Football Season Guide

There’s a real sense that Blackpool are not ready for the new season. This is alarmingly given the Tangerines found themselves in a relegation battle last season. It was all a bit of a mess. Ian Evatt was appointed manager last October following the sacking of Steve Bruce and it felt like a good fit. Evatt knows the club, having played for the Tangerines during their unlikely season in the Premier League under Ian Holloway. Those days are now long gone and it feels the club are still recovering from the legacy of the toxic Oyston ownership. Evatt’s biggest problem was a crippling injury list and as soon as one player returned to fitness, another was confined to the treatment room. That problem is far from being solved and, at the time of writing, as many as eight first players have not played during pre-season due to injury. Evatt is certainly a fighter, sometimes too-much of one, and he faces another battle to keep their heads above water. It’s not all doom and gloom however as, despite the injury woes, the team lost just one of their last nine league matches, winning seven to climb to the giddy heights of 13th place in the table. There’s something to build on and there have been no real notable departures this summer. The loss of striker Ashley Fletcher might have been more keenly felt if he wasn’t one of those players regularly in need of treatment. Full-back Reuell Walters played his part in the much-improved end of season form but the end of his loan was expected. Striker Dale Taylor, signed for £1m last summer, will start the season fit and with something to prove. He’s likely to be partnered by striker Dion Charles, whose loss of form has been stark, and he’ll be looking to take this chance under his former manager following a season to forget at Huddersfield Town. At least half-a-dozen new signings are required but if they’re up to the standard of wing-back Ilmari Niskanen, who had an outstanding season with relegated Exeter City, there should be no repeat of the relegation fears of last season.