Blackpool FC fans' views

DAVE WHITE

World record transfer deals, managerial comings and goings, competition rebrands, dire England performances .... Just some of the many things football fans have been able to discuss over the summer, And if you’re a Blackpool supporter, you can add plenty more to that list.

We’ve all had our fill of constant negative news and media coverage around Blackpool FC, so I’ve made sure to view the goings on at the club since May from a distance.

The introduction of a CEO is a welcome step forward, if not the radical overhaul hoped for. For such a position to be a success, Alex Cowdy needs a strong framework to operate in and a clear strategy mapped out to work towards the club’s ambitions.

At precisely that point it becomes obvious how large a task Mr Cowdy faces as the owners never discuss any ambitions nor how long they envisage taking to attain them.

And the only framework at Bloomfield Road is found at either end of the pitch with netting attached to it.

Matters related to work on the pitch began in earnest when the hapless Neil McDonald was shown the door and replaced with Gary Bowyer.

For the first time in a number of seasons we maintained a core group of players on which to build, rather than searching for a new squad from scratch, and Bowyer appears to have strengthened the weaker areas reasonably well.

If anything, Bowyer’s experience at Blackburn, a club labelled a “disaster shipwreck” by our own chairman in 2013, will stand him in good stead here as he seeks to put the handbrake on our decline.

What can we expect from the season to come? It’s a difficult one to call. On paper we are the wealthiest club in the division by a very large margin, which perhaps makes promotion the minimum aim. The bookies, not ones for getting it wrong too often, have us behind a good few teams in the odds and they would reckon on a steady but unspectacular campaign.

The more pessimistic element of our support have already prepared themselves for another relegation scrap.

Although a tilt at going back up to League One this season would be welcome, I think many of us would take a season of stability and, most importantly, a resolution of all off-the-pitch issues, however that comes about.

When such a resolution occurs, it is to be hoped that attendance figures at Bloomfield Road will rise and we can once again create an atmosphere to be feared.

It is entirely understandable that great swathes of supporters have made the decision to take their leave from home games at the moment, and if an attendance of 3,754 for last Saturday’s game doesn’t embarrass the club’s hierarchy then surely nothing will.

Victories have been rare of late, so at least those in attendance went home cheered by an opening match that showed signs of promise but also highlighted areas requiring further work, which is exactly what the opening games of the season should be about.

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PHIL CORBETT

For many fans disillusioned with the owners, Saturday gives them the first opportunity to see Gary Bowyer’s side in action.

From what I’ve heard and read, he seems to have addressed the glaring weaknesses that plagued us all season, namely some height up front and a tighter defence.

I’m looking forward to getting back into the football swing of things and hopefully this season sees a change to the downward spiral the club has been caught in.

I foresee low home attendances regardless of how the team play as fans continue to seek a change in ownership while hoping the side do well.

The suggestion that winning football will bring folk back is wishful thinking by the owners.

Here’s to a successful season.

CHRIS WOMERSLEY

The new season is here. We have two wins and performances that actually warrant cheering for the players.

OK, so this isn’t the Premier League anymore and the standard of football is not the best, but one thing is for sure – Gary Bowyer is streets ahead of the managers we have had in the last couple of years.

The first two games in isolation can’t define how Blackpool are going to do this season – I know that – but they have shown that the manager has a plan A, B, C and beyond.

We have had injuries to key players in both games, the manager has changed things around and the team have bought into it from the word go.

How the rest of the team got together and delivered on the pitch after the injuries to Danny Philliskirk and Jamille Matt is a testament to the manager and his ethos.

I’m looking forward to no longer thinking we are going to get battered but thinking we can win games and actually play good football.

Come on the Pool!