Blackpool v Mansfield Town match verdict: Seasiders have a puzzle to solve as individual errors prove costly

Who’d be a football manager? All that responsibility, plus thousands of people questioning every decision you make and not shy in letting you know when things aren’t going to plan.

Ultimately, your job security entirely depends on how well as many as 16 people interpret a plan of action you’ve devised over a number of days.

It’s a situation Blackpool head coach Ian Evatt has experienced only too well during his year with the club.

The boos that rang around Bloomfield Road at full-time of Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Mansfield Town left Evatt and the club hierarchy in no doubt as to the fans’ thoughts.

OK, you can question Evatt’s decision to go like-for-like in replacing Dion Charles and Dale Taylor with Tom Bloxham and Jerry Yates midway through the second half and Pool 3-1 down.

You might also quibble with his assertion that Blackpool ‘were completely dominant’ in the first half at Bloomfield Road.

True, Karoy Anderson, Ilmari Niskanen and Josh Bowler could have all scored for the Seasiders.

However, the admirable intent shown by Anderson, Albie Morgan and Leighton Clarkson to get forward in support of the strikers, meant there was space aplenty in front of Blackpool’s back three if Mansfield were clever on the counter.

They were particularly effective at that in the second half, but there were warning signs in the opening 45 minutes.

Not only did Mansfield score and have a penalty saved, but their play on the break saw Nathan Moriah-Walsh thwarted by a timely block and Louis Reed drag a shot wide from 18 yards.

Fans might also argue that Evatt’s opposite number, Nigel Clough, did a number on him by making three half-time changes, going man for man and instilling a more aggressive approach in Mansfield’s play.

At the same time though, what Evatt cannot legislate for are the type of individual errors which turned a 1-1 scoreline into a 3-1 lead for the visitors.

Nobody outside the inner sanctum knows what goes on at the training ground, but it’s hard to imagine Evatt telling Jordan Williams to concede possession cheaply before the defenders allow a striker to run in behind and score.

Equally, it’s also tough to believe he tells Clarkson the most effective way of dealing with a cross is to send it back towards your own goal and then, once it’s scrambled clear, ask Niskanen to put the subsequent ball back into the box beyond his own keeper with nobody around him.

Of course in times like these, it’s usually the case that the only players to come out of a defeat like this with their reputations enhanced are those who weren’t playing.

It’s certainly the case that Fraser Horsfall’s return cannot come quickly enough; this was a game crying out for his organisational and aerial abilities.

Having been out for six months though, how soon is too soon before he comes back? Blackpool can’t run the risk of short-term gain for long-term pain, especially with Josh Earl also out and no sign of Michael Ihiekwe returning to fitness.

If Evatt is going to continue playing 3-5-2, what are the obvious changes given the make-up of the squad?

Andy Lyons could potentially replace Bowler on the right but what happens to Blackpool’s most creative player then?

If he is moved into the middle, who is it at the expense of? When everyone is fit, it’s already a case of five into three with Clarkson, Morgan, Anderson, Jordan Brown and George Honeyman all in the mix.

There’s potentially five into two up front as well when Niall Ennis returns to full fitness, joining Charles, Taylor, Bloxham and Yates.

It’s quite the puzzle to solve. Who’d be a football manager indeed?