Why does nobody want the Blackpool job?
Since Michael Appleton moved across the north west to take the hot seat at Blackburn in early January, Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston has run into problems in appointing his successor.
On the face of it The Seasiders are an attractive proposition for any prospective manager, a club with an extremely loyal and vocal fan base, a club that owns their own stadium, not a given in modern football, while on the pitch any incoming manager would have the chance to work in particular with two of the most exciting young talents outside of the Premier League in Thomas Ince and Matt Phillips.
However, scratch beneath the surface and all is not well at Bloomfield Road. Parachute payments made for two seasons following relegation from the Premier League will dry up as of next season and with Blackpool currently sat 15th in the Championship table, there would appear to be little chance of a Premier League cash injection in the near future.
There would also appear to be unwillingness from the boardroom to make any real investment at this current time. This is perfectly illustrated by Oyston’s reluctance to relay the Bloomfield Road pitch. During Blackpool’s recent televised defeat at home to Cardiff City, tricky wideman Ince, usually famed for his mazy dribbles was dispossessed more by the playing surface than any of his opponents. It was surely a mixture of the poor state of their pitch and the long drawn out nature of their search for Appleton’s successor which put a lot of transfer targets off a move to Blackpool during the January transfer window.
We found out this week that former Nottingham Forest manager Billy Davies was interviewed for the job before opting to explore ‘’another opportunity’’ after offering the job to another former Forest boss in Sean O’Driscoll. Rather than take up the position of Bloomfield Road, O’Driscoll instead decided his future lay with bottom of the table Bristol City. What is making Blackpool such an unattractive that managers would rather almost certain relegation to a safe mid-table finish with the potential to build in the summer?
The fact of the matter is that although Blackpool did not mortgage the club in an attempt to stay in the Premier League during their season long stay in English football’s top flight, there is either a lack of money or a lack of willing at board room level to invest that is putting potential managers off. The Tangerines have struggled to replicate even the form that saw them to promotion in the first place under Ian Holloway and it would appear that the club that everyone was once willing to survive in the Premier League have been in freefall ever since the departure of the architect of those few glory years.
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Aaron SharpFollow @ajs26061988
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