Cardiff (a) Minibus

We are running a minibus to the last away game of the season, and probably our last away game in the Championship for quite a long time, against Cardiff.

We've booked a 17 seater minibus and currently have 11 booked on.

The cost of the trip will be subsidised to keep it to a maximum of £10 per person.


Please let Charlie or Phil know if you would like to be booked on - usual pick ups (Leeds, Meadow Hall, M1 etc) available.

Blackpool FC: At Civil War‏

Just wanted to make YS members aware of this project which is being put together by Blackpool fan, Greg Emmerson. If you would like to contribute to the project, please see the kickstarter link below.

"I can now officially announce that a film about Blackpool FC has started production, entitled 'Blackpool FC: At Civil War'.

The film is being made by myself and some fellow filmmakers. Although we have started filming, we need your help to fund this film further! The film will feature interviews with prominent members of the football community as well as ex-players, and will track the progress of the key supporter fan groups and Andy Higgins' upcoming election campaign. We are also confident of club involvement in some capacity and have also gained access to FC United to feature in the film.

Below is a Kickstarter link where you can read more about this film and, if you wish, donate to the project. No money will be taken from anyone unless the project is fully funded on 7th march 2015, and furthermore part of Kickstarter dictates that you have to make your target otherwise your project can't be funded. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1381548059/blackpool-fc-at-civil-war

If anyone has any great stories to share, would like to interview on the film, or would just like to ask about the project, you can email me at greg@orangeskyfilms.co.uk.

Also, you can find this project on twitter: @blackpoolfcfilm

Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg"

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

Pool Panel - Birmingham (h) Won 1-0

The incremental improvements Clark is making continue to bear fruit as we picked up another three points.  In all honesty, the position we’re in means that’s more important than the style but on balance of play we probably just about deserved it for our second half performance when we looked the most likely to score, with Lewis not really having a save to make, despite a nervous last ten minutes for both fans and team.  In the first half, although Davies battled well, neither Eagles nor Murphy were able to provide any kind of threat, losing possession constantly.  As a result, we never threatened.  In the second half, Murphy continued to look for the ball and looked a different player, with pace and trickery causing them problems, nearly scoring from half way and then again after a run along the byline.  

Clark has got the side playing a pressing game and as a result, we are picking up more ball in midfield and looking more dangerous higher up the pitch.  The midfield suddenly looks more compact and is winning ball and passing to team-mates, something we’ve lacked all season.  Building on the two previous draws, we now look a little more like a Championship side.  There’s a long way to go, as the 8 point gap demonstrates, but at least we can still dream.  A loss in any of our recent games would have spelt curtains.  Instead, we have games this month that could yield precious points for us, beginning with Charlton next week.  

STARMAN:  Stephen Davies

Rotherham away

For information, there's quite a few of us intending going for a drink beforehand in The Rhinoceros in Rotherham town centre.

I also know that some are going on the 9.48 from Leeds getting into Rotherham about 10.50.

It's a Wetherspoons pub, so should be reasonably priced and no problem getting kids in if you're taking the family.

See you there.

Pool Panel - Game 19 - Bolton (h) - Draw (1-1)

A fortnight off brought some reward as we got a point against a poor Bolton side in a terrible kit.  It seemed to me that the new players in added some quality to the play as we created a number of opportunities and actually looked like we could compete.  O’Hara built on his couple of games before the break and looked better than any of the midfielders we’ve fielded this season.  Murphy got his reward for some enterprising play with a delightful finish from a free kick that gave us real hope of getting to double figures and closing the gap to safety.  

Once again, it took an individual unforced error to undo the good work and allow Bolton something from the game.  Perkins has been one of our better performers this season, with industrious performances, but Saturday was not one of his good days as he constantly gave away possession and then compounded that with a poor defensive error that allowed Lee to score.  Having said that, I’d cut him some slack because it was not representative of his season to date.

Clark seems more convinced than ever that we’ll stay up.  For that to happen, we need to close out games such as Saturday’s, especially against teams in and around us.  As it is, the gap remains at 10 points.  Next week’s game against Rotherham and then the follow up against Birmingham are exactly that type of game.  Two wins would see us right back in with a chance, but it remains to be seen whether we can manage it.

STAR MAN: Jacob Murphy