Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

 
 
Tuesday, 9th February 2010

Seaside Jury - Dickov, the Pool Messiah

Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 12 February 2008
Great goals, a touch of Premier League class ... our panel are raving about new signing Paul Dickov, and while they lament the loss of a two-goal lead at Hull City, most reckon another point towards that survival total is no mean feat against a side vying for the play-off spots
JOHN WOODMAN
Before the game you would have taken a point, but being 2-0 up with 30 mins left you would have expected to take all three.
I've lost count of the number of times we've gone ahead in a game and failed to kill teams off, usually down to a tendency to drop deep.
It might have worked in League One but in the Championship you are up against much stronger and better quality players capable of turning games around.
Having said that it is another point towards our ultimate goal. We're still seven points off the bottom and it's a game fewer for those below to catch up.
Larry took some stick over his signings in the window, especially Dickov – but once again he has shown tremendous shrewdness and Dickov has more than repaid the debt already. He is what BFC is all about – dogged determination and a never-give-up attitude.
A less resilient team would have crumbled at Hull and possibly lost having gone down to 10 men.
We now face Wolves who will be smarting from a heavy home defeat. It is another massive game but I fancy us against anybody at home and I'm sure the overpaid prima donnas of Wolves won't relish coming to a half-built Bloomfield Road on a cold February night.

Other sports stories
Grayson warning to Pool stars
Seasiders wary of a Keogh KO
Blackpool v Wolves - Match preview
Dickov - a danger to his own defenders


ALAN BEAUCHAMP
This was a strange game. It never felt like we were ever in control, yet we were two goals up. Then within a ten minute spell we were pegged back. To make matters worse, Gorkss was sent off for a needless challenge, leaving us to hold out for a draw in a nerve-jangling final ten minutes.
It was brilliant finishing from Dickov, especially his second goal which had a touch of class about it. At last we have a forward who you feel confident is going to convert chances – if only we'd had him from the beginning of the season.
Unfortunately, his striking partner, Ben Burgess, had a nightmare. He won hardly any headers and, for a big man, was pushed off the ball far too easily.
Crainey was as solid as ever and hardly put a foot wrong.
A point away from home against a team chasing the play-offs is a decent return, especially as we soaked up a lot of pressure.
It was a cracking atmosphere in a really nice stadium. Talking of stadiums, it appears we are £400,000 short for the South Stand. I recall the plans for the stand being changed from two, to three floor levels to accommodate more office space. Simple solution then – revert to the original two floors. The smaller stand will be cheaper to build and will save us more than the £400,000 we are short.


CHRISTINE HEMSWe've been saying it all season. Survival in the Championship makes it a good season. Why is it then, that there's more than a tinge of disappointment when we let a two-goal lead slip at Hull? After all, Hull are a decent team. They showed that at Bloomfield Road, and they are also one of the form teams, so before the game we would have been more than happy with a point.
It's just that two thirds of the way through, with 37 points and a two-goal lead, you can't help thinking mid-table and having a good enough squad to live comfortably in this league for a few years to come.
I'm at ease with myself believing it's a decent point towards survival.
I hope Karl Oyston is equally at ease with himself after the confirmation of what we had all suspected about the south stand.
His argument for the extra rows in the east, while welcome, is that the club are missing out on income due to the gate restrictions. This surely is also true of home fans. When he reports that we are not turning many away from home games, does he not realise that some of the casual fans don't turn up because they know they will not get in? Build the south and exploit the opportunity by opening a club for fans.


CHRIS BLACKBURNIt's easy to look back on this draw as two points squandered, given that we were leading 2-0 with half an hour to go. However the performance of Paul Dickov was undoubtedly a band of sunshine at the KC Stadium, without which we could well have left empty-handed.
Simon Grayson's dealings in the transfer window have already been shown to have been astute with the loanee following up his last minute winner against Leicester with a superb brace.
Dickov's class has never been in doubt and in this game we were able to witness both his predatory instincts and his deftness on the ball – things that have been lacking in the striking department this season!
However our defensive failings were again obvious as the pace of Campbell and sub Folan caused us constant problems, as did the evergreen Windass.
Of most concern however was the performance of Kaspars Gorkss, who given his midweek international sojourn to Georgia, might have been better rested with the Wolves and Ipswich games coming up. Certainly his performance was not up to his usual standard and the tackle that saw him sent off was that of a tired player. Perversely his enforced absence might be just what he needs.
There is no denying that to avoid relegation we need more than just our excellent team spirit. Maybe by adding a proven striker to the ranks Larry has finally found the all important catalyst. Could Manchester City reserves be our saviour for the second year running? It's looking that way!

FIONA MARTINWalking away from the KC stadium I overheard a Hull fan sounding surprised at our style of play and willingness to let them dominate the midfield and hit them on the break. It's not normally a very Blackpool thing to do, but he was right, our midfield never really got going. But then the ball spent too much time going over their heads.
It wasn't the greatest performance, and it was disappointing that when we got the two-goal lead it seemed as if someone hit a panic button. It's typical Blackpool that you're never two up and comfortable. But take nothing away from Hull, they did well to come back, and their substitution made a big difference.
Larry didn't quite seem to get his subs right, the need for Fox to slow the play down when we were panicking seemed evident, and Burgess was desperately struggling.
Credit to Larry though, for the signing of Paul Dickov. His arrival could make a big difference. His game is a class above anything else we have. The second goal was quite simply top drawer.
Going into tonight and Saturday's games, it's a blow to lose Kaspars – although it was a silly challenge when he'd already been booked. Both games are tough, although I do fancy us to finish the week with more points than we have now. Saturday's point was decent overall, and probably a fair result.

DAVE WHITEThe majority of fans would have taken a point before the game, although it was tinged slightly with disappointment having let slip a two-goal lead. It should certainly be considered a point gained rather than two dropped.
As one of the play-off hopefuls Hull showed they are a force to be reckoned with in attack. Pushed on by a decent home support in the sort of stadium Blackpool fans can only dream about having, they dominated the game after going 2-0 down and, after a scrappy first half, played some good football.
The talk in the stands was of Larry's substitutions, and whether they were the wrong men at the wrong time. Having gone two up, surely bringing on a holding midfielder like Fox, to add some bite into the middle of the park would have been wise. Another baffling choice was the replacement of Dickov rather than Burgess, who was having a poor game.
Credit to Grayson for bringing Dickov in though – he still exudes Premiership class and his second goal was exquisite.
A point means we edge closer to our target for survival. Results were, in the main, kind to us, and with teams at the bottom again either playing each other or a team near the top tonight, a win against Wolves would be most welcome. Having played superbly against them at Molineux we have nothing to fear and we should hope for three points.


PHIL CORBETTAfter a difficult week for fans off the field, following the chairman's confirmation that he has no immediate plans to develop the south stand, at least we continued our quest for consolidation in the Championship.
Longer term stability surely depends on increasing capacity and revenue for the club. .
It was strange coming away from the KC Stadium to be slightly frustrated at only getting a point. That point pre-match would have been a good one, but when we are 2-0 up, suddenly it feels like an opportunity squandered.
Given the way the game went, a draw was a fair result as Hull continued their recent impressive form to remain on the brink of the play-offs. That we matched them and are only seven points behind them is reflective of our season.
Safety is in our own hands and it's not trips to places like the KC Stadium that will determine our ultimate position but our upcoming home games against the teams around us.
Four more wins will see us OK.
I've never been anything but confident that we can do that, and see the visit of Wolves as an opportunity to take a further step on the road to consolidation. When that's achieved, surely the chairman must reconsider his current intransigence over our off-field progress.


JANE STUARTWow – what a goal! Proof that we have finally managed to capture that magic up front that has eluded us for many months. Paul Dickov – we salute you! I cannot watch a replay of that goal without filling up with immense pride that he is ours (for now at least).
Saturday saw an entertaining game in a beautiful arena. Of course it was disappointing to come away with only one point, having been two goals ahead, but we cannot complain, having taken four points from Hull this season.
Both of Dickov's goals came as a result of his persistence and having more awareness of where the goal was than Hull's keeper did. There can be little doubt – after three goals in his 100 minutes – that he should be our leading man up front. The man is hot! The proposed 'dream team' of Burgess and McPhee is already under threat before it has had chance to bear fruit – not helped by the former's performance at the KC.
We are still conceding goals, though – a problem likely to be exacerbated by the pending suspension of Gorkss. Certainly this is a nuisance but, although that tackle did look really late, the ball was moving quickly and I will not criticise the player for simply trying to do his job. Gorkss is a physical player and this will inevitably lead to bookings.
Hull no doubt believe us to be hugely physical brutes, with their second player in two games against us stretchered off in a neck brace – this time as a result of an accidental collision with Dickov. Well done to their physio for his lightning reaction in attending to the player.

Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 12 February 2008 1:43 PM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Blackpool
 
 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
 
 


Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.