Onwards, Upwards... Tangerine 🍊

Readers with decent memories may wish to point out that me writing an article dissecting the needs and actions required of the club over the summer is a self indulgent pile of shite that no one should take any notice of at all - because a) I'm not actually qualified in any way to do so and b) last season, I wrote a lengthy piece which boiled down to its core read "Dear Uncle Si, please give all your money to that nice Mr Bruce to spend because literally nothing can go wrong" 

Perhaps I should bin off the idea at the start and say something like 'what will be will be' or 'time will tell' - but that would be quite dull. It would make the blog easier to write (and probably read) but you don't get to hit the heights of 3rd best Blackpool FC related blog on the internet by saying such things so, in this era of idiots spouting shit for clicks, I'm going to clatter out my thoughts on what has been and what may be and hope that this season turns out better than the last. 

Last season: 

As mentioned above we spent all the money on all the players. Unfortunately most of the players came with bits hanging off them or weren't very good. We also forgot the bit of the season where you do such things as 'get fit' and 'sort out the tactics' so things didn't go very well. I don't wish to dwell on the start of the year but I can honestly say, the period up to late October was one of the most dispiriting, lacklustre periods I've ever experienced as a Blackpool fan. For whatever reason, Bruceball had gone from being quite an enjoyable, if slightly rough and ready thing, to every game being like that scene in one of the Lord of the Rings films where they walk through the bog of misery and despair* - I still am yet to figure out what we were actually trying to do, beyond 'sitting tight at the back lads and hope that one of the attackers scores' 

*I don't really like Lord of the Rings, so I'm not sure if that's what it's actually called but basically, the main blokes in the film go through a really miserable, dreary landscape for ages and it makes them depressed. It's quite an effective scene, so much so that I actually turned off the film at that point and didn't watch anymore. This was about 25 years ago, so I can't remember the finer details - I wish it was as easy as that with Blackpool FC. 

Evatt came in. He wasn't really my choice - I wanted a clean break with history and some kind of sexy foreign coach with mad ideas or a 32 year old hipster who would either be the best thing since Joe Smith or fired inside 6 weeks. Instead, we got Macho Critch replete with new hair and teeth. (Rumours that he got 10 free goes on Big Gaz's old sunbed as part of the signing can neither be confirmed or denied.) It only took some strangely lurid and weirdly slightly camp photos on his official reveal and a short interview to persuade me that it was worth giving Evo the time of day - this was clearly a man with a plan who wanted to be here and in a world of merry-go-round rent-a-manager that's worth backing. 

'Stephen, stop frowning, we look marvellous' 

We definitely picked up under Evo initially - we played some football that suggested some coaching sessions had taken place. That sounds like the kind of mild sarcasm that I write with normally to disguise a lack of any real insight, but it's literally the truth - we looked for the first time as if we'd been instructed as to what to do, how to move in relation to each other and essentially, vaguely resembled a professional football club in that it looked like we met up and did stuff midweek. A good run, a miraculously good Christmas, we giddily began to tell ourselves 'this is Blackpool, we come from the pack, we win promotion, this is what we do' and then everything fell apart against Port Vale and kept falling apart until sometime around late spring. James Husband's perfectly good tackle and the worst referee ever (I've not sworn in the rest of the blog, but Ed Duckworth is a cunt) were the footballing equivalent of the control rods being removed in the Chernobyl power plant, sparking an unstoppable chain reaction of horrendous events that went on for ages 

Whereas under Bruce, we looked under instructed, if anything, when we were in the trough under Evo we seemed the opposite - it's a curious thing how 'go and play lads' and 'lads, don't forget to read the 90 page dossier, remember the PDF on the quarter space tactics and also the positional line graph' can have similar results. An empty head and an over full head essentially amount to the same thing - poor performances and bad results. 

Things looked really bad as grim defeat after grim defeat stacked up. Then Big Si turned up. Now, it's obviously not the case that he picked the team, took the coaching sessions or gave the team talks - but it's undeniable that his call to arms had an impact. As the season progressed, the fan base got restless, Julian Winter gave an interview where he conceded that communication had been lacking but bristled at the suggestion the club was 'drifting' but, blown by the winds of League One towards the bleak, rocky coastline of League Two I'm not sure how we could really feel otherwise.

Sadler's intervention mattered in two key ways - firstly the decisive and well priced ticket offer helped give a sense of occasion to the remaining fixtures. His speaking out also showed us, that his interest remained and that he too, had been disappointed by the season. I think that gave something to us a fanbase that had been lacking - a sense that someone senior at the club might be willing to grasp hold of the under-performing mess and give it a good shake. Being told 'we're getting new floodlights' wasn't quite as galvanising and it's much easier to get behind something where it feels as if it's run with with some passion and care than on autopilot... 

I still don't know what being 'in receiving mode' actually means

Secondly - and perhaps decisively, he brought in Steve Thompson. At the time, I was again, slightly suspicious of the simple logic of 'if they're not dancing, play the greatest hits compilation' but equally, felt it was worth a shot - and it turned out to be a masterstroke. I don't know what precise part Thommo played, but it felt as if suddenly, we became a bit more flexible, a bit more pragmatic - the simplest way I can put it is, we seemed to start using players as what they actually are, instead of what we'd like them to become - Results are of course, the ultimate builders of confidence and as we picked up one or two, we played better and 3 became 4 and so on, until safety was ultimately comfortably attained. Whether Thommo was a sounding board for Evatt, whether he was a bridge to the players, whether he put his own ideas in or whatever else, he had a clear impact. Fans responded to greater fight and by the end of the season, we saw some reasonable football and some committed showings and the atmosphere had returned to what had, for most of the season, been a moribund and uncharacteristically flat Bloomfield Road. 

Where now? 

What we learn from last year is unclear. We learned that buying a load of players who are mostly around 30ish and giving them to an aging celebrity manager doesn't work. We learned, I think, that we still have no real sense of a 'through-line' between appointments - Evatt, I think did a decent job overall, he inherited a squad of players which really weren't designed to play the kind of technical, possession football he wants to play and whilst, he did get a bit stuck in the mid season mud trying to get them to do what he wanted, he also ended up finding a way to make it (sort of) work. From where we were to where we finished, it's impossible not to say 'job done' in regards to his work. 

The problem is, whilst Evatt ultimately should be applauded for turning round as an initially unfit, unmotivated, un-bonded and unsuccessful side as I've seen in tangerine, next season provides a different challenge. If you ask yourself two questions - 1) Who played well consistently? and 2) When did we play really well last season? then you're left with more or less the same answer - a few of them and a few times. We're left with quite a bit of work to do to put out a team that would convincingly challenge at the top of the league, not least because we've still got most of a squad that demonstrably struggled to convince playing 442 (despite having all the wingers) and also didn't look that special playing 532 either. 

The squad: 

This is the bit where I try to look at it objectively and work out what our priorities might be. I'm not making any assumptions about formation, not least because I think we're better when we show flexibility. I think there's a place for a 532, especially away from home against better sides, but there's also a place for a back 4, especially if you want to get at teams and utilise some of the attacking talent we may not have got the best of last year. 

Keepers: 

We've resigned Bailey Peacock Farrell - I'm a bit unsure about this. He's a great keeper and a terrible keeper at the same time. The hope has to be that with regular football, in the same team, over a period of time, he settles into being the former and not the latter. He's never really had that in his peripatetic career to date, so maybe it works. I have no qualms at all about his technical ability, he's as good a keeper in terms of his physical ability as anyone in the league - his concentration and sometime positioning is the issue and perhaps the communication that comes from being part of a unit with experience of playing together will address that. 

Franco is probably fine as back up - he looked calamitous initially, but had some good displays latterly - I don't really see a player who looks like an absolute top keeper, but equally, I don't see him as fatally flawed either as sometimes the reserve keeper obviously is, though he wisely cut out trying to fanny about at the back and kicked long in his better showings and I wonder if Evatt would possibly look to swap him out and bring in a keeper more confident in the short game if he wants to have a choice as opposed to a defined number one and a back up. 

Full backs/Wing backs: 

This is an area of urgent need. Zac Ashworth is fine, he's an able squad player, he's committed and can play a couple of roles. For me, he's one of the few this year who I rate more at the end of the season than I did at the start. 

Hayden Coulson hasn't really pushed on to be the player I'd hoped he'd be. He's likably energetic and can get forward, but he's not really got devastating skill or a demon cross and he's really lightweight. I don't particularly trust him at left back and I don't get overly excited about him as a left wing back. Coulson also is prone to injuries - it's a harsh way to judge a player, but like say, Shayne Lavery, his worth to us seems less than it could be as he seems unable to go more than 4 or 5 games without picking up a knock. 

Andy Lyons has similarly failed to be the player he looked he could be - In his case, personal and physical challenges have been genuinely massive and I think everyone would want Lyons to succeed - but as much as I hope he does, in my heart of hearts, I'd be very surprised if we started the season with him at right wing back - I think he probably needs a year of football somewhere to re find his mojo, as opposed to another season of stop/start gap filling and never really getting back to any kind of rhythm. 

That leaves us with CJ and astonishingly, CJ would come quite high on a list of players in answer to the question 'who played well last year' - that said, I wouldn't in a million years, build my team around the idea of CJ at wing back. For me, CJ's greatest strength at this point in his career is his utility. I enjoyed Evatt's impassioned explanation of CJ's hitherto uncredited football intelligence and ability to execute instructions in different positions - to me, that screams of a utility player - someone who can come off the bench and play 4 or 5 different roles, depending on the game situation (and equally, of course, fill gaps in starting line ups) - but we've done the 'going for promotion with CJ at wing back' story before - and it wasn't a happy one... 

Raul Walters was a good loan addition - his ability to play RCB, RB or RWB would fit nicely with the idea of flexibility and he wouldn't be a bad signing at all - he's also the right kind of age, a player with room to grow and seemingly a good level of fitness. James Husband leaves a big hole on the left - his ability to drive us out, his aptitude as an actual old style left back and ability to step in to LCB and cover the LWB effectively are all misses - but we probably do need a more dynamic, mobile player moving forward. 

Centre backs: 

If we play a back 3 we're definitely short. I really like Fraser Horsfall but a trio of Horsfall, Ihiekwe and Casey only needs a striker with even the slightest bit of guile and pace to run rings round them. It also is a horrible prospect in terms of fluid football, carrying the ball out of defence, creating overloads and so on. It's just not a viable back 3 in a sexy footballing team. It also possesses no left footers so is fatally imbalanced - something that matters both in facing up skilful forwards running at you (a good back three needs to cover advanced wing backs, so in essence, the wider centre backs need to be auxiliary fullbacks) and driving the ball forward. 

As a two, I think Horsfall and Casey isn't a bad pair - Casey is a much, much better player in a back four or at the centre of a five - I don't see him as a really top LCB or RCB though. In a five, Horsfall has the attributes to anchor the defence, Casey is a very able deputy - but there's only really Zac Ashworth and at a real push, Andy Lyons, I'd see as candidates to be the more mobile players either side that you need to make a back 3 or 5 something that is part of an attacking team as opposed to a defensive one - and I don't think Ashworth is quite ready to be a first pick every single week player and I don't think Lyons has shown enough form since injury to be that player either. 

Ihiekwe is a problem - he's not without heart and clearly played through injury and probably earned a worse reputation than he deserves doing so - but he's also really more at home in that central role than anywhere else and we've already got the Horse and Casey who are stronger there and he's probably the least equipped to play the wider role of anyone. He's also on a long contract so he's not easy to move on but in an ideal world, he's the player who would give way to allow space for a quality LCB which is the most sorely needed position 

Width (wingers or wide forwards)

Josh Bowler is the best footballer in the division. He just is. His touch is sublime, his ability to beat people at will remains. He's a better passer than he was when he left. He can shoot with almost no back lift and he absolutely terrifies oppositions, particular those teams who choose to sit in and therefore cede space for him to run into. He'll pull people out of shape and make space for others. Why then, does he seem almost as big an ill fit as Big Mike? He played so few times in his natural position (and the one time later in the season he did, he was absolutely brilliant) that it's hard to make a judgement. Is he capable of playing as a 10? I'd say, yes, but not if he's actually an 8 - which is what happens when you play a '10' but also play two strikers (so, by definition, you've already got one of them doing what a '10' would do) and have a defence (i.e. Ihiekwe, Horsfall, Casey) that isn't really able to regularly step up into midfield and free that attacking midfielder to make the forward, space finding runs. Bowler, for me, is the single biggest argument for playing a 433 and getting at teams - he's still superb in a wide position and, in the latter part of the season, he showed he was able to play with effort and tactical discipline. The temptation will come to believe that maybe he can be an 8 or a RWB - but he's a maverick and at this level, he's a ridiculous one to have on a 3 year deal and we should make use of what he is, not what would be most convenient for him to be. 

Tom Bloxham is similar - he's also best in that wide forward role. He's a gifted player and though he continues to frustrate me because he looks like he could smash people like Big Gaz but heads like he's the size of Martin Bullock, he absolutely ploughed a furrow last season and I hope this year, we see him rewarded for that effort by getting a bit more opportunity off the left or right of an attacking three as I think he looks more at home there than anywhere else. 

Surprisingly, as we collected wingers like they were going out of fashion at the start of the year, we don't have anyone else other than CJ. CJ's best position is definitely also in a front 3 - as I've already said, I'm not putting him down as a nailed on starter in any role - so, short of Niall Ennis (more on him in a moment) looking like the player of 18 months ago again, there's a space as an attacking left sided player in the squad. 

Central Midfielders: 

The dream is to sign Karoy Anderson. Of everyone who played for us last year, I think Karoy became my favourite. For the first time since Kenny Dougall inconveniently hopped for a life of Instagram bliss in Thailand, we possessed a real all round midfielder, someone who never tired, could do everything to a level, was equally able to defend and attack and could adapt to what was happening instead of trying to bend the the game to his style. He wasn't perfect, but at 21, he's got space to really grow as a player and in the short time he was with us, seemed to become less chaotic and more assured with games. Whether it's realistic, I don't know, but if we can't sign the actual Karoy, we need someone like him. He's never the star, but he's never half hearted. We need an engine room because far too often in the last few years, we've been overrun in midfield. 

We already possess Albie Morgan and it mystifies me that there's a section of fans who don't seem to rate Albie. If we get a consistently fit Morgan this season, that will be a huge boost. He's not quite as 'all round' as Karoy or Kenny - but he's tenacious, he runs very hard and his long range passing is something that no one else really has - he's got a degree of creativity that compensates for his slightness - and he's largely had to partner less dynamic players and therefore I wonder if there's a little bit more to come from Albie if someone like Anderson who would be equally willing to do the kind of midfield leg work that Albie has been stuck with alongside players like Evans and Norburn who seemed to largely point at where Albie needed to go in order to get the ball for them (to launch out of play) 

George Honeyman is a curious player. It's impossible not to warm to his work rate. He's obviously an able footballer. I'm just struggling to look back at the season and see many games where Honeyman felt like 'the difference' in either an attacking sense or as I felt Anderson was latterly (in breaking up play and carrying the ball) - it basically feels like Honeyman *should* be an real attribute but I'm not sure he definitively is. I read somewhere (apologies to whoever said it that I've nicked it) that he feels like 'the new Jay Spearing' and that struck a chord. Spearing too had undeniable qualities - I just never quite *got* him - I'm not quite sure what Honeyman actually is - he seems to be able to do a decent job at 6, 8 or 10 but never particularly excel at either - having come from the level he was at, perhaps I'm expecting miracles because of a perceived reputation, perhaps he needs the right partners - I'm not sure...

Jordan Brown divides opinion, but in my mind, was one of the best players in the run in. As much as he had some really poor games leading up to that, he was consistently ugly and awkward in midfield when we picked up form and I think found in those last 10 or so games we saw a good example of the idea of players being what they are and not what we'd like them to be. He's not going to run the game at 6 and spray backspin passes to the corners - but he will sweep and clean up and play simple but solid passes to start an attack - I think he's got a place in the mix and I'm more clear about his impact than I am Honeyman's - which is strange in a way given their relative abilities, but I can only say what I see... 

Leighton Clarkson has gorgeous feet, his ability to change the direction of play with a shimmy or a drag back in a crowded midfield is special. He's got vision too and for me, would definitely be ahead of Bowler if we're looking for that central attacking midfield role - Clarkson looks like he understands the middle role better - you've got split seconds to make the move - wide, Bowler's game is pause, feint, pause again, explode, which is difficult to do in the centre, Bowler is all about slowing the game down at times but Clarkson looks like he's already in the move when he receives the ball because you have to be in that role - he should be a real asset because he's got real quality and that quality seems to be aligned to effort. 

Ryan Finnegan remains at the club - I've never been totally convinced by him. He's dynamic and physical, but he's prone to a clumsy or careless touch. He pleases when he comes on as he gets stuck in, but he also gives the ball away a bit too often. In a different team, he'd probably shine (and clearly did at Walsall who played a very rugged and direct style) but if Evoball is to be in practice what it appears to be in theory, I'm not sure about his place in it. 

Strikers: 

If I was the manager, then without question Dale Taylor would be my first pick up front - it wouldn't matter whether I was playing 2,3 or 1 forwards, his name would go on the team sheet. Imagine Jerry Yates, but drinking isotonic sports drinks at a golf club bar rather than continental lagers in town. He's very good, he's a grafter, presses superbly, is technically  and positionally sharp and has an eye for goal. What's not to like (apart from the injuries, which we need to collectively pray to whoever or whatever we believe can influence the future, that he's free from next year) 

The above seems a bit harsh on Ash Fletcher - there's no question Fletch had a good season and no question he's a quality player - it's just that I'm not totally sure that Fletch quite fits into my vision of the perfect team - We've covered how we need to get the best out of some of the forwards by playing them wide and I'm not sure Fletch (whose real strength is his ability to drop off the front line into holes) is going to be great in the middle of a three. I've also eulogised Clarkson and the same problem I identified with Bowler at 10 applies to him - i.e. when you play two up front, you've already got a 10 - something that is even more true when Fletcher's best quality is that he can step off into that exact role. If he stays, he's clearly a good player and it would be remiss of me to not be really grateful for the fact that, without his goals, we'd have been in Division Two - but if he doesn't stay, then he might just create the space for attributes we don't have and possibly a shift in how we set up. Maybe!!

Niall Ennis is yet another difficult case - what became abundantly clear was that the Ennis who came back from an early season injury was far less mobile than the one we saw on loan and at the outset of his permanent spell. The exact nature of the injury is unclear, but Ennis looked like he needed something sorting out and a long spell of fitness work - my theory (and it's mere speculation) is that his physical shape was related to an inability to train - but that we needed him to be available, so that whatever rehabilitation or intervention was required couldn't happen. A fit Ennis would be a huge asset and like Morgan, almost like a new signing. 

Tom Bloxham, I've covered, he's able to do a job up front and deserves respect for properly sticking at the role and finding some performances and indeed, gaining some stamina, but I wouldn't put him there out of choice because I think his real strength is elsewhere. 

It won't surprise anyone that I think what we lack is a physical presence. At the lowest of ebbs last year, I half jokingly, half seriously proposed sticking the Horse up front and picking up the pieces that bounce off him. As the Horse can't be at both ends and as ultimately, in League One you sometimes need to resort to such things, I feel the real gap up front is in this type of player. Taylor can play with back to goal, Ennis isn't bad for a little lad, Fletcher isn't awful in the air but none of them are the kind of dominant physical threat who will change a game and allow us to hit direct balls on the occasions when football isn't the answer. 

The overall: 

There's without doubt quality in the squad and I think there's a few areas where we should have some healthy competition - there's gaps too and those gaps exist regardless of formation. There's players we could hope to get more out of and a few players it seems might not really fit. It's not going to be a summer of total change - and perhaps, given that last summer was, that's not a bad thing - but there really does need to be targeted recruitment of quality in full back roles, in some mobility for central defenders, especially if we're going to pick 3, a left sided attacker if we're going to play 3 up front (and we should do that sometimes,) someone to do what Karoy did (or in an ideal world, Karoy) and of course, if Fletch isn't staying, a nasty, physical striker for hold up play and flick ons... 

Off the pitch, we've seen changes that needed to happen. I've no real way of knowing how good Winter was at the minutiae of his job - but clearly, barely speaking for three years whilst the club performed worse year on year and (publicly at least) no real discernible sense of enthusiasm or great feeling of ownership of the backsliding drift left it difficult to defend him. It's also difficult to know whether David Downes is the right man to step into his shoes, especially given we've had a relatively poor time in the transfer market and 'Football Operations' haven't been a resounding success but like other key appointments (Nick Horne, Harry Lyons) Downes has a link with the town and the club and ultimately, Winter was the senior role so Downes may work differently without him - we'll see! 

The one question that remains in that respect is the role of Steve Thompson. Again, I don't pretend to be a journalist, I don't know if Thommo wants a full time role, I don't know what the finances involved in that would be, I don't know how Evo feels about it (beyond him seeming publicly positive about it when asked) but it does seem logical that we should try to keep him on as he clearly had a positive impact. 

We're going into the new season with more people in footballing and non-footballing roles who clearly care about the club than we've had of late -, in fact, we've got a manager who sometimes seems as if he cares a bit too much... The  owner has to some extent at least, reengaged and some of the business side appointments have had universal approval from people I've spoken too who are closer than I to their roles.

As ever, what how the season feels will be largely dictated by what happens on the pitch - but it does feel as if some of the concerns about a club run by numbers and by distant individuals applying generic strategies might have been understood and addressed. I can't even begin to understand what's going on in a Hong Kong legal case, I won't even pretend to understand what a hedge fund even is, let alone what the finer points of legal discourse about a topic I don't understand in a country I don't live in even means - but provided we get through that and recruit in a much more effective and targeted way, then we've got a chance next year of a much better season. It's impossible to believe that Evatt's preseason will be a lacklustre as Bruce's, there's some continuity within the squad, a core of some talented players who've had some time to gel with each other and understand their roles in relation to Evatt's ideas - add the right players to those and we might start to look like we're designed for something, rather than a random collection of people. 

As ever, optimism is the only option, belief is the only way, tangerine is the one true colour and the Pool are, as always, going up. 

Onwards. 

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Cheers Hubby!

Time doesn't stand still does it? One minute you've signed a lad on loan from Norwich, Simon Grayson is your manager, you're trying to work out what this 'Simon Sadler' character is all about and the next, everything and nothing has changed, except your waving off James Husband from Blackpool North station, flapping your handkerchief, bravely trying to keep your emotions in check, but as the train pulls away and you catch sight of one last cheeky grin from the formally top-knotted football god (the Blackpool Baresi), you have to wipe away a bit of grit from your eye. 

Let me be clear from the outset - fuck the doubters, I properly adored James Husband. From pretty much the moment he turned up as a short cropped youthful physical wingback type to the moment he left as a senior player who you could almost literally hear creaking as he played, I appreciated what he brought to us. 

He came to fill a gap on the left and in Simon Grayson's wonky one lopsided set up, seemed to run the entire flank, because he had the legs to do that and no one else we tried did. Under Critchley, he was in and out, a bit part at times, a solid left back, initially a liability as a centre back but eventually a play off hero in that role. Maybe his best position was where he ended up playing in the last few months, stepping out of the left side of defence, prompting things, maybe it was left back where, in our decent Championship season, he put up some actually sensational numbers for a player who many considered a bit above his level. 

It's hard to write a 'best bits' montage of a player who will probably be remembered as 'a good servant' as opposed to yer magic men who went on to greater things - but no Jerry Yates, no Wes Hoolahan, no Charlie Adam, no Josh Bowler could ever have made the tackle that I've never seen bettered in the flesh, robbing Dominic Solanki of a hat trick goal that would have put us 3-0 down away at Bournemouth in a game we eventually not only salvaged a draw but could have won. He just didn't give up, from what seemed like miles away, he threw himself full length, somehow nipping the ball off the lad's toes in what seemed an impossible feat of athleticism and split second timing and that moment inspired a change in the entire game. 

Under Critchley 2.0 (safety enhanced edition), away at Oxford in a drab, drab, drab performance, Pool frustrate. Sideways and backwards, everywhere we go and Super Jimbo is the only one driving us forward, running out of defence, only to find the rest of the team recycling the ball and eventually it coming back to him to do it again. He sticks at it. He doesn't give up. He never gives up. The minutes tick away and there, surging forward, his lurching gait, running, as always in the latter part of his Pool career, as if he's carrying three different injuries, but leaping like a salmon at the back post, nodding it across and there is the fucking goal! He doesn't score it because Jimmy almost never takes centre stage, he just does his job and someone else gets the plaudits, the adoration, the moment of running away arms aloft. 

We're playing PNE - I can't remember if it's the Appleton 4-2 or the Critchley 2-0 but anyway, we've scored and the world is going mental and everyone is upside down in the stands and the world is vibrating to the particular light wave of tangerine - no one is calm. Except for Jimmy, who just saunters calmly past the Preston fans and gives them a little 'shush' with the most impish grin you could imagine. 

Away at Huddersfield this year - Jimmy is back in the side and he just runs the game, we've got a makeshift defence but he's taking the ball, he's pointing he's tidying up, he's calming things down, he's speeding things up when they need it. He's falling over at just the right time shielding the ball - he knows exactly what to do - the little nudge, the little lean in, the nipping at the forward and then the confrontation and the butter wouldn't melt in my mouth look as he walks away, as if aghast that anyone would get so wound up by a football match. 

Jimmy Husband, bastard, sneaky purveyor of shithousery. The kind of player you hate when they're not yours. 

It's a beautiful thing when they are though. 

A man who lost a bet to Gary Madine and played a game with cornrows. A man with an evident dry wit and well spoken football intelligence. A player who, by all accounts was generous with his time for others and looked after younger players and helped with and encouraged their development. A man with a singular dress sense. A man who played a starring role in the single greatest piece of football media ever created by anyone ever and whose 'looking in a box' face was a thing of untrammeled joy and wonder. Husband gave the sense that he'd be good to have a chat with over a pint - a vibe that isn't always common amongst modern footballers. 

His tired looking heavy legged overlaps could often show a more fleet footed winger how to put cross in when you get the chance. His vision at the back was deeply underrated. Jimmy can put his foot through it for sure, but he can also pass a football. He was never the biggest or strongest defender, but the amount of times he won a ball in the air, stretching every sinew, head tilted back, falling away and just getting the top of his head to it to send it out of the path of an incoming forward, I couldn't say - it was many. Watching him shadow and then snap into a player coming at him was a joy, he was very, very good at not getting run past by a man with the ball. 

I'd love to spend a few hours trawling data, trying to prove that left wingers played better when Jimmy played left back. I haven't got a few hours to spend, but it felt that way to me. A natural talker on the pitch, someone like CJ always seemed a better player with Husband prompting him.  Even early in his Pool days, when he moved inside, the left wing back seemed to play well. A future in coaching surely awaits. The man can read a football match. 

Yeah, he fucked up sometimes, but I'm not some dickhead on Twitter supporting a team in another country and having a meltdown for likes if a player's passing stats drop below 99%. I'm an actual football fan who supports an actual football team and goes to actual games and what I know from being an actual real life person is that I fuck up sometimes and therefore, actual footballers in actual games will do that too because like me, they're people and people are flawed. 

Remember the time he got sent off under Critch and then when he came back from suspension got sent off for exactly the same thing about 5 minutes into his first game back? I've never literally done that, but I've definitely metaphorically done that because fuck me, life, is basically making the same mistakes over and over and trying to crack on with it and get through the shame and self doubt and frustration at your own limitations, stupidity and foolishness. I once ran down my car battery by leaving my lights on twice in the same week. It's basically the same thing isn't it? 

I mean, no, I've never literally chucked a full length aerial foot first spear tackle at someone for absolutely no explicable reason in a south east seaside town but metaphorically I have....

Ok, I'm not sure actually on that one...

I probably shouldn't focus on his red cards but it's impossible to think of a Jimmy Husband montage that doesn't include him trudging off the pitch, his head hung low, as tired and fed up looking as a put upon donkey making their way home from the beach. I mean, people (and that includes Ian 'emotional intelligence is my calling card' Evatt) piled into him for getting sent off this year, but really, he got sent off for a good tackle (in an absolute disgraceful decision at Port Vale that should see the referee struck off and the PGMOL disbanded, then sent to live in exile on an unpleasantly humid island with lots of biting flies and limited clean water) and whilst his second one wasn't ideal, he'd just ridden a potentially leg breaking tackle and had a bloke sat on him. I imagine if someone tried to break my leg, then sat on me I could lash out, you could lash out. Ian 'I describe myself as a weaver of DNA' Evatt certainly could lash out.

Maybe Ian 'leadership and development conference' Evatt was right to dress him down and lay down a marker and clearly, Evo knows defending and defenders and maybe, just maybe, Hubby has run his race in tangerine - but I'm glad Hubby got back in after that, I'm glad he played well for us again. I'm glad he played his part in keeping us up. I wouldn't have wanted him to go out on that note because he'd given too much and been too much for us for that to be his last act. He celebrated our survival with relish, like it meant something and that's all you can really ask of a player - to actually show a bit of soul and fight and he certainly did. 

I'll miss him a lot. He's been a constant and he's a character - but I also think, a quality footballer, a player who, like all of my favourite players made the best of his attributes and played a game that was distinctly his. Is he the best left back I've ever seen play football? Perhaps not quite. Is he probably my favourite left back? I think so. 

Super Jimbo, it's been an absolute pleasure. 

Go well. 

 You can follow MCLF on facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram or use Follow.it to get posts sent to your email If you appreciate the blog and judge it worth 1p or more, then a donation to one of the causes below which help kids and families in Blackpool would be grand.

Home-Start Blackpool Food Bank

Writing about football is possibly a bit pointless in an era when there's the telly and youtube and videos all over the shop. It's not my living this and it's just something I do because I do so there's no problem with reading it and then getting on with your life - but if you do want to chuck some money at the cause of some random fella writing shit no one ever asked him too, then Patreon. is a thing.

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Taylor-made - the Mighty vs Peterborough Utd

Here we go again. I'm blinking back a hangover. The pain is gathered around my eyes and a plan to soften the edges with gentle walk and several recuperative pit stops on the way from North Station is foiled by the trains being busses that take twice as long and me thinking 'fuck that, I'll drive'

So I do. It's a gusty day that already has changed its mind several times. From blue, to grey, to black angry sideways rain -  to be honest, I don't care what the weather does as long as we win. It could rain frogs for weeks and I'd take that with pleasure if it meant 3 points.

Monday was a body blow. The relief of the Exeter victory wiped away, the anxiety of relegation back with a vengeance and the shortcomings of this season all too familiar. I'm not going to list them, I've said the same thing so, so many times. Today is a new day. Let's hope the attacking force that showed up in the first half against Exeter is present today. Maybe I'll pray for Bowler's hamstring.

We need this...

---

Bloxham scraps and battles and a corner is his reward. C'mon Pool. I'm watching Horsfall and Jimmy because who else is going to do anything at a corner? A glance back to Brown, then back to the danger men who split and run in different directions but what's the point because Brown has scuffed the corner, absolute pile of shite, disgraceful, you get fucking paid for this and you can't even beat the first man... but there is Dale Taylor, darting, on to it, facing goal and a lovely calm, simple as you like finish and I realise I've read that moment all wrong and I know nothing about football at all and that doesn't matter because we're 1-0 up, already! 

That's done us all the world of good. Before the game, the ground felt nervy - but now it's exploded and we're set piece kings of the world. 

I hope that we don't sit back now - and we don't sit back. Peterborough are distinctly unnerved by us and we look, well, I have to say it... good. I've felt that so few times this season - we've battled quite well of late and we've had a few spells in games - but we've rarely controlled a game like this - the press from the front is very good - Taylor is positively Jerry-esque as he leads the charge, Bloxham is liberated by having a partner who wants to do this and this lets him hunt wide and find space in general, Karoy is on fire, charging at anyone Peterborough player who dares to touch the ball and Brown very effective in tidying up behind him. Anything that gets through that and the defence snap into it and we're off again... 

We absolutely roast them alive for a while. Bloxham continues to win corners and get shots in. We're playing very high and Walters ends up basically on the right wing. A ball across the box, another ball across the box and a deflection and a great save by the Posh keeper, a scream for a penalty, a proper one, everyone in unison on and off the pitch. I swear I hear it slap the hand of the defender but the ref and the impassive linesman are deaf to the imploring voices and the outstretched arms. 

It goes on, we are going to score again, we must score again, it's a sheer weight of numbers thing, it's like watching a training exercise, it's as if Peterborough are drilled not to go over the halfway line and just let us come again and again, the Horse gets his head to some corners, one and two are headed back but nothing comes of them but three is down, powerful and just past the far post. CJ nutmegs his man and races away... Ole! Honeyman goes for it from the edge of the box and his low shot seems to be tipped wide, but the ref gives a goal kick. 

We need another goal. We deserve another goal. 

What happens next is so painfully obvious to any of us... I'm watching us knock it about at the back. We're so in control of this game it's like we're just having a little breather and my attention wanders. A shocked gasp runs through the crowd, I refocus on the pitch. Peterborough now have the ball and they're charging at the heart of our box and they're letting fly with an absolute thunderbolt, it's really quite a finish, one of those that seems to sense the hand of the keeper and swerve away from it... I have to ask what happened - how we went from being comfortable in possession to picking the ball out of the net in the moment I looked away - CJ is the answer. Not so ole! 

We need to get back on this and after a lull, we do. The Horse meets another in the box, Husband hits a far post effort on the turn, a goal for the ages if it comes off, but he doesn't catch it cleanly and the keeper falls gratefully on it. 

Then another twist in the tale as Honeyman gets caught on the ball and goes down, Posh go up the middle and CJ redeems himself with a good bit of defensive work but Honeyman is done for. Off he limps and on comes Clarkson. It's obviously a blow to lose your captain and grim for him personally, but I do wonder if, given we've got so much control of the midfield, Clarkson's guile and technical quality might actually be exactly what we need in the moment. 

We win the ball back again, it's poked forward to Clarkson, the chip is on, their keeper is miles off his line, Clarkson steadies himself and then doesn't shoot, it's agonising as it seems so the obvious option, maybe it won't sit, maybe he's not quite got to the pace of the game and instead, he slides in Bloxham who just doesn't quite have the space to make anything of it, the keeper sliding out rushing him into a low shot that is smothered. 

---

The fear is we've blown a chance to be comfortable. I can't remember enjoying us play this much this season, but we're drawing and there are no points for style. The midfield has been excellent, Bloxham has marauded - but we're not winning... 

--- 

We come out in the same fashion. The fear that we'd fail to turn the screw is swiftly alleviated as first Karoy and then Clarkson test the keeper... then, CJ bursts forward, he's foiled, but the ball bounces out to Husband who takes one look and strikes a lovely pass into space, Bloxham is there, it's perfect for him, he can cut in, off a right hand channel and he holds it, holds it and at exactly the right moment slides it between the keepers legs and into the net. The roof comes off and Bloxham basks in the moment... 

We keep playing, Clarkson and CJ have efforts, the place is absolutely rocking and then, suddenly the noise, so loud seconds before is gone, it's like someone has detuned an AM radio, where moments before there was loud music, there is only the hissing static of concern. It has become quickly evident that someone has been taken ill, it's an awful thing and all that can be said is to say that everyone in the ground seems to grasp the weight of the moment and to describe any more would be ghoulish

We restart. It's a strange feeling. I wonder to myself if it's selfish to even think about football now. Football is relentless though, it just keeps going. The game takes a few minutes to shake off the delay, but quickly, Pool assert themselves again, Taylor first having an effort saved and then, CJ's redemption arc is complete as he robs a Posh player, drives forward, exchanges passes with Taylor, is into the box, and tucks back a simple, but perfect return pass to the striker, who again, finishes with a calm accuracy that speaks volumes of the quality he's shown during the game, he finds space, he has time, he's precise in what he does. 

That, must, surely, be that. 

This is Blackpool though and of course it isn't. 

Almost immediately, Husband gets caught out by a ball forward, an awkward attempt at clearing it or controlling it isn't either and is instead a perfect through ball. Horsfall is wrong side and is never going to make it back, so he takes the legs of the Posh defender. Instinctively, I think 'that's a red' and it is. Maybe there's cover, but you've be surprised if the Posh player didn't get a shot off without Horsfall's intervention is my take. It's a potential disaster - we've had such control that I'm not sure we actually needed to worry unduly about conceding the goal because we've looked like we could score 5 or 6 ourselves - but with 10 men, that control will be gone... 

My worries don't materialise - we withdraw Taylor to deserved rapturous applause and we regroup. The free kick comes to nothing and neither does anything else. There's a couple of routine saves from BPF, a couple of horrible efforts from Posh where they might have done better - at some point (may have been before the red, I'm not sure) BPF makes a good low stop from a close range effort but overall we keep them at bay, more than anything, we frustrate them and long before the whistle actually goes, it's clear that they don't believe they're going to score. We even manage a few breaks, the tireless Anderson charging up the pitch, CJ setting Bloxham away with a very clever pass into space before he himself ends up up front. We even have a spell of just knocking it around, almost like a good football team... 

When the final whistle goes, the relief is sheer but for once this year, the appreciation of the performance as well as the outcome is there. It's a deserved victory, not simply because we've played well, but because we've shrugged off setbacks and played well in different ways. 

--- 

It's been a great game. I'm not getting carried away, because Peterborough have defended like we've defended for large parts of the season and there's more teams that play like Stevenage than play like Peterborough - but at the same time, it's been brilliant to see us play in practice something like the rhetoric has spoken of - we were on the front foot, we were brave, we attacked in a pack and we had relationships across the pitch - something we've struggled with so much. Anderson and Brown held and went impeccably, they were like pistons in a machine, Clarkson in with those two grafting for him looked real quality, one moment where he shimmied, checked his run, stepped sideways and then held a pass, before releasing the absolutely perfectly weighted ball was something from a beautiful dream, he's got magic in his boots. Walters was strong and solid, Bloxham as good as he's been in a 'Pool shirt and Taylor the quality up front that we hoped he'd be in summer. There wasn't a poor performance from anyone. 

We're nearly there - but we're not there yet... The last month has been much better, we've fought, the quality of our play has gradually improved too. There's still so many questions - but today did show something that can give us hope in the performances of some of our players and our ability to use them to their strengths. 

Knowing how the incident in the North West corner appears to have turned out casts a shadow over it all though. A football crowd is many things and many different people, with many different backgrounds and beliefs but football is one of the few things that binds people in collective experience. It's a tragic afternoon and the tragedy of others always speaks of our shared mortality. 

Football is escape, it's where we forget and where we dream. It's the joy of seeing players live what we can't, it's the bond of being in a crowd, it's the ludicrous meaning in a life that often feels empty or routine. It's what we look forward to in the midst of toil and it's the collective madness we all indulge in, to walk into the stadium and immerse ourselves in whatever happens, cocooned, cut off from outside, knowing that we'll walk out again, blinking back into the real world, full of joy, frustration or whatever. It's made what it is by all of us, by everyone.

Every Blackpool fan, every football fan can only offer condolences, thoughts and sadness. 

RIP Seasider. 


 You can follow MCLF on facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram or use Follow.it to get posts sent to your email If you appreciate the blog and judge it worth 1p or more, then a donation to one of the causes below which help kids and families in Blackpool would be grand.

Home-Start Blackpool Food Bank

Writing about football is possibly a bit pointless in an era when there's the telly and youtube and videos all over the shop. It's not my living this and it's just something I do because I do so there's no problem with reading it and then getting on with your life - but if you do want to chuck some money at the cause of some random fella writing shit no one ever asked him too, then Patreon. is a thing.

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Breathing Space? - the Mighty vs Exeter

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather we weren't in a relegation battle - but I've quite enjoyed the ending of this season. I mean, yes, on balance, I'd prefer it if we were heading into the latter stages of the Champions League and holding a 12 point lead at the top of the Premier League - but that will have to wait a few years yet and scrapping for your life brings a certain existential energy to it all. 

The squalls of rain and gusts of wind blow around early season holiday makers and late season football fans alike. It's blue sky, it's grim sideways wetness. It's Blackpool in April... A steady trickle of tangerine from the station, gathering numbers down Central drive and finally, as the tributaries convene on the estuary of Bloomfield Road, it's a torrent, a forceful, expectant body surging up to and against and finally through the turnstiles. It's a good sign for the future of the club - if the town will turn out in force for a relegation fight then it's really something that should be viewed as an unequivocal positive. It's amazing what a kick up the arse the last few weeks have been. 

The optimism leaves me nervous. Everyone seems to think we'll win. I can hear bold predictions all around. I'm not sure. I feel some of that hope - Exeter are not very good, they're an aging side in freefall and going on reputation alone, you'd probably pick more or less all of our team over more or less all of theirs - but that's exactly why I'm nervous.

This is us. If we can Blackpool it up, we will. 

--- 

I'm immediately heart-broken that there's no Josh Bowler, an absence which only sends me deeper into concern. On the pitch though, we might not have electricity, but we do have pace and attacking intent. It feels like forever since I've actually had some chances and positive football to write about but today, we actually play *quite well* for a decent spell and it's lovely to behold. 

I say 'lovely' - I mean 'deeply frustrating for quite a long time' because, whilst the front three of Bloxham and CJ outside of Super Ashley Fletcher looks potent and the change to a more aggressively attacking set up is very welcome, we keep squandering chances...

We're absolutely carving them up in the channels. CJ is rolling back the years to when he wasn't a utility full back but a direct and attacking winger, Bloxham is looking far more comfortable for having a bit of width and freedom in his game rather than just going up the middle. We win early corners and that gets the ground up and behind the team and from there, the scene is set for an out Blackpool bombardment... 

First, CJ is in, Walters spinning a ball up the line, CJ peeling away, taking a touch and hitting it low and hard but the onrushing keeper smothers it. It's all about CJ again, good work from Honeyman and there's Hamilton away, this time going wide, hitting the byline and a low pull back, there's a scramble as Fletcher has a chance and Exeter at full stretch block it, but it pops up for Joel Randall, who seems to only need the most simple of touches to guide it home and, as he connects, I'm tensing everything in preparation for the moment of release, the leaping, punching delight of a goal, but instead, I'm falling, literally onto my knees, head in my hands as the loanee guides the ball wide and somehow, we're not in front... 

Hamilton wins a free kick after a good high press robs Exeter in a dangerous area. Jordan Brown aims for Horsfall, who nods it back, it's an inviting touch and James Husband looks set to answer it positively, coming from deeper onto the dropping ball and again, I'm ready for this, all goals are great goals, but a goal from Jimbo and I'm probably on the pitch to be honest... but instead of delight, Husband is cursing himself and sinking to his knees as if imitating me from a few minutes earlier and the ball is in the South Stand and I'm turned around looking at the guy behind me as we share a moment of silent 'why do we do this?' frustration... 

A shake of the head and it's forgotten. The noise is great. Seaside. Barmy Army. We Follow Blackpool FC. We Come From The Seaside... more pressure down the flanks - Honeyman bursting forward, he's industrious today, him and Brown own the midfield, it's the first time in forever that we've actually taken control of the centre of the pitch and we look so much better for it. A corner... 

...It's swung in, I've got a theory that the Horse would be terrific as a target man. If we could sign him again and play him at both ends of the pitch that would be ideal - just as his touch in taking down Brown's corner is, it's brutally delicate, basically as near to a moment of Madine as you can get without the great man himself putting down his can of Stella to flick one perfectly round the corner for Jerry... here are, the Horse about to score a truly beautiful goal, he's going to burst the net and this is going to be glorious

The Horse leans back, kicks the ball like, well, a horse to be honest,,, and ball ends up in row Q.

He trots back to his defensive duties.

This is looking worryingly like it might not be our day. It has 'sucker punch' written all over it. It would be absolute peak 'Blackpool' to dominate a game to this extent and then for Exeter to score a breakaway goal after having done absolutely nothing. 

That, thank all the known ideas of god/gods isn't the case. Walters looks up, he dinks a curling ball, CJ leaps, it evades both him and the defender, Bloxham has found a channel, his run takes him on to it, there's a moment of 'what happens now?' but before the situation can evolve, Bloxham is lifting the ball, the keeper completely cut out by the chip and I've got time to think 'that's going in!' and then to assess again, before it drops over the line and relief and delight washes over the stadium. 

It's more than deserved - if we hadn't got at least one goal as a reward for the dominance we've shown, it would have been ridiculous but a sublime finish has saved us all from that fate. 

Still the game is open, a long ball from the keeper, a flick from Fletcher and CJ is spinning and firing just over. 

Finally, Exeter make something. They've looked as weak as anyone who has turned up at Bloomfield Road this season but when they put a few passes together, they actually don't look bad and they play an incisive move, out from the back, around a bit in midfield, down the right and then Wareham on the end of it forces a good, athletic leap from BPF to tip it over.  

--- 

It's been almost all us, barring a little spell of pressure at the end. I'm certainly not turning my nose up at the first half performance - it was everything you'd hope for in this sort of game barring the end product. We could and should be further ahead and it's very rare that we've felt thus this season. We've looked comfortable more or less all over the pitch - the back four have coped well despite it being a bit cobbled together - in fact, there's only really Fletcher (who looks leggy, a bit fatigued perhaps) and Randall who is, (one glorious control, spin and pass aside) frustratingly neither here nor there, not really grabbing the game, not really disrupting the game, just kind of 'in between' play

The Youth Cup winners get a pleasing reception and I'm reminded of my age as it seems 5 minutes since I was watching Blinks (who looks really happy with the noise made as his lads parade the cup) play

--- 

We start well and Fletcher comes close with a header - but if we were feeling happy with life, then BPF does his level best to banish any complacency a few minutes later. Exeter put one into the box and what looks a routine gather turns into a jump scare moment as the ball is spilled, his response is quick though and he tries to smother it, but the ball escapes again and thankfully Jimmy puts his boot through it and we breath again. 

Brown intercepts, drives forward, we work the ball wide to CJ, once again he goes inside and this time he smashes it, the keeper does well, but we win it back, work it to Coulson who flicks his lovely hair, readjusts his headband and lines up an arrowing drive that moves, dips, swerves, but doesn't quite do enough to nestle in the top corner... C'mon Pool! 

For the first time, we fall into a lull. Exeter work the ball around, we start to chase shadows. Where we'd dominated, we now look second best. The Grecians aren't exactly storming into the box at every opportunity, but it feels like the balance of the game has changed. We take off Bloxham and put Ennis on. I'm not sure this really works - Bloxham has done a good job today but Ennis finds it hard to make the ball stick to him. The ineffective Randall is replaced by the little dynamo Clarkson. Fletcher makes way for Taylor who doesn't have a lot of opportunity but has a few touches that scream class. Honeyman picks up a booking and is replaced by Anderson. I like Karoy but Honeyman had a little bit of calm on the ball and Anderson only ups the chaos - sometimes that's exactly what you need, but today - in the last 20 mins we're begging for someone to just take a moment and slow it down and that's not what we get. 

Still, there's chances - after being under pressure for what feels like far too long, Clarkson shows that little moment of vision we need - a velvet touch and a sublime piece of vision on the edge of his own box to play a short pass to Anderson who has the whole pitch to run into, he charges right up the middle, just as it looks like he's going to take it on, he offloads to the onrushing CJ who smashes it into the side netting before being cleaned out... 

If we'd been largely comfortable at the back, that changes when Exeter roll out their giant veteran forward Josh Magennis and suddenly set plays and corners feel more risky. Husband is outjumped, even Horsfall struggles to win his duels. This blog is nothing if not a fan of the big physical gnarly old target man role and once again, I wonder why we don't have anyone comparable within our options and why I'm left with only the Horse for such worship... (when the Horse takes on and beats three players in a wonderful random run when we're under pressure in the second half, I do wonder if he's the greatest player ever to play professional football) 

It's getting scrappy. Ennis is forced to fight in the corner defensively. Clearances are skewed. It's clear that if we'd got calmer minds, we could probably spring a break at any moment but no one is calm, there's just too much on this. We chuck on Ollie Casey and CJ is serenaded off the pitch. Say what you like, but this lad has now played left wing, right wing, left back, right back AND centre forward in less than 3 full games and he's done alright in all of them. His versatility has been key in helping us set up - CJ plays all over the shop and that lets others play in the right place. Yes, CJ lacks in what CJ lacks, but if we stay up, he's been as big a part of this run in working out as anyone. 

There's lads at the back of the Kop, spinning their tops round their heads. There's every clearance and anything even half decent by 'Pool being cheered to the rafters. Imagine this place if we actually won something. 

Exeter are throwing their goalie forward. If I'm a fan of big target men, I'm an even bigger fan of the keeper going up for corners, though today, I don't want any Jimmy Glass shit thank you very much. A weak punch by our keeper, the ball drops horribly for an Exeter shirt.... and thank fuck... is lashed wide. A huge sigh of relief because for moment there I could see the net billowing and feel the deflation in the air all around. C'mon Pool!!

(There's a moment where Peacock Farrell dallies taking the resulting goal kick where it's pointed out that if he just put his foot through it quickly instead of time wasting, he might actually score and I'm left mourning the opportunity to see and celebrate such a goal.)

Finally we do get that break but it's Ollie Casey on the charge who runs it into the corner. He does brillinatly, winning a throw and eating up a minute or so on the resulting scuffling. Exeter have time for one more lump into the box, it's headed away and the ref... (who feels more like he should be fronting some kind of Channel 5 lifestyle programme than running around a football pitch and unusually for a League 1 ref seemed up with the play, to want the game to flow and to talk constantly to the players) ... blows the whistle. 

--- 

Absolute delight at full time. 

To have not won that game would have been sheer heartbreak. Again, it's madness to take too much away from only just beating a side that literally haven't won a match for a third of a season - but there was a bit in that game to show we can go at teams and take control. There's also no doubt that, when the pressure has really come to boiling point, they've managed to find the togetherness and fight that was lacking and that as supporters, we've rallied to that. 

I've also liked that we're now using different systems and taking on opponents with different ideas. We've not really done that regularly since Critchley 1.0 and whilst, I do see the argument for 'the steering wheel' approach, it also must put doubt in the oppositions minds if you don't know what you're going to get - and for about the first 30 mins it looked as if Exeter had been totally caught out by us setting up in a way they either didn't expect or couldn't counter. I don't know if Thommo has brought a calmness or objectivity or just a voice of reason - but there's definitely a happier camp for him being in it and it feels as if we're using the players as they are instead of trying to make them what we wished they were. 

We're not done - it's a worry to be missing Bowler because he's the genuine bit of potential quality in any game, I also think Ennis probably needs to stop playing as soon as possible and get into rehab for whatever is restricting his movement - we still need another win, maybe 4 points overall to feel we can breathe and start thinking of next season. This season can't be over quick enough, it's been one of the dampest squibs you can think of and the summer brings a lot of questions both on and off the pitch - but all that said, I've loved us again for the last few games because, regardless of the football or the league position, a packed Bloomfield Road and a Blackpool victory is the best thing in the world.

Onward 

You can follow MCLF on facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram or use Follow.it to get posts sent to your email If you appreciate the blog and judge it worth 1p or more, then a donation to one of the causes below which help kids and families in Blackpool would be grand.

Home-Start Blackpool Food Bank

Writing about football is possibly a bit pointless in an era when there's the telly and youtube and videos all over the shop. It's not my living this and it's just something I do because I do so there's no problem with reading it and then getting on with your life - but if you do want to chuck some money at the cause of some random fella writing shit no one ever asked him too, then Patreon. is a thing.

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