Opinion: Blackpool wasted a golden opportunity to lay down a marker with lacklustre Blackburn Rovers defeat

With 3,000 Seasiders making the short trip across Lancashire to Ewood Park, the Seasiders needed to capitalise on this newfound wave of optimism and positivity, get on the front foot, take the initiative and take the game to the opposition.

Blackpool knew they could move out of the bottom three for the first time since November with a win, their second on the bounce, but in all honesty it never looked on the cards.

The game just passed them by, when it was there to be taken by the scruff of the neck.

Missed opportunity

Rovers, without two of their most influential players in Bradley Dack and Ben Brereton Diaz, were there to be got at.

Despite moving up to fourth in the table as a result of their victory, they looked no great shakes. But then again, they didn’t need to be.

But ultimately, their 1-0 victory proved to be a fairly comfortable one. As comfortable as wins get by a one-goal margin, anyway.

To fail to register a single shot on target is a real cause for concern. Barring a late scramble in stoppage-time, Mick McCarthy’s side never looked like making the keeper work, never mind score.

At this moment in time, the Seasiders appear caught in-between different approaches, with each strategy as ineffective as the other.

They’re not good enough to just defend, sit back and invite pressure on themselves. Only two sides have conceded more so far this season, which proves the point.

And yet that’s the approach McCarthy seems to be taking: to stay in games, be much harder to beat and hope for a set-piece or a moment of inspiration or good fortune in the final third, as we saw against Stoke City at the weekend.

But when games are even, it’s invariably the opposition that provides the one moment of quality to win the game, not them – as we saw with Tyrhys Dolan’s emphatic finish that finished off a well-worked move.

That’s from Blackburn’s perspective anyway. For Blackpool, it was a bit of a horror show as the home side were allowed to move the ball from one side of the pitch to the other almost at will. Sorba Thomas was granted the entire freedom of the right flank before his ball into the box was coolly dispatched by his teammate.

Much has been made of the more direct approach under McCarthy and much of the criticism is fair. It doesn’t suit this squad of players at all, especially when Gary Madine is out (albeit he’s now served his ban).

The Seasiders are at their best when they’re able to get their attacking players – the likes of Josh Bowler, Ian Poveda and Morgan Rogers – on the ball and in dangerous positions in the final third.

Ineffective midfield

But to do that, Blackpool have got to demonstrate quality in the middle third of the pitch which, to be brutally honest, they’ve failed to do all season, so why should we expect it now?

The midfield three were a real issue at Ewood Park, which followed a trend we’ve seen for much of the campaign.

In Kenny Dougall, Charlie Patino and Sonny Carey, the visitors offered no bite whatsoever. When they did get on the ball, the creativity was sorely lacking too.

I lost count of the number of misplaced passes or first touches that went astray. The midfielders weren’t the only guilty parties in this case, but it was a noticeable trait that blighted Blackpool’s lacklustre display all night.

It’s getting to the point where, if we haven’t already, we might just have to concede Blackpool don’t have the required quality to maintain their Championship status.

The players are giving their all, they’ve never thrown in the towel or been outfought. But team spirit, guts and heart only gets you so far, especially when you’re being outclassed on a worryingly regular basis.

Perhaps things would be different if Kevin Stewart, Liam Bridcutt, Lewis Fiorini and Keshi Anderson had been fit for any significant period of time, but we’re long past the point of one or two individuals making a difference. This has been a collective failure this season.

Another one

But on the topic of injuries, and hamstrings in particular, it was sod’s law that Jerry Yates, the one player Blackpool couldn’t afford to lose, was forced off during the first-half.

Thankfully Gary Madine has served his ban and will be back for Reading, while Shayne Lavery is also an option.

But there’s no doubt about it, if Pool are going to have any chance of staying up, they need Yates fit and firing, because he’s now failed to find the target in his last 16 league games.

That’s not a criticism of Yates, by the way, because he’s been given no service whatsoever and is having to chase down lost causes from minute one to 90.

I long got tired of describing upcoming matches as “must win”, but that’s exactly what this weekend’s trip to Reading is.

Paul Ince’s side are one of a select band of clubs that can still be dragged into trouble, sitting 10 points above the relegation zone but badly out of form. If Blackpool can go there and win, it will certainly make life uncomfortable for their former boss.

As for the teams in and around them, namely Wigan, Huddersfield, Rotherham and Cardiff, they all seem to be picking up in recent weeks. Blackpool have got to ensure they stay in touch, otherwise they’re at risk of being cut adrift.

Play like they did against Blackburn from now until the end of the season, that could be a very real possibility.