| |
|
| To Win
the League |
100/1
|
| To Get
Promoted |
25/1
|
| |
|
Jason Euell (free, Southampton)
After losing some
key players such as Holliohan in the summer they need to regroup
and got off to a poor start losing the opening game of the season
at home to Bristol City and they failed to win until the end of
the month with a tight 1-0 win at Southampton.
Under Simon Grayson
they were tough to beat though and began to upset the odds losing
just one of the next ten matches including wins over Birmingham,
Derby and Barnsley and draws with QPR, Cardiff and Crystal Palace.
It was enough to
secure them a nice solid mid table spot for the first half of the
season. The problem for them was they were drawing too many games
making each loss more important and when Simon Grayson went to join
Leeds in January they were left with former Blackburn boss Tony
parks in charge of saving them from the drop.
That drop looked
ominous after a run of eight games without a win but the signing
of DJ Campbell on loan helped, he scored in the 2-0 win over Birmingham.
Campbell's nine goals were enough in the end
to keep them up as they secured a respectable 16th place finish
with one defeat in the final ten matches moving them well clear
of the drop.
|
Pre
Season
|
| |
|
|
| 13th July |
Barnstaple |
5-0
|
| 15th July |
Rushden & Diamonds |
1-1
|
| 21st July |
Liverpool Reserves |
3-3
|
| |
|
|
|
Blackpool
have a new manager for the new season with Ian Holloway given the
task to keeping Blackpool in the Championship for a third year in
a row.
The seasiders
have always played good football and the former QPR manager will
be looking to add a bit of steel and belief to the squad to make
sure they avoid the nervous end they faced last season.
Holloway
has been quiet in the transfer market bringing in Jason Euell so
far as the only addition but Richard Langley may also join after
his trial with them.
Holloway
has plenty of former QPR players to call on with Ian Evatt and Daniel
Nardiello at the club, if he can instil the kind of belief into
those players that he did at QPR then they should do well.
Looking
at their squad though they are like many sides in lacking a stand
out forward, DJ Campbell was excellent for them last season but
is now back at Leicester so Holloway will have his work cut out
trying to find a bargain striker who will bag them 10/15 goals this
season.
It certainly
won't be easy for Blackpool this year but they do have some decent
players in their squad and if Holloway hasn't been too badly affected
by his last job at Leicester they should have a manager more than
capable of keeping them in this division.
They'll
be one of those sides always looking over their shoulders through
the season but I think they'll have enough to stay up.
PREDICTION: 19th in the Championship
I asked Blackpool fans on an
unofficial message board for their thoughts on the new season and
here is what they had to say.
How
do you think Blackpool will fare this season?
We need to
bring in 3 or 4 new players at least but if we do then I think we'll
be pushing for mid table which is as good as we can hope really.
Who are your
players to watch out for?
Gary
Taylor-Fletcher and Billy Clarke
Is
your Manager the right man for the job?
I
hope so, he's only just arrived but is talking of building the club
from top to bottom so given time I think he could do well for us.
Which three
teams will be promoted this season?
West
Brom, Sheffield United and Newcastle
Which teams
will be relegated?
Barnsley,
Scunthorpe and Preston
How do you
think QPR wil fare this season?
Same
as last year, doubt you'll challenge for promotion unless you start
spending some money
Blackpool
central defender Ian Evatt has enjoyed spells at both clubs although
I am not sure enjoyed is the right way to describe his time at QPR.
He arrived
to a great fanfare when he signed from Chesterfield and was compared
to Glenn Roeder.
Sadly
we never saw him reach those heights as his lack of pace was cruelly
exposed in the Championship and he struggled to make an impact.
He fell
out of favour with Ian Holloway and got a second chance when Gary
Waddock came in but his performances failed to improve and he dropped
down a division to help Blackpool to promotion in 2007.
Some more successful defenders to have
played for both clubs are defenders Clarke Carlisle and Danny Shittu.
Danny Shittu had a loan spell at Blackpool
where he helped them to promotion. A year on he came to QPR on loan
before we signed him for £250,000 from Charlton.
Shittu went onto be a massive player
for QPR scoring seventeen goals for us.
He also suffered with a bad knee injury
but returned to win the clubs player of the year award in his last
season at the club before joining Watford.
Carlisle
joined from Blackpool in 2001 and although the club were relegated
in his first season Carlisle was excellent in defence for QPR and
won an England under 21 call up. A bad knee injury not only ended
his season but also his chances of joining a Premiership club.
He returned to QPR and had some good
times at the club playing really well as we got to the playoff final
in 2003 and he played his part in helping us win promotion a year
later.
He suffered with off the field problems
and moved up north to be closer to his family in 2004.
Perhaps the most famous of them all
is Trevor Sinclair. Sinclair joined QPR from Blackpool in 1993 as
a replacement for Andy Sinton and he went on to be a top player
for us. He played on the left wing or the right and was a very exciting
player.
Perhaps his best individual season came
when we were relegated from the Premiership. Sinclair played up
front and tore teams apart with his skill and pace promoting much
attention from bigger clubs.
Sinclair eventually left QPR in 1997
to join West Ham after scoring 21 goals in 186 appearances. He went
on to play and star in the 2002 World Cup and finally got to play
for his hometown club Manchester City.
We met several times during our spell
in division two and remained unbeaten against them. The first game
was perhaps the closest when Blackpool played us off the pitch for
much of the game but we still managed to race into a two goal lead
through former magic Hat Leroy Griffiths double.
Blackpool came back though to earn a
draw and in truth should have won the game as we left on that Tuesday
night thankful to get anything.
The return game saw the start of a run
Blackpool will want to forget as Richard Langley began his goal
of the season run against them. He smashed in a stunning volley
from the right to help us to a 2-0 win in 2002 and repeated the
trick with a lovely run and finish in the 2-1 win at Loftus Road
the following season. That win also saw us pick up three points
despite being live on tv which was a shock at the time.
The return game was very memorable for
every fan who went. QPR fans took over the town in the March sunshine
and danced the conga as Richard Langley hit a stunning hat trick
to give us a 3-1 win and we sang "We're not going home"
to the bemused home support.
Our form against them improved the following
season when we opened the season with a 5-0 hammering. Blackpool
looked a decent side on the day but couldn't get near us as Ainsworth
scored twice and Langley, Gallen and Palmer completed a memorable
afternoon.
In January 2004 in the wind and rain
we again got the three points. Martin Rowlands got the only goal
of the game but we had Chris Day to thank for the win as he produced
an exceptional performance to almost single handily win us the game.
Blackpool won promotion in 2007 and
the two sides met at Bloomfield Road in December 2007. Rangers produced
a very poor performance on a very cold and windy day. Lee Camp kept
us in the game and those QPR fans frozen to their seats in the uncovered
away stand were treated to a last minute goal from Ben Burgess to
win the game for the home side that could easily have been a 5 or
6 goal win for them.
At Loftus Road the game was a cracker.
We stormed into an early lead with Buzsaky scoring an amazing goal
to give us the lead before Vine and Rowlands looked to have made
the game safe just after half time. The 3-0 lead was only just enough
though as Wes Hoollihan had a stormer and Blackpool fought back
to 3-2 and it took some great saves from Lee Camp to secure all
three points.
Last season the match at Loftus Road
ended in a frustrating draw for QPR. We fell behind to a Gary Taylor
Fletcher goal and the crown began to turn on manager Iain Dowie
for his 4-5-1 system. He changed things for the second half without
much luck as we struggled until Buzsaky curled a free kick against
the bar and Blackstock tapped home from close range to earn us a
point.
The return game was a much better night
for QPR with Paulo Sousa gaining back to back away wins. Heider
helguson has his best night at QPR so far scoring twice whilst Hogan
Ephraim completed the scoring with our biggest away win of the season.
Click on the match for a report of
the game from this web site.
| Season |
Venue |
Score |
Scorers |
| Coca
Cola Championship |
| 2008/09 |
Away |
Blackpool
0 QPR 3 |
H.Helguson
(2), H.Ephraim |
| 2008/09 |
Home |
QPR
1 Blackpool 1 |
D.Blackstock
G.Taylor-Fletcher |
| 2007/08 |
Home |
QPR
3 Blackpool 2 |
A.Buzsaky,
R.Vine, M.Rowlands B.Burgess,
S.Mcphee |
| 2007/08 |
Away |
Blackpool
1 QPR 0 |
B.Burgess |
| Nationwide
Division Two |
| 2003/04 |
Away |
Blackpool
0 QPR 1 |
M.Rowlands |
| 2003/04 |
Home |
QPR
5 Blackpool 0 |
G.Ainsworth
(2), R.Langley, K.Gallen, S.Palmer |
| 2002/03 |
Away |
Blackpool
1 QPR 3 |
R.Langley
(3) Murphy |
| 2002/03 |
Home |
QPR
2 Blackpool 1 |
R.Langley,
C.Clarke (og) S.Taylor |
| 2001/02 |
Home |
QPR
2 Blackpool 0 |
K.Gallen,
R.Langley |
| 2001/02 |
Away |
Blackpool
2 QPR 2 |
L.Griffiths
(2) J.O'kane,
G.Fenton |
|
Previous
Meetings
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Queen's Park Rangers
wins
|
draws
|
Blackpool wins
|
| League
Game |
11
|
4
|
3
|
| Cup Games |
2
|
3
|
0
|
| Total |
13
|
7
|
3
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|