Five former Blackpool FC players suffer League One relegation as latest side join Northampton Town and Rotherham United

A group of former Blackpool players have suffered relegation from League One with Port Vale.

Ben Heneghan, George Byers, Ben Garrity, Grant Ward and Jordan Gabriel are all part of the Valiants squad that had their fate confirmed with a 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City on Wednesday night.

Jon Brady’s side have been on the cusp of going down for several weeks, but were able to cling for longer than many expected as they got through their games in hand.

The Staffordshire outfit join Northampton Town and Rotherham United in League Two next season, with one spot in the bottom four still to be decided.

Across the last few weeks, Blackpool have been able to open up a gap between themselves and the drop, and currently sit six points and five spots above the relegation zone heading into their final two games.

Gabriel is the most notable ex-Seasiders to suffer relegation with Port Vale, with the defender making 142 appearances for the club between 2020 and 2025.

The 2021 League One play-off final winner departed Bloomfield Road last summer at the end of his contract, as he made the move to Vale Park as a free agent.

Ward was also part of Blackpool’s last promotion winning squad, and came off the bench in the famous 2-1 victory over Lincoln City.

The midfielder, who featured 58 times in Tangerine, joined the Valiants as a free agent in February, but has only featured two times since.

Elsewhere, Byers and Heneghan had loan spells with the Seasiders, with the latter’s running across two seasons.

As for Garrity, the Port Vale captain joined Blackpool from Warrington Town in 2020, but didn’t make a senior appearance for the club, with a loan spell with Oldham Athletic coming his way instead before departing the following summer for his current side.

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