was looking comfortable from there. We relaxed a little in the second half but Preston gave us a wakeup call 15 minutes from time when Chiukepo Msowoya pulled one back after Cathcart's missed header put the Malawi striker clean through on goal and a nice finish brought Preston back into it. They tried pushing forward for an equalising goal but to no avail as Phil Jones, moved into central midfield set up David Goodwillie for an absolute stunner from the edge of the box 5 minutes from time to seal the game and Goodwillie sealed his hattrick in stoppage time when he smashed it home from similar distance and a 4-1 win for us and a hattrick for David Goodwillie.

Final Score: 1-4
Attendance: 18489
Goals: Msowoya (75) - Goodwillie (25, 84, 90+3), Rodrigo (45+1)
Booked: Adam, Goodwillie
Man of the Match: David Goodwillie



6th April - Man City v Blackpool - Champions Cup Qtr Final 2nd Leg

It was our most important match of the season as we looked to book our spot in the semi final of the Champions League. Things didn't start well though when David Ospina put the ball into his own net and we needed to score at least once if we were to go through. The goal didn't come before half-time though as we went into the break still a goal down and losing on away goals. A tough team talk seemed to do the trick though when Charlie Adam played a perfect ball to Chris Wood who slotted it in the bottom corner and we were back on level terms. Man City pushed for a winner but continued to run out of time before Salomon Kalou put the result beyond all doubt in the 79th minute as he calmly finished from 10 yards. 3 goals in 10 minutes proved too difficult for Man City as we held on for a 2-1 win and a 4-2 aggregate win to go through to the semi final where we would face FC Bayern.

Final Score: 1-2
Attendance: 45079
Goals: Ospina o.g. (6) - Wood (47), Kalou (79)
Booked: Jones, Goodwillie
Man of the Match: David Ospina



9th April - Blackpool v Chelsea - Premier Division

A draw with Blackburn meant Man Utd had fallen further behind and given us some breathing space but it was still vital that we win this match otherwise a loss at Man City could be on the cards. We created chance after chance in the game but it was a pretty open match as both sides had a number of chances to score. Rodrigo made it 2 in 2 after not being selected to play against Man City as he stole the ball from the defender after a lapse in concentration and smashed it home after 7 minutes. The chances came from both sides but the keepers stood strong as the match stayed in the balance. Ludovic Sylvestre was a late substitute but he was the one to put the game beyond doubt in the 90th minute with a beautiful run and a finish to match, scoring his first of the season in what has been a tough year for Sylvestre as he has struggled to stay fit and fallen out of favour as Adam and N'Zonzi have had great seasons and Phil Jones has become a preferred backup in the midfield.

Final Score: 2-0
Attendance: 19863
Goals: Rodrigo (7), Sylvestre (90)
Booked: Rodrigo, N'Zonzi
Man of the Match: David Ospina



13th April - Man City v Blackpool - Premier Division

Man City were back for revenge after our sweet victory in the Champions League not long ago. There wasn't much we could do as City controlled most of the game as Subotic opened the scoring after 21 minutes. Our defence stood strong but we couldn't create many chances and ended up going down 1-0 as Man Utd found a way back into the title race but we were still favourites having the easier run in the final 3 games and a 4 point advantage over the Red Devils.

Final Score: 1-0
Attendance: 46514
Goals: Subotic (21)
Booked: Adam, Grandin
Man of the Match: Neven Subotic



17th April - Arsenal v Blackpool - FA Cup Semi Final

Marcin Zajac had played in the FA Cup match against Coventry without much luck but it was a perfect start for him in this match when he crossed the ball for Jeffren to tap home and we had an early lead. Bendtner and Andy King scored before half-time though as we went into the break a goal down. It was an unlucky moment for Chygrynskyi which got us back into the game as Elliot Grandin's shot was deflected by the defender past the goalkeeper for an own goal and we had our equaliser with 15 minutes remaining. It was 2-2 at full-time and still nothing separated the teams after 120 minutes and it would be a penalty shoot-out which would decide who would play in the FA Cup Final. Ivan Fatic took the first penalty but Benaglio guessed correctly and made the save. Alexis Sanchez took Arsenal's first penalty but he would be wishing he didn't when he blasted it over the bar. Eardley stepped up and scored the first goal while Stoica, Jeffren and Song all converted their penalties to be level at 2-2 after 3 penalties each. David Goodwillie kept it nice and low to make it 3-2 as Benaglio couldn't reach it down in the bottom corner. Andy King did much the same as Alexis Sanchez but it cannoned off the cross-bar giving us the chance to win. It was an extremely nervous moment for the 16 year old, Marcin Zajac as he took what could be the final penalty. It was a perfect penalty as well as Benaglio chose the wrong way and Marcin Zajac was the hero for Blackpool as they secured a spot in the FA Cup Final.

Final Score: 2-2 (2-4 P)
Attendance: 90000
Goals: Bendtner (22), King (44) - Jeffren (8), Chygrynskyi o.g. (75)
Penalties: Fatic missed, Sanchez missed, Eardley scored, Stoica scored, Jeffren scored, Song scored, Goodwillie scored, King missed, Zajac scored
Booked: Grandin, Zajac, Fatic, N'Zonzi
Man of the Match: Craig Cathcart



20th April - Blackpool v FC Bayern - Champions Cup Semi Final 1st Leg

We needed a result at home and the players knew it. It didn't take long to get that lead when Rodrigo slid home to convert Bebe's low cross after 13 minutes. Things got worse for the visitors though when Kalou passed it through to Rodrigo who dodged a tackle from Beck before smashing it home, hitting the inside of the post and we had a 2-0 lead before 20 minutes. Chances came to both sides throughout the game but FC Bayern just couldn't hit the target and were made to rue those missed chances. Both teams had 15 shots but we managed to hit the target 7 times while they only managed once and a 2-0 win was a fair result, it seemed as we edged closer to a spot in the Champions League final.

Final Score: 2-0
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Rodrigo (13, 18)
Booked: Kalou
Man of the Match: Rodrigo



23rd April - Blackpool v Sunderland - Premier Division

There were some tired legs in the squad but we remained keen to play through the fatigue in a match which would all but secure the title for us, should we win. Phil Jones kept up his hopes for the Player of the Year Award after he scored his 10th goal of the season, when Charlie Adam's corner was headed towards goal by Steven N'Zonzi before a save was deflected straight into the path of the centre half who converted from close range to give us an early lead. We couldn't complain about a lack of chances and we made the scoreline look a little better in the final minute of stoppage time as Goodwillie ran through on goal before squaring it for Marcio who tapped the ball into an open net and we had a 2-0 win to go one step closer to going back-to-back titles.

Final Score: 2-0
Attendance: 20000
Goals: Jones (28), Marcio (90+4)
Booked: Romano
Man of the Match: Phil Jones



26th April - FC Bayern v Blackpool - Champions Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg

Despite holding a 2 goal lead, it was vital we scored to really put it beyond Bayern Munchen as they would need 4 goals to secure a spot in the final. It didn't take long as well as a mistake from Rene Adler, dropping the ball allowed Bebe to smash it into the back of the net after 3 minutes and FC Bayern had it all to do. Nothing really went their way as Gomez and Boyata found their way into the book before 10 minutes had passed and despite creating a lot of chances, we were able to hold out until half-time. Thomas Muller gave FC Bayern a glimpse of hope when he scored a few minutes after half-time but we weren't going to let them back in it and we held out for a 1-1 draw, albeit the German giants' best efforts to find a way back into the match and it would be a spot in the Champions League final after only my second season in the Champions League. It was also time to get some revenge after Porto hammered Man Utd 5-1 at Old Trafford to have the chance to take a second consecutive Champions League title. After our 1-0 defeat against Porto last season which saw us knocked out of the Champions League, a victory against Porto would make the win all the more sweeter.

Final Score: 1-1
Attendance: 55311
Goals: Muller (49) - Bebe (3)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Holger Badstuber



30th April - Stoke v Blackpool - Premier Division

After our huge month, it was relieving to have a much easier match against 18th placed Stoke City, who would need a win to keep their hopes of another season in the Premier League alive. It wasn't going to be that way as Rodrigo put Goodwillie through on goal to score the opener after 5 minutes and a well placed free kick from Rodrigo gave Phil Jones a simple header minutes later. Stoke were sinking without a trace. Rodrigo then added a goal to his 2 assists when Charlie Adam set him up, also his 19th assist of the season and after 15 minutes, we were 3-0 up. We could finally relax as Stoke wasted their chances. It should have been 4-0 and a double to David Goodwillie when he finished well from inside the penalty box but it was ruled to be offside, despite being clearly onside and the linesman didn't even raise the flag, ending the match controversially as it was the last play of the game but now we would need to wait for the match between Man Utd and Liverpool tomorrow to see whether the title race would come down to the final day.

Final Score: 0-3
Attendance: 25565
Goals: Goodwillie (5), Jones (8), Rodrigo (15)
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Rodrigo



Premier League

The league is pretty much settled going into the final day, with Stoke, Newcastle and Preston all relegated, Wolves doing enough to avoid the drop. Man Utd would need a win, away to Liverpool to keep their title hopes alive but you would fancy Blackpool to defeat Wigan at home. Man City are now level on points with United though so what seemed like a top 2 finish for Man Utd could now turn into a third placed finish instead. Liverpool still have two games in hand over Arsenal giving them a good chance of finishing above Arsenal while Tottenham and Everton are separated by a point.