Matt Scrafton column: Blackpool only have a handful of issues to address in the transfer window

Having brought in 17 new players during the summer and moved on a further 21, there’s no need for a wholesale change at Bloomfield Road right now.

Regular readers of this column will know I’m not a big advocate of a revolving door style of transfer policy, it rarely works out well for the party involved. Certainly not in the short-term, anyway.

The club, however, deemed it necessary to move on a number of players before the campaign got underway and bring in others that suited Neil Critchley’s style of play.

The logic behind that approach was sound and, if you’re going to make changes across the board, you’re far better off doing it during the summer when the man in charge can work with them for a number of weeks.

That’s got to be preferable to bringing in 12 players midway through a season, as the Seasiders did under Simon Grayson last year.

However, as alluded to by owner Simon Sadler in his recent New Year’s message, the club has learned from those mistakes and won’t be repeating them again this time round.

Instead, there are likely to be one or two tweaks here and there, both in terms of incomings and outgoings.

We’ve already seen a couple of transfer dealings completed this week in the form of loan spells being extended – Nathan Shaw due to remain with AFC Fylde for the remainder of the campaign and Dan Ballard to stay a Blackpool player until May.

That’s an important piece of business for Blackpool to wrap up so early given the defender’s talents.

Ballard looks like a player of huge potential and you can see why he is so highly-rated by his parent club Arsenal.

It’s a shame his game time has been limited by injury, suspension and international call-ups, but the 21-year-old has still managed to leave a lasting impression in the 13 appearances he’s made in all competitions.

He’s been almost flawless in the centre of defence for Blackpool during that time, the only blot on his copybook coming in the defeat at Bristol Rovers last weekend when he was dispossessed in the lead-up to the home side’s first goal.

Aside from that Ballard has looked like a class act, equally adept at doing the dirty side of the game – as is required in the third tier – as he is comfortable in possession of the ball. Long may it continue.

Ben Woodburn is a player whose loan is due to end this month but his situation is not so cut and dried.

I’m sure Woodburn himself would admit his stay on the Fylde coast up to now has been a disappointment.

While he hasn’t had the game time he may have hoped for, when he has played he hasn’t looked anywhere near the player that first burst onto the scene with Liverpool and Wales a couple of years ago.

The attack-minded player suffered two serious knee injuries while on loan with Oxford United last year and that appears to have had an impact.

There’s certainly a player there, you don’t play so many games for Liverpool and your country by the age of 21 by mistake, but at Blackpool, we just haven’t seen it.

In the rare glimpses of quality we have witnessed, it hasn’t been followed up with consistent performances.

Will his loan deal, which ends on January 17, be extended this month? You’d have to say it’s looking unlikely, especially as in recent weeks he’s been limited to minimal minutes off the bench right at the end of games.

That loan spot could perhaps be better utilised, but that’s a decision Critchley, his staff and the club’s hierarchy will have to take in the coming days.

Elsewhere, there’s a handful of players who have barely been seen this season, if at all, that the club could look to move on.

I gather Jordan Thorniley and Teddy Howe got off to the worst start possible under Critchley with the 4-0 humbling at Huddersfield Town in a Central League reserve fixture back in March.

I was there and the Seasiders, who named a strong side with Critchley watching on in his first day in charge, were truly awful against a young Huddersfield outfit.

Perhaps Pool’s head coach made his mind up on the duo there and then because we’ve barely seen them since.

If they have any takers in January, you’d imagine Blackpool won’t stand in their way.

There are others who have performed more often this term but still remain on the periphery, players like MJ Williams and Oliver Sarkic.

Given the congested nature of this season, which is only going to get busier due to the regular postponements, Critchley will want to keep hold of his options and retain a big squad.

The Seasiders also have to meet certain EFL regulations on squad size limits, so if a potential departure – even if it’s a loan exit – comes about, then that will create a gap for Blackpool to strengthen elsewhere.

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