Blackpool’s rout of Birmingham City was a fitting tribute to ‘King’ Billy Ayre

Comparisons have already been made between Ayre and Neil Critchley. Not only have they enjoyed success in the Bloomfield Road hotseat, but they’ve also managed to strike up a connection with the Blackpool faithful that goes far beyond what is, on the face of it, a fun celebration and post-match ritual.

Sometimes it’s difficult to put your finger on it or explain it adequately using words, but some people just seem to ‘get it’. Both Ayre and Critchley fall into this category.

Critchley joined in with the 13,993 strong crowd - Blackpool’s biggest gate of the campaign - when Bloomfield Road, to a man, took to their feet to pay tribute to King Billy, as he was affectionately known, in the 15th minute - mirroring the number he used to wear on the back of his shirt as he watched games from the dugout.

“Billy Ayre’s tangerine army” also rang around the ground, while his family watched on from the hospitality balcony as the club’s invited guests.

It was still early on in the game, but the Seasiders already held a 2-0 lead thanks to two high quality goals.

The first came via Jake Beesley, who was making his first start in tangerine having seen just eight minutes of action since signing in January.

It was a day to remember for the former Rochdale man, who would later go on to add a second and came within a whisker of completing a memorable hat-trick.

Shayne Lavery got the ball rolling for Blackpool’s opener, producing a sublime piece of skill to turn his man on the halfway line before setting CJ Hamilton free down the right. The winger twisted and turned his marker inside out before putting the ball on a plate for Beesley to slot home.

The creator of the first, Hamilton was the scorer of the second after beating Birmingham’s nervy young goalkeeper at his near post after being picked out by an utterly majestic crossfield ball from Kenny Dougall, who enjoyed his strongest display since THAT day at Wembley.

Ironically, that was also the last time the Australian got on the scoresheet. Dougall, on this occasion, used his head to score for the first time this season, leaping unopposed to meet Charlie Kirk’s cross - one of many exceptional deliveries the loanee delivered throughout the sun-kissed afternoon.

Three goals to the good at half-time against an utterly hapless Birmingham side, the job was virtually already done.

I don’t want to focus too much on the opposition because I don’t want to take anything away from Blackpool and their biggest win of the season.

But Lee Bowyer’s side were abject and, were it not for points deductions elsewhere, would probably be staring down the prospect of relegation to League One right in the face.

Even in victory at St Andrew’s earlier in the campaign, the Blues are among the worst sides I’ve seen in the Championship this season and unless changes are made, both on and off the pitch, they’re in for another difficult campaign next term where they might not be so lucky.

Given their dire display, and coupled with their ownership issues and their lowly position of 20th, I actually thought Birmingham’s 3,300 supporters were relatively refrained despite going for the jugular with chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” and “we want our club back”, among others which perhaps aren’t exactly suitable for print.

Club captain and Birmingham fan Troy Deeney even ended the game trying to calm things down at the front of the East Stand, as tempers flared.

If Birmingham fans thought their first-half performance was bad, they were arguably even worse in the second.

Beesley grabbed a second with a close-range finish, before the away side pulled an utterly meaningless goal back when Ivan Sunjic slotted home.

But Jerry Yates came off the bench to end his goal drought, sending the keeper the wrong way from the penalty spot to score for the first time since Boxing Day.

Further gloss was added with the final kick of the game when Callum Connolly of all people curled home a pinpoint 25-yard free-kick, which caused one angry Birmingham fan to invade the pitch and sprint his way towards his side’s beleaguered players.

As for Blackpool, this was exactly what they needed after a frustrating run of five games without a win, where their performances were generally okay but they lacked a killer touch in front of goal. That certainly can’t be said of this stellar display.

Critchley argued this performance didn’t differ a great deal to how they performed against West Brom at the Hawthorns on Good Friday - and I can see his point.

But, while you must take the state of the opposition into account, Blackpool’s expected goals figure against Birmingham was, according to one model, 3.53, compared to 0.91 against the Baggies. That’s a big difference.

There’s no doubt thought that the Seasiders were far more clinical on Easter Monday than they’ve been in recent weeks. It’s just a shame they weren’t able to spread those goals out over a few games and pick up a few more points as a result!

But this was certainly a day where everything clicked and everything came together. We nearly even got a 30-yard howitzer from Dougall which unfortunately rattled the crossbar, rather than flying into the top corner.

That really would have taken the biscuit.