Just hours before the Tottenham match, Blackpool have completed the ?3M signing of Catania defender, Ivan Fatic after he rejected the contract offer from Villareal to join the Seasiders. Unlike Rodrigo, Ivan Fatic wouldn't make an entrance on the day of his arrival, Hedger commenting that Dorsin would keep his place and Fatic would have to wait for his debut. Hedger also said that he wouldn't be chasing Jack Wilshere after a second bid of ?7.5M was turned down.
In other news, Blackpool would face Tottenham without Chris Wood who was playing for New Zealand but Hedger insists that they will be fine without him, "Losing Chris is a big blow, but I'm sure the team will do fine without him. Going up against Tottenham is a huge task and they have gotten the better of us on most occassions but we won last season at home and I'm sure we can do it again. I'll be looking to mix things up a little as well to keep Tottenham on their feet. We would love a win but it wouldn't be the end of the world if we lost so as long as the players give their best, I'll be happy."
Spanish club, A.D. Alcorcan have also signed David Carney from Blackpool, after he wasn't given a new contract from the manager and Alcorcan snatched him up on a free transfer, with the deal to go through on the 1st July.
7th January - Blackpool v Tottenham - Premier Division
It was a big match for both sides, as Blackpool would be looking to stay top of the table while Tottenham would be looking for a win to keep up with the top 6, currently in 8th place 5 points behind Everton and Man Utd above them. They would be without Younes Kaboul and Gareth Bale though, which would be huge losses but Tottenham would look to get by without them. The only news for Blackpool was Giovani dos Santos out with injury and Chris Wood on international duty. Blackpool went in as slight favourites despite only winning one of the team's past 7 meetings and lost against them earlier in the season away from home. They would be looking for a strong response though in this match at home, where they have only lost one game all season. Blackpool went with a couple of minor tactical changes, deciding to go with a 4-2-2-2 formation with two wingers which isn't a huge alteration but McFadden and Grandin would be looking to make things difficult on the wings and Blackpool would have a few plans to keep Tottenham guessing. David Goodwillie is also only 3 goals away from becoming Blackpool's top league goalscorer of all time, beating John Murphy's record of 84 goals.
Blackpool:
GK: Wilfredo Caballero
DL: Mikael Dorsin
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Craig Cathcart
DR: Lee Hodson
MC: Charlie Adam
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
AML: James McFadden
AMR: Elliot Grandin
ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Rodrigo
Subs: David Ospina, Tarik Brack, Ian Evatt, Edu Bedia, Israel, Jeffren, DJ Campbell
ML: Niko Kranjcar
MC: John Bostock
MC: Wilson Palacios
MR: David Bentley
ST: Jermaine Defoe
ST: Rasmus Jonsson
Subs: Stipe Pletikosa, Karim Hadir, Emiliano Moretti, Peter Crouch, Rafael van der Vaart, Ledley King
It was Blackpool who nearly scored first after Rodrigo showed great vision to pick out Elliot Grandin who was clean through on goal but somehow managed to miss the target after being off balance. Wilson Palacios opened the scoring though after 13 minutes when he was unmarked on the 6 yard box and the finish couldn't have been any easier and Tottenham led 1-0. The rest of the first half was pretty ordinary though and Tottenham still led at the break but they couldn't get complacent if they wanted to win the match.
The second half was just as boring as the first though and it looked like Tottenham would win unless Blackpool could create anything. With about 15 minutes remaining, Blackpool made a double change bringing on Edu Bedia and Israel for Charlie Adam and James McFadden hoping to create something. Time continued to run out for Blackpool but it was the new signing Rodrigo who was the hero as he scored with 5 minutes remaining, receiving a perfectly timed ball from Goodwillie before showing a nice first touch to set himself up for the left footed strike, getting a hand from Gomes before going on to hit the post but luckily rebounded in off the post and it was all level. Alan Hutton was furious with the assistant ref for not giving the goal offside but the call was absolutely right and Hutton rightly so, was given a yellow card. Blackpool had a couple more great chances to steal the win from Tottenham including Israel being one on one with the goalie but he failed to score his first career goal and Blackpool would have to settle with the 1-1 draw, which they wouldn't be too disappointed with.
Royston Drenthe was given the MOTM award after a fine performance, setting up Tottenham's goal while completing 31 passes, including 2 key passes, won 5 tackles, 3 headers and intercepted 5 passes. Wilson Palacios had a fine game as well, scoring the team's only goal, winning 7 of 10 tackles, and making 4 intercepts. Rodrigo had a fine game for Blackpool, scoring the late equaliser but showed some glimpses of real quality, completing 24/26 passes, including 2 key passes and making 5 runs, and demonstrated that he knows when to pass and when to run with the ball and he is already seeming to be an excellent pickup for Blackpool.
11th January - Blackburn v Blackpool - Premier Division
Blackpool were the firm favourites for this clash, with Blackburn having a horrible run of form, currently sitting in last place currently on a run of 4 straight losses and only one win in their last 15 matches. Their record against Blackpool is just as bad, with not a single win in 7 meetings, Blackpool winning 4 of those games, and winning 3 of their last 4. The news for Blackburn would get worse though with Christopher Samba out with injury as was Bogdan Stancu, while Giovani dos Santos was Blackpool's only injury worries. Chris Wood having played 2 international games in the past 4 days was rested not surprisingly. Blackpool made two changes to their starting XI against Tottenham, Jeffren coming in for Elliot Grandin while Ivan Fatic would make his debut coming in for Mikael Dorsin, and Blackpool reverted back to their usual 4-4-2 formation.
Blackburn:
GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Petar Zanev
DC: Gael Givet (C)
DC: Craig Dawson
DR: Brett Emerton
DMC: Steven N'Zonzi
DMC: Herold Goulon
ML: Morten Gamst Pederson
MR: Vladimir Weiss
ST: Connor Wickham
ST: Nikola Kalinic
Subs: Jason Brown, Dexter Blackstock, Andrew Surman, Ryan Nelsen, Martin Paterson, Kevin Strootman, Jose Fonte
Blackpool:
GK: Wilfredo Caballero
DL: Ivan Fatic
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Craig Cathcart
DR: Lee Hodson
ML: James McFadden
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
MR: Jeffren
ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Rodrigo
Subs: David Ospina, Mikael Dorsin, Ian Evatt, Edu Bedia, Israel, Elliot Grandin, DJ Campbell
It took barely 2 minutes for Blackpool to take the lead, when Caballero's long free kick was headed on by Rodrigo for Goodwillie to run onto it and hammer it first touch past the keeper to give Blackpool a 1-0 lead and score his 10th goal of the season. It was a really interesting start to the match though when Lee Hodson gave away a soft penalty in the 4th minute and Kalinic sent the ball into the back of the net and level it up. David Goodwillie nearly won a penalty in the 8th minute when Brett Emerton brought him down right on the line but was given a free kick. Emerton was really showing a hatred for Goodwillie when he fouled him yet again a couple of minutes later but there was nothing going on, with the ball only just inside Blackburn's half. Despite all of Blackpool's dominance, it was Blackburn who took the lead after 22 minutes, when a long throw was met by the head of N'Zonzi and Caballero couldn't get across in time to make the save. That was how the score remained going into the break and the Blackpool manager wouldn't be happy with the first half proceedings.
Ludovic Sylvestre who suffered a minor injury in the first half, was taken off for Edu Bedia going into the second half. Nothing much came from the first 20 minutes of the half but it was Rodrigo who was the hero against Tottenham who stood up yet again with a powerful strike past Robinson following a sublime Edu Bedia ball and he hammered it home, although getting some assistance from the post on the way. Israel who was brought on late in the game would have rather stayed on the bench when he ruined Blackpool's day by giving away a 89th minute penalty and it was very soft. Kalinic converted the spot kick and Blackburn had snatched an unbelievable victory. The Blackpool players couldn't believe it and Israel was holding his hands to his head, knowing he cost Blackpool the match.
It was surprising to see Kalinic take the MOTM award after converting the 2 penalties but didn't do much other than that, although did make 5 attacking runs. Steven N'Zonzi had a great game for Blackburn though, completing 35 passes, winning 6 tackles, 5/5 headers including 2 key headers and making 7 interceptions while scoring Blackburn's only open play goal. Rodrigo had another great game for Blackpool, scoring a goal as well as setting up Goodwillie's goal, and completed 22/25 passes including 2 key passes, won 3 headers and made 2 successful runs. Edu Bedia had a strong game off the bench as well, creating Rodrigo's goal, completed 28/29 passes and made 3 key passes. Lee Hodson and Craig Cathcart meanwhile had games they would have wanted to forget. Fatic had a solid debut as well, completing 42 passes, winning 2 tackles and 2 headers and taking 9 intercepts, and Blackpool would be hoping to see more of the same in the coming weeks.
18th January - Blackpool v Coventry - Premier Division
Blackpool, without a league win in 5 games really needed to win today to keep their title hopes alive against lowly Coventry who were sitting in last place. Giovani dos Santos might have been in line for a return for this match but Hedger didn't want to risk any further injuries so he was left out of the squad. Coventry would be missing Andrew Taylor but that was all of the injury news for either side. Chris Wood's final OCE Nations game was played a few days ago so he would be fully available for club duty, but he was lacking match fitness again so was left out of the starting XI, and with Rodrigo and Goodwillie in sublime form, he could find it hard to find his way back into the starting XI. This would be James McFadden's 375th career league appearance while David Goodwillie needs only one goal to tie Paul Murphy's all time goal scoring record for Blackpool and could well overtake it in a match that a few goals could be scored.
Blackpool:
GK: Wilfredo Caballero
DL: Ivan Fatic
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Neal Eardley
ML: James McFadden
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
MR: Jeffren
ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Rodrigo
Subs: David Ospina, Mikael Dorsin, Craig Cathcart, Edu Bedia, Israel, Chris Wood, DJ Campbell
Coventry:
GK: Keiren Westwood
DL: Marc Tierney
DC: Richard Wood
DC: Zhivko Zelev
DR: Danny Simpson
ML: Shaun Maloney
MC: Tom Cairney
MC: Gary Deegan
MR: Paul Green
ST: Jay Rodriguez
ST: Daniel Pacheco
Subs: Tom Heaton, Sammy Clingan, Richard Eckersley, Hal Robson-Kanu, Sjoerd Ars, Danny Batth, Calum Davenport
Blackpool were going to attack from kickoff and it Goodwillie had the chance to score his 84th league goal for Blackpool but somehow hit the crossbar only for the ball to fall down for McFadden who had an even easier shot but somehow hit the post before it rebounded back and David Goodwillie finally put it in the back of the net to put Blackpool 1-0 up 3 minutes in, and David Goodwillie was now Blackpool's tied top goalscorer of all-time. The chances continued to come for Blackpool but they just couldn't find the back of the net and it was still 1-0 after 25 minutes despite Blackpool having 4 clear cut chances to score. There was bad news for Blackpool though when James McFadden was forced off the field with an injury in his 375th career game, bringing Israel on who would be hoping to put his last game behind him and put in a solid performance for Blackpool. The score remained in favour of Blackpool going into the break but they would have liked a bigger lead.
The number of chances that Blackpool were wasting wasn't good but Rodrigo hit an absolute stunning goal in the 60th minute, when Sylvestre lost the ball only for it to land at Rodrigo's feet who hit it first touch right in the top corner and Blackpool now had a comfortable 2 goal lead. Jeffren had the perfect opportunity to score minutes later but somehow mishit the ball from 6 yards and missed the target, an embarrasing miss. Rodriguez pulled Coventry back to within one in the 69th minute following a mistake from Phil Jones to rush him leaving the striker one-on-one with the keeper and Rodriguez made no mistake. Chris Wood made an appearance after 75 minutes, being brought on for Rodrigo. That was how the score remained as Blackpool won the match 2-1 but it was a win nevertheless.
Rodrigo took the MOTM award after another fine performance, scoring a goal and teamed up well with Goodwillie as he continued to keep Chris Wood out of the side. Phil Jones had a fine match as well, winning 6 tackles, 8/9 headers and made 3 intercepts. Richard Wood played well for Coventry, winning 6/7 headers including 3 key headers and making 8 interceptions and was fairly solid given all the defence that Coventry had to do. The bad news for Blackpool would be that James McFadden would miss up to 3 weeks with a twisted knee.
Benfica striker, Nelson Oliveira has agreed terms with Blackpool, and will make the free transfer to Blackpool on the 1st July 2014. His contract with Benfica was expiring within 6 months allowing Blackpool, as well as Catania and Bursaspor to hold talks with him but the striker rejected the offers from Catania and Bursaspor to join English club, Blackpool. The 22 year old looks to be a real hot prospect and could develop into a top Premier League footballer in the next few seasons. In other news, Jason Lowe has signed a deal with Sligo Rovers as his contract with Blackpool was running out and Jordi Alvarez and Jamie Edge have returned from loan after spending time at Scunthorpe and Tranmere respectively.
Blackpool midfielder, Edu Bedia is likely to make a move to Romanian club, CFR Cluj following a ?9.5M offer for the 24 year old. He was attracting attention from major clubs such as Fulham and West Ham but Cluj came in with an attractive looking offer. Hedger had this to say, "We would have liked to hold onto Edu Bedia but ?9.5M is a lot and it was a tough offer to turn down. It is up to him now whether he wants to join them. If he wants to stay at the club, he will but if he wants to leave, then that's how it is. I hope there are no hard feelings between the two of us and I wish him the best of luck should he decide to move." Blackpool are yet to make a move for a replacement with still Mark Noble to backup Charlie Adam and Ludovic Sylvestre who have been great for the club.
25th January - Middlesbrough v Blackpool - Premier Division
Middlesbrough would be needing a win against Blackpool today, currently in 18th and far from safety. Blackpool meanwhile would be looking to take their second straight win and likely move back into the top 4. Middlesbrough would be without the suspended Mikel Balenziaga and Jonathan Grounds who has featured as a substitute for Middlesbrough on a number of occassions this season. James McFadden would miss the match for Blackpool but that was their only injury news. The two teams have met 3 times since 2010 and Blackpool have won all 3 matches and not conceded a goal, giving Middlesbrough not much hope going into this match. They would do their best though. David Goodwillie would now have the chance to overtake Phil Murphy's all time goalscoring record for Blackpool, with 85 goals and is in some great form with 6 goals in his last 8 games.
Middlesbrough:
GK: Jason Steele
DL: Julio Arca
DC: Stephen McManus
DC: David Wheater
DR: Sepp De Roover
MC: David Edgar
MC: Kevin Thomson
AML: Chris Eagles
AMC: Gary O'Neil
AMR: Blagoy Georgiev
ST: Kris Boyd
Subs: Lee Grant, Daryl Murphy, Nathan Dyer, Justin Hoyte, Scott McDonald, Barry Bannan, Darren O'Dea
Blackpool:
GK: Wilfredo Caballero
DL: Ivan Fatic
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Neal Eardley
ML: Israel
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
MR: Elliot Grandin
ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Rodrigo
Subs: David Ospina, Lee Hodson, Craig Cathcart, Edu Bedia, Jeffren, Chris Wood, DJ Campbell
It wasn't good news for Blackpool 4 minutes in when Fatic was brought down by Georgiev and was forced to come off, leaving Lee Hodson to play at left back, having swapped in Hodson for Dorsin. Both sides got a few chances in the first 25 minutes but it was still goalless as neither side could find the net. Middlesbrough had the better of the back end of the half but the sides went in level at the break and had it all to play for in the second half.
Rodrigo went close to scoring yet again in the 53rd minute with a long range strike, curling back towards the near post but Steele made a fantastic save to deny the Spanish striker. It was David Goodwillie who sent the away fans celebrating when he surpassed Phil Murphy's all time goalscoring record for the club, with his 85th goal when Arca's clearance was blocked by Hodson only to end up right at Goodwillie's feet from 6 yards out and there was no way he was going to miss from there. Edu Bedia then came on for what might have been his last game for Blackpool, depending on whether his transfer to CFR Cluj would go through. Blackpool sealed the game in the 82nd minute though with Israel's first career goal, as he set up the play and finished it off. Israel had played a long ball across the field to Grandin who ran down the right touchline before sending the ball into the area and Israel slid in and beat Hoyte to the ball to send it past the keeper and the Blackpool fans were going wild. Blackpool took the 3 points with a good victory over Middlesbrough to keep up with the top few teams.
Israel took his first career MOTM award with a fine performance, scoring the final goal, winning 3 tackles and travelling 13.1km over the course of the game, a hard working performance from a talented winger. David Goodwillie had another fine game, becoming the club's top goalscorer, while winning 2 headers, making 2 intercepts and testing the opposition out with 3 runs. Neal Eardley had a fine game at fullback, completing 27 passes including 1 key pass, winning 7/7 tackles and making 3 interceptions. For Middlesbrough, it was Chris Eagles who was the stand out, completing 24/29 passes including 4 key passes, winning 2 tackles, taking 2 intercepts and going on a couple of runs past the opposing defence.
Edu Bedia has finally made the move to CFR Cluj for ?9.25M, becoming Blackpool's record sale. It shall free up some funds and Blackpool may make a big signing at the start of next season. The fans are not disappointed at Edu Bedia's sale, knowing that ?9.25M is a lot of money and can be used to improve the club in the future. In injury news, Ivan Fatic has been ruled out for 3-4 weeks with a pulled hamstring, the match against Stuttgart or Everton at the end of next month a realistic return date.
David Goodwillie has also expressed his joy at becoming the club's top league goalscorer of all time with 85 goals when he stated this, "I am very happy about the milestone in my career. When I joined back in 2010, I didn't expect much and just wanted to give it my best and the goals just kept coming. I'm not going to back off now that I've reached that record. I'll continue just as hard and hope to add at least another hundred by the time I've finished. I'm happy at the club. It's a brilliant set up here and I am wanting to stay at the club at the moment. We're continuing to improve, Hedger is hard-working, always looking to improve the side, not afraid to talk to the players if they're down or in top form. Some may doubt his skills but I'm sure none at Blackpool do and with the limited resources available, he is doing a great job." Blackpool will now face Arsenal in the FA Cup with a hope of going all the way, with already one title to their name, all the way back in 1953.
It was a huge clash in the 4th Rnd of the FA Cup with the top of the table Arsenal going up against Blackpool. Blackpool hammered Chesterfield to get to this stage while Arsenal defeated Fulham 3-0. James McFadden and Ivan Fatic would be missing for Blackpool through injury while Havard Nordtveit was Arsenal's only injury news. It was going to be a huge game though and both sides would be giving it their all to progress.
Blackpol:
GK: David Ospina
DL: Tarik Brack
DC: Phil Jones (C)
DC: Jonathan Woodgate
DR: Neal Eardley
ML: Israel
MC: Mark Noble
MC: Ludovic Sylvestre
MR: Elliot Grandin
ST: Chris Wood
ST: Rodrigo
Subs: Wilfredo Caballero, Lee Hodson, Craig Cathcart, Charlie Adam, Jeffren, David Goodwillie, DJ Campbell
Arsenal:
GK: Diego Benaglio
DL: John Arne Riise
DC: Thomas Vermaelen
DC: Guillermo Burdisso
DR: Emmanuel Eboue
DMC: Marek Hamsik
DMC: Arturo Vidal
MC: Cesc Fabregas
AML: Marouane Chamakh
AMR: Jonathan Biabiany
ST: Nicklas Bendtner
Subs: Fraser Forster, Alexis Sanchez, Andrey Arshavin, Robin van Persie, Laurent Koscielny, Abou Diaby, Domenico Criscito
Arsenal got on top of the match early with a few good attacking chances and they finally got on the scoresheet, through Nicklas Bendtner in the 18th minute, leaving Ospina no chance. Blackpool nearly hit back straight with some good passing before Noble's shot was hit right at the keeper. Chris Wood scored the equalising goal though about 10 minutes before half-time when Noble's pass picked him out perfectly and Wood slotted it past the keeper. Blackpool could have taken the lead 5 minutes before half-time and it was surprising when they didn't when Benaglio saved Grandin's shot only to fall out for Chris Wood who just couldn't get any power in his sliding shot from 5 yards and Benaglio went down to make the save. That was how the score remained going into the break and it was surprisingly Blackpool who had taken 62% of possession, while the number of shots were equal and most of the other stats were about equal, showing how much of a close game this was going to be.
The first 10 minutes of the second half had nothing much but Israel nearly gifted Arsenal a goal on the hour mark when his pass was misplaced and gave substitute, Robin van Persie a clear cut chance to take back the lead but Ospina made a fantastic save. Blackpool made a double substitution after 70 minutes with Sylvestre who had suffered a minor injury brought off for Charlie Adam and David Goodwillie was brought on for Rodrigo. Jonathan Woodgate then had to be brought off the field with an injury, Cathcart his replacement. As the match was looking like it would end in a draw and a replay match would be forced, Arsenal scored in the 89th minute through Alexis Sanchez, who did get some assistance from the post. Blackpool tried to equalise late but only ended up conceding another goal, Sanchez getting a double off the bench. Alexis Sanchez not surprisingly took the MOTM award with his two goals but most of the Arsenal players played very well. David Ospina had a fine game for Blackpool in the goals despite conceding 3 goals, making a number of key saves while Chris Wood played very well up front.
5th February - Blackpool v Fulham - Premier Division
Blackpool were hit with the bad news that Sylvestre would be missing for 3 weeks with a pulled hamstring, while Jonathan Woodgate had also suffered an injury during the Arsenal game. James McFadden would make a return from injury though, but would start on the bench. Fulham's only injury news was Matty Taylor, who would miss today's game. These two sides have met 8 times since 2010 and it has been Blackpool who have had the better of their opposition with 4 wins and 2 draws, Fulham only coming away with all 3 points on 2 occassions. Giovani dos Santos was also finally brought back into the side
Blackpool:
GK: Wilfredo Caballero
DL: Mikael Dorsin
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Lee Hodson
ML: Israel
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Mark Noble
MR: Giovani dos Santos
ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Chris Wood
Subs: David Ospina, Neal Eardley, Craig Cathcart, Elliot Grandin, James McFadden, Rodrigo, DJ Campbell
Fulham:
GK: Frank Fielding
DL: Carlos Salcido
DC: Rafik Halliche
DC: Brede Hangelend (C)
DR: John Pantsil
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Kagiso Dikgacol
MC: Chris Baird
MR: Clint Dempsey
ST: Bobby Zamora
ST: Moussa Dembele
Subs: Jan Sebek, Phillippe Senderos, Aaron Hughes, Diomansy Kamara, Jakub Sylvestr, Alan Tate, Terry Bell
Giovani dos Santos might have not played any football for a month but he still had his finishing touch when Adam played a perfect ball to him and he put the ball past the keeper to score his 5th goal of the season and put Blackpool 1-0 up, only 9 minutes in. Fulham replied instantly when Bobby Zamora scored a minute later and it was all level yet again. Blackpool had lost it as Fulham took full control of the game and Dembele finally broke his goal draught with a goal in the 20th minute and the Blackpool manager wouldn't be happy. The game turned yet again as Blackpool had the better of the next ten minutes and they finally brought the scores back level on the half-hour mark, through Mikael Dorsin scoring his 1st goal in over 5 years, off a corner and this was going to be an exciting match. That was the way the scores remained at the break and both teams had it all to play for in the second half.
Blackpool looked to take contol of the match in the second half and after a few chances, Chris Wood finally gave Blackpool the lead when he received dos Santos's pass before beating Halliche and then placed his shot very well to score. The match was turned upside down yet again though after 60 minutes when Mark Noble gave away a penalty, and Zamora hammered it into the top left corner and it was all square yet again. James McFadden made an appearance after the goal, brought on for Israel. Chris Wood thought he had his double after 70 minutes when he put it past Fielding but was called offside and it was still level. Noble who wasn't having a good game, was taken off for Rodrigo as Blackpool looked to take back the lead, switching to a 4-3-3 formation. The referee blew the final whistle to end a fantastic match of football and Blackpool would have been disappointed at not taking all 3 points.
Bobby Zamora had a good game for Fulham getting the MOTM award. He scored two goals, completed 35/38 passes, won 2 tackles and made 2 headers. Charlie Adam had a great game for Blackpool, creating 2 goals, completing 2 key passes, completing 4/5 crosses and taking 2 intercepts. Giovani dos Santos had a great game coming back into the side, scoring a goal as well as creating one while he made 3 intercepts and went on 2 successful runs.
8th February - Aston Villa v Blackpool - Premier Division
Aston Villa would start as slight favourites for the match against Blackpool, although probably because they were at home. The two teams have met 8 times since 2010, with both teams taking 3 wins while the other 2 games resulted in draws. Blackpool would continue to be without Ivan Fatic and Ludovic Sylvestre while Agbonlahor would be missing for Aston Villa through injury. It was going to be a close game though and it would be a great game to watch.
Aston Villa:
GK: Wayne Hennessey
DC: Curtis Davies
DC: Richard Dunne
DC: Carlos Cuellar
WBL: Pablo Armero
WBR: Stephan Lichtsteiner
MC: Ashley Young
MC: Stephen Ireland
MC: Steve Sidwell
ST: Ishmael Miller
ST: Tomas Necid
Subs: Kim Christensen, Emil Persson, Quincy, Kyle Walker, Yakubu, Danny Rose, James Collins
Blackpool:
GK: Wilfredo Caballero
DL: Mikael Dorsin
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Lee Hodson
ML: Israel
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Elliot Grandin
MR: Giovani dos Santos
ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Chris Wood
Subs: David Ospina, Neal Eardley, Craig Cathcart, Mark Noble, James McFadden, Rodrigo, Jordi Alvarez
After a relatively average start to the first half with Blackpool creating a few chances but couldn't convert, Phil Jones finally found the way onto the scoresheet off a corner, as he got above the defender to head Adam's cross past the keeper after 40 minutes. Dorsin didn't want Blackpool to have the lead though when under no pressure at all, put the ball into his own net, maybe a case of match fixing and the manager definately wasn't happy. The score was 1-1 at the break but what would the second half bring.
The second half was just as boring as the first, despite Rodrigo being brought on for Chris Wood. Blackpool made a double substitution with about 15 minutes remaining, bringing on Eardley and Noble for Dorsin and dos Santos, Grandin moving over to the wing. With 9 minutes to go, Davies was sent off for a professional foul, bringing down Rodrigo who was clean through on goal and he couldn't complain. Mark Noble may have had a horrible game against Fulham but he had hit back with a 94th minute goal to take the victory. Goodwillie had gone on a run down the left side of the field before centering it for Mark Noble who headed it home leaving Hennessey no chance. An unbelievable win for Blackpool to move into the top 4.
Phil Jones took the MOTM award with a stunning performance, scoring the early goal while winning 3/3 tackles, 9/10 headers including 2 key headers and making 8 interceptions. Lee Hodson had a great game as well at the back, completing 56 passes, winning 7 tackles, 2 headers and taking 11 intercepts. Pablo Amero was one of Aston Villa's only stand out players, winning 6/6 tackles including 2 key tackles, 1 header and taking 6 intercepts.
15th February - Blackpool v Man Utd - Premier Division
Blackpool may have lost their last 4 games against Man Utd but they would be confident of their chances at home. Ivan Fatic and Ludovic Sylvestre would miss the match through injury again while Israel who suffered a twisted ankle against Aston Villa would miss up to 3 weeks. Man Utd would be missing Dimitar Berbatov and Nemanja Vidic through injury but they were still firm favourites for the match. It would be a huge battle up front with David Goodwillie up against Wayne Rooney who have scored 12 and 14 goals respectively this season.
Blackpool:
GK: Wilfredo Caballero
DL: Tarik Brack
DC: Phil Jones
DC: Ian Evatt
DR: Lee Hodson
ML: James McFadden
MC: Charlie Adam (C)
MC: Mark Noble
MR: Giovani dos Santos
ST: David Goodwillie
ST: Rodrigo
Subs: David Ospina, Neal Eardley, Craig Cathcart, Elliot Grandin, Jeffren, Chris Wood, Jordi Alvarez
Man Utd:
GK: Sergio Asenjo
DL: Patrice Evra
DC: Jonny Evans
DC: Ryan Shawcross
DR: Rafael
DMC: Owen Hargreaves
MC: Tom Huddlestone
MC: Darren Fletcher
AML: Nani
AMR: Antonio Valencia
ST: Wayne Rooney
Subs: Tomasz Kuszczak, Federico Macheda, Javier Hernandez, Gonzalo Castro, Davide Astori, Guillaume Hoarau, Sean Brandon
James McFadden went close to opening the scoring in the 5th minute when Goodwillie made a good pass which McFadden couldn't get past the keeper, Asenjo making a superb save. Blackpool really looked to dominate the game in the opening 20 minutes as Goodwillie created a few great opportunities and Evatt nearly scored off a corner but United were holding on. Blackpool finally got on the scoresheet after 38 minutes when Asenjo had started to move off his line and Rodrigo chipped him perfectly from 35 yards to open the scoring for Blackpool. Man Utd nearly drew back level during stoppage time but Caballero was up for the challenge, making two good saves in the space of a minute to keep Blackpool in the lead, going into the break.
Phil Jones should have scored barely a minute into the second half when Adam's free kick picked him out perfectly but somehow couldn't get it past the keeper. Man Utd looked a much better side in the second half but they just couldn't pull back level. Nani nearly equalised with just under 20 minutes remaining but Caballero made another great save to keep his side ahead. Time continued to run out for Man Utd but it was Nani who was the hero, scoring in stoppage time to tie the game up and the Blackpool fans couldn't believe it. Blackpool had victory in their grasp but to lose it late like that would hurt.
Nani took the MOTM award for his dramatic equaliser but was good elsewhere, completing 4 crosses, winning 2 tackles, taking 3 intercepts and going on 4 attacking runs. Ryan Shawcross had a fine game in defence, winning 7 tackles including 3 key tackles, won 5 headers and took 2 intercepts, a great defensive performance while Sergio Asenjo was unbelievable in the goals, making a number of top class saves to keep United in it before the late goal. Phil Jones had a fine game for Blackpool, completing 27 passes, winning 8/9 headers and intercepting 10 passes, as he continues to shine for Blackpool.
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