Gary Taylor-Fletcher column: Tony Parkes deserves all the tributes that come his way

Tony is a great man and he was a big part of the success we had during that time at Blackpool.

He brought Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell to the club as well as Steve Thompson and Gary Parkinson.

The way he ended his time with the club was a little bit sad with the way he was treated, but that’s football and that’s what can happen sometimes.

He was a great person to talk to because, no matter the problem, he would always have a little anecdote or a way of seeing the brighter side of stuff.

The scouting and recruitment he did for players was unbelievable at a time when we were on a hiding to nothing.

But he came in, managed to keep us up and then that squad that kept us up in the Championship that year was basically exactly the same as the one that got promoted the following season.

He was always really good to have around the changing room, his experience and knowledge of football was second to none and exactly what we needed at that time.

He was there for the year before when we got promoted from League One, he was around for that as assistant for Simon Grayson.

When he took over as caretaker manager he did an admirable job and he was an honest, much respected person around the changing room and the ground.

You can tell that not just from the Blackpool players, but also the Blackburn Rovers players he’s been around for a long time as well.

There’s a lot of very nice words being said and that shows what a true footballing man Tony is and the respect he is held in.

Watching the clip with his daughter Natalie was a tough watch.

It’s tough for any family to go through what they’re going through at the moment.

I know from myself and all of the players that were at Blackpool during my time all pass on our best wishes to him.

To the football, it’s not looking good at all for Blackpool and there definitely seems to be some problem, whether it’s the squad, whether too many players have come in, whether it’s too many changes being made.

Do they have too big a squad?

I don’t know, but it was some turnaround in January and it’s just not right there at the moment.

It’s not good to see because with the start they had, the positivity around the place seems to be waning among the fans.

It’s not just bringing 12 players in that is an issue, it’s getting rid of 12 players as well. It’s a total turnaround of the squad.

Obviously Simon felt that was needed, having come in towards the end of the summer window where he inherited a lot of players he might not have wanted.

But what can happen within a squad is that people can make good relationships, good friends, and that can make a huge difference.

As everyone says, it’s more of a squad game because a squad can decide on a manager’s fate.

Saturday’s game against Southend United is going to be a massive game, but it will be tough.

They’re going to be fighting for their lives while Blackpool need to get a bit of confidence around the ground and the fans.

They’ve got to get some wins sooner rather than later, otherwise you’re looking over your shoulder and thinking ‘those bottom spots are getting closer’.

That’s exactly what Southend will be thinking, they’ll be wanting to inflict another defeat on Blackpool to bring them closer into the mix.

The supporters aren’t happy and I can definitely understand their frustration.

They’ll have come back this season feeling the positivity of hope thanks to the new owner and that’s something that needs to be adhered to and for Blackpool to get back to.

The fans will want to see good, attacking football and their team going for the three points.

That’s something Simon and the team must do on Saturday.