Mark McMahon and Amos Wynn joins forces to discuss the latest goings on at Bloomfield Road.
Category
đŸ¥‡
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the very first edition of Seasiders Watch. My name is Mark McMahon
00:06and joining me today to discuss all the latest developments at Bloomfield Road is the Blackpool
00:10Gazette's main Blackpool Raider, Amos Wynne. Amos, welcome. Welcome to the Noggles Show.
00:18It comes after a goalless draw against Porsche. Some boos at the final whistle. A lot of draws.
00:28A lot of fans are having the experience at the moment. What would you say is the current mood amongst the Seasiders faithful at the moment?
00:36Well, it's another fun night at Bloomfield Road. Yeah, there's a lot of frustration.
00:42I think that's what it is. You know, there's probably a little bit of anger in there, but I think frustration is the overwhelming emotion at the moment.
00:50Because it's just like in that spark, you know, it's been the case with all those draws.
00:55You know, those eight of a bounce. There's nothing to really get excited by.
00:59It's been that way for a long time this season. You know, when you start the campaign with one manager having spent the entire summer geared up to play a certain way,
01:08a way that, you know, wasn't popular in the first place, but they've made the decision to stick with Neil Critchie last year,
01:14backed him throughout, signed players to fit his system. Then two games in, they sack him and then we spend a few weeks looking for a replacement.
01:23So the season was on the back foot already, even back in August. There was a bit of hope when Steve Bruce first came in.
01:30You know, he won his first four games and there were positive signs there.
01:33But for a number of reasons, there's been ups and downs, you know, along the way, there's been bumps in the road.
01:40It just feels now everything's got a bit stagnated and, you know, realistically, even in Blackpool,
01:47the next 12 games is still going to be a battle. We have to have a bit of luck to get the playoffs.
01:52I think that feeling is very much burned. Yeah, maybe motivation could be a problem for the players on the pitch
01:59because it will be hard to get themselves up for it and it in turn makes it hard for the fans to get up for it.
02:04And, you know, Steve Bruce has acknowledged that himself, that they're not giving, you know, the fans enough to get excited about it.
02:11And he's tried a few different things, but none of it seems to be working at the moment.
02:17What seems to be the main issue at the moment? Why? Why so many draws?
02:20Why are Blackpool not able to convert some of those draws in the wins?
02:25Why aren't they able to start claiming the table? Just a wee bit to give fans a wee bit of hope.
02:30Well, Blackpool find a way to draw, you know, in a varied number of ways.
02:35They've had 2-0 leads in drawn games. They've been 2-0 behind in drawn games.
02:41You know, so they're not picky about how they get a point. They will get it any way possible.
02:45But, you know, it's a mixture of, you think of Stockport, they came out after, you know,
02:50they had a brilliant first half, came out for three minutes of the second half and they conceded.
02:54And that's happened a few times where they've just switched off defensively.
02:58They've not come out at it and that has really let them down.
03:01And yeah, they found themselves on the back foot at Edgley Park and lost all momentum.
03:07And then heading into Tuesday's game, they couldn't seem to get themselves going at all.
03:10It was sort of like a balance where, you know, if they're too cautious,
03:13they will be defensively sound and they will keep teams out.
03:16But, you know, as soon as they get too adventurous, that's when they start leaking and making errors at the back.
03:22A lot of it has been avoidable.
03:24You know, there have been a few games where you'd say they're lucky to get a point or a draw was a fair result.
03:29But there's a few games where you're left scratching your head,
03:31thinking that should have been a game where they had the lead
03:34and they should have been able to manage the game and see it out.
03:38Has much changed in terms of playing style or since Neil Critzley was in charge under Bruce,
03:44has Bruce been able to come in and stamp his authority on things
03:47or is it more or less just the same as what it was under Neil Critzley?
03:52Well, I think he's slowly trying to, you know, put his own stamp on things.
03:57If Steve Bruce wants to play 4-4-2, that's the formation he switched to when he first came in
04:01and that's the formation that did work a treat.
04:04The issue was they then had a lot of injuries, not enough depth,
04:07because of course, you know, they bought for a wing-back system, so they had no wingers.
04:11So yeah, first off season, lack of numbers was a problem.
04:15The fact that they spent a whole summer recruiting for one area
04:19and not the area they in fact actually needed of the manager that came in.
04:23But in recent times, yeah, he's tried going back to the wing-back system.
04:27I had to pinch myself the other night thinking, are we in August?
04:30And I had absolutely a weird dream, but he's tried that.
04:35And yeah, it's always been an inconsistent system where once again, you can be solid,
04:39but you sort of have a gap in the middle where nothing seems to link up unless it's, you know, everything is perfect.
04:46So yeah, he's tried different ways. Ideally, I think he would go back to the 4-4-2
04:50and he has got the numbers, you know, there now.
04:52So it has been a bit strange that he's gone to the wing-back system
04:56because, you know, he's got wingers like Sammy Silver who came in in January.
05:01So he has got more options. But yeah, you can't really tell what Steve Bruce's style is at the moment.
05:09I think that's because of this, you know, trying to get through the next few weeks,
05:12trying to find the way and it's just taking a slow process, which he's aware of.
05:18He said a few times, you know, if things don't go well this year, the big job will be the summer.
05:24But of course, it would be frustrating to him. And yeah, he's going to have to find a balance in the summer.
05:29He got rid of eight players in January. I can imagine there's going to be, you know,
05:32plenty more departures, you know, at the end of this season, just to balance things up
05:37and, you know, get on track, get more players in that suits his way than what suits the old way
05:42because we're still sort of in between that.
05:45Before we touch on the summer, you had the January transfer window to put a wee bit more of a stamp on the squad,
05:52to his legging. How have those January transfer arrivals fitted in?
05:58Anybody standing out? Anybody yet to reach the new heights that we're hoping that they would have reached?
06:06It feels weird to say this, but if Tom Bloxham who came in in January had been fit for the last month,
06:12you know, you'd probably see a couple more wins for Blackpool because he really did hit the ground running.
06:16You know, he's a 21-year-old lad.
06:18There's a new signing, so it feels weird that him missing after only four games,
06:22five games in Tangerine has had such a big impact,
06:25but it really has. You know, he was superb and he's someone to be excited for, for the future.
06:32As for, you know, Sammy Silva, he's not really had much of a run in the team.
06:35You know, there's been good and bad when he has played.
06:38You know, there's a couple of games where he looked really lively off the bench and, you know,
06:41you could see he's got something about him. But then another were, you know, he was completely absent.
06:45You couldn't really tell he was on the pitch. And then the switch to the wing-backs in the last fortnight,
06:51I've seen his sort of natural position disappear and, you know, he's only had to settle for minutes off the bench.
06:56And then the third signing on loan from Stoke, Niall Ennis, well, he's a goal scorer.
07:01You know, he scored four goals in his first five games.
07:04You know, his brace against Crawley was what Blackpool's been screaming out for, really.
07:08Even Cal Jones, if he was so good up front with his energy and his work rate,
07:12he was a natural goal scorer like what Ennis seems at this level.
07:16And it's just Todd's law that, you know, against Stockport,
07:18he had two big chances in the second half for Blackpool and he headed both at the keeper.
07:22So a bit of misfortune there that could have easily, you know, given them a win on the road.
07:28So, yeah, signings, you know, Tom Bloxham is the big one, the permanent one.
07:32I've not seen enough of him yet. Hopefully he will get back fit
07:35and hopefully he can sort of give himself a foundation for next season because he looks the part.
07:40As for the other two, they're only loans.
07:42And for one reason or another, you know, you don't know if they will return next season.
07:46Silver is probably not playing enough to have that decision, you know, to make a decision there.
07:52And Ennis, you don't know what Stoke wants, you don't know what he wants in the summer.
07:55So, yeah, it should be interesting. They probably could have done with one more,
08:00you know, another striker just to mix it up a little bit.
08:03But at a recent fans forum, Steve Bruce said there was a player they were interested in
08:09and the price wasn't right and they left it.
08:11They could have gone for it, but they chose to walk away
08:15and leave it for another few months and go back to that player in the summer.
08:18So it will be interesting to see what happens.
08:20It sort of shows that, you know, he wasn't in too much of a rush to panic buy and get things over the line.
08:28Yeah. So at the minute, Blackpool are 13th, 14 points off the playoffs, 12 above the relegation zone.
08:37They're not going to get relegated. I think we can all accept that.
08:40Their playoffs seems an awful bit of a reach.
08:43What do you think Steve Bruce's plans are between now and the end of the season?
08:48Is he literally going to be casting an eye over everybody he's got on the books at the minute, making decisions?
08:54Is he plotting behind the scenes about how he approaches the transfer window?
09:01What is the goal between now and the end of the season?
09:04Well, the club's got to be ready for start the chance window to be banged straight in the act quickly and have the targets lined up.
09:12As for Bruce, I think he's just got to look at the team way up.
09:16You know, there's a lot of contract decisions to be made way up on who he wants, who fits into his plan.
09:22And also, I think the best thing probably to do is just play the way he wants, even if it means people are out of position.
09:28Just play the way he wants. Stamp, you know, his style onto that team
09:33because there are going to be some players that are going to be key.
09:36Who's Courtney Verr, look at Ollie Casey in defence.
09:38You know, he's been Blackpool's best player this year.
09:41So he's someone to build around. Ollie Morgan's been fantastic in midfield.
09:45You know, let them get used to the roles.
09:47You know, the likes of Rob Apter, who is his first year in League One for Blackpool.
09:51Give him a bit more game time, you know, nurture him in.
09:54And then next year, he could be ready to have a full season where he's hitting the target every, you know, he's firing every week.
10:00So, yeah, I think it's about getting set up for those players who are going to be central to the plan.
10:05And then in the summer, bringing in the people around them who are going to make it tick.
10:10How big of a summer is it going to be for Steve Bress?
10:14What sort of numbers are you talking about? Ends and nights?
10:16What can we expect? What can Blackpool fans expect during the summer transfer window?
10:22Well, there's a lot of players out of contract.
10:24And you can see sort of, you know, with some of them, some of them have been with the club a long time.
10:28It might just be a case of, you know, it's best for both parties to go their separate ways.
10:32You know, there could be an awful lot of work to do.
10:35It could be five or six, even seven, who could depart.
10:39You know, what's off my head contract-wise, you'd think Sonny Currie will probably sign a new deal, Matthew Parrington.
10:45And then the rest depends on how the rest of the season goes and, you know, what both parties think at the end.
10:51In terms of signings, well, a new goalkeeper will need recruiting.
10:55They lost Dan Grimshaw last summer. They replaced him permanently and that stung them a few times throughout the year.
11:01So they'll need a new goalkeeper. Kyle Joseph went.
11:04You know, I don't think Ennis was obviously only a loan, but I don't think he was the replacement for Joseph anyway.
11:09They was already looking at him before the bid from Hull came in.
11:13So you're looking at a few new strikers.
11:16Yeah, so there's a lot to do and a lot of key areas. Probably need a whole new spy, you know, through that middle.
11:21So you've also got to think of the loanees who could leave. Adela Fyre has been fantastic at right back or centre back.
11:27Whoever you want to play, chances are Brighton are going to loan him out to a higher level next year.
11:32And he won't be on Blackpool's radar. Elkan Bagot will be going back to his parent club.
11:36Probably he'll go to a new loan move.
11:40He's looked good when he's played, but obviously injuries in first half of season disrupted him.
11:44So maybe if a return is in the cards for him, it'll depend on the next few months.
11:50With Ennis and Silver, we're not really too sure yet on what will happen with them because it's not been too long.
11:56They've been at Bloomfield for a while.
11:59Will Bruce get the opportunity to do anything he wants to do in the summer?
12:04Has he got the support? Has he got the backing of the owner?
12:08That's what we're led to believe. Bruce said he wouldn't have come with the ambition.
12:12And he's spoken very highly of the owner in the last few weeks.
12:16From the owner's point of view and the recruitment team's point of view, they've got to get it right this summer.
12:21Last year was about backing currently and there was a lot of changes then.
12:25A lot of new players came in, a lot of the old guard went out and that felt like a rebuild.
12:31Obviously this summer is going to be an even bigger rebuild.
12:34You can't just keep jumping from that every year. Every 12 months you can't keep rebuilding.
12:38So yeah, they've got to get it right and they've got to stick with whatever they go with and whatever path Bruce wants to take them down.
12:45He's a manager who's played and managed at the very top.
12:49You've got to trust him and listen to his guidance.
12:53And how important is it that he gets it right then? The decisions he makes come off
12:58and Blackpool are in a better position than what they currently are at the moment?
13:03Yeah, he'll definitely want to get it right. He was away for nearly two years
13:07after tough jobs with West Brom and Newcastle before that.
13:10So he'll definitely want Blackpool to work. He seems to really be enjoying it.
13:14He seems popular with the fans. So yeah, it's a big challenge for him.
13:19What is coming to the end of his managerial career?
13:22But yeah, I think he's enjoying it and he's very much up for the challenge.
13:28Pressure is always on in football and he'll know that better than anyone.
13:31But there have been signs that what he wants can be very, very good.
13:36It's just, you know, there's been various hurdles in the way that I've stopped that.
13:39And the big thing he needs to work on is make sure that we're not playing through road this season,
13:44end of this season, next season, because that, you know, under Neil Critchley,
13:48despite how poor they were on the road, home was their biggest asset
13:52and was the reason why they came so close to the playoffs last year.
13:56Definitely. OK, Eamons, we'll wrap it up there.
13:59Thank you so much for your expertise. You've been watching Seasiders Watch.
14:03We'll be back again soon. Goodbye. Cheers, Mark.