And so the season goes down to the last day once again for Blackpool Football Club, following abject defeat at Plymouth last Saturday and results elsewhere which kept the teams below them within touch. The Seasiders need a draw to confirm their place in the Championship next season.
Watford visit Bloomfield Road on Sunday for the final round of Championship matches, and they need a win to guarantee a place in the play-offs. Both sides are struggling for form; the Seasiders have won just one of their last ten matches and Watford have managed just one win in thirteen.
They do have the best away record in the division though, and have lost only four times on their travels. Which matches nicely with Blackpool's record of just four home defeats.
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It is likely that a point will be enough for Watford to secure their play-off place - it would mean Wolves would need to win by three clear goals at home to Plymouth in order overhaul them.
But Ady Boothroyd is unlikely to take any risks and will surely order his team to go for the win. A draw will be enough for the Seasiders as Southampton would need to score into double figures in order to sneak above them. The game between the two sides at Vicarage Road at the end of September ended in a 1-1 draw, after Wes Hoolahan equalised from the spot in the second half.
Relegation would be a disaster for Blackpool after waiting for 29 years to return to this level. The bookmakers are offering odds of around 25/1 on the Tangerines dropping into League One.
Southampton, needing to win to overtake the Seasiders, play at home to Sheffield United on Saturday, who themselves need a win to have a chance of making the play-offs, and Leicester travel to Stoke with both sides needing three points for different reasons.
The performance at Plymouth did Pool no favours. It seemed the players felt the job was done following the win against Sheffield Wednesday, and they never got a foothold in the game, going down 3-0 - and it could have been worse.
The loss of Stephen Crainey to a knee injury in training on Friday caused Simon Grayson to switch Kaspars Gorkss to left back and bring Michael Jackson into central defence; a change that didn't work. Gary Taylor-Fletcher's absence meant Stuart Green came into the right midfield position.
Neither Jackson nor Green looked ready for their respective roles. It seems justifiable to criticise Grayson for playing Gorkss at left back, where he has never looked comfortable, ahead of Danny Coid, who has, and for selecting Green, who has yet to put in a good performance since his move in January, ahead of Simon Wiles, who has been playing and scoring freely for the reserves in recent weeks. You also wonder how the players were allowed to approach the game in such a relaxed and unprofessional manner.
Grayson must now re-focus his players and decide who should start. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Jackson left out, to allow Gorkss to switch back to the centre and Danny Coid to fill the left back berth.
Taylor-Fletcher should be available to replace Stuart Green, but Paul Dickov's 90 day loan is now complete so there will be at least one change up front, with Ben Burgess likely to partner Stephen McPhee.
The only other realistic options would be to use Andy Morrell up front, and to bring David Fox or loan player Joe Martin into a midfield that did not pass the ball effectively at Plymouth.
Crainey faces an operation on his knee and his aim is to return for pre-season training. Simon Wiles was on trial at Scunthorpe this week, which suggests the manager feels he lacks the attributes required at this level of football and is prepared to let him go.
l Sunday's game at Bloomfield Road kicks off at 2pm and is sold out.
Posted by: Riversider, Blackburn on 5:21pm Thu 1 May 08
As a Rovers fan I am hoping that The Seasiders retain their Championship status. larry & TP have done a good job over there and the more Lancashire teams (with the possible exclusion of Burnley) doing well the better! Good luck Tangerine people! ;)
As a Rovers fan I am hoping that The Seasiders retain their Championship status. larry & TP have done a good job over there and the more Lancashire teams (with the possible exclusion of Burnley) doing well the better! Good luck Tangerine people! ;)
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