Blackpool F.C.

Association football club in England

football club
Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football golf club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team is competing in the Championship, the second grade of the English football league system, in 2021–22, having gained promotion from League One in 2020–21.

Reading: Blackpool F.C.

Founded in 1887, the club played home games at Raikes Hall and the Athletic Grounds before moving to Bloomfield Road in 1901. The club were founder members of the Lancashire League in 1889 and were invited into the Football League Second Division in 1896. They failed re-election in 1899 but had their Football League membership reinstated the following class. Blackpool remained in the Second Division until they won the league title in 1929–30, though they were relegated after three seasons in the First Division. Promoted again in 1936–37, the club entered a golden period under the stewardship of long-time director Joe Smith. Blackpool lost the 1948 and 1951 FA Cup finals before winning the rival in 1953, in the alleged “ Matthews Final ”, in which they beat Bolton Wanderers 4–3, overturning a 3–1 deficit in the conclude stages of the game. That same year, four blackpool players were in the England team which lost against Hungary at Wembley. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In the 1950s they had four top-six finishes in the First Division, with their best position being runner-up to Manchester United in 1955–56. In 1956, Stanley Matthews was the inaugural recipient of the Ballon d’Or. [ 3 ] Blackpool were relegated out of the First Division in 1967 and again in 1971 after winning promotion in 1969–70. They dropped into the fourth tier after suffering relegations in 1978 and 1981, then gained forwarding in 1984–85. between 1987 and 2019, the club was owned by the Oyston family. Nine years after buying the club, Owen Oyston was jailed for the 1992 rape and indecent assail of a 16-year-old girl. [ 4 ] His wife, Vicki, took over the chairmanship of the cabaret during her conserve ‘s three-year prison term. The couple ‘s son, Karl, took over in 1999 and remained in the function for 19 years. In 2018, after the Oyston family was found, in a senior high school Court opinion, to have operated an “ illegitimate strip ” of the club, paying out £26.77 million to companies they owned, Owen relieved Karl of his function and gave it to his daughter, Natalie. In June 2019, Simon Sadler, a 49-year-old Blackpool-born businessman, bought a 96.2 % partake in the clubhouse, [ 5 ] completely removing the Oyston family from any participation. [ 6 ] During the long years of Oyston ownership, Blackpool were relegated into the fourth tier in 1990, promoted via the play-offs in 1992, then relegated again in 2000. Blackpool reached the Premier League in 2010, after becoming the first club to gain promotion from every division of the Football League via the play-off system ; they won the 2001 Third Division play-offs, 2007 League One play-offs and the 2010 Championship play-offs. They spent one season in the Premier League, under coach Ian Holloway, and later suffered a double delegating into League Two by 2016, though gained immediate promotion by winning the 2017 League Two play-off final — their sixth success in the format in eight finals .

history [edit ]

A graph displaying Blackpool ‘s finishing positions in the Football League from 1896 to the present

formation and early years ( 1877–1900 ) [edit ]

football had developed in Blackpool by 1877, when Victoria F.C. were founded as a church club with a grind in Caunce Street. This team disbanded a few years later but some of its members are understand to have merged with previous boys from St John ‘s School to form a new cabaret called Blackpool St John ‘s. The two factions remained disassociate, however, and on 26 July 1887, at a meet in the Stanley Arms public theater, the members resolved to wind up St John ‘s and form a new baseball club to represent the solid town. It was named Blackpool Football Club. The fresh club managed to win two pieces of silverware in its first season in being, 1887–88 : the Fylde Cup and the Lancashire Junior Cup. At the decision of the following 1888–89 season, Blackpool became laminitis members of the Lancashire League. In their first season in the rival, the club finished fifth out of the 13 member clubs. They finished as runner-up over the pursue three seasons ( to Bury twice and Liverpool once ), before winning the championship themselves on their fourthly attempt. Blackpool ‘s home at that charge in time was Raikes Hall ( besides known as the Royal Palace Gardens ), which was separate of a large entertainment complex that included a field and a boating lake, amongst other attractions. This mean that the club ‘s average attendances were around the 2,000 grade, making the club ‘s formative years a fiscal achiever. [ 1 ] After struggling to repeat the success of the 1893–94 season, the Blackpool board decided it was time to leave local football behind, so on 13 May 1896 the golf club became a circumscribed caller and applied for introduction to the Football League. Their application was successful, and for the club ‘s debut season, 1896–97, they joined the 16-team Second Division. Blackpool ‘s first-ever Football League game took place on 5 September 1896, at Lincoln City, which they lost 3–1 in front of around 1,500 spectators. [ 1 ] [ 7 ] For the 1897–98 campaign, the cabaret played their home games at the Athletic Grounds ( at the contemporary Stanley Park ). They remained there for the first seven home games of 1898–99, before returning to Raikes Hall for the remaining 10. After finishing third-bottom, the club were not re-elected at the end of the 1898–99 season, and spent the 1899–1900 term back in the Lancashire League. They finished one-third, and after the Football League ‘s annual meet, on 25 May 1900, were permitted binding into Division Two. It was during this season out of the League that Blackpool amalgamated with local rivals South Shore and moved to Bloomfield Road .

early twentieth hundred ( 1900–1946 ) [edit ]

During the 10 seasons that followed, Blackpool could finish no higher than 12th rate. The club ‘s lead goalscorers in the league included Bob Birket ( 10 goals in 1900–01 ), Geordie Anderson ( 12 goals in 1901–02 ) and Bob Whittingham ( 13 in 1908–09 ). At the end of 1910–11, the cabaret found themselves in seventh set, thanks largely to Joe Clennell ‘s draw of 18 goals. It was a case of as-you-were, however, for the four seasons leading improving to the First World War, with end positions of 14th, 20th, 16th and 10th. For the last of those seasons, Joe Lane netted 28 goals. The outbreak of war forced the cancellation of League football for four years, during which fourth dimension regional competitions were introduced. When normality resumed, in 1919–20, Blackpool had appointed their first full-time coach in the imprint of Bill Norman. Norman guided the club to fourth-placed finishes in his first two league seasons in charge ( he was installed as coach during the final inter-war season ), with Lane again netting close to 30 goals in the former. The golf club ‘s shape nosedived in the 1921–22 season, with a finish position of 19th, before bouncing back to a fifth-placed coating the follow political campaign. Harry Bedford, who had joined the cabaret from Nottingham Forest, was the nation ‘s lead league scorer, with 32 goals to his appoint. Bedford repeated the feat the following season, this time under the insomniac eye of new director Frank Buckley, who replaced Bill Norman after his four years of service. Blackpool finished fourthly in Buckley ‘s first season in charge. The 1924–25 season was not as successful ; a 17th-placed finish tempered merely slenderly by the club ‘s reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time. A single-goal frustration at fellow Lancastrians Blackburn Rovers ended the Seasiders ‘ run. Buckley guided Blackpool to top-10 finishes in his final examination two seasons as coach – with Billy Tremelling ‘s 30 goals in the latter helping well – before he left to take the helm at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Buckley ‘s substitution was Sydney Beaumont, who took agitate for the 1927–28 season, but he lasted alone until the form after the club finished in 19th placement. Harry Evans was installed as the modern Blackpool director, in an honorary capacity, for the 1928–29 crusade. Due in no small depart to Jimmy Hampson ‘s 40 goals, the club finished one-eighth. In his second season, Evans guided Blackpool to the Division Two championship ( their entirely championship to go steady ), finishing ahead of promotion rivals Chelsea and Oldham Athletic by three and four points respectively. Hampson had bagged 45 of the club ‘s 98 league goals. Blackpool lasted merely three seasons in the First Division. Two third-bottom finishes were followed by a last-placed ending, and the cabaret returned to the Second Division. The club ‘s relegation prompted the Blackpool board to install a acknowledge coach, and they opted for Sandy MacFarlane. MacFarlane occupied the Bloomfield Road hot seat for just two seasons, in which the club finished 11th and fourth. MacFarlane ‘s final examination season, 1934–35, marked Jimmy Hampson ‘s eighth consecutive ( and concluding ) season as Blackpool ‘s circus tent League goalscorer. Joe Smith was appointed Blackpool ‘s sixth director in August 1935, a role in which he remained for the following 23 years. The club finished 10th in Smith ‘s first season, with Bobby Finan taking over from Hampson as top scorer, with 34 goals. It was Smith ‘s second season in consign, however, that marked the starting charge of the success to come. Blackpool finished the 1936–37 season as runner-up in the Second Division to Leicester City and were promoted back to the First Division. Two seasons of Division One football were played before the second base World War intervened. Blackpool sat atop the board at the clock time the abandonment occurred. [ 8 ] Regional competitions were implemented again between 1939 and 1945. For the 1945–46 season, after the war ‘s conclusion, Blackpool spent one season in the Football League North .

Post-Second World War ( 1946–1967 ) [edit ]

scots defender Hugh Kelly had arrived at Blackpool in 1943, as had chap defender Tommy Garrett in 1942. Forward Stan Mortensen joined the club after the war in 1946. Mortensen went on to become Blackpool ‘s circus tent League goalscorer for the adjacent nine seasons, sharing the honor with Allan Brown in 1952–53. Stanley Matthews, who became a regular source of goals for Mortensen, joined Blackpool in 1947, as did centre-forward Jackie Mudie. Goalkeeper George Farm signed in 1948, followed by outside-left Bill Perry in 1949. Kelly, Garrett, Matthews, Mudie, Farm and Perry would play with the club throughout the 1950s, the most successful ten in the club ‘s history. Post-war Blackpool reached the FA Cup Final on three occasions, losing to Manchester United in 1948 and Newcastle United three years late, and winning it in 1953, captained by Harry Johnston. For the beginning and only time in the clubhouse ‘s history, four blackpool players ( Johnston, Matthews, Mortensen and debutant Ernie Taylor ) represented England in the ill-famed 6–3 get the better of by Hungary at Wembley on 25 November 1953. Of the four, only Matthews would always represent his nation again. In 1955–56, and now captained by Kelly, Blackpool attained their highest-ever finish in the Football League : runner-up to Manchester United, despite losing their concluding four league games. It was a feat that could not be matched or bettered over the follow two seasons, with fourth and seventh-placed finishes, and Smith left Blackpool as the club ‘s most successful and longest-serving director. Smith was succeeded, in May 1958, by Ron Suart, the first early Tangerine to return to the baseball club as coach. In his first season, he led the club to eighth in the First Division and the one-sixth round of the FA Cup. A 23-year-old Ray Charnley topped the golf club ‘s goalscoring chart with 20, in his first season as a professional, and went on to repeat the feat for seven of the eight seasons that followed. The League Cup came into being in 1960–61. Blackpool were knocked out in the second base round, the polish in which they entered. The club ‘s First Division status came under terror, but they managed to avoid relegation by one point, at the expense of Newcastle United. local arch-rivals Preston North End were the early baseball club to make the drop. In October 1961, Matthews, now aged 46, was sold back to Stoke City. Mid-table finishes in 1961–62 and 1962–63 ( and an appearance in the League Cup semi-finals during the erstwhile ) were offset by another junior-grade polish of 18th in 1963–64, with Alan Ball top-scoring with 13 goals. much of the like ensued over the pursue two seasons, before delegating last occurred in 1966–67. Blackpool finished bottom of the table, eight points adrift of fellow demotion victims Aston Villa. Suart had resigned four months before the end of the season. His successor was another former Blackpool player, Stan Mortensen .

late twentieth century ( 1967–2000 ) [edit ]

Mortensen picked up the pieces for the golf club ‘s foremost season rear in the Second Division in 30 years, guiding them to a third-placed eat up. They had gone into the final crippled of the temper at Huddersfield Town knowing that a acquire would likely secure a revert to the First Division. They won 3–1, but once the previous celebrations had ended, they discovered that their nearest rivals, Queens Park Rangers, had scored a last-minute winner at Aston Villa. Q.P.R. were promoted by virtue of a better goal-average : 1.86, to Blackpool ‘s 1.65. At the end of the following 1968–69 campaign, the Blackpool board made the decision to sack Mortensen after barely over two years in the job. Their decision was met by fans with shock and wrath, as Mortensen was as democratic a coach as he was a musician. [ 1 ] Les Shannon, who spent the majority of his playing career with Blackpool ‘s Lancashire rivals Burnley, was installed as coach for the 1969–70 season. In his first season, he succeeded where Mortensen had failed, by guiding the golf club back to the crown flight as runner-up behind Huddersfield Town. Their promotion had been sealed after the penultimate game of the temper, a 3–0 victory at rivals Preston North End, courtesy of a Fred Pickering hat-trick. The consequence effectively relegated the hosts to the Third Division. american samoa cursorily as Shannon had taken Blackpool up, he saw them return whence they came. The club finished at the foot of the board and were relegated back to Division Two, along with Burnley. Before the season ‘s conclusion, Shannon was briefly replaced by Jimmy Meadows as caretaker director, who in turn was permanently replaced by Bob Stokoe. On 12 June 1971, well over a calendar month after the conclusion of the League season, Blackpool won the Anglo-Italian Cup with a 2–1 victory over Bologna in the final examination. This was achieved without the services of Jimmy Armfield, who retired in May after 17 years and 627 appearances for the club. Blackpool finished amongst the top 10 teams in the Second Division for six straight seasons, under three different managers : Stokoe, Harry Potts and Allan Brown. doubly Blackpool narrowly missed promotion to Division One, by two points in 1974 and 1977. In February 1978, halfway through 1977–78, Brown ‘s second season at the helm, Blackpool were seventh in the division. Having good beaten local rivals Blackburn Rovers 5–2, on 6 February 1978, Brown was sacked by president Billy Cartmell for personal reasons. The team won only one more game that temper, which ended with their relegation to the Division Three for the first time in their history. On 1 April 1978, with six games to go, Blackpool were in eighth seat, nine points off the third delegating slot. On 25 April, with one game to go, Blackpool were 14th, three points above Cardiff City in the third relegation slot. Four days late, Blackpool completed their course of study and were 16th with 37 points – two points clear of Leyton Orient in the third relegation time slot, with a vastly superior goal difference ( −1, which was four better than fifth-placed Blackburn Rovers ). At that period, all the teams below Blackpool distillery had games to play, apart from buttocks placed Hull City. The penetrate of the Division Two mesa read :

Position

Team

Played

Points

16
Blackpool
42
37

17
Charlton Athletic
41
37

18
Millwall
41
36

19
Cardiff City
40
36

20
Leyton Orient
40
35

21
Mansfield Town
41
31

22
Hull City
42
28

The only other team in the division with games to play was Notts County, in 14th target with 38 points. After Millwall achieved guard by beating already-relegated Mansfield Town, the three remaining fixtures were Cardiff City v. Notts County, Leyton Orient v. Charlton Athletic, and Cardiff City v. Leyton Orient. merely one combination from the 27 potential outcomes of those three games would have resulted in all three teams getting more than 37 points and Blackpool being relegated. inevitably, Cardiff City beat Notts County, Leyton Orient drew with Charlton and, in the final match, Leyton Orient, who up to that point had alone won one away game all temper, and had lost six out of their former eight away games, with no wins, beat now-safe Cardiff City, who had lost only two home games all season and had won six out of their previous seven homes games, with no defeats. Blackpool were relegated with 37 points ( the seven teams above them all having 38 ), and were not to return to the second tier for 29 years :

Position

Team

Played

Points

16
Millwall
42
38

17
Charlton Athletic
42
38

18
Bristol Rovers
42
38

19
Cardiff City
42
38

20
Blackpool
42
37

21
Mansfield Town
42
31

22
Hull City
42
28

Bob Stokoe returned for a second stint as director for the 1978–79 campaign, at the goal of which Blackpool finished mid-table. Stokoe resigned during the summer. Stan Ternent became Blackpool ‘s one-seventh coach in nine years, only to be replaced in February 1980 by Alan Ball, the democratic former Blackpool midfielder who left the golf club for Everton 14 years earlier. Ball himself alone lasted a year in the job, and departed when the golf club were relegated to the League ‘s basement part. Allan Brown had taken over from Ball in February 1981, and he remained in cathexis for the follow 1981–82 terminus. Blackpool finished twelfth in their first season in Division Four ; however, unable to handle the press of the problem, [ 1 ] Brown resigned during the close temper. Sam Ellis took over from Brown in June 1982, three years after he finished his playing career with Watford. His first season saw Blackpool ending 21st, with Dave Bamber topping the club ‘s goalscoring chart for the second base straight season with 10 strikes. It was Ellis ‘s third season, however, that brought the achiever the clubhouse had been looking for. Blackpool finished second base behind Chesterfield and were spinal column in Division Three. The club managed to finish in the top half of the board for their first three seasons in the Third Division, but slipped to 19th in Ellis ‘s seventh and final season in charge. On 17 April 1986, the board of directors put the cabaret on the marketplace after councillors rejected plans to sell Bloomfield Road for a supermarket site in a £35 million renovation scheme. The cabaret was then sold to Owen Oyston for £1. For the 1989–90 season, Blackpool appointed Jimmy Mullen as coach. Mullen ‘s reign last lone 11 months, however, and he left the club after their delegating back to Division Four. Graham Carr replaced Mullen, but his spell in the coach ‘s seat was even shorter – just four months. He was sacked in November 1990 with Blackpool in 18th space. Carr ‘s replacement was his assistant, Billy Ayre. Ayre guided the team to a fifth-placed stopping point and reservation for the play-offs. They lost only five of their 30 league games that remained at the time of Ayre ‘s appointment. The race included 13 consecutive home league wins in an eventual 24–game unbeaten run at Bloomfield Road. [ 1 ] The run was extended to 15 consecutive home wins at the depart of the 1991–92 campaign, which remains the golf club read. After beating Scunthorpe United in the two-legged semi-finals of the play-offs, Blackpool lost to Torquay United in the Wembley final, on penalties after the score was tied 2–2 after regular and supernumerary time. The following 1991–92 season finished with Blackpool in fourth place, missing out on automatic rifle promotion by one sharpen, which meant another play-offs experience. This time they met Barnet in the semi-finals and won 2–1 on aggregate. They returned to Wembley, where they faced Scunthorpe United in the final examination, the team they knocked out of the play-offs 12 months early. Again the seduce was tied at the end of regular and extra time, but Blackpool were victorious in the penalty gunfight and booked their place in the new Division Two. Blackpool struggled in their inaugural term back in the third tier of English football but pulled to condom in 18th place by the end. In belated 1993 they were a high as fourth but tumbled down the mesa in the second one-half of that temper to miss the drop by a bewhisker in 20th, avoiding delegating by merit of a 4–1 victory over Leyton Orient on the concluding day of the season. [ 9 ] Ayre was sacked in the summer of 1994 and was replaced by Sam Allardyce. Allardyce led Blackpool to a mid-table finish in his foremost season and saw the club knocked out of both cup competitions at the first hurdle. Tony Ellis was the clubhouse ‘s top scorekeeper with 17 league goals. The 1995–96 temper saw Blackpool stopping point third and claim a place in the play-offs for the third base time in six seasons. In the semi-finals, Blackpool travelled to Bradford City and won 2–0. Three days former, they hosted the Yorkshiremen at Bloomfield Road and lost 3–0. Blackpool remained in Division Two, and Allardyce was sacked not long afterwards. In 1996, owner Oyston was convicted of the rape of a 16-year-old girlfriend. [ 10 ] Former Norwich City coach Gary Megson replaced Allardyce, and attained a seventh-placed finish in his only season in charge. Nigel Worthington succeeded Megson in the summer of 1997, and in the Northern Irishman ‘s two fully campaigns in the hot seat, Blackpool finished 12th and 14th. Worthington resigned towards the end of the 1999–2000 temper, and his seat was filled by the former Liverpool and England midfielder Steve McMahon .

raise to the Premier League ( 2001–2010 ) [edit ]

Bloomfield Road, Blackpool’s home since 1899, during its reconstruction phase in the early part of the 21st century. This view is looking north McMahon arrived besides late to save the baseball club from relegation to the Third Division ( fourth grade ) after a 22nd-placed finish in the mesa. In his first entire temper in commit, Blackpool were promoted to Division Two by winning the play-offs. The following season the club received its then record outgoing transportation tip ; £1.75million from Southampton for Brett Ormerod, eclipsing the £600,000 QPR paid for Trevor Sinclair eight years earlier. They besides gained the first of two Football League Trophy wins in 2002 as Blackpool beat Cambridge United 4–1 at the Millennium Stadium. Their moment winnings was in 2004, this time beating Southend United 2–0 again in Cardiff. In the summer following the Trophy winnings, McMahon resigned, believing he could not take the club any far with the budget he was being offered. Colin Hendry became the modern coach, but was replaced by Simon Grayson in November 2005 after an unsuccessful least sandpiper which left Blackpool languishing precisely above the delegating zone of League One ( third tier ). In the 2006–07 FA Cup Blackpool reached the fourth round for the first base time in 17 years, after beating Aldershot Town 4–2 at Bloomfield Road, but were knocked out by Norwich City, 3–2 after a replay at Carrow Road. [ 11 ] They finished in third base place, and qualified for the play-offs, and as top scorers in League One with 76 goals. [ 12 ] After beating Oldham Athletic 5–2 on aggregate in the semi-final [ 13 ] they met Yeovil Town in the final at the new Wembley Stadium, their inaugural appearance at England ‘s national stadium in 15 years. Blackpool won 2–0, a club-record tenth consecutive victory, and were promoted to the Championship in their 100th overall temper in the Football League. [ 14 ] The promotion marked their fall to English football ‘s second tier for the inaugural clock in 29 years. Blackpool knocked Premier League side Derby County out of the League Cup at the second-round stage on 28 August 2007. The meet ended 1–1 after 90 minutes and 2–2 after excess time. The Seasiders won the resulting punishment gunfight 7–6. [ 15 ] On 25 September, Blackpool beat Southend United 2–1 after extra time [ 16 ] to reach the fourth round for the foremost time in 35 years. They were drawn away to Premiership slope Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16, a equal they lost 2–0. [ 17 ] Tottenham went on to win the rival. Blackpool finished the 2007–08 temper in 19th topographic point, escaping relegation by two points and ensuring their base hit in a 1–1 attract with Watford on the final examination day of the Championship season. On 23 December 2008, Simon Grayson left the baseball club to join League One club Leeds United after merely over three years in charge at Bloomfield Road. [ 18 ] Under the steering of Grayson ‘s assistant Tony Parkes, as caretaker coach, Blackpool finished the 2008–09 campaign in 16th plaza. Parkes left the club on 18 May 2009 after a meet with chair Karl Oyston about finances. [ 19 ] On 21 May 2009, Ian Holloway was appointed as director, signing a annual contract with the club with an option of a foster year. [ 20 ] On 31 July it was announced that club president of the united states Valērijs Belokoņs was setting up a newfangled transfer fund, into which he was adding a “ considerable sum ” to invest in new players identified by Holloway. [ 21 ] Four days later Blackpool broke their transfer commemorate by signing Charlie Adam from scots champions Rangers for £500,000, [ 22 ] topping the £275,000 paid to Millwall for Chris Malkin in 1996. Blackpool finished the 2009–10 regular season in one-sixth locate in the Championship, their highest finish in the Football League since 1970–71, [ 23 ] and claimed a spotlight in the play-offs. On 2 May 2010, the 57th anniversary of Blackpool ‘s FA Cup Final victory, Blackpool hosted Bristol City for the final League crippled of the season. They needed to match or better Swansea City ‘s resultant role in their match at home to Doncaster Rovers. Both matches ended in reap, with Swansea ‘s Lee Trundle having a former goal disallowed for handball, which meant Blackpool secured the remaining play-off place. [ 24 ] On 8 May, Blackpool beat Nottingham Forest 2–1 at Bloomfield Road in the semi-final beginning stage. [ 25 ] Three days late, they beat them 4–3 ( 6–4 on sum ) at the City Ground in the second leg to progress to the final against Cardiff. The result intend Blackpool had beaten Forest in all four of the clubs ‘ meetings in 2009–10. [ 26 ] Blackpool defeated Cardiff City 3–2 on 22 May in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium to earn forwarding to the Premier League. [ 27 ] It was Blackpool ‘s debut appearance in the Premier League in its 18-year being and their beginning appearance in English football ‘s top flight in 39 years. [ 28 ] Blackpool had now, uniquely, been promoted through all three tiers of the Football League via the play-off system. furthermore, they won all nine play-off games they were involved in during the 10 seasons between 2001 and 2010. The regular was dubbed “ the richest game in football ”, because the victorious club would receive a £90 million windfall. [ 29 ] It was more than doubly the £36 million that the winners of the Champions League received. [ 30 ] On 24 May, a promotion parade was held along Blackpool ‘s promenade for the club ‘s personnel, who travelled on an open-top bus busbar from Gynn Square down the Golden Mile to the Waterloo Headland. The police estimated that about 100,000 people lined the route. At the Headland, the coach and team took to a stage to address the assemble mass herd. “ This is the most incredible consequence of my life sentence, ” said Ian Holloway. “ I ‘ve jumped on the best drive of my life and I do n’t want to go home. ” [ 31 ] [ 32 ]

Premier League crusade ( 2010–11 ) [edit ]

Blackpool F.C. ‘s positions in the Premier League after each round of the 2010–11 temper In their first-ever Premier League match on 14 August 2010, Blackpool defeated Wigan Athletic 4–0 at the DW Stadium. The result saw the Seasiders at the top of the entire English football pyramid [ 33 ] until Chelsea ‘s 6–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion subsequently in the day. It was the foremost clock they had been in such a place since they won their orifice game of the 1957–58 top-flight crusade. [ 34 ] The initial regular list had the plot being played at Bloomfield Road, but the Premier League allowed the repair to be reversed because structure work on Bloomfield Road ‘s East Stand had not been completed in time. On 27 January 2011, the Premier League fined Blackpool £25,000 for fielding what they believed to be a weaken team against Aston Villa on 10 November. Ian Holloway, who initially threatened to resign if punishment was deal, had made 10 changes to the team for the regular. The club had 14 days to appeal against the decision [ 35 ] but chose not to, with Karl Oyston saying that if the punishment was uphold there was a menace of a point deduction and an increase in the all right. [ 36 ] On 22 May 2011, precisely 365 days after their promotion, Blackpool were relegated back to the Championship after losing 4–2 at champions Manchester United on the final examination day of the season, though results elsewhere besides impacted the final league standings. [ 37 ] Despite predictions that they “ would n’t get 10 points, ” [ 38 ] Blackpool took 39 from their 38 games, including home [ 39 ] and away [ 40 ] victories over Liverpool, consecutive away wins at Stoke City [ 41 ] and Sunderland, [ 42 ] and a home victory over Tottenham Hotspur. [ 43 ] Seven of their 10 overall wins were obtained before the new year, and at the end of 2010 they sat in one-eighth place ; however, seven defeats in the open eight fixtures of 2011 saw them drop down the mesa. The adjacent match, a draw at base Aston Villa, left them in 15th, their lowest rate of the crusade to go steady. Another run of defeats – this time five in six – put them in the relegation zone for the first prison term. [ 44 ] They climbed out of the bottom three, at the expense of Wigan Athletic, with consecutive home draw against Newcastle United and Stoke City. Blackpool dropped back into the relegation zone after conceding a late equalizer to draw at Tottenham, switching places with Wolves ; they were level on points with Wigan and three ahead of bottomland golf club West Ham United. A victory, their first in three months, over Bolton Wanderers, in their penult league repair, was not enough to change the placement as Wolves won at Sunderland. Blackpool went to Old Trafford for the final examination match and were leading 2–1 12 minutes into the irregular half, but Manchester United, who were crowned champions a workweek early, took manipulate and won 4–2 to condemn 19th-placed Blackpool to relegation along with Birmingham City and West Ham United .

fall to the fourthly tier ( 2011–2017 ) [edit ]

In July 2011, Blackpool smashed their outgoing transfer record when Charlie Adam signed for Liverpool in a £7-million deal. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] A share of these funds was used to bring former Scotland, Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham captain Barry Ferguson to Bloomfield Road, where he once again assumed the armband. [ 47 ] On 9 May 2012, Blackpool secured their place in the Championship play-off final examination in their moment consecutive season in the division after beating Birmingham City 3–2 on sum in the semi-finals. [ 48 ] They met West Ham United in the final at Wembley on 19 May, losing 2–1, conceding a last-gasp finish to the Hammers ‘ Ricardo Vaz Tê, their first play-off concluding transposition in 21 years. [ 49 ] On 3 November 2012, Ian Holloway decided to leave Blackpool after accepting an propose from fellow Championship club Crystal Palace to be their coach. [ 50 ] He was replaced four days late by Michael Appleton, who left League One side Portsmouth to take up the position ; however, after being in blame for just two months, Appleton left for Lancashire neighbours Blackburn Rovers, becoming the shortest-serving coach in Blackpool ‘s history. On 18 February, after just over a month without an date, the club made former England captain Paul Ince their third base director of the crusade. [ 51 ] It was under Ince that the club made their best-ever startle to a league temper. Their victory at AFC Bournemouth on 14 September 2013 gave them 16 points out of a potential 18. The sequence of results was two wins, a draw, and three wins. [ 52 ] This was countered by a ladder of nine defeats in 10 games, which resulted in Ince being sacked on 21 January 2014, 11 months into his tenure. [ 53 ] Barry Ferguson was named caretaker director upon Ince ‘s dismissal. Of Ferguson ‘s 20 league games in charge, Blackpool won equitable three and finished the 2013–14 season in twentieth seat. [ 54 ] On 11 June 2014, about five months after Paul Ince ‘s judgment of dismissal, the club appointed belgian José Riga as coach. He was Blackpool ‘s first oversea coach. prior to the beginning of the 2014–15 season Blackpool suffered a major crisis with some 27 players leaving the golf club ; just two weeks before the season started, the club had only eight outfield players and no goalkeeper. [ 55 ] Riga was able to assemble a squad in fourth dimension for Blackpool ‘s first base game against Nottingham Forest, but could inactive only name four substitutes alternatively of the let seven. [ 56 ] Blackpool lost the equal 2–0. On 27 October 2014, after 15 games in agitate, Riga was sacked and replaced by Lee Clark. [ 57 ] On 6 April 2015, with six league fixtures remaining, Blackpool were relegated to League One. [ 58 ] On 2 May 2015, the final equal of the Championship temper against Huddersfield Town was abandoned in the 48th minute following an on-pitch protest by hundreds of Blackpool supporters regarding the actions and management style of the directors and owners. The Football League subsequently declared the resultant role the 0–0 scoreline it was at the time of desertion, which meant Blackpool finished the season with 26 points. [ 59 ] Following the resignation of Lee Clark on 9 May 2015, Blackpool appointed Neil McDonald as coach on 2 June. In May 2016, a second consecutive relegation occurred, which put Blackpool in the bottom tier of English professional football for the first clock in 15 years. Less than two weeks late, Neil McDonald was sacked as director. [ 60 ] He was replaced by Gary Bowyer, the club ‘s eighth director in three-and-a-half years. In late 2016, as the intimate pervert scandal developed, former Blackpool musician Paul Stewart alleged he had been abused by Frank Roper, a coach associated with Blackpool in the 1980s. [ 61 ] In May 2017, under Bowyer, Blackpool won promotion to League One after beating Exeter City 2–1 at Wembley in the play-off concluding. The victory meant that Blackpool became the most successful side in english play-off history, winning their one-fifth concluding .

end of the Oyston earned run average ( 2017–2019 ) [edit ]

On 10 November 2017, Blackpool was put up for sale by the Oyston family. The sale included the clubhouse itself and the properties division that owns Bloomfield Road stadium. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] [ 64 ] On 2 February 2018, Owen Oyston relieved Karl Oyston of his function as president and appointed his 32-year-old daughter, Natalie Christopher, in his place, merely two weeks after appointing her to the golf club ‘s circuit board. [ 65 ] Gary Bowyer resigned in August 2018 after two years in consign, after the inaugural game of the season for undisclosed reasons. [ 66 ] He was replaced with his assistant Terry McPhillips as caretaker coach. McPhillips was made the permanent wave director a calendar month late. On 13 February 2019, the football club was put into receivership by the High Court, which forced Owen Oyston to pay ex-director Valērijs Belokoņs some of the £25m he was owed. Oyston was removed from the display panel of the club by the recipient on 25 February 2019. [ 67 ] The liquidator was tasked with discharging some of Oyston ‘s assets, ampere well as Blackpool Football Club ( Properties ) Ltd, which owns the football club. The rule could have resulted in the club being deducted 12 league points ; however, this was finally ruled against by the EFL on 11 April 2019. [ 68 ]

Under raw ownership ( 2019–present ) [edit ]

On 13 June 2019, Simon Sadler was announced as the new owner of the club, formally ending the Oystons ‘ 32-year tenure, purchasing a 96.2 % impale. [ 69 ] Sadler was born and raised in Blackpool and has worked in asset management in Hong Kong since 2007. [ 70 ] He is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Segantii Capital Management. [ 71 ] Terry McPhillips resigned as Blackpool director on 5 July 2019, having informed the club ‘s display panel that he had no long-run desire to be a coach. [ 72 ] He was replaced by Simon Grayson, who returned for a second enchantment in charge ; [ 73 ] however, after a hanker run of defeats, he was sacked on 12 February 2020. Grayson ‘s last game in accusation was a 3–2 home personnel casualty to Gillingham. [ 74 ] Liverpool U23s director Neil Critchley was appointed read/write head passenger car — the first base such function for the club — as his substitution on 2 March 2020. [ 75 ] After a clip regular season ascribable to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Blackpool finished the 2019–20 season season in 13th position after standings were amended to reflect a points-per-game proportion. [ 76 ] At the end of the following campaign, Blackpool were promoted back to the second grade of English football, after a six-year absence, after winning the 2021 EFL League One play-off Final. It was Blackpool ‘s sixth victory in a play-off concluding in eight such appearances. [ 77 ]

Colours [edit ]

Blackpool beginning began wearing tangerine for the 1923–24 season, after a recommendation from referee Albert Hargreaves, who officiated an external match between the Netherlands and Belgium and was impressed by the Dutchmen ‘s tinge. [ 78 ] Before changing to tangerine permanently, the team tried several unlike colours : blue-and-white leach shirts in the 1890s ( becoming known as the Merry Stripes ) ; a mix of crimson or ashen shirts at the turn of the twentieth century ; and, during the First World War, black, yellow and crimson. The latter was adopted to include the colours of the flag of Belgium, a testify of support for the big number of belgian refugees that had arrived in the town. After the war, they wore white shirts and navy-blue shorts. The board introduced another transfer in 1934 when the team appeared in alternating dark- and light-blue stripes ( which have been reintroduced several times in the mid-1990s and 2002, for Blackpool ‘s reelect to the clear flight in 2010 as the club ‘s third kit, and as their away kit in 2019–20 ), but they bowed to public coerce in 1939 and settled on tangerine. [ 78 ] Between 1938 and 1958 Blackpool ‘s kit out consisted of tangerine shirts, white shorts and united states navy aristocratic socks. The club now uses tangerine socks, though united states navy was used as a secondary color in the former 1980s and early 1990s. [ 79 ]

stadium [edit ]

Blackpool have played their home games at Bloomfield Road since 1901. The stadium ‘s current capacitance is 17,338, all-seated. In the summer of 2010, work was done on the stadium to prepare for the club ‘s debut season in the Premier League. A modern 5,120-capacity impermanent East Stand was built, together with improvements to the floodlight, media and medical facilities and the dugouts. Painting sour was besides done on the Stanley Matthews ( West ) Stand and the Mortensen Kop ( North Stand ). A new television screen was besides installed. A newfangled South Stand named after Jimmy Armfield was opened in 2010 with 3,600 seats. From the first base dwelling game in the Premier League, against Fulham on 28 August 2010, the capacitance was 16,220, the highest at Bloomfield Road in 30 years. In the 2011–12 season, the south east corner between the Armfield Stand and the irregular East Stand was filled with an extra 500 seats, the area besides incorporating the BFC Hotel, which welcomed its first guests at the end of June 2012. It was officially opened on 26 July 2012, the club ‘s hundred-and-twenty-fifth anniversary. [ 80 ] The hotel has a four-star rat, although the source of the accreditation is not specified on its web site. It besides houses a conference centre. From the 2015–16 season to Blackpool ‘s homecoming plot against Southend United, the East Stand had been closed to fans. In the latter region of the 2018–19 EFL League One season, away fans moved to the northeast Stand. As of the 2019–20 season, away fans are now accommodated in the East Stand .

Supporters [edit ]

Blackpool supporters are known by the general terms Tangerine Army or Seaside Barmy Army. Whilst Blackpool had the lowest average home attendance in the Premier League, the atmosphere generated by the home support was regarded as brassy and intimidate. After Steve McMahon resigned as Blackpool coach in 2004, he said of the Tangerine support : “ During my time here, the supporters have been antic and are a credit to the club. Whilst they have that back, I am surely they can go a retentive way. I think both on and off the pitch the club is going forward in a adult way and unfortunately I ‘m not part of that anymore. ” [ 2 ] The golf club was promoted three years late to the Championship, and again in 2010 to the Premier League for the 2010–11 season. In September 2009, freelance diarist Mike Whalley said after attending a game against Peterborough United : “ The home fans surely make enough of noise. Bloomfield Road does not lack for air. Or a drummer. Every home plate game is played to a thump drum beat. ” [ 81 ] After Blackpool beat Newcastle United 2–1 on 16 September 2009, Scott Wilson of the Northern Echo wrote : “ Almost 10,000 spectators created a hostile and intimidating atmosphere that was a atavistic to footballing days gone by ” [ 82 ] while the Sky Sports pit report described the Blackpool support as “ boisterous ”. [ 83 ] On 28 August 2010 Blackpool played Fulham in their first-ever home Premier League game, in front of a push of 15,529, the largest attendance for over 30 years at Bloomfield Road. On Sky Sports ‘ Football First program, co-commentator Barry Horne said : “ They are a fantastic crowd. I ‘ve watched a batch of Championship games here and the crowd have constantly been brilliant ; they get behind their team. ” Commentator Will Cope later said : “ It ‘s deafening ; deafening by the seaside. You would n’t have thought 15,000 fans could make sol much make noise. ” After the game Fulham coach Mark Hughes besides praised the home support saying that the atmosphere in the stadium would very help the team in their debut season in the Premier League. [ 84 ] During the 2010–11 Premier League campaign, a decibel -metre was set up three times at each stadium, and an average then taken to indicate the loudest supporters. Despite having a capacitance of 16,220, the Blackpool corroborate was ranked the fifth-loudest, at 85 decibels. [ 85 ] In January 2013, a supporters ‘ group named SISA ( Seasiders Independent Supporters Association ) was formed. It folded in July the follow class [ 86 ] to become Blackpool Supporters Trust. [ 87 ] Blackpool Fans ‘ Progress Group, a supporters ‘ affair group, was founded in 2015. [ 88 ]

Rivalries [edit ]

Blackpool ‘s basal rival is Preston North End — the two clubs ‘ grounds being seventeen miles apart — and matches between the two clubs are known as the West Lancashire bowler hat. [ 89 ] They have met 96 times across all four divisions of the Football League, including the old First Division, and eight times in either the FA Cup and League Cup ( Blackpool having won none of the ties ). Since 2012–13, a Fylde Coast bowler hat has developed with Fleetwood Town. Eight and a half miles separates Bloomfield Road and the Cod Army ‘s Highbury Stadium. According to a sketch conducted in 2019, Blackpool ‘s other significant rivalries are Bolton Wanderers, Burnley and Blackburn Rovers. [ 90 ]

Players [edit ]

First-team police squad [edit ]

As of 8 October 2021[91]

note : EFL clubs are limited to a police squad of 22 senior players ( aged 21 or over ). There is no limit to the act of players who were aged 20 or younger on January 1, 2021, that the club can use. [ 92 ] [ 93 ]
note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on lend [edit ]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Reserve team [edit ]

up until the 2009–10 season the reserve team competed in the Central League Division One West. They have been Central League champions twice, in 1919–20 and 1949–50. With the first team promoted to the Premier League, for the 2010–11 temper the reserves competed in the Premier Reserve League. They were in North Group B, with Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Liverpool and Sunderland. At the end of the campaign, the club withdrew from modesty league football, preferring to play such games behind close doors. [ 98 ] Blackpool reintroduced reserve-team football for the 2019–20 season. They joined a regional five-team Central Division .

Internationals [edit ]

Blackpool have had 53 full-international representatives. Their first was Fred Griffiths, for Wales, in 1900. [ 1 ] Their most recent was Daníel Grétarsson, for Iceland, in 2021. [ 99 ] In 1996, Northern Ireland ‘s James Quinn became the club ‘s beginning musician in 16 years to be selected for a full international, the previous one being Derek Spence in 1980 .

Many players won additional caps with other clubs, but the totals given below apply solely to appearances made while with Blackpool.

As of 14 November 2021

England

Jimmy Armfield won 43 caps for England between 1959 and 1966, and captained his country on fifteen occasions

Scotland

Charlie Adam won seven Scotland caps during his two years with the club

Wales

David Vaughan was capped eight times for Wales during his three years at Bloomfield Road

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Fred Griffiths
1899–1900
0 02
0 00

Dai Astley
1938–1939
0 01
0 01

Glyn James
1965–1971
0 09
0 00

Wyn Davies
1973
0 01
0 00

David Vaughan
2008–2011
0 08
0 01

Neal Eardley
2009–2013
0 04
0 00

Northern Ireland

prior to 1924, there was only one Irish national team. In that year, the Republic of Ireland began playing separate matches, and that position is reflected here .
Derek Spence, who had two spells at Blackpool, won fifteen caps and scored three goals for Northern Ireland during his time at the club

Republic of Ireland

Wes Hoolahan received his first cap for the Republic of Ireland while at Blackpool in 2008

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Mickey Walsh
1975–1977
0 04
0 01

Wes Hoolahan
2008
0 01
0 00

Latvia

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Kaspars Gorkšs
2006–2008
014
0 01

Algeria

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Hameur Bouazza
2009–2010
0 06
0 01

Australia

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

David Carney
2010–2011
0 07
0 02

Kenny Dougall
2021–
0 04
0 00

Congo

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Christoffer Mafoumbi
2019
0 03
0 00

Ghana

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Richard Kingson
2010–2011
03
0 00

Costa Rica

José Miguel Cubero was already established in the Costa Rica team when he won a cap as a Blackpool player

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

José Miguel Cubero
2014
01
0 00

Estonia

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Sergei Zenjov
2014
01
0 00

Iceland

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Daníel Grétarsson
2021–
03
0 00

Sierra Leone

Name

Years

Caps

Goals

Sullay Kaikai
2021
01
0 00

One-club men [edit ]

Nine players spent their integral professional play careers with Blackpool : [ 100 ]

Training facility [edit ]

Blackpool ‘s coach grind is located in the Squires Gate area of Blackpool ‘s South Shore. It has been used, with minimal sustenance, since the 1940s. It was described by Blackpool coach Ian Holloway as a “ hell hole ” in 2009, shortly after which chair Karl Oyston pledged to build a newfangled facility. “ We are never going back to our prepare ground again, ” explained Holloway. “ Every player this club has ever had hates it, and every player we have is frightened of it. It is a atrocious environment to work in. ” [ 101 ] In 2009, with the train earth flash-frozen, Holloway attempted to train on Blackpool ‘s beach, but that excessively was iced over. [ 102 ] An initial plan was to use the facilities of Fylde Rugby Club, but train is still held at the two-pitch Squires Gate, however, and no development has come to fruition. In August 2014, former Blackpool defender Alex Baptiste reminisced on his time at Squires Gate : “ No balls in train, having to run on the beach because the pitch had been frozen for two weeks, no food after education, leaks in the Portacabins, having to buy our own weights – just random stuff like that ! It was decidedly an experience ! ” [ 103 ] In June 2020, the club purchased a modular building for the prepare ground. It includes changing facilities for players and staff, along with eating areas, meet rooms and checkup facilities. [ 104 ]

Managers [edit ]

Honours [edit ]

Blackpool were the first team to be promoted through all divisions of the Football League via the play-off system and the club has the most play-off trophies ( 6 ) .

league [edit ]

Cups [edit ]

major [edit ]

minor [edit ]

Records [edit ]

club [edit ]

Highest finish: 2nd in Division One (1956)
Lowest finish: 21st in Division Four (1983)

Players [edit ]

Most Football League appearances: Jimmy Armfield (569; between 27 December 1954 and 1 May 1971)
Top goalscorer: Jimmy Hampson (252; between 15 October 1927 and 8 January 1938)
Most capped player: Jimmy Armfield (43; for England)

Managers [edit ]

Longest-serving manager: Joe Smith (22 years, 9 months; from 1 August 1935 to 30 April 1958)

Blackpool ‘s away shirt for the 2009–10 campaign

Period

Kit manufacturer

Shirt sponsor

1974–1979

Umbro
None

1979–1981

Easywear

1981–1982

None

1982–1983

Pembroke Hotel

1983–1984

Hobott

None

1984–1985

Umbro

JK Brown

1986–1987

Scoreline

Harry Feeney Autos

1987–1988

Lowfields

1988–1989

Scoreline

Bass

1989–1990

None

1990–1991

Vaux

1991 August–1991 October

Gola
None

1991 October–1993

Inenco

1993–1994

Pelada

1994–1997

Rebecca’s Jewellers of Southport

1997–1999

Lotto
Telewest

1999–2001

Super League

2001–2003

TFG Sport

Electricity Direct

2003–2004

Sporta

Life Repair Group

2004–2005

Pricebusters

2005–2007

Uhlsport

Pointbetgames.com (home and away)1
Kimmel Lager ( third gear )

2007–2008

Carlotti

Floors-2-Go2

2008–2009

Carbrini

2009–2010

Carbrini

2010–2011

Wonga.com

2011–2013

Fila

2013–2015

Erreà

2015–2016

Village[105]

2016–2018

tp.

2018–2019

BetSid

2019–2020

Blackpool Council
(“VisitBlackpool.com” on home kits; “GET VOCAL” on away kits)

2020–

Puma[106]
VisitBlackpool.com (home kit)[107]
Utility Team (away kit)[108]
Get Vocal (third kit)3[109]
1 Derek Woodman BMW sponsored the clubhouse ‘s dwelling shorts, while Derek Woodman Mini sponsored their away versions 2 Blackpool leisure were the shorts sponsors 3 Tower Insurance were the shorts sponsors [ 110 ] Between the 2005–06 season and the 2009–10 season, Glyn Jones Estate Agents appeared in the second of their home shirts, while JMB Properties Ltd. appeared on the back of their aside shirts. [ 111 ] For the 2020–21 temper, FTS became the back-of-shirt patronize. [ 112 ]

Tangerine television [edit ]

In August 2021, the cabaret launched Tangerine television as a direct surrogate to the EFL ‘s iFollow pour service. There are four subscription levels, in addition to single-game peer passes : [ 113 ]

Basic membership: allows exclusive access to new club content
International season pass: allows overseas viewers access to live streams of each of the club’s Football League matches (except those chosen for international broadcast)
Audio season pass: live audio commentary for each of the club’s league matches
Audio monthly pass: one month’s worth of live audio commentaries of the club’s league matches

Blackpool F.C. Ladies [edit ]

References [edit ]

Specific
General

history [edit ]

formation and early years ( 1877–1900 ) [edit ]

early twentieth hundred ( 1900–1946 ) [edit ]

Post-Second World War ( 1946–1967 ) [edit ]

late twentieth century ( 1967–2000 ) [edit ]

raise to the Premier League ( 2001–2010 ) [edit ]

Premier League crusade ( 2010–11 ) [edit ]

fall to the fourthly tier ( 2011–2017 ) [edit ]

end of the Oyston earned run average ( 2017–2019 ) [edit ]

Under raw ownership ( 2019–present ) [edit ]

Colours [edit ]

stadium [edit ]

Supporters [edit ]

Rivalries [edit ]

Players [edit ]

First-team police squad [edit ]

Out on lend [edit ]

Reserve team [edit ]

Internationals [edit ]

One-club men [edit ]

Training facility [edit ]

Managers [edit ]

Honours [edit ]

league [edit ]

Cups [edit ]

major [edit ]

minor [edit ]

Records [edit ]

club [edit ]

Players [edit ]

Managers [edit ]

Tangerine television [edit ]

Blackpool F.C. Ladies [edit ]

References [edit ]

further reading [edit ]