Four Thoughts on Millwall 0-2 Blackpool

Blackpool got off to a perfect start on Saturday with a 2-0 win away at Millwall, which saw Ian Holloway keep his unbeaten opening day record as 'Pool manager intact. The searing heat made for a punishing afternoon in the sun, but a professional performance meant Blackpool showed their class to take all three points and top the table after the first game for the third consecutive season. Here are my thoughts on the match:

Millwall 0-2 Blackpool - Match Report Word Cloud

Taking inspiration from the wonderful Spirit Of Mirko website, which has created a series of posts using word clouds including one for Championship sides in 2011/12, I've decided to present data in this way for each match this season - or as often as possible, anyway. Spirit Of Mirko constructed word clouds for each club using the text from BBC match reports. For those unfamiliar with word clouds, it is a method of presenting words from a passage of text based on the frequency.

In addition to using BBC match reports, I've also opted to include the report from Blackpool's official website in order to provide a little more 'Pool weighting. In terms of its usefulness, one way in which the word clouds can be used is to spot which players were in the thick of the action, and who amongst them failed to catch the eye. Another reason for using word clouds is that I think they look pretty damn cool. OK, the main reason for using words clouds is that I think they look pretty damn cool...

Forethoughts on Millwall vs. Blackpool

The first league game of any season is always something of an unknown, yet for the majority of football fans up and down the country it is that uncertainty that holds so much of the excitement of an opening day. Writing a match preview therefore is somewhat difficult given a lack of recent matches to base opinions on, although the shifting of the League Cup 1st round to inaugurate the season does help a little. Nonetheless, let's look ahead to this weekend's curtain-raiser and see what The New Den has in store for Blackpool.

Four Thoughts on... Blackpool 1-0 Millwall

A week after the demoralising 3-1 defeat to Burnley, Blackpool have now racked up back-to-back wins without conceding a goal. Saturday's 1-0 win over Millwall was not a vintage performance, but strong enough over 90 minutes to overcome a resolute, if unexciting, opponent. Here are my thoughts on the match: