FM11: Blackpool - A New Era

[hedger_14]

A dramatic equaliser from substitute Per Mertesacker saved us from a disappointing defeat while the title race is really heating up. Man City sit 5 points behind us with a game in hand but it's really close between 3rd and 8th, only 6 points separating Sunderland, Chelsea, Man Utd, Blackburn, Arsenal and Liverpool and Sunderland also has played one more game than everybody there except Liverpool and even though Chelsea have a couple of games in hand, they have an extremely tough run in to the end of the season. Hull meanwhile is still yet to record a win but did manage to hold Blackburn to a draw also away from home.

 

[hedger_14]

An easy win against Everton. Completely dominated the first half with nearly 80% of possession and over 90% pass completion and held a comfortable 2-0 lead. We didn't play overly well in the 2nd but Everton barely troubled our defence before Paloschi pounced on a mistake from Bowerman, Everton's 23 year old keeper. Unfortunately, we will be missing Tarik Brack and Giovani dos Santos through injury, both who will miss both legs of the quarter final of the Champions League against Valencia, Brack hoping to make a return against Blackburn the following match or against Hull the following weekend while Giovani dos Santos will likely be missing until the second last match against Arsenal.

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Well an absolute thriller at Bloomfield Road in what was likely the game of the season. Carlos Tevez gave Man City an early lead before Goodwillie pulled back with a spectacular goal as the teams went into the break all level with Blackpool slightly on top. Rodrigo swung in a free kick for Phil Jones to head home to give Blackpool the lead before Goodwillie stole the ball from the defender before finishing in the bottom corner to double Blackpool's lead. A simple tap in for Azpilicueta gave Man City some hope before Adam scored a blinder from 25 yards, Phil Jones moved to midfield and setting up the goal. It seemed all over at 4-2 before Kenzo Buisson scored his 8th goal of the season with minutes remaining. Despite some entertainment in stoppage time, Blackpool held on for a vital 3 points to extend their lead at the top of the ladder to 8 points even though Man City have a game in hand.

 

[hedger_14]

We hold a comfortable lead going into the second leg of the CL Quarter Final after a 2-0 win at home, thanks to goals from Bebe and Sylvestre as we were also aided by Valencia's failure to score meaning a goal in the 2nd leg would mean they need to score 4 goals. Real Madrid meanwhile smashed Barcelona 3-0 at home. Benfica were meanwhile held to a scoreless draw by Schalke and Man Utd took a vital 2-1 away win to AC Milan.

 

[hedger_14]

Valencia came from behind to win 3-1 but it wasn't enough as Blackpool won on away goals. Meanwhile, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the 2nd leg but it wasn't enough as Real Madrid won 3-1 on aggregate, Schalke were knocked out by Benfica on away goals after a 1-1 draw while AC Milan scored a late winner in the 3rd minute of stoppage time to take a 3-1 win as they won 4-3 on aggregate.

Semi Final Fixtures:

Blackpool v AC Milan
Real Madrid v Benfica

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It was a pretty even match overall but it was poor finishing which cost us with only one shot on target despite having the same amount of shots as them. This gives Man City a chance at catching up with 2 games in hand and only 8 points behind.

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Also, Hull finally won their first match of the season with a 2-1 win against Peterborough although one of their goals was an own goal

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Here's the table with 4 games remaining for all sides except Man City and Chelsea. If Chelsea win their match in hand (which is against Man City), then there will be 3 points separating Sunderland, Man Utd, Blackburn, Arsenal and Chelsea. A poor run for Liverpool meanwhile with only 4 points from their last 4 games has seen them drop down to 8th position.

 

[hedger_14]

A stoppage time winner from substitute, David Goodwillie has put Blackpool in a strong position going into the 2nd leg after a 1-0 win on home soil. Phil Jones led the way with a very good performance in the centre of defence picking up the MOTM award, dominant in the air and picking off a lot of Milan's passes.

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And Man City have pretty much thrown their season away with only a point against Aston Villa before going down to Chelsea as they now sit 7 points behind Blackpool with 3 games remaining meaning Blackpool need to lose against Coventry, Arsenal and Aston Villa (or draw a couple) for Man City to stand any chance of winning the title.

 

[hedger_14]

Blackpool have retained the Premier League title for the third consecutive time following Blackpool's 2-0 victory over Coventry thanks to a MOTM performance from David Goodwillie who has really proven to be a second half of the season specialist with 13 goals in the last 16 games after scoring 15 goals in the last 14 games of last season as well and 11 in the last 13 the season before.

 

[JBlues08]

Gotta love high scoring games like that but conceding three goals in a game is like committing a crime for me!

And go get the job done at the San Siro.

 

[hedger_14]

Yeah, as soon as we seemed to push the game beyond doubt, we'd concede

And yeah, I'll play the match during the half-time break of the World Cup final

 

[JBlues08]

What was the result after the first leg between Madrid and Benfica?

 

[hedger_14]

Madrid 5-0 lol

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Well a horrible defeat knocks us out of the Champions League as Pastore helped AC Milan to an easy 3-0 victory. We turned the ball over too cheaply and we didn't really deserve to win. Would have been nice to make it back to back in the Champions League but still, 3 consecutive league titles is a good effort.

 

[hedger_14]

Well we responded well to take a nice 2-1 victory against Arsenal. Will we be able to repeat last year's final matchday performance though where we thrashed Wigan 8-1? Aston Villa away from home will prove a much tougher opposition though.

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And we finish our season with a good comeback win thanks to a double from Alberto Paloschi and a late winner from Phil Jones who now has started every game over the past 2 seasons with 20 goals all up and 13 MOTM performances.

In the awards, David Goodwillie finished tied second highest scorer with Edin Dzeko with 20 goals each while Carlos Tevez topped the charts with 27 goals. Marek Hamsik won the Footballer of the Year Award for the second consecutive time, Alexis Sanchez won the Players' Player of the Year while Michele Romano's great season earned him the Young Player of the Year award. Phil Jones, Michele Romano and Rodrigo were named in the Team of the Year.

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Hedger Resigns from Blackpool Post​

Only a day after the end of the 2016/17 season, Blackpool manager Brendon Hedger has announced his resignation following a third consecutive title win. The Blackpool icon steps down following a close to 7 year spell with the club having secured 3 Premier League titles, one Champions League title, one Club World Championship and Community Shield trophy while finishing runner up in the FA Cup in 2016 and runner up in the League Cup in 2012. Hedger had this to say, "I've had a great time at Blackpool and have really developed very strong bonds with my players but I think it's time for me to step down. I just don't have the resources available for me to keep this side strong for many seasons without continually winning the Champions League and with the new stadium not to be finished until the end of next season, we just don't get the gate receipts to get the money we need. I wish Blackpool and the new manager the best of luck and hope they can enjoy the success I have had. I am undecided on what I will do next but I don't think I will give up the game I love." There has also been a mass exodus following Hedger's departure with 6 staff members also deciding to walk. Speculation as to Hedger's replacement is hotting up with Paulo Sergio among the favourites linked to the vacancy. Other names in the mix include Laurent Blanc, Pim Verbeek and Ersun Yanal

 

[hedger_14]

Well Blackpool's new manager, Thomas Schaaf has really reshaped the squad, selling a number of players while getting a few new players in. They've started the season off well though with 2 wins against Everton and Aston Villa along with a draw against Man City in their opening 3 games.

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Well I've taken over at Stockport County who are currently 22nd in League 1 after 9 matches.

 

[hedger_14]

Well we've turned around our season after a poor start. With only 6 points in our first 9 games before I took charge, it didn't get much better as I only managed 3 points from our next 6 games, a 3-3 draw against Brighton in our first match, held QPR to a draw away from home the following match before being thrashed 5-1 by Sheff Wed and taking a 1-1 draw at Tranmere before losing another two.

I recorded my first win against struggling Lincoln at home who were sitting in last position winning 2-1. Losses against Huddersfield and then Colchester 4-0 followed before David Clark's second half goal gave us a needed 1-0 win against Millwall. Our up and down season continued as we went into January with 22 points from 23 games, sitting just below the drop in 21st. Our season changed though with the arrival of new chairman, Paul Rachubka (Is it just a coincidence he has the same name as my old Blackpool keeper?) Anyway, Tommy Elphick signed for 12k while we signed Wigan youngster, Ivan Zlatar on a free transfer and what a player he is going to be and been a huge inspiration already. We also signed a new right fullback, Altor for 6k and made the huge signing of goalkeeper, Mirko Ranieri for 350k (200k + 150k over 24 months).

The results came with 1-1 draws away to Shrewsbury and Oldham to start the month before we have won our last 3 all by the same scoreline: 2-1. Ivan Zlatar inspired us to the first win away to Carlisle when he set up David Clark for his first before adding another assist as Comley put the ball into his own net. He got on the scoresheet himself the following match along with David Clark while skipper, Tom Jenkins set up both goals from the left wing and Tom Jenkins and Ivan Zlatar scored to give us an unbelievable 2-1 win away to league leaders, Notts County which was truly deserved and now I sit in 16th place, and slowly rising and hopefully I can take a mid-table finish.

Blackpool are continuing strongly, in first place with 13 wins, 8 draws and 3 losses from 24 games, 1 point ahead of Man City. Surprisingly, Wolves sit in third position. Hull, Bristol City and Norwich are currently sitting in the top 3 of the Championship. And Blackpool didn't make any signings during January.

 

[JBlues08]

Mind posting the npower League 1 table?

 

[hedger_14]

Our great form continued as a David Clark double inspired us to a 2-0 home win against Southampton before Enric Valles and Rudy Bot scored their first goals of the season (Bot the first for the club) as we recorded a 2-0 win away to struggling Walsall and we now sit in 14th place.