Blackpool 0-1 Luton Town: You can forget the fireworks, the winter World Cup has put pay to that

Neither were there any at Hawthorns in midweek, either. That’s because Blackpool and their Championship rivals are running on empty.

The upcoming winter World Cup has produced a condensed 2022/23 campaign which is wreaking havoc on clubs up and down the land.

Blackpool are far from being the only victims here, but the fact there are question marks over FOURTEEN of their players heading into Tuesday night’s midweek affair against Middlesbrough shows exactly where they’re at.

With players dropping down like flies every 10 minutes or so, it’s no wonder the quality on offer isn’t of the highest standard.

Scrappy

That’s not even a criticism of Blackpool and Luton, because they both gave as good as they’ve got on Saturday during what was an engaging, albeit scrappy 90 minutes of football.

Despite the frustration, one can’t help but admire the Terry Butcher-esque manner in which Luton’s players literally threw their bodies in front of the ball in a desperate attempt to hold on to their slender one-goal lead.

Blackpool did more than enough to at least get a point out of this, if not all three. Michael Appleton certainly thinks so.

But like Tuesday night, it was one lapse in concentration from a corner that was their undoing, and once again it was a second contact rather than a first.

Luke Berry was the beneficiary, stabbing home from close range after the Seasiders had failed to clear their lines.

Blackpool had similar chances to score. In fact they had about four rolled into one during the first minute of stoppage time.

The move began with the ball being pumped into the Luton box up to Gary Madine, whose aerial challenge appeared to be blocked by the hand of a visiting player.

Nevertheless, the move stayed alive and CJ Hamilton crashed a low shot against the post, before Callum Connolly and James Husband were both denied on the follow-up as Luton somehow managed to scramble the ball off the goalline.

Once such a golden opportunity passed, you just knew it wouldn’t be Blackpool’s day.

Perspective

It’s hard to be too critical of Blackpool’s players at this moment in time because they’re giving as good as they’ve got.

But with a squad ravaged by injuries and illness, the side Appleton is able to put it is patchwork at best.

Even the players that are available and putting their hands up to play are nowhere near 100 per cent. Players like Callum Connolly, Jordan Thorniley and Gary Madine are having to play every three or four days when they’re clearly in no fit state to be doing so.

At what point do we question all this? Is this really appropriate for the welfare of the players?

And what for? An immoral and unethical World Cup that hardly anyone is even talking about anyway.

Injury woes

At this time last year, Blackpool had played 16 league games. This season they’ve played three more.

In fairness, it’s not just the World Cup. We’re also off the back of two Covid-affected campaigns which have also taken its toll on squads across the land.

I’m sure there’s some of you reading this screaming at me with frustration, telling these highly-paid, pampered professional footballers to get on with it and play.

But it’s not as simple as that, is it? The fact that so many clubs are all suffering with injuries should tell you there’s an issue.

And even if the players are capable of physically getting out there and playing, look at the product on show. Can you honestly say the Championship has been impressive this season? I can’t.

To me, that raises questions of integrity. The three sides that go down this season might not necessarily be the three worst, it could just be the clubs that struggle with the most injuries.

We can all see how condensed the division is, there is absolutely nothing between around 13 clubs. It’s all about the fine margins.

Yes, it’s always been that way to some extent in the Championship, but it’s never been like this.

Getting through it

For Blackpool, the World Cup break can’t come soon enough but who’s to say the issues they’re currently enduring will have just disappeared upon their return?

Within two weeks, the Seasiders play three times over the course of six days (Monday-Thursday-Sunday) over the festive period, which is another monstrosity that needs expelling as soon as possible.

I’m the biggest proponent of the traditional Christmas and New Year fixtures, but is there really any need for another game to be sandwiched in between? It’s just asking for more trouble.

But in an age of TV networks and streaming giants demanding more and more content, the likelihood of these games being dropped at a time when families are at home glued to their TVs is unlikely to nil, I’d say.

Rotten luck

I really don’t want to end this column on another negative note but it’s hard not to given the way Saturday transpired, with Keshi Anderson forced to hobble off with yet another injury on his first appearance of the campaign.

Blackpool have been crying out for a player of his ilk, a creative force that can carry the ball and create something out of nothing.

It looks to be his hamstring again though, which suggests it will be at least two or three weeks at minimum and possibly more depending on the severity. Talk about rotten luck.

He has my best wishes, anyway. In some ways, they all do.