Pool Panel - Birmingham (a) & Watford (a)

Tuesday night at Birmingham was essential in not losing ground to one of the teams around us, and a point was the least we deserved for a decent away performance, with us in control for much of the first half only to concede once again to a set piece.  The turning point was the introduction of Ludo Sylvestre who immediately gave us more urgency going forward with his neat, one touch football.  We were very close to scoring as Crainey overlapped and put a great ball across the face of goal, but scored from the resulting corner, with Broadfoot bundling the ball home from close in as Delfouneso created confusion with his first touch.

Watford are in fine form so not much was expected.  For Paul Ince to get his first win there was therefore all the sweeter.  We again had a few chances early on with Ince and Derbyshire both being denied by good saves, only to fall behind.  The linesman inexplicably gave them a throw in, and then compounded his error by not picking up on the blatant foul throw; they broke at pace, we missed a tackle and they scored.   Once again Ludo came on and made a difference and again Crainey overlapped with Ince taking advantage.  After that, only one team looked like winning and it duly came after a scramble caused by Futacs making a nuisance of himself at a corner.  A great win that makes us look much more secure in the Division. We need to build with victory against Peterborough.

STARMAN: Ludo Sylvestre (Birmingham); Tom Ince (Watford)

Pool Panel - Bristol City (H) Draw 0-0

Saturday saw the pitch as the key player in a game of little entertainment where neither side were able to impose themselves on that surface.  Blackpool started brightly, with more movement than of late, and managed to get a couple of decent balls across the face of goal but were unable to get on to the end of them.  

The longer the game went on though, the less the players were trusting the surface and resorted to going longer, playing into the defenders’ hands as a result.  It could be said that the pitch is the same for both teams, but it’s us who has to play the most games on it, and it’s affecting confidence and the ability to attack as we would want, especially as we don’t have the personnel to play it long to a big man, hold it up and play from there. Four games without scoring tells its own story and one we must rectify and soon to go with our new found defensive solidity.

As part of that, the loan signing of Mackenzie shows promise, in that he came into the team and provided the commanding presence we’ve missed for quite a while. On that basis, Paul and his team seem to know what is required.  I’d hope they are able to line up a forward from the same mould to give us an attacking focus.

Tuesday now becomes another crucial game, with Birmingham being another of those teams around us; for Ince to get his first win would be most opportune.

STARMAN: Gary Mackenzie                           

Pool Panel - Ince's First Week - Leeds (a) 0-2 & Leicester (h) 0-0

Welcome to Paul Ince as we finally made a managerial appointment.  Unfortunately, we started with defeat at Leeds, despite playing our part in an end to end game.  Once again, the lack of a finisher came back to haunt us allied to some defensive calamities gifting easy goals.  It doesn’t seem to matter who is manager, we still have a propensity for allowing soft goals and failing to take advantage of promising situations.

 

For Saturday, changes were made to the midfield that made us more solid in defence but also somewhat limited us going forward.  Once again the pitch also played its part, with us unable to get any passing football going, frequently resorting to the more direct approach.  For once, we rode our luck, with Leicester missing a penalty, but with Schmeichel also making a number of decent saves, a point was deserved.

 

Ince Senior now has a full week to work with the team and get his ideas across.  In my opinion, it’s a positive appointment in that it’s someone who has seen us play for the last eighteen months and hence knows both our strengths and weaknesses and therefore what can be done to rectify our current malaise.  This season is now all about maintaining our status as a Championship club, starting with a massive game next Saturday against Bristol City.  I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s a must win, but a win would go a long way to making us safe.

STARMEN:  Kirk Broadfoot (Leeds); Barry Ferguson (Leicester)

Pool Panel - Ipswich (a) Lost 1-0

This is turning out to be a season of disappointment summed up by defeat by a side no better than us.  Once again, we were undone by a failure to clinically take what chances we had, while conceding through a lack of organisation.

First half, we more than matched Ipswich, creating a number of chances, with Gomes going the closest when he hit the post after a good passing move put him in the clear.  That failure to take chances once again came back to haunt us.  Broadfoot went off injured, and while we reorganised defensively, Chopra took advantage to find space down the middle and took the one clear chance that Ipswich created.

After that, despite plenty of possession, in all truth we didn’t create much, with Baptiste going closest with a header from a corner.

Paul Ince comes in to take over a squad that looks good on paper; the one thing in Ince’s favour is that he has seen so many of our games.  While his son was the focus of his attention, he must have his own views on those surrounding him and will have a good idea of what will and won’t work.

This season is already over in terms of thinking about progressing.  He has to come in and secure enough points to keep us in this Division and then be fully supported in developing the squad to be a force next time round.  I wish him all the best in his new role.

STARMAN: Kirk Broadfoot  

Ipswich Away - 16th Feb

We currently have 12 takers for the "fun bus" down to Portman Road on February 16th.

It has been agreed that YS will subsidise the cost of this trip and that the cost to members will be no more than £12, irrespective of how many people travel - but could be less if we have a full bus.

Please contact Charlie or Phil if you want to be part of the YS Express.

Pool Panel - Millwall (h) Win 2-1

Another week of turmoil at the club with us seemingly unable to finalise a deal to secure a couple of experienced managers and that was reflected on the pitch in the first half, as the team seemed unable to cope with the atrocious surface and looked sorry for themselves.  Millwall could have been more than the one they were up and discontent was manifest in the stands with a number of chants aimed at the owners.

From the start of the second half it was different.  The team didn’t allow the surface to dominate and played much better.  Once Ince had equalised, it was basically one way traffic, with Angel playing well, ensuring that the ball was unfussily retained and directed wide.  The substitutions gave us a better focus going forward and we were able to keep the ball higher up the pitch.

Despite that, it looked like another frustrating afternoon at Bloomfield Rd but then Delfueneso held off his man and coolly finished to release some that tension in the ground.

The consequence is that while we remain only six points off a relegation place, we are only three of seventh.  It’s now essential that stability is restored through the appointment of a manager.  Judging from the calibre of candidates that have been linked with the job, it would seem we are looking for an experienced man.  On the face of it, that would seem to be a sensible move, but the longer we go on with the current uncertainty, the more dangerous the league position.  We need to be decisive now.

STARMAN: Angel Martinez

Pool Panel - Barnsley (h) Lose 2-1

A week all too typical of the way it’s been going for Blackpool recently.  There is still no news on a permanent managerial appointment, while on the field, despite dominating for long stretches, we again failed to convert that superiority into points.

While we have a decent squad of players, what we lack is an out and out striker who can convert the chances we create.  As a consequence, we end up frustrated by teams like Barnsley who set out their stall to compete for everything and rely on converting a couple of chances to kill us off.  Time and time again, we got the ball into good areas but lacked the killer instinct.

Meanwhile we are drifting into a relegation battle, a travesty of a situation given the resources the club have had from their Premier League sojourn.  The failure to secure a manager and then a much needed striker in January is coming back to haunt us.  The latter is a direct result of the first because players naturally will be unwilling to commit themselves to a club where any new man may not see them as part of his plans.

With the transfer  window now closed, any new man (including Thompson should he be given the job on an extended basis) has his options limited to loanees.

The buck has to stop with the man at the top who is in danger of watching all the good will accrued in the town to drift away.  Decisions must be made now.

STARMAN: Thomas Ince