Opinion - Why Blackpool need to avoid return to old ways even with current shortage

Opinion: No matter how short Blackpool are heading into this weekend - they need to avoid slipping back into an old system.

Since taking over at Bloomfield Road last September, Steve Bruce has made it his mission to move away from the wing-back system that was previously utilised by Neil Critchley.

On a couple of occasions he’s reverted back to it because of needs must, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he likes it.

Obviously being tactically flexible is going to be important if the Seasiders are going to be successful this season, and having that switch in formation available could be what’s needed to get some crucial wins.

With that in mind, it shouldn’t be used just as a stopgap because of squad issues, and the club needs to ensure they start the campaign with the right identity.

Some players are more than comfortable to play in a 3-5-2, but as seen in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers, others do look out of place.

The reason for the change

It’s clear why the Blackpool coaching staff felt the need to change, considering the current shortage of wingers - which seems to be a recurring problem every six months.

A little bit of blame can be dished out for this. Even if the club were caught out by Rob Apter’s desire to leave, they’ve known for a while that Sonny Carey needed replacing, so they have been slow off the starting blocks.

The mitigation to that is, it’s very unfortunate that both CJ Hamilton and Tom Bloxham have been hit by injury. Even with just one of them fit, the problem wouldn’t seem as daunting.

It’s clear that new additions are required on both wings to give Bruce two options on each side when every is available - alongside the investment also needed up front.

While it’s easier said than done to recruit quality for those areas, the task isn’t as gigantic as it may currently seem.

It’s clear that they need to get the ball rolling before the League One campaign starts, but there’s still a month left of the window to ensure they get it all right.

In a perfect world at least one new wide option and one new striker will be through the door ahead of Saturday, before strengthening further in the following weeks.

The short-term alternative

While it seems a wing-back system could be the short-term alternative if the Seasiders fail to sign a new winger, they should still only see that as a back-up.

It wouldn’t be ideal to play people out of position in a 4-4-2, but George Honeyman could fill in on the right and Hayden Coulson could play further up on the left.

This still has the potential to be more productive than using a more defensive set up, and at least allows the squad to find their groove playing a certain way.

If it is a complete failure, then the 3-5-2 would still be there to switch to during the game.

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