Blackpool SLO column: Steve Bruce’s appointment feels like a reset of the Seasiders’ season
Surprise! That was the immediate reaction by many fans to the appointment of Steve Bruce as the new Blackpool head coach.
He hadn’t really featured on the managerial shortlists that were being bandied about after the departure of Neil Critchley.
The dismissing of Critchley was a surprise as well. Not so much that he went, because many supporters had long been unhappy with his style of football and lack of positive results, but because the owner (Simon Sadler) made the decision so early in the campaign, after a less than inspiring start – two league games, two tame defeats.
Now it feels as though the brakes have been taken off and our rollercoaster ride of a season is finally gathering the right sort of momentum.
Comparisons are being made with the change in the way England play under Lee Carsley after the Gareth Southgate era.
Interim boss Richard Keogh – in his four-match spell – had given us entertaining football, the like of which we hadn’t enjoyed for some considerable time, including our first win at Blackburn Rovers since 1977.
Appointing a new permanent head coach was always going to be a huge ‘please get it right’ moment as far as all of us were concerned.
While there are no guarantees in football, Bruce and his assistant, Steve Agnew, certainly have an impressive pedigree for creating hard-working and entertaining football teams – and for getting them promoted.
Let’s hope that Bruce’s time away from the game has given him the same kind of renewed enthusiasm and positive, front-footed approach that Ian Holloway exhibited in similar circumstances when he joined us.
He has certainly come across very well in the interviews he has given to date and I take it as a positive sign for the future that Keogh and Stephen Dobbie are now part of the first-team coaching staff.
Of course the real test comes on the field of play, starting with the Seasiders’ home game against Exeter City tomorrow and Blackpool looking for a first league win in five.
I like to view this as a reset of our season and it will be exciting to see how it goes.
I know some supporters have been staying away because they were less than enthused with the style of football. Hopefully the changes now in place will address that situation.
As fans we can make a huge, positive difference by rocking up to the ground tomorrow in our thousands to welcome Bruce, getting into the stands early and creating the sort of pre-match atmosphere that we used to be rightly famous for.
When you’re inside, you’ll notice the fans’ flags going back up in the Kop. Let’s make Bloomfield Road a fortress once again and roar the team on to success.
Finally, let me remind you that if any fan wishes to contact me for any reason at all, my email is [email protected] and my mobile number is on the club website. You might also like to follow @bfcslo on Facebook and X.
UTMP!