Those with knowledge of Blackpool’s recent record at St Andrews will have rocked up in Birmingham without too much optimism. The Seasiders’ win under Simon Grayson thanks to Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s goal in September 2008 was their first win since 1969, when they won 3-2 on Boxing Day. Since then, Blackpool have been on the end of some serious beatings, none more so than the 7-1 drubbing received, ironically, on New Year’s Eve in 1994. On the last occasion we made the trip to the Blues, we were sent home having been taught a lesson about the Premier League, as Alex McLeish completely outsmarted Holloway, with a certain Barry Ferguson orchestrating a comfortable win for the hosts.
There was, however, genuine good feeling about the possibilities of getting a result. Blackpool had visited one of their other bogey grounds just days previously, with Matt Phillips earning a second win in 3 visits to Oakwell after so long without ever troubling the points tally. Elliot Grandin was back in the starting eleven, finally having the chance to play in midfield with his friend Ludo Sylvestre from the start, with LuaLua mysteriously missing from the whole 16. Such an omission suggests either injury or a fallout with the management, with both an equal possibility given LuaLua’s track record.
Unfortunately however, this visit to St. Andrews was much more of the same. From the early moments of the game, Blackpool were second to every ball, out muscled whenever they tried to go forward, and outthought when put on the back foot. The addition of Danny Wilson on loan from Liverpool is a vital and excellent move by Holloway. Wilson will add the pace and strength to the back four that is desperately needed, with Ian Evatt very much out of form. Once again, Craig Cathcart stood tall as the solitary beacon in a struggling back four, with both Crainey and Baptiste caused no end of problems by their respective wingers, and their full backs on the overlap.
The main point where the game was won and lost was through the middle of the pitch, however. Grandin and Sylvestre, for all of their pretty build-up play which will have led to a superb pass completion success rate, created very little of note, with only Grandin’s tricky feet and cross-cum-shot forcing Myhill into action in the first half as he needed to palm the ball away from the onrushing Taylor-Fletcher, and Birmingham’s powerful unit in the game to hold them up, Guirane N’Daw, putting in a performance that earned him the Man of the Match from the sponsors. For Grandin and Sylvestre to flourish in this formation, it is likely they need to have added steel in there with them, a Basham or Southern type player who will get his feet dirty to make sure they have enough possession and time on the ball to unlock a defence.
It was exactly the type of game that the aforementioned Southern has performed magnificently in for Blackpool in the last 10 years. Birmingham’s high pressing game caused problems for Blackpool, who continually tried to pass their way out of trouble, and on a pitch that wasn’t necessarily conducive to keeping the ball on the deck at all times, that then led to mistakes either with the receiving player’s first touch, or misplacement of the original pass. This is what Southern adds to Blackpool. His critics will say he runs aimlessly, offering very little, when in fact, he has a fantastic football brain, which, while it does not add a great deal to the technical side of his game, he has developed a great anticipation of ensuing play, which allows him to be in the right position to close down or intercept, before starting an attacking move. Despite Blackpool’s recent form, they have missed Southern greatly, with only Chris Basham coming close to offering what he does, and he is likely to be given a chance to impress in the coming games.
The reason for Basham’s likely involvement is that Barry Ferguson will no doubt be missing for the Middlesbrough home game, as well as the visits to Fleetwood and Ipswich. Ian Holloway has said he plans to appeal, but I’m afraid he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. As soon as the incident in question occurred, Ferguson’s 3 match ban was penned in. All through the game, both sides had a target in their ranks who the opposition were trying to wind up. For the Blues, Marlon King for his troubles with the law, and Ferguson was the man in Tangerine as he had swapped St Andrews for Bloomfield Road in the summer. Ferguson was the one who snapped. After an earlier confrontation with Zigic, he proceeded to swing his right arm into the face of N’Daw, leaving the referee with no choice but to dismiss the Blackpool captain.
King, however, was not exactly innocent throughout the game, and if the referee applied the letter of the law to the game, King should have been given his marching orders in the first half for a deliberate elbow on Ian Evatt. A long ball played forward, there was no earthly way that King would beat Evatt to the ball, and he will have known that, as he led with the elbow and connected squarely with Evatt, who still managed to clear. Only a booking was administered, and that is the gripe that the led the Blackpool arguments.
The main positive to come out of the game for Blackpool was another fantastic performance from Mark Howard in goal. He kept Blackpool in the game by himself in the first half, making one incredible double save from a set piece, before palming round a low effort just before half time. Sadly, it was from the following corner that he was beaten, as Blackpool switched off, allowing a free header for Curtis Davies. Howard was powerless with both that and King’s goal in the second half, as once again Evatt made the same mistake he made at Bloomfield Road, trying to step up to pressure the midfield, allowing King to walk through and place the killer second goal beyond Howard.
The only black spot on Howard’s excellent performance, which continued into the second half, was the third goal. The golden rule of goalkeeping is not to be beaten at your near post, and Nathan Redmond’s strike, while powerful, should have been stopped. Before that, however, Howard was superb, and Matt Gilks certainly won’t be an automatic pick when he recovers from injury.
Considering we started the year in 8th place in the Premiership, to finish it in 9th in the Championship is a bit disappointing, but anyone who expected another year like 2010 was very misguided. Here is to a great year supporting Blackpool FC, and hopefully a return to the big time.
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