Avoiding the Drop

This is the first in a series outlining the clubs in the running for when I pick a  “second club” to root for, for the backstory check here.

Blackpool wasn’t even on my radar when I first put up my post, but I suppose that was one of the reasons I put the post up, to find clubs that I hadn’t been thinking about.

The tale of how Blackpool got to where they are today is a rather interesting one. they spent a long stint from the late 1930′s to the early 1970′s towards the top tier of the English football system, and all the sudden dropped hard, all the way down to the 4th division, and were saved from non-League football by a vote and realignment. They’ve only climed back into the picture in recent years, and while they’ll finish towards the bottom of the Championship this season, they seem like a good prospect to pick.

Name: Blackpool FC
Founded: 1887

So the first thing you notice about Blackpool is how cool the name is (at least for an American who’s never been to England), it just sounds tough, I wouldn’t want to find out what a Blackpool was or what kind of creatures lived in it.

Crest: Not too bad, a little busy, but I’d rather it be busy than too simple and plain, its got a nice old vibe to it.

Colors: This one is a big plus to me, I’ve got a thing for orange (tangerine). Not that I even own anything other than a San Francisco Giants hat with orange on it, but I do like orange in small doses. When you wear it all the time it can be a bit much, but that’s what the away shirt is for.

Location: Blackpool is located on the Northern coast of England. Being near the water is always a plus as I’ve been landlocked for all my life, it is up north away from a lot of the action in England, but that works just fine since it’d probably be a little less hectic and the last thing you want on a vacation is stress.

Shirt:

This is the new kit for Blackpool next season, and I have to say I do like it better than last season’s which had a big black box surrounding the sponsor logo. Though last season’s kit had white stripes running along the sides which was a nice highlight. I like it though, kinda looks like a Holland shirt (which it’s rumored that’s where the idea for Blackpool’s shirt originated from)

Grounds: Bloomfield Road (above) is quite a quaint looking stadium. It currently only holds about 9,500 people which is a far cry from the huge stadiums we’re used to in the States. Though its supposed to be increased to 16,000 shortly, which is even smaller than Dick’s Sporting Goods Park where the Rapids play. I like the small size, gives it a much more intimate feel than a massive 50,000 person stadium, like they’re playing the game just for you.

Reasons to pick them: This is a club that hasn’t had much success ever, the best they’ve done was stage a come from behind win to secure the FA Cup final in 1953. They’ve been back up in the Championship for just two years now, finishing 19th last year and they sit in 18th this year with one game left. This is all quite positive to me, it seems that they’re establishing themselves in the Championship and to ensure positive long term growth, rather than go the Leeds United way and mortgage their future with some big purchases.

Or maybe they’re just trying to not spend much money and turn a profit and will wind up back in League 1 in a couple of years, but at least they look like they’re fighting for their future. Plus if they’re playing it cautiously, it means they’re probably not gonna fall into administration, a bigger concern than them dropping back into League 1.

They don’t seem to have much star power on the squad with their best goal scorer being Dudley Campbell who was a January loan target from Leicester City, but he has score a whopping 8 goals in 19 games and leads all scorers, so if he’s kept on then he could be exciting to watch.

The way I see it, Blackpool don’t have a whole lot going for them in terms of history and it doesn’t look like they’re on the verge of getting into the Premier League next year, so I’d have some time to build my fandom before they got promoted, if they ever do. On the downside, do I want to support a club that might not give me a whole lot of positive to cheer for?

Next time: Sheffield Wednesday