We continue our look at this seasons Sky Bet League 1 opponents
Blackpool were in the midst of a major crisis before the 2014/15 campaign got underway as twenty seven players went through the exit doors that summer. Just two weeks before their first game of the season, the Seasiders were left with eight outfield players and no goalkeeper.With this in mind it was an achievement for the club to reach 26 points in the Sky Bet Championship. Nonetheless this meagre total cemented Blackpool to the basement position in the league and relegated them without much of a fight. Here we take a look at a club who could only field four substitutes in their first game of last season.
Name: Blackpool Football Club
Nickname: The Seasiders
Stadium: Bloomfield Road
Founded: 1887
Last season:
Blackpool had a dismal start to the season, losing their first five league games on the bounce. Shrewsbury compounded Pool’s misery by beating them 1-0 in the League Cup First Round at the Greenhous Meadow.
The Lancashire side conceded the most goals in the division, they picked the ball out of the net a disheartening 91 times. The club’s offense wasn’t any more effective as they scored the least goals with 36.
Andrea Orlandi was the club’s top scorer, bulging the net four times, 23 goals off Daryl Murphy’s goal tally for the season.
The Gaffer:
Neil McDonald is the man charged with bringing success back to the Seasiders. The former defender made 180 appearances for Newcastle United from 1983-1988.
McDonald started his managerial career at Preston North End in 1997 where he was a player/manager before taking the job full time in 1998. He was on Sam Allardyce’s backroom staff at Bolton Wanderers before joining Crystal Palace in 2005 as Ian Dowie’s assistant.
The 49 year old has held down manager roles at Carlisle United, Ostersunds FK and Blackburn Rovers as a caretaker. He was appointed Blackpool boss on 2nd June 2015.
Stadium:
Bloomfield Road was opened in 1899. It has since been heavily renovated during the 2000’s and onwards. The stadium is named after the road on which the main entrance used to stand. It has a capacity of 17,338.
Past Meetings:
Shrewsbury last encountered Blackpool in the aforementioned League Cup fixture in August 2014. Striker Scott Vernon scored the goal which settled the tie on the 34th minute.