Opinion: Lack of Blackpool transfer activity in key area is nothing short of baffling
Blackpool and other clubs across England have until Monday to conclude their transfer business.
Opinion: There’s no denying that Blackpool have been hit by misfortune this month - but there’s one area where there shouldn’t be any excuses for still being short.
It feels like the Seasiders have an awful lot of work to do before Monday’s transfer deadline, and that could very much decide how their season goes over the next few months.
On paper, the club has more than enough to survive relegation, but they've been decimated by injury time and time again, and it seems unlikely there’ll be a stage where they aren’t without a high number of players.
So far this month, Kamarl Grant, Joel Randall and Michael Obafemi have all moved to Bloomfield Road on loan until the end of this season.
Completing these types of deals is sensible, and there shouldn’t be a problem with adding a few short-term fixes.
Sympathy for Blackpool’s recruitment team
There should be sympathy for Blackpool’s recruitment team when it has come to injuries this month.
Seemingly, those loans had done enough to offer a sensible level of depth to the back three, midfield and the attack.
The spine of the team looked as if it was sorted after the 2-0 victory over Northampton Town at the weekend, but that’s quickly unravelled.
Grant’s injury hopefully isn’t too serious, and Michael Ihiekwe will hopefully get to a stage where he can feature twice a week to solve any defensive concerns, while the strike-force does look stacked up now, but the midfield has fallen apart.
Both George Honeyman and Randall were forced off against Stockport County on Tuesday night, and it could be a calamity if both are missing for an extended period of time.
More quality is required in that area, as the ones who are fit probably haven’t shown enough consistently to prove they can handle the responsibility alone.
This is an unexpected problem, as the amount of repeat injuries have been unprecedented, but it’s something that needs to be addressed in the next few days.
Blackpool’s baffling lack of recruitment in key area
Now, an issue Blackpool can only blame themselves for not addressing is out wide.
It’s baffling, truly baffling, that the Seasiders weren’t ready to go at the beginning of the month to add natural wing-backs.
The minute the club appointed Evatt in October, they would’ve known the way he wanted to play, and just how short they were in those areas.
We can go back to the poor planning across a number of years, with getting rid of wing-backs after Neil Critchley’s sacking, just to go back to a similar style of play 14 months down the line.
Putting the past to one side, it’s still not clear why getting these positions sorted this month wasn’t a priority.
The loans are absolutely fine, as they were agreed to fulfil a purpose, but making sure wing-backs were added to the squad for the long-term should’ve been the top of the agenda.
Even before Danny Imray was recalled by Crystal Palace and Andy Lyons was ruled out through injury, it was clear Evatt didn’t have enough depth down the right, especially with the latter helping to fill in centrally.
Meanwhile, on the left, the club knew Hayden Coulson would be out for a couple of months and Zac Ashworth would also have to be versatile across the defence.
Clearly letting Scott Banks leave shows they know what they need, and that position isn’t just about putting bodies there and hoping for the best.
It’d be fantastic if Imray could return for the rest of the season, but that’s a big if.
While Blackpool should keep their powder dry on using their final loan slot, they should’ve already acted on adding someone else to that position.
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