Blackpool Football Club _ The Seasiders

Blackpool Football Club History

2006-07 Season

3rd in League One; Promoted via the Play Offs
League Cup: 1st round; Barnsley h. lost 4-2 on penalties
FA Cup: 4th round replay; Norwich City a. 2-3 aet.
JP Trophy: 2nd round; Accrington Stanley a. lost 4-2 on penalties.

Highlight:
2-0 win over Yeovil Town in the play off final, 27/5/07

Low Spot:
3-1 defeat at home to Brentford, 3/2/07

Good:
Wes Hoolahan
Came on loan from Livingston and was outstanding down the left flank as Blackpool stormed through to clinch promotion. Chipped in with nine goals but it was his service to the other forwards that really caught the eye along with his willingness, and ability, to take on and beat defenders.
Michael Jackson
Wacko Jacko is something of a dab hand at this getting promoted from the third tier lark. He's already done it with Bury and Preston and now Blackpool makes three. Strong, determined and a sound all round defender he provided a steady base from which Blackpool could attack but he has always struggled to make the step up.
Would be a good signing for someone like Crewe, however.

In Brief:
Blackpool looked a decent bet for promotion before the season started but then proceeded to lose their first three games. A fine 4-2 win at Bristol City showed that the club was capable of better but form remained patchy in the early stages.
13 points from 5 games from the end of September got their season up and running properly, however, and solid form from November through to January saw the club well placed in the play off positions.
The Tangerines also enjoyed a good FA Cup run and were very unlucky to lose out to Norwich in a 4th round replay.
This seemed to temporarily distract them from the main job at hand and three home defeats in February stalled their progress in the league. Only one more defeat was suffered and the club entered the play offs on the back of seven straight victories culminating in an extraordinary 6-3 win at Swansea on the last day of the season.
Comfortable victories home and away against Oldham took them to Wembley for the play off final where they proved too strong for Yeovil and claimed a deserved place in the Championship for next season.
I have a feeling they might do okay at that level.

Blackpool Football Club was formed in 1887 by old boys of the St John's School. The club gained entry into the Football League in 1896 when they were elected into Division Two.

In 1900 the club actually failed in its bid for re-election but regained their place the follwoing year. It would remain a fair time before the club would make an impression, however.

Blackpool finally won promotion to Division One in 1930 as champions of the second division ahead of Chelsea. Although they only had three seasons of continual struggle before suffering relegation the club was in better shape to tackle the challenge of Division Two. In 1937 the Tangerines gained promotion back to the top flight as runners up behind Leicester City.

The advent of war was not as traumatic for Blackpool Football Club as it was for almost everybody else. Many fine players were stationed at the resort during the war and the club could field some superb sides during those years.

When the war was over the club reaped the ultimate benefit when Stanley Matthews left his native Stoke City to return to the seaside club he had represented during the war.

In harness with Stanley Mortensen the Wizard of the Dribble would help transform Blackpool into a formidable outfit.

In 1948 Blackpool reached their first FA Cup final after a Mortensen hat trick destroyed Tottenham in the semi finals. The final against Manchester United is still widely regarded as one of the best ever but Blackpool lost 4-2 despite leading with less than 20 minutes remaining.

In 1951 the club returned to Wembley but this time lost out more routinely, 2-0 to Newcastle United.

Blackpool finally captured the elusive trophy in 1953. They had to negotiate their toughest route to the final and knocked out Huddersfield Town, Southampton, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur before meeting Bolton Wanderers in the final.

It looked like it would be heartache again for the Tangerines as Bolton led 3-1 with less then 20 minutes remaining. But with Wanderers wilting the two Stanley's took over to steer their side to a famous victory. Mortensen completed a hat trick before Matthews set up the injury time winner for Bill Perry.

In 1956 the club enjoyed its' highest ever league position when they finished as runners up, albeit a massive 11 points behind Manchester United.

Without the incomparable Matthews and Mortensen the club began to struggle to maintain first division status. They still unearthed several fine players, however, and it was not until 1967 that they actually succumbed to relegation.

One year earlier the club had provided two members of the victorious England World Cup squad, Jimmy Armfield and Alan Ball, and they also had another future England captain on their books in Emlyn Hughes.

The club only missed out on an immediate return to the first division because of an inferior goal average to Queens Park Rangers but they secured promotion in 1970 as runners up behind Huddersfield Town.

Blackpool finished bottom of the first division the following season, however, and have not returned to the top flight since.

The Seasiders spent seven seasons in Division Two, almost wholly in the top half, until a remarkable collapse after Christmas in 1978 saw them slip from promotion candidates to being relegated.

After three seasons in the third division the club dropped into Division Four for the first time in 1981.

It was 1985 before Blackpool emerged from the basement as runners up behind Chesterfield. After hinting at further progress, however, the club slipped back into the fourth division in 1990.

Blackpool reached the Division Four play offs in 1991 but after beating Scunthorpe United in the semi finals they lost out in the final to Torquay United. The game finished level at 2-2 after extra time but Torquay went through 5-4 on penalties.

They made it back to the play offs the following year, however, and were successful on this occasion. The Pool overcame Barnet in the semi finals before triumphing at the expense of Scunthorpe United in the final. The game again went to penalties but this time the Seasiders won through 4-3.

In 1996 Blackpool only missed out on automatic promotion behind Oxford United by one point. They travelled to Bradford City for the first leg of their play off semi final and won 2-0, apparently booking their passage to the final. They then contrived to lose 3-0 at Bloomfield Road, however, to crash out.

In 2000 Blackpool were again relegated into the fourth tier but managed an immediate escape. They only scraped into the play offs but then hammered Hartlepool United in the semi finals. Brett Ormerod scored four of the goals as they recorded a 5-1 aggregate victory.

In the final they proved too strong for Leyton Orient winning 4-2 and have now spent the past four seasons in the third tier.

Blackpool's best effort in the League Cup was in 1962 when they reached the semi finals. They knocked out Port Vale, Leyton Orient, Workington Town and Sheffield United before losing out to Norwich City in the semi finals.

The club have enjoyed success in a couple of minor cup competitions. In 1971 they defeated Roma in the semi finals and Bologna in the final to claim the Anglo-Italian Cup and reached the final again the following year only to lose to Roma.

They have also won the LDV Vans Trophy on two occasions in 2002 and 2004 after victories over Cambridge United (4-1) and Southend United (2-0).

In May 1948 Jimmy McIntosh equalled a club record by scoring five times against Preston North End. The 7-0 win still represents North End's biggest ever defeat.

Another happy day for Seasiders fans came at the end of the 1969-70 season when a Ray Charnley hat trick gave Blackpool a 3-0 win at Preston. The result not only sent them up but condemned Preston to relegation to the third division.

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