Financially Speaking (Part One)

On 22nd February Blackpool FC submitted their accounts to Companies House for the financial year ending 31st May 2010. While these accounts don't factor in the riches bestowed upon the club upon promotion to the Premier League, I'd like to examine the financial standing of the club in recent seasons, and how its new found wealth will affect its future. With this being such a meaty topic, I have decided to tackle this in two separate posts, the second of which will follow at some point later this week.

Season So Far: The Run-In (Part One)

As we approach the so-called business end of the season, it's time to reflect on the past month and look forward to what the end of the season has in store. In the last periodic review, I questioned whether, as the media were indicating, 'Pool were on a slippery slope towards danger. Going into February Blackpool were in 12th position on 28 points with a six point gap on the relegation zone. I posited that defeats in both of the 'six pointers' against West Ham and Wolves would be the worst case scenario, but whilst this obviously has not helped the Seasiders' league standing, a win and a draw from the month did at least halt the slide and has ensured 'Pool still have a cushion of four points on the bottom three.

Cornering the Goals Market

Traditionally set-pieces have never been all that productive for Blackpool. Down the years, Blackpool's free-kicks and corners have normally been wasted, yet other teams always seemed to score against 'Pool from dead ball situations. You would have to go back to the early '90s when David Eyres took the corners to remember a time when you thought 'Pool had a genuine chance of grabbing a goal. Not any longer.

Seaside Strategy - Aston Villa Home

Aston Villa threatened to blow Blackpool away early on in this encounter, but in a game that ebbed and flowed a share of the spoils was probably what both sides deserved. Villa threatened often with their lightning pace on the break, but 'Pool may be a little disappointed that they were unable to break Villa's resolve, especially after they were reduced to ten men with the dismissal of Jean Makoun. The Seasiders grew stronger as the game went on, but ultimately never looked like finding the elusive winning goal.

Seaside Strategy - Everton Away

An all-action eight goal thriller. Blackpool continue to provide more bang than their buck in the entertainment stakes, but it's hard not to yearn for a scrappy 1-0 win. 'Pool slid to their fifth consecutive defeat at Goodison Park and while Ian Holloway's men continue to rack up the goals, a defence leakier than the Welsh national emblem means survival is starting to look trickier by the week. The Seasiders bounced back from poor first half performance to take a stunning 3-2 lead, only to collapse under the weight of endless Everton pressure.

Seaside Strategy - West Ham United Home

It had been billed in some quarters as a 'must-win' game, and while not quite that crucial, the home defeat to West Ham last night is a major set-back. With four straight defeats, three of those at Bloomfield Road, 'Pool now find themselves unerringly close to the bottom three. A win would have seen the Seasiders go 10 points clear of West Ham, instead of the four point gap that now exists. It's nothing to be ashamed of necessarily - after all some pundits would have had you believe 'Pool would have been all but relegated by this point - but from what appeared to be building up to a comfortable mid-table finish, Ian Holloway's men are now in a relegation fight.

Season So Far - Slippery Slope?

As we enter February on the back of the worst run of the season, the games become ever more crucial for Blackpool. In the last mini-review on 3rd January I'd surmised that we were ahead of the game in terms of the number of points on the board and felt that even as few as five points would be a good return from the rest of the January fixtures against Birmingham, Liverpool, West Brom, Sunderland and Man Utd. After all, with four of those matches at home, five points would be the minimum the Seasiders would chalk up, right? Wrong.

Incoming (Part II)

It's that time once again to reflect on Blackpool's transfer window activity and take a look at the individuals brought in by Ian Holloway in the increasingly nervous survival battle. 12 players were signed during the last transfer window, with a fairly even split between success stories and disappointments. With Dekel Keinan having already departed for Cardiff and long-term injuries to Chris Basham and the mysterious Malaury Martin, Holloway has reacted by signing a further five players during January, four of them on deadline day itself. Let's run through them one by one.