Squad rotation, timely returns and home comforts: Blackpool's main talking points ahead of Luton Town encounter

It’s easy to say Michael Appleton should have made more changes to his Blackpool side at West Brom to freshen things up.

Energy levels looked to be an issue again, after all. The Seasiders just seemed half a yard off the home side at all times, just as they were against Hull City a couple of weeks ago.

But working out where those changes should have been made is a different matter entirely, because no-one deserved to be dropped given how well Blackpool had performed against Coventry City at the weekend.

Gary Madine (and his one groin) could have done with a rest, but we saw late on at The Hawthorns how much the Seasiders missed his aerial presence in the box once he was subbed off.

The Baggies are a tall, physical side who get plenty of long throws, free-kicks and corners into the danger area. I’d imagine that’s why Madine was picked to start again, despite his ongoing issues with his groin and back.

Shayne Lavery would certainly have brought a freshness to the starting XI given he’s been out for three games through suspension, but the Northern Irishman wasn’t necessarily suited to this game, not as a number nine anyway in Madine’s spot. Perhaps we’ll see him from the start against Luton Town this weekend.

But when you look beyond Lavery, Blackpool didn’t have a great deal of other options if we’re being frank.

Theo Corbeanu is one name that will be put forward, but Pool fans would have rioted had Jerry Yates been dropped while CJ Hamilton also deserved to keep his spot after impressing in back-to-back games against Preston and Coventry.

The same applies for Ian Poveda, who I noticed was in a hurry to storm down the tunnel at full-time on Tuesday night having only got five minutes off the bench.

But that was it in terms of substitutions that could have changed a game from an offensive point of view, so I do have a great deal of sympathy for Appleton on this one.

If he had made four or five changes and it had backfired, you know full well he would be criticised for changing a winning side, so you can’t please everyone.

Timely returns

There’s a chance Liam Bridcutt and Keshi Anderson could come into contention for this weekend’s return to Bloomfield Road, which would certainly be most welcome.

The Seasiders lacked that bit of bite in midfield against West Brom, which certainly wasn’t helped by Charlie Patino’s absence, so fingers crossed the Arsenal loanee is able to recover from his bout of illness in time for

But even with Patino back in the side, I think Blackpool are a better, more balanced side when they have a tough-tackling number six in the Bridcutt or Kevin Stewart mould that are in peoples’ faces and breaking up play. The big problem with those two is that they’re very rarely fit.

Kenny Dougall can fill in there as and when required but it’s not his forte, whereas in recent weeks his best performances have come a little further afield in an advanced number eight role.

Having Anderson back would be a big, big boost though. While the Seasiders do have options in the final third, Keshi does bring an extra layer of quality some of the other players in his best position don’t quite have.

It will be fascinating to see where he slots in though. Will he be utilised as a winger, on the opposite flank to Jerry, for example? Or will he be adopted as a more creative force from a midfield three?

Perhaps neither option can be ruled out. Given Blackpool’s injury problems, a player of Anderson’s versatility is invaluable. Now we’ve just got to keep our fingers and toes crossed he stays fit – although that applies for all of the squad!

Looking ahead

After back-to-back away games, both in the Midlands, Blackpool return to home comforts with a double header at Bloomfield Road.

Luton Town and Middlesbrough will provide tough opposition, there’s no doubt that. Boro are similar to West Brom in some respects. Their squad is far too good to be where they are in the table and it’s only a matter of time until they rise up into the top half.

Now under Michael Carrick, they’re bound to enjoy a reaction as well.

As for Luton, they continue to bat above their weight, just as they did last season when they defied the odds to finish in the play-offs.

If Blackpool can get through the two games and maintain their current gap to the bottom three before the game against struggling Wigan, that’s got to be seen as a good return.

Appleton’s men just need to get through this next trio of games in a somewhat healthy position before they can rest their feet up during the World Cup break, get a few players back to full fitness and re-assess things before they return for the hectic festive schedule.

What comes beyond that in January, who knows? I’m guessing Blackpool’s transfer plans will be determined by their injury situation and what players they have available to them.

Andy Lyons coming in will certainly be a boost, but with it being his first venture into English football he could well require some bedding in time.

Having another option at right-back will be priceless though, given the panic we’re currently enduring every time Callum Connolly goes to ground in seemingly every game.

Until we get to a point where Appleton has a relatively injury-free squad available to him, it seems difficult to make a decisive judgement on how things are going.

The problem is, I don’t expect that to change any time soon unfortunately.