Bispham Seasider
06 Aug 2008, 03:49 PM
Blackpool vs Bristol City, Football League Championship
Saturday, 9th August 2008. Kick-off 3pm. At Bloomfield Road
It's back! What a summer it has been with squad changes. At the end of the 2007-08 season Blackpool released 11 players (most of whom though had hardly featured in the first team) and then also lost two of the clubs best players in Kaspars Gorkss who went to "the new richest club in the world" Queens Park Rangers and Wes Hoolahan who left for Norwich City.
Simon Grayson has spent the summer though acquiring new players, and overall seems to have ended up strengthening the squad, despite the loss of Hoolahan and Gorkss. For instance, with David Vaughan and Adam Hammill we have two players with good passing abilities and Vaughan has big things expected of him. Hammill is strongly tipped to have a big future in the game with Liverpool and England, and if we can keep hold of him for the full season then we will get to see him not scared to take on players. He will, like Hoolahan, probably end up frustrating fans with his step-overs and perhaps overplay, but he clearly has ability in abundance and I am really looking forward to seeing him play in tangerine.
In defence we have now got Rob Edwards from Wolves who has struggled with injuries but who is also considered to be a very good replacement for Gorkss and his departure from Wolves hasn't pleased some of their fans who rated him.
Interestingly we also now have more international players probably than we have ever had!
David Vaughan, Daniel Nardiello and Rob Edwards are all Welsh internationals. Zesh Rehman plays for Pakistan who he has also captained. Stephen Crainey has been capped by Scotland and is looking to regain his place in the national team. Claus Jorgenson is now retired from international football, he played for the Faroe Islands, though born in Denmark he chose to play for the Faroes, his mothers homeland. Michael D'Agostino has earned a number of caps for Canada at Under-20 level. And of course Mohammed Camara is a Guinea international!
On Saturday Bristol City come up to Bloomfield Road on the back of a tremendous first season back in the Championship when they reached the Paly-Off Final at Wembley, losing out on promotion in the annual match described as the richest match in world club football as it is worth something like £50m to the winner. They are expected to bring at least 1,400 fans and will be a stern test for the new look Blackpool team. Quite what that team will be is anyones guess right now.
There has been no news yet about David Vaughan and whether international clearance has come through for him to play. Other players on the injury list include left-back Stephen Crainey - who will surely be replaced by Mo Camara on Saturday, striker Daniel Nardiello - who may well be fit for Saturday, striker Steve Kabba - no news at all on how he is progressing and Shaun Barker - again no news yet as to how he is progressing. Blackpool do have a history though of keeping news about injuries out of the press as much as possible, so it will probably be 2pm on Saturday before anything is found out.
I'm really looking forward to the match for a number of reasons - a new season where every club starts equal and everything still to play for, all the new players to look out for and we have new seats this season just four rows from the back of the Kop with a great view over the pitch.
Bring it on!
Saturday, 9th August 2008. Kick-off 3pm. At Bloomfield Road
It's back! What a summer it has been with squad changes. At the end of the 2007-08 season Blackpool released 11 players (most of whom though had hardly featured in the first team) and then also lost two of the clubs best players in Kaspars Gorkss who went to "the new richest club in the world" Queens Park Rangers and Wes Hoolahan who left for Norwich City.
Simon Grayson has spent the summer though acquiring new players, and overall seems to have ended up strengthening the squad, despite the loss of Hoolahan and Gorkss. For instance, with David Vaughan and Adam Hammill we have two players with good passing abilities and Vaughan has big things expected of him. Hammill is strongly tipped to have a big future in the game with Liverpool and England, and if we can keep hold of him for the full season then we will get to see him not scared to take on players. He will, like Hoolahan, probably end up frustrating fans with his step-overs and perhaps overplay, but he clearly has ability in abundance and I am really looking forward to seeing him play in tangerine.
In defence we have now got Rob Edwards from Wolves who has struggled with injuries but who is also considered to be a very good replacement for Gorkss and his departure from Wolves hasn't pleased some of their fans who rated him.
Interestingly we also now have more international players probably than we have ever had!
David Vaughan, Daniel Nardiello and Rob Edwards are all Welsh internationals. Zesh Rehman plays for Pakistan who he has also captained. Stephen Crainey has been capped by Scotland and is looking to regain his place in the national team. Claus Jorgenson is now retired from international football, he played for the Faroe Islands, though born in Denmark he chose to play for the Faroes, his mothers homeland. Michael D'Agostino has earned a number of caps for Canada at Under-20 level. And of course Mohammed Camara is a Guinea international!
On Saturday Bristol City come up to Bloomfield Road on the back of a tremendous first season back in the Championship when they reached the Paly-Off Final at Wembley, losing out on promotion in the annual match described as the richest match in world club football as it is worth something like £50m to the winner. They are expected to bring at least 1,400 fans and will be a stern test for the new look Blackpool team. Quite what that team will be is anyones guess right now.
There has been no news yet about David Vaughan and whether international clearance has come through for him to play. Other players on the injury list include left-back Stephen Crainey - who will surely be replaced by Mo Camara on Saturday, striker Daniel Nardiello - who may well be fit for Saturday, striker Steve Kabba - no news at all on how he is progressing and Shaun Barker - again no news yet as to how he is progressing. Blackpool do have a history though of keeping news about injuries out of the press as much as possible, so it will probably be 2pm on Saturday before anything is found out.
I'm really looking forward to the match for a number of reasons - a new season where every club starts equal and everything still to play for, all the new players to look out for and we have new seats this season just four rows from the back of the Kop with a great view over the pitch.
Bring it on!