Blackpool 2 v 2 Bolton

Bolton came from two goals down to share the spoils with Blackpool in a thrilling draw at the Reebok. Defender Ian Evatt headed the visitors ahead in the first half from a precise Elliot Grandin corner. Luke Varney headed another Grandin corner into the Bolton net to make it 2-0 just before the hour. But Martin Petrov pulled one back with a delightful volley and Mark Davies rescued the home side with a calm side-foot finish a minute from time. Before the match, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway had spoken of his admiration for Owen Coyle, who has turned Bolton into attack-minded entertainers this season. Indeed, with 26 goals from 14 matches, Wanderers came into the game unbeaten in November and with a goal tally bettered by only four Premier League sides. Yet the home side initially struggled to achieve such penetration against their Lancashire rivals and had it not been for the Seasiders' refusal to sit on a two-goal cushion Holloway could have left the Reebok with the upper hand over his opposite number (BBC Sport)

Blackpool 2, Wolves 1

PRINCE William's presence at Bloomfield Road inspired the Seasiders to a 2-1 victory over Wolves.

The Prince watched the game from a sponsor's box and was no doubt enthralled by what was another momentous afternoon by the seaside.Luke Varney opened the scoring with a superb goal just three minutes in and Marlon Harewood scored his fifth of the season on the stroke of half time.

Varney's goal was stunning, as good as any player in the Premier League could produce. Controlling Ian Evatt's long ball forward on his chest in front of the ponderous Kevin Foley, Varney stepped in from the left byline and smashed a first-time looping half-volley over Marcus Hahnemann from fully 30 yards. It was the kind of goal that very few players can score and one Varney will be telling his grand-children about. Even William looked impressed...

DJ Campbell had a shot blocked and Hahnemann saved from Hareood's low strike but in truth it was Wolves who went onto boss the half. They had 60 per cent of possession and missed good headed chances, Stephen Hunt and Kevin Doyle both missing the target after getting on the end of good crosses from left back George Elokobi. They paid for those missed chances on the stroke of half time when Varney - having a good afternoon - got on the end of David Vaughan's left wing corner and Harewood stabbed the ball home from six yards.

The second half began at a frantic pace and rarely let off...read more...

West Ham 0 - 0 Blackpool

West Ham's struggles at the foot of the table continued as they failed to break down Blackpool, who made 11 changes. The hosts dominated the first half and were unlucky to be denied a penalty when Craig Cathcart appeared to use an arm to block Victor Obinna's volley. Luis Boa Morte and Pablo Barrera wasted good chances and Carlton Cole hit the post as the Hammers continued to press. But Blackpool's Marlon Harewood was guilty of the worst miss of all when he shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Boos rang out around Upton Park at the final whistle but for a side lacking in confidence, West Ham's players produced plenty of endeavour in an entertaining encounter which lacked only a goal. Both teams had a hatful of chances to grab a late winner but the defences held out and both managers had to be satisfied with a hard-earned point. (BBC Sport)

Holloway: Fine us and I'll resign

IAN Holloway has threatened to quit as Blackpool boss if the Premier League fine the Seasiders for making ten changes at Aston Villa.

The manager is furious with suggestions the club might be punished over their starting line-up for last night's 3-2 Premier League defeat.Of the team which started against Everton on Saturday, only Keith Southern retained his place. But Holloway is 100 per cent certain he has done nothing wrong. He says he has assembled a 24-man squad, believes they are all as good as each other and has a right to pick whoever he pleases ... read more ...

Aston Villa 3 - 2 Blackpool

James Collins headed a late winner as Aston Villa recorded their first home win since August with a dramatic victory over a much-changed Blackpool. Stuart Downing put Villa ahead with a volley that deflected beyond Richard Kingson but Marlon Harewood levelled with a side-foot shot before the break. Nathan Delfouneso volleyed Villa ahead again but Blackpool equalised when a DJ Campbell shot deflected in off Collins. The defender made amends minutes later when he headed in from a corner.

The goal came as a cruel blow to a Blackpool side that featured 10 changes from the team that drew 2-2 against Everton on Saturday. Six of those players, including skipper Jason Euell, were making their first Premier League starts this term. Given that the Seasiders arrived at Villa Park in the best away form of any team in the top flight, the wholesale change seemed a curious move from Blackpool boss Ian Holloway. And yet it was the visitors who made the livelier start, Villa old-boy Harewood spurning two early chances to score on his first return to Villa Park....read more...

Pool Share The Spoils With Everton

A DISALLOWED Marlon Harewood goal in the final minute prevented Blackpool taking all three points against Everton.

After a slow start, this game turned into a pulsating contest with Pool - after struggling to keep the Toffees quiet for the first hour - ending the match on top and looking more likely to win it. It finished 2-2, with the Seasiders twice going ahead, but twice being pegged back within minutes of scoring. Neal Eardley gave Blackpool a ninth minute lead when he curled in a free kick from 25 yards. But five minutes later Tim Cahill headed in his 50th Premier League goal to put the Toffees back on level terms. Former Pool loanee Seamus Coleman, causing havoc all afternoon on the right, tested Matt Gilks with a volley and curled a left foot shot inches wide. Yakubu and the outstanding Mikel Arteta also come close. But the Seasiders responded by scoring within two minutes of the restart after half time, David Vaughan battling his way through and slamming the ball past Tim Howard. A mistake by Matt Gilks allowed Everton to equalise just two minutes later though - the Pool stopper letting Seamus Coleman's low drive squirm underneath his body. Despite chances at both ends, especially in a frantic final 10 minutes, it ended honours even. (Blackpool Today)

Blackpool 2 - 1 West Brom

Blackpool capitalised on West Brom suffering two first-half dismissals to record their first top-flight home victory since 1971. West Brom were dealt an early double blow when Pablo Ibanez was dismissed for a foul on DJ Campbell, resulting in a penalty that Charlie Adam scored. Gonzalo Jara's lunge on Luke Varney saw the Baggies reduced to nine men. Varney doubled Blackpool's lead before Youssouf Mulumbu curled in what proved to be a consolation goal for Albion. Having beaten Blackpool twice in the Championship last season and defied expectation with a superb start to this campaign, West Brom brought both belief and momentum into the game. However, two incidents in the first half - both of which saw the Baggies emerge a man lighter - swung the match in the home side's favour. (BBC Sport)

Birmingham 2 - 0 Blackpool

Birmingham earned their first Premier League victory since August after outclassing Blackpool at St Andrew's. Liam Ridgewell gave the hosts the lead just before the break, nodding home from two yards after Nikola Zigic's header came back off the crossbar. Star midfielder Charlie Adam then gave the ball away in his own six-yard box and allowed Zigic to double the lead.
Blackpool were enterprising but lacked a cutting edge as the home side closed out a comfortable win. The Seasiders went into the match with the best away record in the Premier League and must have had hopes of further success on the road with Birmingham struggling to repeat the form which saw them go unbeaten for so long last season. But the resilience and belief that inspired Ian Holloway's side to wins at Wigan, Newcastle and Liverpool never really materialised at a soggy St Andrew's. Holloway had made headlines in the build-up to the match with a tirade about player power, the Bosman ruling and a lack of video technology in the game. But even if the latter had been in place, it would have had no bearing on a game in which Birmingham finally began to find some much-needed home form. Holloway's decision to go for an attacking formation should be commended, although the colourful boss might have had second thoughts as the Blues controlled the opening stages....read more...

Unlucky Tangerines ....

It's a current topic at the moment. Something that's in the forefront of Ollie's mind .... the poor refereeing that has taken place during a number of Blackpool's games. Here's a brief catalogue of these blatant errors:

Arsenal v Blackpool .... twenty odd minutes gone at The Emirates. Blackpool were relatively comfortable in their first trip to Arsenal. That was until unlucky Evatt appeared to commit a foul on the edge of the box. It turned out to be horrific. What was a clumsy challenge resulted in a double punishment for The Tangerines. Evatt was given a straight red card and Arsenal received a penalty. Replays show the incident was outside the box, and it was debatable if it was indeed a foul as Evatt appeared to touch the ball first .... Arsenal then demolished a 10 man Tangerines team.

Blackpool v Fulham .... again it was Evatt involved in a clear match changing decision. Blackpool were outplaying Fulham until Zamora's goal in the first half. During the build up to the goal Evatt was clearly fouled. Possibly two points dropped in their first home game due to a clear error on the part of the referee.

Blackpool v Blackburn ... minutes to go and Blackburn steal the winner. However, the Blackburn goal was clearly offside. A point lost for the battling Seasiders who outplayed Blackburn for most of the game.

Blackpool v Man City ... the most controversial so far. Grandin was deemed to have touched the ball in an offside position which meant the onside Taylor Fletcher's goal was disallowed. Grandin never touched the ball. Therefore it was a goal. Blackpool would have taken the lead at this point!!! Tevez was clearly offside when he received the ball from De Silva for his first goal. Therefore it should not have counted. Evatt was clearly fouled when Tevez battled for the ball which lead to his 2nd goal. Therefore ... all three points SHOULD have been in Blackpool's slingshot.

In total at least SEVEN points have been lost due to bad referee decisions. We SHOULD be on 17 points ... sitting pretty in the top 5 of The Premier League. Well clear of the bottom three.

Let's hope lady luck goes our way in future. Points are hard to come by in this division as it is ... without referees seemingly picking on the 'small fry' ...........

Blackpool 2 Man City 3

IT may be of scant consolation to Ian Holloway and his Blackpool team but even one of the world's best tennis players reckons the Seasiders are brilliant.

Andy Murray thumped Roger Federer in the final of Shanghai Masters, then returned to his hotel room in the Far East to watch this game.We know that because he posted a message on Twitter (ask your children, it's some internet thing) saying: 'Blackpool are so good to watch!

Loving what Ian Holloway has done'.Apart from unnecessary use of an exclamation mark, spot on Mr Murray, and rest assured that all Blackpool fans will give you an extra cheer when you're losing a heartbreaking five-setter in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon next year.This contest might have been billed as princes versus paupers but it turned out to be nothing of the kind.For lengthy periods it was hard to tell which club shopped at Harrods and which in Aldi as Pool's team, put together for less than £3m, more than matched a Manchester City squad worth in excess of £200m.Class possibly just about told in the end but the Seasiders were so unlucky to lose.

For starters they became the first side to score twice against Roberto Mancini's side this season.

Then there were City's first two goals - gifted to them by the officials. Carlos Tevez was offside for his first; the Argentinean getting away with a foul on Ian Evatt for the next - a killer as Pool had hauled themselves back into the contest by equalising 60 seconds earlier.To say Ian Holloway was unimpressed with the performance of referee Phil Dowd is, believe me, putting it mildly. But given that he was already confined to the stands after an improper conduct charge, the boss, as frustrated as he was, had to be careful with what he said after the game. He just about held his tongue and managed to avoid getting himself in further hot water.

The end result was a real shame because Blackpool couldn't have played much better.For a while – particularly the opening 20 minutes of the second half when they were bossing the contest – it looked as if they would actually beat City. They haven't done that in a league game since April 1962, when the Beatles had just been rejected by Decca Records because "guitar groups are on the way out".

The wait might go on but my word the Seasiders are making a lot of people look about as foolish as Decca."They'll never survive in the Premier League," chirped the so-called experts. "They're going straight back down, be lucky to get 10 points," said others.

Complete nonsense, I'd argue. While there is still a long way to go and probably difficult periods to overcome, all the evidence we've seen so far suggests Blackpool will be a top-flight side next season.They are playing with a confidence and rhythm that is a joy to watch.David Vaughan and Charlie Adam are in terrific form in the middle and with Luke Varney displaying more energy than your average Commonwealth Games athlete, the omens are encouraging indeed.How wonderful it was just to witness this game.

The stadium was bouncing for a fixture that Pool fans had been really looking forward to.Fulham and Blackburn, the previous home games, had been great, but City were the first real glamour visitors. After a slow start, when they were perhaps still a trifle surprised to find themselves on the same stage as the likes of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor (blimey he's a big lad) and Nigel de Jong (not the victim of as many pantomime boos as I'd have hoped), Pool found their feet and just about edged the first period, though neither side created many real clear-cut chances.

It's a vaguely interesting statistic, by the way, that Blackpool haven't scored in the first half at Bloomfield Road since the play-off semi-final with Nottingham Forest. Different story after the break though, as the contest became stretched and opportunities presented themselves.DJ Campbell had the best opening, finding himself free in front of goal after good work by Adam and Varney. Unfortunately, the Seasiders club record signing couldn't get his shot on target – beating the post as well as Joe Hart.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher had a goal disallowed (a touch harshly as he was onside, it was Elliott Grandin who was off ... news which further brightened Holloway's mood), then Adam's thumping shot was tipped over the bar by Hart. Pool were in the ascendency, if any side were to score it was surely them.Famous last words. As so often happens in football, under-the-cosh City broke up the other end and scored. David Silva, on as a sub a couple of minutes earlier, crossed and Tevez finished with a clever backheel. Offside by half a yard though.

The excellent Neal Eardley had to clear Milner's chip off the line, then Milner – finally showing us why he is allegedly worth £26m – rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort. It seemed Pool might collapse. We should have known better. On 79 minutes, Varney was fouled on the right flank. Charlie Adam whipped in a free-kick which substitute Marlon Harewood glanced past Joe Hart.The crowd went berserk, Glad All over started playing.Alas we'd barely reached the chorus when City regained the lead – Tevez getting away with his foul on Evatt, then enjoying another slice of luck when his deflected shot flew off Craig Cathcart's boot and into the bottom corner.

Tevez hit the bar as Pool pushed forward and left holes at the back, then Silva scored a superb third goal – twisting past opponents for fun before curling the ball beyond Matt Gilks.That was in the final minute.

Holloway's team never give up though and earned some reward for their endeavour when they snatched a second goal at the death, Taylor-Fletcher turning in Varney's scuffed shot from an Adam corner. There wasn't time to hit back again, a pity as City were looking rattled. It meant disappointment at the end, but is disappointment really the correct word after a performance like this?Of course it's not.

This was terrific stuff from Blackpool.

Viewed live on TV by millions, they've no doubt won countless more fans and will be showered with praise by the very people writing them off a few weeks back. Keep this up and they it's not a case of 'if' but 'when' they survive. (Blackpool Today)

Liverpool 1 Blackpool 2

GOALS from Luke Varney and Charlie Adam handed Blackpool sensational win against Liverpool.

Charlie Adam's penalty and Luke Varney's perfectly-timed run and finish did the damage in the first half and although Sotirios Kyrgiakos's header pulled one back Liverpool will spend the next fortnight rooted in the bottom three because of the forthcoming international break. Blackpool were well worth their win on their first-half performance alone. Liverpool were not helped by the 10th-minute loss of striker Fernando Torres to a suspected groin injury, but even then they should still have at least dominated possession. But they did not get chance as Blackpool attacked from the off and Adam's second-minute free-kick had Jose Reina batting the ball away. Torres barely had time to flash a cross into the six-yard box where Joe Cole deflected it wide before he was replace by David Ngog. Blackpool were enjoying far more of the play than they could have expected to at Anfield and DJ Campbell went close at the far post from Neal Eardley's teasing right-wing cross. When Steven Gerrard gave the ball away in his own half it was only Martin Skrtel's sliding challenge which denied Varney's shot but the pressure eventually told in the 29th minute. Right-back Glen Johnson, in particular, has had a dreadful start to the season and it got worse when he brought down Varney, allowing Adam to fire home the penalty despite Reina getting a hand on it. Liverpool's response was half-hearted with Kyrgiakos, Ngog, Johnson, Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles all failing to test goalkeeper Matt Gilks with chances.Seconds before the interval the Seasiders stunned their hosts when Gary Taylor-Fletcher flicked a ball into the penalty area and Varney ran on to fire past Reina ... read more...

Blackpool 1 - 2 Blackburn

Brett Emerton struck in injury time with his first Premier League goal for two years as Blackburn broke Blackpool hearts in a pulsating Lancashire derby. The visitors had gone in front through a soft own goal when Charlie Adam nodded into his own net as goalkeeper Matthew Gilks lost his footing. Blackpool hit back and substitute Matt Phillips scored on his Premier League debut with virtually his first touch. But substitute Emerton snatched the points with low shot into the corner.

Defeat was exceptionally hard on the Seasiders, who poured forward in the second half and deserved something from an enthralling encounter, which was high on drama.Rovers, who had not won in the league since the opening day of the season and were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Aston Villa in midweek, had let leads slip in four previous games this season and looked certain to do so again in a remarkable finale.

They might have fallen behind after only 90 seconds when home defender Ian Evatt's header appeared destined for the top corner but Michel Salgado headed the ball on to the underside of the bar before it was scrambled clear. (BBC Sport)

'We Will Keep Attacking' - Ian Holloway

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway insists he will stick to his team's attacking approach in future after a more defensive system backfired at Chelsea.

Defensive midfielder Alex Baptiste came in for forward Brett Ormerod but Blackpool conceded four first-half goals as champions Chelsea dominated. "The tactical change did not work at all," said Holloway of his selection. Holloway brought on an attacking player for a defender at the break and his team improved in the second half.

"I should have gone back [to our normal attacking system] earlier but when I went back to what we do the game was over by then," he added. "No matter what we do against the top teams we are light years off them. They are awesome with their mental approach and the way they go about games. I would have been silly to think we did not have to do something different against Chelsea but I think we would have lost no matter what we did." (BBC Sport)

Chelsea 4 - Blackpool 0

Blackpool struggled to cope with a rampant Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, as Ian Holloway's men went down 4-0 in the capital.

The manager made one change from the team which beat Newcastle, with Alex Baptiste replacing Brett Ormerod. This meant Baps went into the middle of midfield and Elliot Grandin operated out wide. Any game plan to stifle the Champions with a slightly more defensive formation was undone within 90 seconds. The home team won a cheap corner and from there the Pool defence were unable to deal with a routine ball into the box, allowing Salomon Kalou with an easy unmarked finish at the back post. As the ball came in, defenders were sucked to the ball which meant Kalou, who had dropped off, had no problems slotting home for 1-0. Set pieces were a thorn in the Blackpool eleven all day, with players unsure who they were picking up and where they were supposed to be stationed; it wasn't clear whether zonal marking was being tried or that the Blues were just too savvy to spring clear of markers. Before the Seasiders had time to settle - which they probably failed to manage until after the break - Chelsea were two up. Michael Essien and Didier Drogba were at the heart of the move, fashioning a close range chance for the in-form Florent Malouda who made no mistake, putting past Matt Gilks with ease on 12 minutes. Neal Eardley was getting ripped to shreds by Ashley Cole down the left hand side and chances came and went at regular intervals for the hosts. The former Oldham man didn't help himself by a lack of positional awareness as he allowed straight and diagonal balls to loop over him, leaving Cole with the freedom of Stamford Bridge. The midfield managed to secure a slight foothold in the game after the second went in, keeping the ball for short spells but weren't helped by the gallivanting runs of Alex Baptiste who, as a supposed holding midfielder, was the furthest forward a few times, leaving Pool susceptible to the counter attack. It wasn't a counter attack which brought the third goal, but an individual error in the middle of the park. Elliot Grandin got caught on the ball which ended up seeing Cole cross for Drogba who had his deflected effort unluckily fly in off Ian Evatt, leaving Gilks helpless. That was on 30 minutes, and 10 later there was the final goal of the day. Kalou was given far too much room by Stephen Crainey and found Malouda who fired home brilliantly to wrap up the scoring, thankfully! Going into the break it felt like the Blues could have hit six, seven, maybe eight in the mood that they were in. Sometimes you have to sit back and applaud to opposition and Carlo Ancelotti and his team look like Premiership winners already. There were chances for Blackpool, but Alex Baptiste saw a long range effort well saved and Dekel Keinan nodded wide from a corner. Ollie made an obvious change at half time, hauling off the out of depth Eardley to replace him with Gary Taylor-Fletcher (Baptiste dropping to right back), with the midfielder having a smashing game in the second half. Charlie Adam and David Vaughan were able to keep the ball more in the second 45 after knowing where they stood without a defender alongside them, which meant chances were created for the front three. DJ Campbell almost reduced the arrears as he sprung the offside trap before his one-on-one shot beat Petr Cech but not Ivanovic on the line. There were more opportunities to come as Pool produced a more characteristic attacking display. Taylor-Fletcher saw a chip brilliantly tipped over by Cech whilst Luke Varney had a volley fly wide. Stephen Crainey and Charlie Adam in particular were getting into decent crossing positions but the quality of ball into the box wasn't that of their more established opponents, which was perhaps the most glaring difference between the teams. There were more chances for the hosts to extend their lead, with Malouda being the biggest culprit for spurning them. Chelsea should have had a penalty in the last minute but Mark Clattenburg was extremely lenient and blew for full time instead. However, all in all, there will be bigger and better teams who lose by more than four at Chelsea and the players should be proud of their second half performance. Ian Holloway said after the game that we simply weren't good enough in the first half and that is probably the most disappointing thing to come out of the game. As a defensive unit they didn't do themselves justice at all but as Sky Sports noted, the game was a freebie and moving onto the Blackburn game as quickly as possible is the best course of action. (Vital Football)

Ian Holloway wants Blackpool to play like world champions Spain

It was courageous and it was cutting edge but, above all, it was clever. Blackpool's perfectly executed game plan served as a masterclass, demonstrating how devastatingly effective genuinely attacking versions of 4-3-3 can be.

Ian Holloway had asked his unfancied, heavily patronised charges to make a challenging formation, requiring considerable positional interchanging and much attendant trust, work.
Admittedly they endured some hairy second-half moments and their goalkeeper, Matthew Gilks, shone but few would argue that Blackpool did not deserve to pull it off. Even more refreshingly their shock win had as much to do with Holloway's broad football philosophy as his chosen configuration.

"You've got to look at Tiki-Taka, you've got to look at Spain," he said. "How they pass the ball, how they keep the ball. They are little guys who run around passing and they are quite brilliant."
So much so that Holloway has adopted the World Cup winners as role models. "What's wrong with us, why can't we do it? I want my team to be more like Spain."

On Saturday this wish was granted. "I've got to be careful I don't burst with pride. These boys are amazing, they're getting better all the time."

Blackpool's £10,000‑a‑week wage ceiling dictates that Holloway cannot shop for the game's perceived elite. Indeed, handed a comparable budget, many of his peers would merely restrict their recruits to specific, regimented, duties within rigid, safety-first formations.

Refusing to bow to such convention, the Bristolian has instead asked players such as the impressive David Vaughan, Charlie Adam and Luke Varney to raise their personal technical bars. On Tyneside he reaped surprisingly rich rewards...Read More...