Pre-season: SW Challenge Cup, friendlies etc

Sunny is now on, replacing David Vaughan.

After 57 minutes Razak Omotoyossi comes on for Brett Ormerod.

71st minute Stephen Husband on for Charlie Adam. Score is still 2-0 to the home side.

It gets even worse. Keith Southern was stretchered off late on in the game.

A bad day all round. Lose 2-0 and both Gary Taylor-Fletcher + Keith Southern injured.

With Billy Clarke already out for the season and young Louis Almond out for about three months, the last thing Blackpool need, with a tiny squad already, is yet more injuries.

With the home friendly against Scottish Premier League side Hibernian this weekend, right now Blackpool are woefully short of players.

Billy Clarke is out for the season. Young striker Louis Almond is out for up to three months whilst long serving midfielder Keith Southern is set to miss the start of the season.

With no new signings at all as yet, that leaves a squad of just 17 fit players. And out of those 17, three of them are goalkeepers!

I'm trying not to hyperventilate!

Me too!!

We are now just seven days from the first PL game with a smaller squad than last season, three players out injured and no new players.

No team news as yet for the Hibs game this afternoon. I'm presuming there will be some trialists featured.

Re: BFC transfers (news and rumours)

According to the official site we have a strong line-up today........

Yet the squad is weaker than when we player Cardiff City at Wembley in May and to fill out the bench Ian Holloway is having to use youth team players as well as two sub goalkpeers. In fact the bench looks incredibly weak.

No trialists, no new players.

Matthew Gilks
Neal Eardley
Ian Evatt
Alex Baptiste
Stephen Crainey
Charlie Adam
David Vaughan
Ishmel Demontagnac
Jason Euell
Gary Taylor-Fletcher
Brett Ormerod

Subs:
Paul Rachubka (GK)
Mark Halstead (GK)
Danny Coid
Rob Edwards
Ashley Eastham
Stephen Husband
Tom Barkhuizen
Adam Dodd
And one other listed as Tayo, which is presumably a spelling mistake for some youth team player.

Not exactly promising.

Some search has revealed there is a Nigerian footballer called Michael Tayo, whether it is him or not though on the subs bench I don't know.

Apparently there are almost as many Hibs fans at the game as home fans. Not surprising really - it is the middle of the summer season and Blackpool as a seaside resort is a popular destination for Scots!

Plus of course, £15 to watch a meaningless friendly with no new players has not been an attractive prospect for Pool fans.

Live match updates on the official site here -

http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10432~2115199,00.html

Also confirmation that the "Tayo" is Alex Tayo, a trialist. Not sure but it could be this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Akande

Alexander Owutayo Akinde

Blackpool have just scored, so it's 1-0.

Ishmel played in Jason Euell to open the scoring.

Blackpool apparently playing well and "passing Hibs off the park". A Brett Ormerod shot was cleared off the line, but Charlie Adam could not convert the rebound, his shot going slightly wide.

The webcam is still working today and whilst it only refreshes every 5 minutes it does show that the Hibs support is prettyy good - they are in blocks A to C in the Kop (on the left behind the goal on the cam).



http://www.blackpoolfcimages.co.uk/

1-1 now. A rare break from Hibs and Derek Riordan scored - ironically who Blackpool have been linked with this summer.

Apparently it was Hibs only attack for the last 20 minutes.

Half-time score Blackpool 1-1 Hibernian.

A quieter second half and Blackpool have now made a number of changes.

Off: Stephen Crainey, Charlie Adam, David Vaughan and Brett Ormerod

On: Rob Edwards, Stephen Husband, Danny Coid and trialist Alex Tayo who has gone up front.

Blackpool 1-2 Hibernian

Liam Miller free-kick.

A total of 14 substitutions between the two sides now.

Three more Pool changes, making seven in total.

Off: Neal Eardley, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Ian Evatt

On: Ashley Eastham, Tom Barkhuizen and Adam Dodd

So a very youthful side playing now.

Final score Blackpool 1-2 Hibernian

Hibs finished 4th in the SPL last season and are no mugs. They qualified for the Europa League and are probably a good guide to the average PL sides we will play this coming season.

Of course it was just a friendly and all about match fitness. However, what it clearly shows was a total lack in depth in the squad. We need new players.

No point putting this in a new thread, Blackpool have been drawn away to League One side Milton Keynes Dons in the second round of the Carling Cup.

The game is to be played on Tuesday 24th August, kick-of 7:45pm at Stadium MK. Ticket prices are cheap: £10 for adults, £8 concessions and £1 for under-16s.

I would imagine that with our first ever Premier League home game four days later, Ollie will make a number of changes to the side for this game to give more squad members a chance to impress.