English Premier League preview: Blackpool
Of all the 20 teams lining up to take part in the 2010-11 English Premier League season, perhaps none of them are as ill-prepared as newcomers Blackpool. The Lancashire side, who gained promotion after triumphing in the Football League Championship play-off final, have a first-team squad of just 18 players while the expansion to their Bloomfield Road ground is unfinished. They look to be in complete disarray as they prepare to face some of the best teams and players in the world.
Money woes have also plagued the team as some players have yet to be paid their bonuses for gaining promotion, a snub which has been causing unrest within the squad. This news may be a surprise to many neutral observers, as gaining promotion to the EPL brings with it a bumper financial reward of around £60 million. However, chairman Karl Oyston has yet to dish out the bonus payments, said to be worth around £400,000 to some players.
While newly-promoted teams invariably just look to survive in the EPL, manager Ian Holloway is taking a refreshing approach as he is planning to play ambitious attacking football rather than pack players in front of his team’s goal. But with four of the team’s first five fixtures coming away from home due to the stadium expansion, Blackpool will struggle to convert their pre-season optimism into effective results on the pitch, and then into precious points.
Lack of depth
The lack of depth within the squad is also a concern. Holloway said: "We're 20 million miles behind other clubs." Indeed, they have only made one signing this summer while midfielder Keith Southern and striker Billy Clarke look to be on the sidelines for a significant period of time.
The 18-strong squad features three goalkeepers, leaving the club with just 13 outfield players ready to compete - barely enough to fill a pub team, let alone compete at the highest level of professional football in England. However, stranger things have happened and Holloway has a knack of getting the best out of his players, no matter how tiny a squad he may be working with.
Blackpool’s survival looks to depend entirely on the fitness and form of Scotland international Charlie Adam in midfield and fellow Scotland cap Stephen Crainey in the rearguard. Adam, who joined in a club record £500,000 transfer last summer after impressing in a loan spell, proved to be an enormous success in his first season as a permanent Blackpool player as he pulled the strings in the middle of the pitch and scored 16 league goals.
Stellar season
Crainey, meanwhile, has been with the club since July 2007. Like Adam, he enjoyed a stellar first season in his first year with the club and was named Blackpool’s Player of the Season. The former Celtic defender missed out on the start of the following season due to injury, however, and it is this fragility which could prove pivotal in Blackpool’s ambitions of staying in the EPL.
The fact that, for many in the EPL, they prove an unknown quantity could also be to their advantage. Much like Burnley did last season when they stunned Manchester United at home, Blackpool will be hoping the boxed-in atmosphere of their home ground will throw off some of their more prestigious opponents’ game plans and allow them to cause a few shocks.
Blackpool will have to pull off a minor miracle to remain in the top-flight for a second season. While not an impossible task, it is an improbable one and barring some fortunate results, they will likely be plying their trade in the Championship again next season.
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