| Coming
from the Lancashire holiday resort, there could only be
one nickname for the club - "The Pool". No,
sorry, I mean "The Seasiders". Possibly, the
only team that were formed in Stanleys Arms (i.e. The
Stanley Arms Hotel) and that was a name that would
feature strongly in the future success of the club. For the first
twelve years of the club's life, they led a nomadic
existence moving from ground to ground, before they
merged with the South Shore club and settled into
Bloomfield Road. Shortly after the move, there was an
infestation of fleas in the East Stand and to this day,
it is known as the "Scratching Shed". They
toiled away in the Second Division until they were
Champions in 1929-30, when they went up to the 1st
Division and liked it so much that they stayed for 37
years. Since those days, they have only returned to the
top flight for one season in 1970-71. In the 80' and
90's, they have slid down the ladder, falling to the
bottom rung, but having escaped from Div. 2, they hope to
continue their upward mobility.
The FA
Cup seemed, for quite a while, to be as fruitless as the
League for Blackpool, as they were losing finalists in
1949 and 1951. Having returned North trophyless, it
looked like the star wing wizard of dribble, Sir Stanley
Matthews, would never hold a winners medal. However, in
1953, it all came right after being 1-3 behind with
twenty minutes remaining, Stan produced a mesmerising
display of trickery to provide chance after chance for
the Pool forwards, which they gleefully accepted to take
the Cup 4-3 over Bolton Wanderers. Striker Stan Mortensen
(The Blackpool Bombshell) scored a Cup Final hat-trick,
but in this classic match, he took second place in what
became known as "the Matthews Final" . Stan
often joked that if he died before Stan and was buried,
the winger would attend and the whole thing would be
known as "The Matthews Funeral" !!
Jimmy Armfield, the club's stalwart left-back, was voted as the
best player in that position when he appeared for England
in the 1962 World Cup Finals. He has since been employed
as a commentator and consultant for the FA advising on
the suitability of candidates for the England mangers
post.
Blackpool's
best league placing was second in Div.1 in 1956, but the
Cup competitions produced more success, with a semi-final
appearance in the League Cup in 1962 and a victory in the
Anglo-Italian Cup in 1971, being pipped in the final the
following season.
The
ground at Bloomfield Road is now run down and part of the
terracing cannot be used for safety reasons, but jailed
Millionaire chairman, Owen Oyston, has a big hat and big
plans for the club, including a move to a purpose-built
new stadium and hotel/complex to take the club into the
21st Century. Having taken on former England international Steve McMahon
as manager, the Seasiders were unable to move away from the bottom of the Second
Division and at the end of season 1999-2000, they were relegated to
Division Three. With few sticks of rock being offered to the
ex-Liverpool man when the team were struggling in the 2000-01 season,
he pulled them up and got them to the play-offs, where they beat
Orient to move up to Division Two. Investment is needed to
ensure that Blackpool is noted for more than just it's front.
FAMOUS
PLAYERS: - Sir Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen, Barry Batt, Alan Ball, Jimmy
Armfield, Trevor Sinclair, Paul
Stewart.
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