Disingenuous for Neil Critchley to suggest Blackpool were anything but abject in derby defeat to Preston

One of Neil Critchley’s biggest strengths, especially away from the training pitch, is his ability to front up, take responsibility and tell the truth.
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Long gone are the days where managers can pull the wool over supporters’ eyes, especially in a game like this which was televised on Sky Sports for all to see.

Your eyes don’t lie to you, this was utterly abject. Blackpool were deservedly beaten and barely laid a glove on their rivals.

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So for Critchley to come out and say his team were the better side certainly took me by surprise. In fact, it was just disingenuous.

One can only hope what he said to the players in the dressing room and what he said on record to the press were two different things.

I understand the need to manage the players somewhat when the mood is low and your team is on a bad run and can’t buy a win. But, back-to-back defeats aside, the Seasiders are enjoying an excellent first season back in the Championship. Would it really have done that much harm to admit his side were dreadful?

I’m not suggesting Critchley should have come out ranting and raving and throwing his players under the bus, that would have served no purpose.

Josh Bowler sums up the general mood after last night's abject displayJosh Bowler sums up the general mood after last night's abject display
Josh Bowler sums up the general mood after last night's abject display
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But it gets to the point where you’re insulting supporters’ intelligence when you continue to make such outlandish statements that, as far as I’m aware, no-one else concurs with. Every person of a tangerine persuasion knew their side deserved to lose on Tuesday night.

One of Critchley’s claims was that Blackpool controlled a lot of the game, especially during the second-half.

To me, passing the ball along the backline with no option ahead of you doesn’t qualify as ‘controlling’ a game, especially when the move inevitably breaks down when the ball crosses the halfway line.

I would also suggest Preston were only too willing to back off during the second 45, sit back and soak up the pressure, because they knew that - as long as they kept a close eye on Josh Bowler and Keshi Anderson - the Seasiders otherwise had a real lack of ideas of how to create an opportunity.

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And that’s the crux of my argument, Blackpool didn’t have a chance, nor a shot on target. In a derby game between two evenly-matched sides, that simply isn’t good enough.

You simply can’t excuse that, so for Critchley to come out and attempt a positive outlook won’t have gone down with the fanbase.

Even in a derby, supporters can accept a poor performance as long as you hold your hands up afterwards. Critchley normally gets that spot on, but that’s two games on the bounce now where his view has completely differed to those who were watching.

Similar to the Nottingham Forest defeat at the weekend, Blackpool had a handful of ‘what if?’ moments where they punted the ball into the box and hoped it would drop to them. But is that what it’s come to? That’s not what we’ve come to expect from a Critchley side, surely?

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The Seasiders aren’t a fourth division outfit, playing the percentages and keeping their fingers crossed something happens. Or they shouldn’t be, anyway. It reeks of desperation.

Besides, the quality simply wasn’t there anyway. The crossing from wide positions was awful and their set-pieces, yet again, simply weren’t up to scratch. And when the ball was played up to Gary Madine, he was well-marshalled and struggled to win many of his aerial duels.

Critchley also argued that Pool ought to have been awarded a free-kick seconds before Preston broke and scored their winning goal, but I disagree.

Anderson complained of a trip on the edge of the PNE box, but he was looking for it. Even if there was contact, there wasn’t enough to justify that method of falling to the ground.

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The home side broke with pace and fed Cameron Archer, who did the rest by picking out the far corner - firing past former Preston man Chris Maxwell who was unexpectedly brought off the bench during the first-half.

For Archer to score the winning goal was a kick in the guts given he was the player involved in the nasty collision with Dan Grimshaw, that resulted in the keeper being rushed to hospital after a stoppage of around 10 minutes.

I’ve not seen a replay back yet as Sky Sports, quite rightly, held off doing so while uncertainty remained over Grimshaw’s condition, so I can’t make a judgement.

But those watching at home at the time suggested Archer was reckless and left his knee in as he attempted to reach a through-ball he was never going to get.

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I just hope Grimshaw is okay and there’s no lasting damage, because it was a sickening incident. He was left motionless for a good 10 minutes and was strapped tightly onto a stretcher when he was eventually carried off the pitch.

Critchley confirmed he was awake and responsive in hospital after the game and Grimshaw has since posted on social media, so fingers crossed the recovery goes well.

As for Blackpool, their season is in danger of fizzling out with seven games remaining, even with another Lancashire derby on the horizon.

This defeat, as poor as it was, shouldn’t take the gloss of what has been an excellent season for the Seasiders. But that doesn’t mean it should be excused, either.

Critchley is someone that demands the absolute best of everyone involved and Pool were far, far from that on Tuesday night. That can’t be left unsaid.