Football Season Guide

Steve Bruce is the most experienced manager in the division and begins his first full season in charge of Blackpool looking to challenge for the play-offs. The 64-year-old did enough to give the Tangerine fans the chance to dream last season. It was a challenging year for both club and Bruce himself. Recovering from the toxic Oyston ownership was never going to be a quick fix whilst Bruce suffered personal trauma off the pitch. Against such a backdrop and having had to play catch-up following a poor start under predecessor Neil Critchley, there were plenty of positives to take as they finished in 9th place, eleven points off the play-off places. As is often the case however, bigger clubs have seized upon those positives and taken them for themselves this summer. That most notably applies to play-off winners Charlton Athletic, who have signed midfielder and player-of-the season Sonny Carey and winger Rob Apter, paying somewhere close to £3m in transfer fees. Goalkeeper Harry Tryer and centre-back Odel Offiah will also take some replacing, although striker Niall Ennis is probably an upgrade on the departed Jake Beesley. Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Franco Ravizzoli will fight it out for the No. 1 jersey after signing on loan and permanent deals whilst Fraser Horsfall and Michael Ihiekwe look set to form a new central-defensive partnership. The latter arrives with Championship pedigree from Sheffield Wednesday. The same can be said for midfielder George Honeyman, whose capture from Millwall feels like a bit of a coup. Danny Imray was exceptional during his season-long loan at Bromley last season and the Crystal Palace wing-back should be able to step up another level this time around. There’s still some recruitment to be done but things are looking relatively healthy at Bloomfield Road.