Football Season Guide

Blackpool

In


Neil McDonald(manager), Jarrett Rivers (mid, Blyth Spartans), Colin Doyle (gk, Birmingham City), Kyle Letheren (gk, Dundee), Brad Potts (mid, Carlisle United), Clark Robertson (def, Aberdeen), John Herron (mid, Celtic), Mark Cullen (att, Luton Town), Lloyd Jones (def, Liverpool), Jack Redshaw (att, Morecambe)

Out


Lee Clark(manager), Tom Barkhuizen (att, Morecambe), David Perkins (mid, Wigan Athletic), Peter Clarke (def, Bury), Nyron Nosworthy (def, Dagenham & Redbridge), Steven Davies (att, Bradford City), Jacob Mellis (mid, Bury), Gary MacKenzie (def, Doncaster Rovers), Tony McMahon (def, Bradford City), Jamie O'Hara (mid, Fulham), Andre Blackman(def, released), Tomasz Cywka(mid, released), Nathan Delfouneso(att, released), Joel Dielna(def, released), Darren O’Dea(def, released), Elliott Parish(gk, released), Jeffrey Rentmeister(def, released), Saer Sene(att, released), Francois Zoko(att, released), Robert Grant(mid, released)

Blackpool are coming from an abysmal season which saw them spend the entire length of the campaign inside the relegation zone and having their drop into League Two confirmed with two months of football to spare. They actually did well to even finish the season, given the fact that they struggled to name 18-man squads early in the campaign, and it was always clear that the 2015-16 season was going to be a season of transition for them. A Premier League club not that long ago, Blackpool's decline over the last few years has been alarming, with their lack of funds causing them to settle for worse and worse personnel with each passing year. The current summer has been no different, as the Tangerines have lost a number of key players, while replacing them mostly with men who are unproven at League One level and represent hopeful punts. Moreover, their manager Lee Clark has been replaced by Neil McDonald, who hardly has a stellar managerial CV and has spent the majority of his career in assistant manager and coaching roles. All this means that Blackpool will enter the new season with a squad consisting mostly of average players lead by an unproven manager, while the overall atmosphere surrounding the club will be one of disappointment and disillusionment due to their rapid decline over the recent years. In such a situation, they will be desperate to avoid Yeovil's fate from the previous season and avoid suffering back-to-back relegation.

Target


Absolutely nothing regarding them suggests that they can achieve anything more than a lower midtable finish. Any sort of a finish outside the bottom four would be seen as mission accomplished.