FA Cup 3rd Round - Aston Villa (a) - Lost 1-0

Another defeat, but at least we took a Premier League side the full distance before they scored.  For the first time in a long while, we looked solid defensively for the full game with Clarke not missing a tackle, while we created a number of opportunities but were unable to capitalise.  Miller was thwarted by a great fingertip save by Given while Orlandi ran the full length of the pitch only to stumble at the last moment.

It’s probably inevitable that we’re going down this season, but the Cup game showed that there is some talent in the team.  For those who travelled, at least the team gave us back some pride and showed they cared.  That effort and will needs to be taken into the next game against Millwall, which really is a must win game against one of the teams who will be in the relegation struggle at the end of the season.  A win and hope will still be there.  Anything less and we can start planning for League One.

For a club that competed so well in the Premier League so recently that truly is a scandal and highlights just how much we have squandered the opportunity presented by that promotion.  If by some miracle we actually escape relegation, this situation simply can’t be allowed to happen again.

STARMAN: Jamie O’Hara

2014 Review

2014 has been an unmitigated disaster for Blackpool FC.  Four managers and only five wins sums up just how bad it has been for the long suffering fans.  The Chairman continues to believe his policies are what have brought us success in the recent past, yet that flies in the face of what has gone on this year, with no-one at the club contracted beyond the end of the season, and some approaching their contract end date any time now.  What price stability?

The long running Jose Riga saga probably summed up just how wrong the current status of the club is, with his appointment then followed by months of inactivity, meaning we went into the season completely hamstrung and basically unable to compete.  That situation was then allowed to fester for far too long before the belated sacking, followed by the appointment of Lee Clark.  He has inherited a nightmare situation where, although we are halfway through the season, the team are still like complete strangers on the field, while we are looking to the January window as if some kind of miracle is going to happen and a fully functioning team will appear.

Add in the latest embarrassment with the revelations around the Chairman’s text conversations, ridiculing the working class fanbase while using abusive language more suited to a playground in the 70s and it puts a final nail into what has been the death of the fans’ hopes and ambitions for the club.

2015 at present offers nothing but a countdown to as and when relegation is confirmed, despite the best efforts of Clark and his players.  A significant number of the fans will continue to go to games to support their efforts, but there is no doubt that the sole blame for our predicament lies totally with Karl Oyston.  Change is needed and it must start from the top.

STARMAN:  Joe Lewis