Protest organisers slam EFL for 'ignoring' problems at Blackpool FC

Blackpool supporters will gather outside the EFL’s headquarters in Preston at 3pm on Friday to voice their anger at the handling of the Bloomfield Road situation.

An initial protest in Preston in March was followed by a meeting with the EFL, at which the fans’ concerns were aired.

But protest organisers Blackpool Supporters’ Trust (BST) are frustrated at the EFL’s lack of action since then and feel they have no option but to turn their attention back to the footballing authority.

The protesters will also be joined by Charlton Athletic fans, who are angry with the way Roland Duchatelet continues to run their club.

Supporters of the Addicks are being urged to assemble outside the EFL’s offices in London at the same time tomorrow.

BST chair Christine Seddon said: “A bad position seems to be getting worse.

“On the face of it, the club’s position in mid-table in League One is perfectly respectable but underlying that are a great many areas of concern.

“The first of these has to be the abrupt departure of Gary Bowyer as manager after just one game of the season. It would appear that even he had had enough.

“Perhaps he felt that he was being asked for one miracle too many. At any rate the timing of his departure suggests a club that remains deeply at odds with itself.

“We continue to suffer a complete absence of strategic direction at the very top – owner Owen Oyston seems completely preoccupied with trying to borrow the money needed to settle his court case with Valeri Belokon.

“At any other club, this would be seen as sensational news that would cause uproar amongst the support.

“It says much about what passes for normality at Blackpool that our supporters take these developments largely in their stride

“The flirtation between Oyston and Jonathan Disley has been greeted with no great fuss. It is only the departure of Bowyer that has caused anger amongst a substantial group of fans, who think he has been saintly in what he has done for the club.

“As a whole, the club’s fanbase have reached a position whereby new embarrassments may drive them further and further away from the club they love – but they do not surprise them any longer.

“The response of the EFL to this saga seems to have been largely to ignore it. Our view is that the EFL stance has been and remains unconscionable.

“No-one comes out of this wel, but it serves to illustrate that the footballing authorities in England have served the supporters of Blackpool very badly over a period that dates back not just to the High Court case of 2017 but all the way back to 2010.

“It comes as no surprise to us that the EFL are unwilling to confront the mess that is Blackpool FC.

“We could not be blamed if we thought this was due to a fear on their part of what might emerge.

“Nevertheless, we continue to lobby them in the hope that they will show the kind of national leadership we think should be a matter of course for an organisation in their position. We are, in all honesty, rapidly losing faith in their willingness or ability to do so.

“The bigger issue is, of course, that we are not the only club to fall foul of bad or malign ownership and we are confident that as things stand there will be many others.

“Whilst we are keen to see a solution to our own parochial concerns, there is a lot more at stake here.”

The EFL was contacted for comment.