The Matt Scrafton column: Time to find a remedy for Blackpool's winter blues

Whatever the reason, Blackpool tend to struggle over the final months of the calendar year.

That was an observation many supporters made last weekend, when Pool’s winless run continued with a 3-0 humbling at home to Luton Town.

That makes it six games without a victory for Neil Critchley’s side, who haven’t picked up three points since the end of October.

The Seasiders will be desperate to get back on track this month and have plenty of opportunities to do exactly that over the busy Christmas and New Year period.

But if their historic festive form is anything to go by, they might not be so lucky.

I’ve looked back at Blackpool’s results between the start of November to the first game in January, going back all the way to the start of the Millennium.

In the interest of fairness, I’ve also counted wins in the FA Cup as three points as second and third round ties are also played at this time of year.

Only once in the last 20 year have Blackpool recorded an average points-per-game (PPG) of two or more over this period.

On four occasions, however, they’ve dipped under the one-point-a-game mark.

Since the 2000/01 season, the Seasiders have picked up a total of 346 points from the 255 games they’ve played during those months, giving them an average PPG of 1.35.

Replicate that over the course of the season and you’re looking at a final points tally of around 60.

That’s probably not as bad as I was expecting, but on closer inspection it soon becomes clear that figure is boosted by a few anomalies.

It won’t be a huge surprise to you that Blackpool’s most prolific winter was back in 2006/07, when Simon Grayson’s men claimed 26 points from 12 games on their way to winning promotion from the third tier – a PPG of 2.1

During the 2003/04 season under Steve McMahon, Pool averaged 1.92 points per game. But apart from that, it’s slim pickings.

Between 2013 and 2016, a period of Blackpool’s history fans would love to forget, they picked up a meagre 25 points from 33 games played in the final throes of the year, a PPG of 0.75.

Fast-forwarding to the 2017/18 season, which was Gary Bowyer’s final full campaign in charge, the Seasiders won just two of their 13 games in November and December, including a nine-game winless run.

In 2019/20, it was also over the winter months that Blackpool’s promising early- season form went to tatters, resulting in Grayson’s sacking in February and ending his second tenure after a run of just one win in 12.

While Blackpool’s record was much better during last season’s promotion-winning campaign from League One (1.92 PPG), Neil Critchley’s men still went through a sticky patch from the middle of December to the middle of January, failing to win in six games in league and cup.

So far this season, the men in tangerine have claimed just three points from six games since November began, a record that quickly needs to be addressed.

Hopefully the Seasiders can buck the trend over the following weeks and pick up enough points to move back into the top half of the table.

I’m still not overly concerned by their recent blip because, by and large, their performances have been good.

The only nagging doubt I’ve got in the back of my head is that Blackpool can continue to play decent football for as long as they want, but points may be hard to come by unless they improve their quality in the final third.

Hopefully the players already at the club can meet the necessary requirements to do exactly that, and with Critchley at the helm they’ve got the right man in charge to develop and bring on these players.

But with the January transfer window just around the corner, there’s also the possibility of further additions to the squad to strengthen.

You’d have to expect central midfield and a winger or two, especially on the right, to be high on the club’s shopping list.

On paper, Pool face a more appealing set of fixtures in the coming weeks, starting with relegation-threatened Derby County and Peterborough United before Christmas.

But as we all know, football isn’t played on paper and Derby are actually a fairly decent side, though their tally has obviously taken a major hit because of their two points deductions.

Without those penalties, Wayne Rooney’s men would be just five adrift of Blackpool.

It’s often the sides at the bottom that cause the Seasiders the most problems as well.

But fingers crossed that’s another trend that is put to bed tomorrow.

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