FM2005: The Blackpool F.C. Seasiders

[Butter]

In my first FM game at home, I've chosen Peterborough from D-1, and can vouch for the fact that they are not good. Their defense is, in fact, horrendous. I had a hopeful 1-1 draw with a top league team in the first fixture, then proceeded to drop 5 straight by scorelines of 3-0, 4-0, 4-1, 5-0, and a 3-1 squeaker.

Good job so far!

[SirFozzie]

DOWN WITH THE PENISHBOROUGH! POSH SCUM!

(grr.. hate the POSH, especially since they're doing so much better then my beloved Cambridge United)

[MikeVick7]

25 January 2005

LDV Vans Trophy N Semi Final
Preview
We've played Hull one other time and they took us down 3-2. Now we face them in the LDV Vans tourney and our team is no longer on their high that they were on during the win streak. But still this game is at home and that will give us a bit of an advantage. Plus we're deep into this tournament and we're going for the title.
Final Score:	Blackpool	0	-	1	Hull
1st Half Notes
The first half was definitely not our best as we gave up a goal just seven minutes into the game to the league's leading scorer Sam Parkin. Then John Murphy gets injured at the 30 minute mark. Not a half we want to write home about.
2nd Half Notes
Wow…such a terrible game overall as we did nothing in the 2nd half. And to add a little salf to the wound…our starting keeper Lee Jones was injured and had to be taken off the pitch. Well our tournaments are over for the year…let's hope this doesn't carry over to our league play.
Goals -	Sam Parkin 7
Man of the Match -	Jon Otsemobor
Conditions -	Wet 37F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	3315

Seasider News

- We were awarded $18,000 for our appearance in the Vans LDV Tournament.
- And thank God our injuries that were sustained in the match were minimal. Striker John Murphy will just miss 5 days with a chest injury and keeper Lee Jones will only be out a day due to a cut in his hand.

26 January 2005
- Youth Sean Patterson was called up for duty on the Scotland U19 Team for a match that will take place on 2/7/05.
- We make an offer to Newcastle Reserves to loan us 18yr old Michael Terrell. Mike would offer us some great help in the midfield as he is one talented youngster. He is listed for loan by Newcastle...so we'll see if they accept our offer.
27 January 2005
- Well we definitely like dealing with Newcastle as they accepted our offer for Terrell. I think he'll give us a nice boost in the midfield.

29 January 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Well let's see how we do today coming off the disappointing loss to Hull in the Vans tourney. We have 18 game left and a 9 point lead over 3rd place and we just gotta take care of games like these. We're going with our normal starting lineup in this game.
Final Score:	Walsall	2	-	2	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
We finally get back into gear against in the first half. Keigan Parker scores his 17th league goal of the season early in the game to put us up at the half 1-0. We were outshot by Walsall…so our D isn't the sharpest I've seen. We'll need to tighten the screws in the 2nd half.
2nd Half Notes
Oh yet another disappointing half leading to a disappointing tie. Up 2-0 in this game after Keigan Parker added another goal at the 65 minute mark. But Walsall added a goal off a free kick and a corner. Dele Adebola and Ian Roper scored within 7 minutes of each other to even up the game and that's how it ended.
Goals -	Keigan Parker 9, Keigan Parker 65, Dele Adebola 77, Ian Roper 84
Man of the Match -	Mark Paston
Conditions -	Dry 42F
Venue -	Bescot Stadium, Walsall
Attendance -	5931

Seasider News

- Now keeper Lee Jones has a damaged heel that will put him out of action for five days. He's not having a very good month of January.

30 January 2005
- Ok this really is not turning out to be our month as Michael Terrell has turned down the opportunity to come play for our club. Well...

English League One
Pos	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	Sheff Wed	30	23	5	2	62	16	46	74
2	Blackpool	29	19	5	5	54	22	32	62
3	Hull	29	15	8	6	47	32	15	53
4	Tranmere	30	16	5	9	48	37	11	53
5	Bradford City	30	15	7	8	54	41	13	52
6	Stockport	30	15	6	9	39	32	7	51
7	Bristol C	30	16	2	12	57	44	13	50
8	Brentford	28	14	5	9	54	33	21	47
9	Swindon	30	13	5	12	43	42	1	44
10	Barnsley	28	11	9	8	28	22	6	42
11	Doncaster	28	12	6	10	44	32	12	42
12	Chesterfield	30	12	6	12	38	40	-2	42
13	Oldham	29	11	8	10	31	27	4	41
14	Bournemouth	30	12	5	13	36	40	-4	41
15	Hartlepool	29	11	7	11	32	34	-2	40
16	Colchester	30	7	12	11	31	37	-6	33
17	Torquay	30	8	8	14	46	63	-17	32
18	MK Dons	29	6	13	10	36	47	-11	31
19	Port Vale	30	8	6	16	36	55	-19	30
20	Huddersfield	29	8	6	15	31	42	-11	30
21	Walsall	30	7	8	15	34	52	-18	29
22	Luton	29	6	10	13	27	43	-16	28
23	Peterborough	29	7	2	20	30	61	-31	23
24	Wrexham	28	0	6	22	13	57	-44	6

[MikeVick7]

31 January 2005

Seasider News

- The transfer deadline is today. Again not sure if that will involve the lower leagues or not. I'm guessing since it's towards the latter half of the season it probably will.
- And Keith Southern was a proud member of the English League One Team of the Week.

[Desnudo]

I think the transfer deadline for lower league clubs is the end of March.

[MikeVick7]

1 February 2005

Team Capsule
League Position:	2nd (English League One)
Record:	19-5-5
Active Tournament(s):	None
Wage Total:	$36,595
Wage Budget:	$42,000
Transfer Budget:	$147,229
Balance:	$1,236,240

Seasider News

- The English League One Player of the Month goes to Oldham Athletic's 30yr old striker Tony Thorpe.
- Before the game...Oldham manager Brian Talbert spoke up in the media about not giving way to us in our upcoming meeting and that we'd have to earn a victory on Wednesday. I took the high road and commented that I thought Talbert was doing a good job with Oldham this year. Then as I went to talk with my players Eoin Jess and Peter Clarke had some doubts about our promotion after hearing the statements of Talbert. Scott Taylor though showed his veteran status and said that he was going to do whatever it took to beat Oldham on Wednesday. That kind of attitude has earned Taylor a starting nod in tomorrow's game.

2 February 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Going into this one…I think we have somewhat of a must win. Not because we're going to drop a spot if we don't…but we really need it to get back on track. We have two player who won't be in uniform today. Keeper Lee Jones is nursing his injury and left back Rob Edwards reached his yellow card limit and is suspended for this match. Looking at the oddsmakers prediction...we've definitely lost our mojo as we are not the favorite in this one.
Final Score:	Oldham	0	-	2	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
Inserting Scott Taylor into the starting lineup before the game might have been the best decision we've made so far this year. Taylor…who was fired up over comments made by the Oldham manager yesterday fed Keigan Parker in the box and then Parker put it away for an early goal at the 4 minute mark. Then it was Parker who fed Taylor for another goal...his first in a while...to just two minutes later as we took that 2-0 lead into halftime.
2nd Half Notes
The 2nd half was quiet for the most part as both teams had decent chances at more goals…but nothing too frightening…nor did either team suffer from a mental mistake either.
Goals -	Keigan Parker 4, Scott Taylor 6
Man of the Match -	Keith Sourthern
Conditions -	Wet 37F
Venue -	Boundary Park, Oldham
Attendance -	8024

5 February 2005
- We're still trying to land a player via loan and we come across DM Alexis Nicolas who plays for the Chelsea Reserves. We make an offer to the club.

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Well here we are again taking on Hull. Just a week or so after they knocked us out of the Vans tourney. Now we have a bigger match against them as we are 2 & 3 in the league. This game is crucial for us to cement our lead over them…as we in the final promotion spot that wouldn't have to play a qualification.
Final Score:	Blackpool	1	-	0	Hull
1st Half Notes
We had a very defensive first 45 as both teams just managed one shot on goal. But we controlled the tempo…just couldn't get anything going. Again…we'll have to player a better 2nd half to beat this squad.
2nd Half Notes
Finally for the first time in the last couple weeks we step up in the 2nd half and take hold of a match. We definitely controlled the second 45 minutes and had many shots on goal…but finally we got one to break through on a free kick from the back half...Mark McGregor somehow found Keigan Parker right at the top of the keeper box and he made one move on the defender and put the ball in the back of the net. Great home win for us against the 3rd best team in the league.
Goals -	Keigan Parker 80
Man of the Match -	Paul Smith
Conditions -	Wet 44F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	9060

6 February 2005

English League One
Pos	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	Sheff Wed	31	24	5	2	67	16	51	77
2	Blackpool	31	21	5	5	57	22	35	68
3	Hull	31	16	8	7	48	33	15	56
4	Tranmere	31	17	5	9	51	38	13	56
5	Bradford City	31	16	7	8	56	41	15	55
6	Stockport	31	15	7	9	39	32	7	52
7	Bristol C	31	16	3	12	57	44	13	51
8	Brentford	30	14	6	10	55	36	19	48
9	Doncaster	30	13	6	11	46	34	12	45
10	Swindon	31	13	5	13	44	45	-1	44
11	Barnsley	30	11	10	9	29	24	5	43
12	Chesterfield	31	12	7	12	38	40	-2	43
13	Hartlepool	31	12	7	12	33	36	-3	43
14	Oldham	31	11	9	11	32	30	2	42
15	Bournemouth	31	12	6	13	38	42	-4	42
16	MK Dons	31	7	14	10	38	47	-9	35
17	Huddersfield	31	9	6	16	33	43	-10	33
18	Colchester	31	7	12	12	31	42	-11	33
19	Torquay	31	8	9	14	47	64	-17	33
20	Luton	31	7	11	13	29	43	-14	32
21	Walsall	31	7	9	15	36	54	-18	30
22	Port Vale	31	8	6	17	36	57	-21	30
23	Peterborough	31	8	3	20	35	64	-29	27
24	Wrexham	30	0	6	24	15	63	-48	6

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I think the transfer deadline for lower league clubs is the end of March.

Yup...you're right. Again I found out that it's just for the Premiership. The lower clubs can still make domestic transfers.

[MikeVick7]

8 February 2005

Seasider News

- Chelsea has accepted our loan offer for DM Alexis Nicolas. Now let's see if this youngster wants to come play for us.
- We also make an offer for Man U Reserves keeper Luke Steele. Just a little insurance...just in case.

12 February 2005
- Again we are snake-bitten in the loan market. This time Alexis Nicolas has decided to join Milwall for his 3 month loan stint. Well I mean if you really want to chose a championship league team over us...then that's your choice.
- Wow...we just noticed that Keigan Parker's value has skyrocketed up to 1.2 million. Scott Taylor was our highest all season at just below a half million...but Parker's performance this year has really turned some heads. So seeing that...we decide to renew Parker's contract before his head gets too big. He's asking for $4,000 a week and the most the board is allowing me to give him is $3,800. We end up offering him some highly involved contract. Stay tuned...

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Peterborough is trying to save themselves from regulation…so they might not go so quietly into the night in this one. Plus they're at home…so we can't take them lightly. We've had a full week's rest…so we go with the starters in this one. R Edwards…McGregor...Clare and Richardson in the back. Coid...Southern...Jess and Bullock in the middle and Parker and Murphy up front. Parker is now tied with Sam Parkin for the league lead in goals with 19.
Final Score:	Peterborough	2	-	4	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
Well the first half was somewhat of an embarassment for Peterborough. We scored four goals in the half including a hattrick from Keigan Parker. John Murphy who was once the leading scorer for this team scored his 11th at the six minute mark.
2nd Half Notes
Peterborough didn't roll over in the 2nd half…as they added one more goal…but that wasn't nearly enough. No goals for us in the half but for the game we outshot Peterborough 17-10 and 7-1 on shots on goal.
Goals -	Keigan Parker 5, John Murphy 6, Keigan Parker 18, Lee Jones 21og, Keigan Parker 37, Adam Nowland 79
Man of the Match -	Keigan Parker
Conditions -	Dry 44F
Venue -	London Road, Peterborough
Attendance -	3746

- Hey we get someone to agree to come to us on a loan. Man U reserve Luke Steele has agreed to play with our squad for the final three months.

English League One
Pos	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	Sheff Wed	32	25	5	2	70	16	54	80
2	Blackpool	32	22	5	5	61	24	37	71
3	Hull	32	17	8	7	50	33	17	59
4	Tranmere	32	18	5	9	52	38	14	59
5	Bradford City	32	16	8	8	56	41	15	56
6	Bristol C	32	16	4	12	57	44	13	52
7	Stockport	32	15	7	10	39	33	6	52
8	Doncaster	32	15	6	11	51	36	15	51
9	Brentford	32	14	6	12	57	42	15	48
10	Barnsley	32	12	11	9	31	25	6	47
11	Oldham	32	12	9	11	34	31	3	45
12	Chesterfield	32	12	8	12	38	40	-2	44
13	Swindon	32	13	5	14	44	47	-3	44
14	Hartlepool	32	12	8	12	37	40	-3	44
15	Bournemouth	32	12	7	13	39	43	-4	43
16	MK Dons	32	7	15	10	39	48	-9	36
17	Huddersfield	32	9	7	16	35	45	-10	34
18	Colchester	32	7	13	12	33	44	-11	34
19	Torquay	32	8	10	14	51	68	-17	34
20	Luton	32	7	11	14	29	44	-15	32
21	Walsall	32	7	9	16	36	56	-20	30
22	Port Vale	32	8	6	18	37	59	-22	30
23	Peterborough	32	8	3	21	37	68	-31	27
24	Wrexham	32	0	8	24	16	64	-48	8

[MikeVick7]

14 February 2005

Seasider News

- Leam Richardson...Eion Jess and Keigan Parker were selected in the English League One Team of the Week.
- Luke Steele has arrived to campus. We're looking to throw him in as soon as possible and Sasa Ilic will actually move down to the reserves.
- And the best news of all...Keigan Parker signs a new deal with us that will keep him on the squad until 6/9/09. He'll get paid $3,800 a week plus other bonuses and he has a minimum release clause for $3.8 mill. We're set to make a lot off this guy if we ever decide to release him.

15 February 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
We're gonna take a shot and start the youngster Luke Steele in goal today. Brentford works a 4-3-1-2 which is a little bit more offensive…but we're at home and think we can take the team that sits in 9th place in the table.
Final Score:	Blackpool	0	-	0	Brentford
1st Half Notes
Our defense showed up for this one. Brentford has scored 57 goals this season and they couldn't even get a shot off in the first half. But that being said…we had 5 shots in total and could not find the back of the net.
2nd Half Notes
More of the same in the 2nd half…we added 5 more shots and just allowed 1 to Brentford…yet we couldn't get it done. The only news of note was that Scott Taylor went off injured in the 68th minute.
Goals -	None
Man of the Match -	Stuart Nelson
Conditions -	Wet 39F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	6631

Seasider News

- According to our physio Doc Horner...Scott Taylor will miss up to a week with a sprained wrist.

17 February 2005
- Colchester have made a bid for Rob Edwards. They're offering $2,000 plus keeper Mark Cousins. We just acquired a keeper on loan and Cousins doesn't look all that great so we decline.

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Today we take on Port Vale who is on the road to relegation. They currently sit 23rd in the table and there isn't much hope on the horizon. We're throwing a lot of subs on the field today like Paul Edwards…Andreas Lipa and the ol' coach Simon Grayson. The last two haven't played in a while...so they need a good run.
Final Score:	Blackpool	4	-	1	Port Vale
1st Half Notes
Oooh…terrible first half. We peppered their keeper with 10 shots…3 of which were on goal and came up with nothing. Meanwhile…they shocked us at minute 21 as their keeper hit Lee Matthews in stride on a fastbreak and he snuck one past Luke Steele to give them a 1-0 halftime lead. Time to put the starters back in.
2nd Half Notes
Remind me to never doubt the veteran midfielder Eoin Jess. I sat him out the first half because we were playing a bad team on our home field. Well we inserted him in along with two other starters in the game at the half and we immediately saw results. We had a penalty called inside the box within the first two minutes and Jess stepped up and drilled the penalty shot home to tie it up. Then Keigan Parker added another one eight minutes later to give us the lead. Jess completed his superior 2nd half with two more goals to score his first hattrick with the Seasiders.
Goals -	Lee Matthews 21, Eoin Jess 47pen, Keigan Parker 55, Eoin Jess 73, Eoin Jess 77
Man of the Match -	Eoin Jess
Conditions -	Wet 41F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	7703

Seasider News

- Following the match it is learned that Keigan Parker will miss around five days due to a damaged shoulder.

English League One
Pos	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	Sheff Wed	34	27	5	2	74	16	58	86
2	Blackpool	34	23	6	5	65	25	40	75
3	Tranmere	34	19	6	9	56	40	16	63
4	Hull	33	18	8	7	52	34	18	62
5	Bradford City	34	17	8	9	60	42	18	59
6	Bristol C	34	18	4	12	62	45	17	58
7	Stockport	34	17	7	10	42	33	9	58
8	Doncaster	33	15	6	12	51	38	13	51
9	Brentford	34	14	8	12	58	43	15	50
10	Oldham	34	13	10	11	38	33	5	49
11	Barnsley	34	12	11	11	31	31	0	47
12	Chesterfield	34	12	9	13	40	43	-3	45
13	Hartlepool	34	12	8	14	38	45	-7	44
14	Swindon	34	13	5	16	44	53	-9	44
15	Bournemouth	33	12	7	14	39	46	-7	43
16	Torquay	34	10	10	14	56	69	-13	40
17	MK Dons	34	7	17	10	41	50	-9	38
18	Luton	34	9	11	14	35	44	-9	38
19	Huddersfield	34	9	9	16	37	47	-10	36
20	Colchester	33	7	14	12	34	45	-11	35
21	Walsall	34	7	10	17	38	59	-21	31
22	Peterborough	34	9	3	22	44	70	-26	30
23	Port Vale	34	8	6	20	38	69	-31	30
24	Wrexham	34	0	8	26	17	70	-53	8

[MikeVick7]

21 February 2005

Seasider News

- Danny Coid was named to the English League One Team of the Week.

23 February 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
We welcome Lee Jones back into the net for us tonight. Colchester another team trying to avoid relegation will have the home crowd on their side. The only major change to the lineup is that we have to throw Jamie Burns up front alongside John Murphy because Taylor and Parker are nursing minor injuries.
Final Score:	Colchester	0	-	0	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
Colchester really controlled the early goings but we really took advantage of some fastbreaks but just couldn’t put the ball in the net. Jamie Burns had a lot of chances but he looked like a fish out of water at his new position. I was happy with the defense despite giving up a lot of possession time we only gave up one shot.
2nd Half Notes
Yikes. The injury to Parker had a little bit more negative effect than we had thought. We just couldn’t muster up any good build-ups and have to end up taking the 0-0 tie. We ended up subbing in Keigan Parker towards the end since both strikers were gassed and he had a couple of opportunities...but nothing too great. Well at this point in the season...a point is welcomed as our only goal is to hold on to the 2nd spot.
Goals -	None
Man of the Match -	Bobby Bowry
Conditions -	Wet 37F
Venue -	Layer Road, Colchester
Attendance -	3224

26 February 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
This one could be a bit of trouble for us. Hartlepool is just lingering around mid table…they're at home and we a little weary up front. I don't like the smell of this one. But these are usually the ones we win.
Final Score:	Hartlepool	1	-	2	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
The good news…John Murphy scored for us. The bad news is that Kiegan Parker went off with an injury. Report to follow after the game. I'm crossing my fingers. Well we had a 1-0 lead and then Hartlepool were allowed a penalty kick which Mark Tinkler cashed in with to tie it up at the half.
2nd Half Notes
We totally lucked out in this one. Advancing to extra time…we within a minute of the game ending and Burns sent one in from the wing that must have bounced off about three players before it came down in from of Scott Parker…Parker loaded up and snuck it in the right post for the win. Wow.
Goals -	John Murphy 36, Mark Tinkler 39pen, Scott Taylor 90
Man of the Match -	Eoin Jess
Conditions -	Wet 57F
Venue -	Victoria Park, Hartlepool
Attendance -	6683

Seasider News

- Post match report says that Martin Bullock will receive a one game ban after picking up his 10th yellow card.
- And the news we didn't want to hear...Keigan Parker will be out for up to four weeks with a sprained ankle. Double ouch.
- In league news...Wrexham lost once again...running their winless streak this season to 36 games. That's probably going to be us next season if we make it to the championship league.

27 February 2005

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	Pl*	Sheff Wed	36	29	5	2	81	17	64	92
2		Blackpool	36	24	7	5	67	26	41	79
3		Hull	35	20	8	7	56	36	20	68
4		Bradford City	36	19	8	9	69	43	26	65
5		Bristol C	36	20	4	12	66	45	21	64
6		Tranmere	36	19	7	10	56	41	15	64
7		Stockport	36	17	9	10	43	34	9	60
8		Doncaster	35	16	7	12	56	41	15	55
9		Oldham	36	14	11	11	42	36	6	53
10		Brentford	36	14	9	13	61	47	14	51
11		Barnsley	36	13	12	11	35	34	1	51
12		Hartlepool	36	13	8	15	41	47	-6	47
13		Bournemouth	35	12	9	14	40	47	-7	45
14		Chesterfield	36	12	9	15	42	50	-8	45
15		Swindon	36	13	5	18	45	61	-16	44
16		Torquay	36	10	11	15	57	71	-14	41
17		Luton	36	9	13	14	37	46	-9	40
18		Colchester	35	8	15	12	36	46	-10	39
19		MK Dons	36	7	18	11	44	56	-12	39
20		Huddersfield	36	9	10	17	39	51	-12	37
21		Walsall	36	9	10	17	44	59	-15	37
22		Peterborough	36	9	3	24	45	75	-30	30
23		Port Vale	36	8	6	22	39	74	-35	30
24		Wrexham	36	0	8	28	17	75	-58	8

- The Carling Cup was decided on Sunday as well and it was Arsenal taking home the title as they defeated Tottenham 2-1.

[SirFozzie]

really like the graphics, btw

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

really like the graphics, btw

Hey thanks. After being on this board for a year now I finally realized not only what WYSIWYG was...but also where to find it. Now I can make this thing a little bit more appealing to the eye.

[MikeVick7]

March 2005

Team Capsule
League Position:	2nd (English League One)
Record:	24-7-5
Active Tournament(s):	None
Wage Total:	$38,990
Wage Budget:	$42,000
Transfer Budget:	$147,229
Balance:	$1,236,412

Seasider News

- We get the dreaded and feared "The Blackpool board are delighted with your performance as manager."
- Our own Eoin Jess was named English Player of the Month. Nice job old man.
- Sheff Wed's Paul Sturrock was named the English League One Mirror Manager of the Month. I finished 2nd. They like what they see in me for some reason.

5 March 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
It's getting down to nitty-gritty time as we have to play our best football with our best player…Keigan Parker…out of action for three more weeks. In his place we bring up reserve player Matthew Blinkhorn to play as the 3rd striker. We start our home stretch against Chesterfield. Chesterfield currently sits 19th in the table with only 8 wins on the season but they are fight against relegation...so they're just not going to lay down for us today since they're are only 2 points out of relegation hell.
Final Score:	Blackpool	1	-	0	Chesterfield
1st Half Notes
Very quiet first half as we only were able to muster two shots but neither were on goal. On the flipside though Chesterfield could not muster a thing…so at least our opponent is being held in check even though we're not doing a damn thing.
2nd Half Notes
Don't you just feel like a stud when you as a manager make some personel changes during a game and the pay off for you? Chesterfield was content on playing for the tie today as they were very good defensively…not allowing our strikers to touch the ball and limiting us to long shots by our midfield. On the flipside they could not even get a shot on goal. Well back to my move here...at about minute mark 80 or so...I substituted the kid Blinkhorn and the old man DM Andreas Lipa. Finally at the 91 minute mark Eoin Jess sent in a corner that Blinkhorn headed towards the goal...the shot was stopped but the rebound went right to Lipa who put it back in to keep our dream season alive. Lipa's goal was his first of the season by the way.
Goals -	Andreas Lipa 90
Man of the Match -	Eoin Jess
Conditions -	Dry 55F
Venue -	Bloomfield Park, Blackpool
Attendance -	6710

Seasider News

- Saturday's win proved to be big as Hull...the 3rd place team...tied Hartlepool 0-0.
- Also, keeper Lee Jones will be out for this week with a strained neck.
- Looking over the schedule for the month of March we really luck out with the injury to Keigan Parker as we only play one match a week. So he may only miss two matches...three tops.

6 March 2005

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	Pl	Sheff Wed	37	29	5	3	81	18	63	92
2		Blackpool	37	25	7	5	68	26	42	82
3		Hull	37	21	9	7	59	36	23	72
4		Bradford City	37	20	8	9	71	44	27	68
5		Bristol C	37	21	4	12	68	45	23	67
6		Tranmere	37	19	8	10	57	42	15	65
7		Stockport	37	18	9	10	44	34	10	63
8		Doncaster	37	16	8	13	56	43	13	56
9		Oldham	37	15	11	11	44	36	8	56
10		Brentford	37	14	9	14	61	49	12	51
11		Barnsley	37	13	12	12	35	36	-1	51
12		Hartlepool	37	13	9	15	41	47	-6	48
13		Swindon	37	14	5	18	48	62	-14	47
14		Bournemouth	37	12	10	15	41	49	-8	46
15		Chesterfield	37	12	9	16	42	51	-9	45
16		MK Dons	37	8	18	11	45	56	-11	42
17		Torquay	37	10	12	15	57	71	-14	42
18		Luton	37	9	13	15	37	47	-10	40
19		Colchester	37	8	15	14	36	53	-17	39
20		Walsall	37	9	11	17	45	60	-15	38
21		Huddersfield	37	9	10	18	40	54	-14	37
22		Peterborough	37	10	3	24	47	75	-28	33
23		Port Vale	37	9	6	22	43	74	-31	33
24	R	Wrexham	37	0	9	28	17	75	-58	9

[MikeVick7]

7 March 2005

- Sean Clancy...one of our young defenders...came back from his loan. Now I can't exactly remember who I loaned him out to cause it looks like he didn't play at all. It's not good when he comes back "lacking match fitness." Good job guys.

12 March 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
This week's game is against Barnsley who's current position in the table is 11th as they are 13-12-12 on the season. This will be a road game which are always a toss-up. We're still w/o Keigan Parker…but again just playing one game a week this month is to our benefit. The last time we met up with Barnsley this season we came away with a 1-0 victory at Bloomfield Road. Luke Steele gets the start in goal today as Lee Jones is a bit banged up from last Saturday's match. Big game for the youngster.
Final Score:	Barnsley	1	-	0	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
Scoreless first half but both teams had decent chances as there was 11 total shots. But neither team looked like the stronger of the two. One thing we were reminded of when watching the game was that Richie Wellens is on the Barnsley side. For some reason I thought Barnsley was in the Championship League when he transferred there. So much for going to a bigger club. We're on the verge or promotion and Barnsley will play another season in League One. Way to go dude.
2nd Half Notes
Well we've had better 2nd halves. A bad pass by DR Leam Richardson back to the keeper was intercepted by James Gibb in the 70th minute and put in the back of our net to give Barnsley a 1-0 win. We really had no great chances in the 2nd half.
Goals -	James Gibb 70
Man of the Match -	Nick Colgan
Conditions -	Dry 50F
Venue -	Oakwell, Barnsley
Attendance -	13459

- We are very fortunate as Hull ties with Chesterfield 1-1. That's their 2nd tie in as many weeks...so we're still one point up on them over the last two weeks.

13 March 2005

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	Pl	Sheff Wed	38	30	5	3	84	18	66	95
2		Blackpool	38	25	7	6	68	27	41	82
3		Hull	38	21	10	7	60	37	23	73
4		Bristol C	38	22	4	12	69	45	24	70
5		Bradford City	38	20	9	9	71	44	27	69
6		Tranmere	38	20	8	10	62	44	18	68
7		Stockport	38	18	9	11	44	35	9	63
8		Oldham	38	16	11	11	46	36	10	59
9		Doncaster	38	16	8	14	58	48	10	56
10		Brentford	38	15	9	14	63	50	13	54
11		Barnsley	38	14	12	12	36	36	0	54
12		Hartlepool	38	13	9	16	42	49	-7	48
13		Bournemouth	38	12	11	15	42	50	-8	47
14		Swindon	38	14	5	19	48	64	-16	47
15		Chesterfield	38	12	10	16	43	52	-9	46
16		MK Dons	38	8	19	11	45	56	-11	43
17		Torquay	38	10	13	15	58	72	-14	43
18		Colchester	38	9	15	14	38	54	-16	42
19		Luton	38	9	13	16	37	48	-11	40
20		Huddersfield	38	10	10	18	41	54	-13	40
21		Walsall	38	9	11	18	46	62	-16	38
22		Peterborough	38	11	3	24	49	76	-27	36
23		Port Vale	38	9	6	23	44	76	-32	33
24	R	Wrexham	38	0	9	29	17	78	-61	9

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

14 March 2005
- DC Rob Clare and somehow DR Leam Richardson were named to the English One League Team of the Week.

16 March 2005
- Sean Patterson has been called up for international duty for Scotland. The match will be on March 28th.

18 March 2005
- We're told today that our match with Wrexham on 3/28 has been moved to 4/6 due to international call-ups. You can't tell me that Wrexham has a bunch of call-ups. Patterson is on our reserves...that's not gonna affect us any. Oh well...it will give Parker more of a chance to get back in shape.

19 March 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
I can tell you right now that if we get out of Stockport with a win it will be one of our greatest wins of the season. Stockport currently sits in 7th place in the table…5 points away from a possible playoff spot. So they will be on top of their game. They also were somehow able to lure Neil Mellor...Liverpool striker...to come there on loan. Mellor has scored 3 goals in 4 League One games. We...on the other hand...are not. Lee Jones is back in goal. Keigan Parker is still four days out but can play if pressed.
Final Score:	Stockport	0	-	1	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
Our 3rd scoreless first half in a row. Although we controlled Mellor and the rest of the Stockport side as they only could must two shots…none of which were on goal. We had four shots…two of which were on goal. We see that Hull is losing at the half 1-0...that comforts us a little.
2nd Half Notes
This game will definitely put us over the top. Eoin Jess scored via free kick from 30 yards away as the veteran counted for the only goal of the half and led us to superb 1-0 victory. Stockport didn't go away quietly as their best efforts came from Mellor as he had two chances at the 83rd and 84th minute...but both were turned away by Lee Jones. Just a nice victory for us.
Goals -	Eoin Jess 68
Man of the Match -	Eoin Jess
Conditions -	Dry 46F
Venue -	Edgeley Park, Stockport
Attendance -	9701

- Hull loses to Swindon 2-0...and I was worried about our possible collapse.
- Even though Sheff Wed lost their match on Saturday...they gain promotion to the Championship League. With our win...we're guaranteed a spot in the playoffs at the very least.

20 March 2005

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	P	Sheff Wed	39	30	5	4	85	20	65	95
2	Pl	Blackpool	39	26	7	6	69	27	42	85
3		Bristol C	39	23	4	12	72	45	27	73
4		Hull	39	21	10	8	60	39	21	73
5		Tranmere	39	21	8	10	65	44	21	71
6		Bradford City	39	20	9	10	71	47	24	69
7		Stockport	39	18	9	12	44	36	8	63
8		Oldham	39	17	11	11	48	36	12	62
9		Barnsley	39	15	12	12	38	36	2	57
10		Doncaster	39	16	8	15	59	50	9	56
11		Brentford	39	15	10	14	64	51	13	55
12		Bournemouth	39	13	11	15	44	50	-6	50
13		Swindon	39	15	5	19	50	64	-14	50
14		Chesterfield	39	13	10	16	47	51	-4	49
15		Hartlepool	39	13	10	16	44	52	-8	49
16		MK Dons	39	9	19	11	47	57	-10	46
17		Luton	39	10	13	16	39	49	-10	43
18		Colchester	39	9	16	14	40	56	-16	43
19		Torquay	39	10	13	16	58	75	-17	43
20		Huddersfield	39	10	10	19	41	56	-15	40
21		Walsall	39	9	12	18	47	63	-16	39
22		Peterborough	39	11	3	25	49	78	-29	36
23		Port Vale	39	9	6	24	44	80	-36	33
24	R	Wrexham	39	0	9	30	17	80	-63	9

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

20 March 2005
- We now have two weeks off since our match with Wrexham was rescheduled. So our next match will be on 4/2 at home vs Swindon.

21 March 2005
- M Danny Coid...DR Leam Richardson and M Eoin Jess were named to the English One Team of the week after our big win over Stockport.

23 March 2005
- This is good to see...striker Keigan Parker has resumed training after his month long absence due to a sprained ankle.
- So after we welcome back Parker...keeper Luke Steele sustained a sprained wrist. He will be out a week but he should not miss the next match.
- And Danny Coid suffered a sprained knee in training. He should only be sidelined for a week as well. Good lord guys...take it easy!!

24 March 2005
- Another transfer deadline is announced for the end of the month. Are we ever affected by one of these??

25 March 2005
- Hatlepool has made a transfer offer of $44,000 for DC Mark McGregor. McGregor has started 33 of 39 league games for us this year and I don't think we can let him go at this point.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

28 March 2005
- We don't play today but League One game get underway tonight. The big games on the schedule are Sheff Wed vs new 3rd place team Bristol C...and struggling Hull takes on 7th place Stockport.
- Bristol C continues their impressive run by blanking Sheff Wed 2-0 and Hull defeated Stockport 4-1. So both teams continue to apply the pressure on us.

31 March 2005
- The transfer deadline for English clubs is tonight.
- We're reminded that a bunch of our player's contracts come due in three months. So since we have a bit of a lull in play...we decide to sit down with our more important players and hammer out some deals:

- DR Leam Richardson - 25 yr old defensman has been one of our better players in the back this year and we offer him an extension.
- DM Keith Southern - 23 yr old midfielder is our team captain and has a promising future with us. He is also offered an extension.
- DC Mark McGreogor - 28yr old is also an important player for us and was offered an extension although we will be looking hard at bringing in some better wingers in the offseason.
- ML Jamie Burns - The 21yr old is one of our promising young players. Again he will probably be in a backup role next season...but he's gotten some great experience with us this season appearing in 16 league games.
- M/D Danny Coid - Danny's demanding $3,800 a week and we counter with $2,600. We think his offer is a little bit too high initially.
- DC Rob Clare - Another youngster that our assistant feels is undervalued. We offer him about $400 less a week than he wants. We'll see what he comes back with.
- MR Martin Bullock - Martin is one of our veterans at 30...but he is definitely valued. Again...we'll be looking for better wingers in the summer but we'll need him on our team.
- MC Eoin Jess - Jess is long in the tooth at 34...but we'll need his experience if we end up promoting. Plus he's been our best player ratings-wise.
- We also extend all of our coach's contracts that will come due as well.

- Here's a list of the players that we weren't quite ready to pull the trigger on yet. GK Lee Jones...S Scott Taylor...DR Simon Grayson .. and DM Andrea Lipa.

[MikeVick7]

April 2005

Team Capsule
League Position:	2nd (English League One)
Record:	26-7-6
Active Tournament(s):	None
Wage Total:	$39,151
Wage Budget:	$42,000
Transfer Budget:	$147,229
Balance:	$1,206,663

Seasider News

1 April 2005
- The English League One Player of the Month is Bristol C's RW Scott Murray. Eoin Jess finishes 2nd.
- Oldham Athletic's Brian Talbot has won the English League One Mirror Manager of the Month.
- And for the first time this season we win the English League One Soccernet Goal of the Month. The prized goal was Eoin Jess' 30 yard free kick that won it for us against Stockport.

2 April 2005
- Good news as three players sign new deals for us.
- Martin Bullock signs on until 6/30/07...Eoin Jess signs a year extension until 6/30/06 and Jamie Burns signs on until 6/30/07.

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
We want to take this time to welcome back Keigan Parker to the starting lineup today after a month layoff. He only missed three matches fortunately and we ended up 2-0-1 in those. This striker's value has skyrocketed this season as he has become our franchise player currently valued at $1.5 million dollars. We're back home for a two game stand so we feel pretty good about that.
Final Score:	Blackpool	0	-	0	Swindon
1st Half Notes
Another scoreless first half for both teams but you could definitely tell that we had a spring in our step. No real highlights to speak of.
2nd Half Notes
Well this one was a little puzzling. We couldn't get anything going and our offensive woes continue. Another tie…this time 0-0. Parker was kept in check as we outshot them 8-2 but had nothing to show for it.
Goals -	None
Man of the Match -	Rhys Evans
Conditions -	Dry 55F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	8438

Seasider News

- The new 3rd place team Bristol C wins again...2-0 over Bradford City. Man they won't go away.

3 April 2005
- Well despite another tie on Saturday...happy days are here again at Blackpool as everyone has agreed to their new deal.
Rob Clare signs until 6/30/09
Leam Richardson signs until 6/30/08
Mark McGregor signs until 6/30/08
Keith Southern signs until 6/30/08
Danny Coid signs until 6/30/07

So our defense is intact for the next couple seasons.

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	P	Sheff Wed	41	30	6	5	86	23	63	96
2	P1	Blackpool	40	26	8	6	69	27	42	86
3		Bristol C	41	25	4	12	76	45	31	79
4		Hull	41	22	10	9	65	43	22	76
5		Tranmere	40	21	9	10	66	45	21	72
6		Bradford City	41	20	10	11	72	50	22	70
7		Oldham	41	19	11	11	53	36	17	68
8		Barnsley	41	17	12	12	43	38	5	63
9		Stockport	41	18	9	14	45	43	2	63
10		Brentford	41	16	10	15	66	53	13	58
11		Doncaster	41	16	9	16	61	53	8	57
12		Chesterfield	41	15	10	16	50	53	-3	55
13		Hartlepool	41	15	10	16	46	51	-5	55
14		Swindon	41	15	7	19	51	65	-14	52
15		Bournemouth	41	13	12	16	45	53	-8	51
16		MK Dons	41	9	21	11	47	57	-10	48
17		Luton	41	11	14	16	43	51	-8	47
18		Huddersfield	41	11	11	19	44	56	-12	44
19		Torquay	40	10	14	16	58	75	-17	44
20		Colchester	41	9	16	16	41	59	-18	43
21		Walsall	41	10	12	19	50	67	-17	42
22		Peterborough	41	11	4	26	51	81	-30	37
23		Port Vale	41	9	6	26	45	83	-38	33
24	R	Wrexham	40	0	9	31	17	83	-66	9

[MikeVick7]

6 April 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
This one is a MUST win for us. Home game. Wrexham. 0-9-31. Enough said. Wrexham…already relegated to League Two...is possibly having one of the worst seasons for a football team of all time. I mean I'm no football historian…but man…they're bad. This is a midweek game so we have to play a few subs. Plus we have another game coming up this weekend.
Final Score:	Blackpool	0	-	0	Wrexham
1st Half Notes
We are truly struggling on the offensive side of the ball. I think this is our 4th?? Straight first half that we haven't scored in. Defensively…again we're pleased as we conceded no shots.
2nd Half Notes
Just a sad sad effort. The ref handed out 9 yellow cards and 1 red card to a feisty Wrexham squad and we still couldn't do anything about it. Good lord.
Goals -	None
Man of the Match -	Mark Jones
Conditions -	Dry 46F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	5385

- After the game we are alerted that DL Rob Edwards contract is set to expire in three months. He is expendible according to my assisant...plus he's 31...so we hold off for now.

9 April 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
I'm not sure what to think in this one. We've just scored two goals in our last five matches. Luckily…we've only given up one. So to say that we're limpin towards the finish line is an understatment. Our players are a bit weary as this is our third match in eight days. But from here on out we will just be playing one match a week. Bournemouth currently sits 15th in the table...not going to promote or relegate...so not much incentive here.
Final Score:	Bournemouth	1	-	4	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
I thought we were in real trouble as Bournemouth got on top first with an Alan Connell goal 19 minutes into it. But we finally got into gear as Keigan Parker finally scores his first goal in a month and a half. In fact he scored two…his 25th and 26th of the year. I made a small tactical adjustment putting Parker on the left striker slot moving him over from the right. Now I don't know if this was the key...but he scored both goals after I moved him over at the 12 minute mark.
2nd Half Notes
Could this be the breakout game for us? We get the benefit of two penalty kicks in the 2nd half and capitalized on both of them to win this one 4-1. Keigan Parker scored on the first one and Eoin Jess scored on the 2nd. We had 13 total shots in the game and 11 were on goal. That's the sharpest we've been all season.
Goals -	Alan Connell 19, Keigan Parker 22, Keigan Parker 38, Keigan Parker pen73, Eoin Jess 80
Man of the Match -	Keigan Parker
Conditions -	Dry 55F
Venue -	The Fitness First Stadium, Bournemouth
Attendance -	6083

- Bristol C tied with Hudderfield 2-2. That is what we like to see!
- Two players picked up minor injuries during the match. Martin Bullock will miss 5 days with a chest injury and John Murphy will be out for 3 weeks...yikes...with a fractured arm.

10 April 2005

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	P	Sheff Wed	42	31	6	5	88	24	64	99
2	P1	Blackpool	42	27	9	6	73	28	45	90
3		Bristol C	42	25	5	12	78	47	31	80
4		Hull	41	22	10	9	65	43	22	76
5		Tranmere	42	21	9	12	67	49	18	72
6		Bradford City	42	20	11	11	73	51	22	71
7		Oldham	42	19	11	12	53	37	16	68
8		Stockport	42	19	9	14	48	44	4	66
9		Barnsley	42	17	12	13	43	39	4	63
10		Brentford	42	16	11	15	67	54	13	59
11		Doncaster	42	16	10	16	62	54	8	58
12		Hartlepool	42	16	10	16	48	52	-4	58
13		Chesterfield	42	15	11	16	51	54	-3	56
14		Swindon	42	16	7	19	54	66	-12	55
15		MK Dons	42	10	21	11	48	57	-9	51
16		Bournemouth	42	13	12	17	46	57	-11	51
17		Luton	42	11	15	16	44	52	-8	48
18		Torquay	42	11	15	16	61	76	-15	48
19		Colchester	42	10	16	16	42	59	-17	46
20		Huddersfield	42	11	12	19	46	58	-12	45
21		Walsall	42	10	12	20	51	69	-18	42
22		Peterborough	42	11	4	27	52	84	-32	37
23		Port Vale	42	9	6	27	46	86	-40	33
24	R	Wrexham	41	0	10	31	17	83	-66	10

[MikeVick7]

11 April 2005

Seasider News

-Swansea of League Two upset Hull in the finals of the LDV Vans Trophy Final 3-1. Hull definitely has struggled down the stretch here as they have fallen behind Bristol C in the league standings.
- Leam Richardson and Keith Southern were selected to the English League One Team of the week.

16 April 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Again we play a team that has nothing to gain today…sitting 15th in the table. John Murphy is unavailable today due to his injury so Scott Taylor will get the start alongside Parker. Eoin Jess will be on the bench to start the game because of his injury but will likely see action late in the game if the result is in doubt. Danny Coid will start in his place.
Final Score:	Blackpool	2	-	0	MK Dons
1st Half Notes
Now we're playing the kinda football that we're used to. Danny Coid…who is starting at MC today found Keigan Parker at the top of the box and Parker slid one past the goalie for a 1-0 lead. Just one shot allowed for MK Dons and it wasn't on goal.
2nd Half Notes
Easy 2nd half for us as Keigan Parker knocked in a rebound off of a Scott Taylor shot at the 48 minute mark to put this one out of reach. The Dons just had one shot on goal in the game. Danny Coid played some great MC today in place of Jess…picking up Man of the Match honors.
Goals -	Keigan Parker 24, Keigan Parker 48
Man of the Match -	Danny Coid
Conditions -	Dry 51F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	6568

Seasider News

- Keith Southern suffered a damaged shoulder and will be out of commission for five days.

And with today's win we win automatic promotion to the Championship League!!!! Party time!!!

17 April 2005

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	P	Sheff Wed	43	31	7	5	89	25	64	100
2	P	Blackpool	43	28	9	6	75	28	47	93
3		Hull	43	24	10	9	69	44	25	82
4	P1	Bristol C	43	25	5	13	80	50	30	80
5		Bradford City	43	21	11	11	77	53	24	74
6		Tranmere	43	21	9	13	70	53	17	72
7		Oldham	43	20	11	12	56	39	17	71
8		Stockport	43	19	10	14	48	44	4	67
9		Barnsley	43	18	12	13	45	40	5	66
10		Hartlepool	43	17	10	16	50	52	-2	61
11		Brentford	43	16	11	16	68	56	12	59
12		Doncaster	43	16	11	16	63	54	9	59
13		Swindon	43	17	7	19	56	67	-11	58
14		Chesterfield	43	15	11	17	51	56	-5	56
15		MK Dons	43	10	21	12	48	59	-11	51
16		Bournemouth	43	13	12	18	47	59	-12	51
17		Torquay	43	12	15	16	63	76	-13	51
18		Luton	43	11	15	17	44	54	-10	48
19		Huddersfield	43	12	12	19	50	61	-11	48
20		Colchester	43	10	16	17	43	61	-18	46
21		Walsall	43	10	12	21	53	73	-20	42
22		Peterborough	43	11	5	27	52	84	-32	38
23	R	Port Vale	43	9	7	27	46	86	-40	34
24	R	Wrexham	43	0	11	32	17	85	-68	11

[BreizhManu]

congrats

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

Slow newsweek as we have no news from the ol' Seasiders. We've promoted and so now we just have to play out the string. We do have a big game against Bristol C on the road this week however. They've been the hottest team in League One in the 2nd half and currently sit in 4th place.

23 April 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Even though we have nothing to play for…we are going to go all out to make it tough on Bristol C. They still haven't officially grabbed a playoff spot yet…so our starting lineup is in with the exception of having Matthew Blinkhorn up front in place of Scott Taylor.
Final Score:	Bristol C	1	-	2	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
A back and forth first half with not a lot of chances taken. We made good use of our shots by putting all four on goal. Bristol C was held to just one shot and it wasn't on goal.
2nd Half Notes
Things were opened up in the 2nd half. First of all we get another beautiful free kick from 30 yards out from Eoin Jess to give us a 1-0 lead. Then Scott Taylor gets on the scoreboard with a rebound goal to make it 2-0. Bristol C scored on a penalty kick at the 87 minute mark...but we were able to hold them off in the final minutes.
Goals -	Eoin Jess 53, Scott Taylor 75, Mickey Bell pen87
Man of the Match -	Rob Clare
Conditions -	Dry 50F
Venue -	Ashton Gate, Bristol
Attendance -	16897

24 April 2005

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	P	Sheff Wed	44	31	8	5	90	26	64	101
2	P	Blackpool	44	29	9	6	77	29	48	96
3	P1	Hull	44	24	11	9	69	44	25	83
4	P1	Bristol C	44	25	5	14	81	52	29	80
5		Bradford City	44	21	12	11	78	54	24	75
6		Tranmere	44	21	10	13	72	55	17	73
7		Oldham	44	20	12	12	58	41	17	72
8		Barnsley	44	19	12	13	47	41	6	69
9		Stockport	44	19	11	14	49	45	4	68
10		Brentford	44	17	11	16	70	57	13	62
11		Hartlepool	44	17	10	17	51	54	-3	61
12		Doncaster	44	16	12	16	64	56	8	60
13		Swindon	44	17	7	20	57	69	-12	58
14		Chesterfield	44	15	12	17	52	57	-5	57
15		Bournemouth	44	14	12	18	51	59	-8	54
16		MK Dons	44	10	22	12	48	59	-11	52
17		Torquay	44	12	16	16	64	77	-13	52
18		Luton	44	11	16	17	45	55	-10	49
19		Huddersfield	44	12	13	19	51	62	-11	49
20		Colchester	44	10	17	17	44	62	-18	47
21		Walsall	44	10	13	21	54	74	-20	43
22	R	Peterborough	44	11	5	28	52	88	-36	38
23	R	Port Vale	44	9	7	28	46	89	-43	34
24	R	Wrexham	44	1	11	32	20	85	-65	14

- Well Peterbrough joins the relegation crew along with Port Vale and Wrexham. Wrexham was able to pick up their first win in 44 games this year. It was against Port Vale however. But hey...they'll take whatever they can get at this point. God bless those kids.
- And despite the loss Bristol C qualifies for a playoff spot.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by BreizhManu

congrats

Thank you very much.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

25 April 2005
- Leam Richardson was placed once again on the English League One Team of the Week.

27 April 2005
- Well I thought since they were down to the semi-finals in the Champions League...I would finally pass that info along. Here are the results from the first leg of the semi's

Liverpool 1
Inter 0

Real Madrid 1
Juventus 0

30 April 2005
- Big matchup this weekend as Hull hosts Bristol C. A possible playoff championship match-up.

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Today's a big game for our opponent Tranmere. They have a 1 point lead over Oldham for the final playoff spot and Oldham is at home for their game. We're not gonna take it easy on them as we have our starting lineup in for the most part.
Final Score:	Blackpool	0	-	0	Tranmere
1st Half Notes
Uneventful 1st half with the exception of Tranmere's Gareth Roberts getting a red card right before halftime. Otherwise a pretty even half.
2nd Half Notes
Well this one ends in a tie. We had one real good opportunity of a corner kick at the 89th minute. Eoin Jess placed one beautifully on the head of Matthew Blinkhorn but John Achterberg was all over it.
Goals -	None
Man of the Match -	John Achterberg
Conditions -	Dry 57F
Venue -	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance -	9053

- With one game left Leam Richardson's season may be over as he got a bruised shin during the game and will be out all week.
- Walsall was officially relegated today and Sheff Wed officially won the League One title.

[MikeVick7]

May 2005

Seasider News

1 May 2005
- Chesterfield's Derek Niven won English League One Player of the Month. Derek's a 21yr old middy.
- Barnsley's Paul Hart was the English League One Mirror Manager of the Month.
I finished 2nd again...always the bridesmaid.

English League One
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	C	Sheff Wed	45	32	8	5	94	26	68	104
2	P	Blackpool	45	29	10	6	77	29	48	97
3	P1	Hull	45	24	12	9	70	45	25	84
4	P1	Bristol C	45	25	6	14	82	53	29	81
5		Bradford City	45	21	12	12	78	58	20	75
6		Tranmere	45	21	11	13	72	55	17	74
7		Oldham	45	20	13	12	59	42	17	73
8		Barnsley	45	20	12	13	49	42	7	72
9		Stockport	45	19	11	15	49	47	2	68
10		Brentford	45	18	11	16	72	57	15	65
11		Hartlepool	45	17	11	17	52	55	-3	62
12		Doncaster	45	16	13	16	65	57	8	61
13		Swindon	45	17	8	20	58	70	-12	59
14		Chesterfield	45	15	12	18	53	59	-6	57
15		Bournemouth	45	15	12	18	53	59	-6	57
16		MK Dons	45	11	22	12	50	60	-10	55
17		Torquay	45	12	17	16	64	77	-13	53
18		Huddersfield	45	13	13	19	53	62	-9	52
19		Luton	45	11	16	18	45	57	-12	49
20		Colchester	45	10	18	17	45	63	-18	48
21	R	Walsall	45	10	14	21	54	74	-20	44
22	R	Peterborough	45	11	5	29	53	90	-37	38
23	R	Port Vale	45	9	7	29	46	91	-45	34
24	R	Wrexham	45	1	12	32	21	86	-65	15

4 May 2005
- The 2nd leg of the Champions League semi's were played today.

Inter 1 (1)
Liverpool 2 (3)

Juventus 3 (3)
Real Madrid 0 (1)

7 May 2005

Coca-Cola English League One Gameday
Preview
Final game of the year. Woo hoo!! Yeah it's 1:33am…I'm cashin it in.
Final Score:	Doncaster	1	-	1	Blackpool
1st Half Notes
Very entertaining half. Both teams were up and down the pitch resulting in 16 total shots. Keigan Parker tallied his 30th goal on the season with a great fast break where he deked the goalie and went past him for the score. But just two minutes later John Doolan scored a goal of his own to leave it tied at the half 1-1.
2nd Half Notes
2nd half was not as great as the first. Definitely some opps for both teams…but neither could get one past the other's keeper. The season is done.
Goals -	Keigan Parker 6, John Doolan 8
Man of the Match -	Eoin Jess
Conditions -	Dry 51F
Venue -	Belle Vue, Doncaster
Attendance -	9479

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

9 May 2005
- Danny Coid and Eoin Jess were chosen to this week's English League One Team of the Week.

10 May 2005
The playoff Semi Final matches will be held on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th. Hull hosts Tranmere and then Bristol C will host Bradford City in leg one.

14 May 2005

Bristol C 2
Bradford City 0

- Also...Man Utd has won the English Premier League title for 2004-05.

15 May 2005
- And our loan with keeper Luke Steele has ended. Good job for us young man.

Hull 0
Tranmere 0

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

18 May 2005
And now for the 2nd leg of the League One semi's

Bradford City 3 (3)
Bristol C (3) (5)

Bristol C advances.

- Also on May 18th Dortmund defeated Newcastle for the UEFA Cup 2-0

19 May 2005

Tranmere 0 (0)
Hull 0 (0)

Hull wins on penalty shots.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

25 May 2005
- Juventus beats Liverpool in the Champions League final 0-0 on penalty shots...4-2.

27 May 2005
Today's the final of the League One final between Hull and Bristol C. There was some definite trash talking between the two managers throughout the week to see who could capture the last promotion spot.

Hull 0
Bristol C 2

Bristol C captures the last promotion spot in the Championship League.

28 May 2005
- West Brom defeated cinderella Notts Co of League Two in the finals of the FA Cup 2-1. Notts Co defeated Norwich...Blackburn and Chelsea...all Premiership Teams on it's way to the finals before finally losing to another Premiership Team in West Brom.

- Also announced today were the English teams that have qualified for European competitions next season.
Champions Cup: Bolton, Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal
EUFA Cup: Newcastle, Tottenham, West Brom (national cup qualifier)
Intertoto Cup: Middlesbrough, Southampton

29 May 2005
- And thanks to our promotion to the Championship League our transfer budget for next season has gone up to $280,000. Niiiice!!
- Gillingham...one of our new opponents for next season...has made it known that it tends to make CB Peter Clarke their main transfer target for the upcoming year. The transfer pricetag is currently at $120,000...but we aren't sure if we're ready to give up the youngster quite yet.
- Also...Wigan has indicated that they are interested in our superstar Keigan Parker who had 30 goals in league play last season. They'll have to cough up $2,000,000 to pry him away from us though. He's not going anywhere.

31 May 2005
- Time for some end of the season awards. MC Eoin Jess and S Keigan Parker were selected in the English Players' League One Select.
- Sheffield Wed's Paul Sturrock was named the English League One Manager of the Year award. Steve McMahon of Bristol C came in 2nd and I came in third. If I remember correctly Bristol C was the preseason favorite...shouldn't I have come in 2nd??? Bastards. We were 33-1 afterall.
- Hull's Sam Parkin and our Keigan Parker tied for the league's top goalscorer at 29.
- And finally we're reminded that the contracts of Andreas Lipa...Simon Grayson...Scott Taylor and Lee Jones were due at the end of the June.

Final English League One Table
Pos		Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Ag	GD	Pts
1	C	Sheff Wed	46	33	8	5	97	26	71	107
2	P	Blackpool	46	29	11	6	78	30	48	98
3		Hull	46	24	13	9	71	46	25	85
4	P	Bristol C	46	26	6	14	84	54	30	84
5		Bradford City	46	22	12	12	80	58	22	78
6		Tranmere	46	21	12	13	73	56	17	75
7		Barnsley	46	21	12	13	50	42	8	75
8		Oldham	46	20	14	12	60	43	17	74
9		Stockport	46	20	11	15	51	47	4	71
10		Brentford	46	19	11	16	74	57	17	68
11		Doncaster	46	16	14	16	66	58	8	62
12		Hartlepool	46	17	11	18	52	57	-5	62
13		Swindon	46	18	8	20	60	70	-10	62
14		Bournemouth	46	16	12	18	57	61	-4	60
15		Chesterfield	46	15	12	19	53	61	-8	57
16		MK Dons	46	11	23	12	50	60	-10	56
17		Torquay	46	12	17	17	64	80	-16	53
18		Huddersfield	46	13	13	20	53	64	-11	52
19		Luton	46	11	17	18	46	58	-12	50
20		Colchester	46	10	18	18	47	67	-20	48
21	R	Walsall	46	10	14	22	54	75	-21	44
22	R	Peterborough	46	11	5	30	54	92	-38	38
23	R	Port Vale	46	9	8	29	46	91	-45	35
24	R	Wrexham	46	1	12	33	21	88	-67	15

[SirFozzie]

Congrats on Promotion. it does mean you will leave the LDV Vans Cup behind, but heck, I was playing reserves by that point anyway

[tanglewood]

Well done on promotion, and a good dynasty too.

[MikeVick7]

June 2005

Team Capsule
League Position:	Championship League
Record:	0-0-0
Active Tournament(s):	None
Wage Total:	$45,331
Wage Budget:	$61,000
Transfer Budget:	$277,482
Balance:	$1,032,610

Seasider News

8 June 2005
The window for domestic transfers is open and we immediately try to target some better wingers. Our first target is 29yr old Glen Little. Glen's value was marked at $190,000 but when we aproaced his current club the Reading Reserves they only were asking $44,000. So we jumped all over that.

Our 2nd target is 24 yr old MC James Harper. We also need a 2nd MC to either backup Jess or start in front of him and if we could land Harper then he would definitely start. Harper is transfer listed by request so his value of $240,000 was largely ignored by his current club Reading as they just asked for $48,000 for his services. We jumped all over that.

9 June 2005
- We transfer list S Scotty Taylor for $440,000. We figure that we can be a little more active in the loan dept this season and Taylor has a big price tag that we could make some sweet coin off of. There was one club that was already interested and that was Plymouth. We informed them personally that he was available.

10 June 2005
- Reading accepts our bid offer for James Harper. Now we go into contract negoations with the midfielder. We luck out again cause for some reason Harper only wants $3,000 per week for three years plus a $4,000 signing bonus. He's currently making $7,200 per week with Reading.

11 June 2005
- Plymouth decides against making a bid for Scott Taylor. They said that they didn't think they could attract a player of his caliber to come play with them.

12 June 2005
- MC James Harper has accepted our offer and is on his way to Bloomfield Road. First piece in place.
- On the same day...now Reading has accepted our bid offer for MR Glen Little. We run into a small problem since he wants $7,000 per week and the board is only allowing us to offer $4,000 a week. We'll still give it a shot and offer him a one year contract plus a $20,000 signing bonus.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

13 June 2005
- Remember S Simon Lynch? We got him on loan last season from the Preston Reserves and now he is transfer listed by request. So this $100,00 striker is available for just $24,000. He'll make a good rotation player so we make an offer.
- We also make a loan offer to French Striker Gauthier Diafutua from Watford. The 19 yr old is a very talented striker and is listed for loan. We wait patiently.

14 June 2005
- Well Wigan has just made a $2,000,000 offer for S Keigan Parker. So very tempting. So so tempting. They have given us a week to respond. Ugh.

15 June 2005
- Watford has accepted our loan offer for Gauthier Diafutua. Now all that remains is if he wants to come play for us.

16 June 2005
- Two more teams have made an offer for Glenn Little. Being that we couldn't meet his salary demands...I'm getting a little nervous.
- We also make a loan offer to Liverpool Reserve squad for DC Danny O'Donnell. O'Donnell is a great in the air and would make a great back-up for us.

17 June 2005
- Preston has accepted our transfer bid for S Simon Lynch. Lynch only wants $1,450 per week and we offer him a 3 year deal.

18 June 2005
- We make our 3rd loan offer. This time for 23yr old German keeper David Yelldell from the Blackburn Reserves.
- And now S Gauthier Diafutua has agreed to come play for us on a 3 month loan. Gauthier made a comment on a fan's website that he's relishing the opportunity to come play first team football with us.
- Then we get the phone call from Liverpool that they've accepted our loan offer for DC Danny O'Donnell.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Congrats on Promotion. it does mean you will leave the LDV Vans Cup behind, but heck, I was playing reserves by that point anyway

Thanks. I think I'll take the trade-off of not playing for the Vans Trophy for the Championship at this point. I certainly don't count myself out for playing for it again next year though if things don't go well.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

20 June 2005
- It was announced today that Eoin Jess was the Fans' Player of the Year.
- Blackpool have received $1,100,000 for Championship TV rights for the forthcoming season. TV? Our ugly mugs on TV? Can't complain about that.
- Derby are now inquiring about the possibility of buying Keigan Parker. We'll need to decline this one too.

21 June 2005
- The offer for young DC Danny O'Donnell has gone through as he will join the club in a back-up role.
- Also...Blackburn has accepted the loan offer for keeper David Yelldell.

22 June 2005
- David Yelldell is set to sign with Blackpool at keeper. Yelldell could easily start the majority of games for us.
- The clubs Hibs and Plymouth say no to Scotty Taylor. Both were interested but both balked at the asking price of $400,000.

23 June 2005
- And the Glen Little sweepstakes were running a bit long and as a result we lost him to Preston. I think our lack of wages that we could offer cost us.
- We're coming down the stretch with a few of our players who's contracts are coming due at the end of the month. We offer one year extensions to DM Andreas Lipa and keeper Lee Jones.
- We make a firesale offer to Hibs for the services of Scott Taylor with his contract coming due as well. We really don't want to have to resign him. And it looks like we're going to say goodbye to coach/player Simon Grayson.

25 June 2005
- Andreas Lipa and Lee Jones have accepted one year contract extensions.
- S Simon Lynch has agreed to terms with us finally. He was deciding between us and Lancaster. Now we just have to worry about shipping off Taylor and we still need to search hard for a couple of legit wingers.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

27 June 2005
- Watford finally agreed to the $240,000 transfer fee for Scott Taylor. We made offers to about 15 clubs and they were the only takers. C'mon the guy's not that bad.

[MikeVick7]

July 2005

Team Capsule
League Position:	Championship League
Record:	0-0-0
Active Tournament(s):	None
Wage Total:	$49,224
Wage Budget:	$61,000
Transfer Budget Available	$204,858
Transfer Budget:	$277,482
Balance:	$2,805,434

Seasider News

1 July 2005
- The transfer window for all players and clubs has officially started.
- Holy cow...we have our first friendly already on July 11th. Not much of an off-season.
- Well this is somewhat disastorous as Watford was not able to afford the transfer fee for Scott Taylor...and now his contract has expired.
- We extend player/coach Simon Grayson's contract....but as coach only. He accepts a one year deal.
- DL Rob Edwards contract is due in a couple weeks. Since he is our only true DL...we extend his contract for a year. He's willing to accept $1,200 a week. He'll give us his definite answer in a few days.

3 July 2005
- Well now we've decided to save a little money and go after some players contracts that have expired. We decide to get a little experience in the midfield and we offer M Graham Stuart...who has some Premiership experience a one year contract. He's 34...but would be better than anything we currently have on the wings.
- I'm enjoying this free transfer/expired contract thing. Although we've already signed both keepers to contracts this offseason we see that a better keeper in 31yr old Thomas Myhre is out there...and he's cheap. We offered him a two year deal. He last played for Sunderland in the Championship League last season.

4 July 2005
- Rob Edwards signs a one year deal with us. So our entire defense with the exemption of Simon Grayson is intact this season.

7 July 2005
- Well Graham Stuart does not want to play for our club apparently. We offered him what he wanted. Maybe we can negotiate a little.

8 July 2005
- Simon Lynch has suffered a twisted knee in training...he'll just be out around five days however.

10 July 2005
- And although we lost Stuart for the moment...we do sign veteran keeper Thomas Myhre to a two year deal.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

10 July 2005
- We send another offer to M Graham Stuart throwing in a $10,000 signing bonus. Not sure if this will make any difference.
- And we lost S Scott Taylor to Bristol C of all clubs. Well he can just go be subpar for them now. I'm just bitter that we lost out on the transfer fee.

11 July 2005

Friendly

Blackpool 1
Portsmouth 0

We had a first friendly of the season and picked up a victory at Bloomfield Road over Portsmouth from the Premiership. John Muphy scored the games only goal at the 39 minute mark for the homeside. 7125 supporters were in attendance.

13 July 2005
- We see that ML Vratislav Gresko is available and so even thogh he's a little out of our range wage-wise...he's unemployed and so we send him an offer.

16 July 2005
- Wow...we throw a little signing bonus at MR Graham Stuart and he agrees to sign a one year contract for us. Just one more spot left to fill before the season gets underway.
- Here are the matches that have been chosen for TV coverage this season:

9/10/05 - at home vs Burnley
10/16/05 - at Preston
11/26/05 - at home vs Wigan

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

18 July 2005
- Now Fulham has stepped up and offered $1,950,000 for Keigan Parker and gives us a week to respond. Our answer is still no.
- We get snubbed by Gresko. No big surprise there.
- Continuing to scour the free agent market we spy 31yr old ML Artim Sakiri and offer him a 2yr deal with is just a shade below what he wants per week.

Friendly

Hartlepool 0
Blackpool 0

Hartlepool actually controlled most of the action in this one. Our new keeper Thomas Myhre was named Man of the Match in this one. No injuries to report.

20 July 2005
- Well good news/bad news with Artim Sakiri. He agreed to terms with us but must get a work permit before he is able to come and play. That will be figured out on 8/4/05.

21 July 2005

Friendly

Oxford 0
Blackpool 1

Young Matthew Blinkhorn scored the game's only goal at the 89th minute to win this one in Oxford.

24 July 2005

Friendly

Tranmere 1
Blackpool 2

Keigan Parker scored his first goal of the preseason on a penalty shot and then Eoin Jess added his first as well at the 45 minute mark. We're now 3-1-0 in friendlies with one to play.

[MikeVick7]

Seasider News

29 July 2005

Friendly

Blackpool 1
Fenerbahce 2

In our last friendly we play Fenerbahce from Turkey and lose for the first time in front of our largest crowd ever of 9066. Rob Edwards scores our only goal as we now look forward to our first season in the Championship League.

This will be the last post of this thread. I will be starting a new thread which you can access right here:

Blackpool FC - Season II