Simon and Ben on transfers.

Insider said:
Well done Scrafters.
www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk

Simon Sadler and Ben Mansford address fans’ concern over Blackpool’s summer recruitment

After a tricky summer for Blackpool, it was important for Michael Appleton’s side to get off to a winning start against Reading on Saturday.
www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk
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Some interesting insights there, giving a straight answer to the questions that have seen this board in meltdown over the summer.

Cant help but think that now we're back playing, some o the hysteria will die down.
 
Shame Scrafton didn't ask what happened ref the Brannagan/Bishop moves, as we all knew why Simms chose Sunderland.

Also the on going rumours ref Bowler/Gabriel are both leaving.
 
Credit where it’s due, they heard the noise coming from fans, and they’ve addressed that. We all know it’s going to take time, as Simon said, we’re up against clubs who are owned by corporations and billionaires, so it’s measured, sensible progress. We can’t ask for more and we’re lucky to have the owner we’ve got. As he said, he’s just a lad from Blackpool, loved that.
 
An interesting interview, that appears to be for the purpose of emphasising the realistic message of - "supporters must be realistic, accept that we're a small club and our player budget will always mirror that".
I would have liked Scrafters to have followed up on the "we need capital investment" statement, to ascertain where SS & the board see such investment coming from. In particular, will SS invite other investors into the club (akin to Uncle Val) or does he intend being the sole owner of the club for his entire tenure?
Some posters will say "now stop moaning & being hysterical about our lack of transfer activity", others will rightly say "all we want is our club to have the players that will keep us safely in the Championship (and able to go toe to toe with our Lancashire rivals)", very few will have the unrealistic expectations of us returning the PL any time soon.
 
Insider said:
Well done Scrafters.
www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk

Simon Sadler and Ben Mansford address fans’ concern over Blackpool’s summer recruitment

After a tricky summer for Blackpool, it was important for Michael Appleton’s side to get off to a winning start against Reading on Saturday.
www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk
Click to expand...
Great interview from SS and BM.

More than happy with SS's custodianship of the club, dont think we could ask for someone better for the job.

Really enjoy them addressing the fans as well - and the fact that they clearly address some of the issues brought up on this forum 😅
 
We have had a poor transfer window simply because we've failed to land many of our top targets, I don't think there's any other way of looking at it. However, they're absolutely right on two points. Firstly, we're being a bit more ambitious in who we go for, like Simms for example. Secondly, we have managed to keep together last years squad. If we sold Bowler, suddenly things change and there's much more urgency and far less room for error.
Interesting few weeks ahead.
 
'Would have liked him to ask about Josh Bowler's situation at the club'

'Shame Scrafton didn't ask what happened ref the Brannagan move.'

'Also the on going rumours ref Bowler/Gabriel are leaving'.

In answer to the above comments, is it not better to keep things close to your chest when dealing with such things rather than telling the whole world what you are proposing and trying to do?

Although we, as fans, like to be kept up to date on things, I think it is better to play with a poker face when dealing with such things than to end up with egg on your face when something you have said is happening, doesn't, through no fault of your own.

Leave it to the professionals, we are just the greedy schoolboys waiting for Father Christmas.
 
I think we always knew we'd need to bide our time with some of our business. The chances of getting players ahead of some of our Championship rivals are slim, it will take a couple of seasons to be seen as a stable club in this division. Hopefully as the window draws to a close, we can find the right players. The way I see it is the next couple of signings could well be the difference between an average season and kicking on. Football supporters and patience don't really go together but maybe now the season has started the focus will be on the decent squad we already have and trying to get off to a good start under Appleton.
 
Think that medicals being rigorous is a good thing. Too many players have had lengthy periods out of the game, which maybe due to previous injuries.
This has resulted in us buying/loaning "cover" players rather than a player significantly better than what we have, as well as adding to the team disruption.
 
TheAppyBus said:
Great interview from SS and BM.

More than happy with SS's custodianship of the club, dont think we could ask for someone better for the job.

Really enjoy them addressing the fans as well - and the fact that they clearly address some of the issues brought up on this forum 😅
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Blackpool fans need to wake up and smell the coffee, we are very lucky to have Simon Sadler and if he walked away there is nobody else anywhere near comparable who would take over. IMO Blackpool are punching above our weight at the moment, re-establishing Blackpool as a Championship club is a long term project, it will be a bumpy road with lots of ups and downs. Let’s also be grateful we have not sold any of our best players from last season — Bowler, Ekpiteta, Grimshaw and Gabriel are all still here. There will be more comings and goings before this transfer window closes, the new signings so far have all made a very good start to their Blackpool careers and there is much to be optimistic about.
 
They clearly don’t get your sense of humour SATW, as your thread appears to be mentioned : ‘I even read the Reading game was a must-win, it was a six-pointer. It’s the first game of the season!’
It would appear that joke posts don’t translate well to the club on this site - I didn’t read anyone else’s seriously saying it was a must win 😁
 
Really good interview and puts things in perspective. Appreciate all you do Simon.

Hopefully the negative ones will read and also appreciate your efforts - maybe they might even say thank you as well.
 
tangysider said:
Simon Sensible Sadler.
I fully agree with the approach the club are taking
Sorry Welsh Phil
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I'm not Welsh and to be honest you should all be thankful that I raised the concerns

It's good that they have tried to address my questions from this site

I don't understand the investment bit though as SS has always said he doesn't need outside investment, does he know need it

Why, What's happened?
 
Read the article there. On the one hand it’s great that we get insight from Simon and Ben, and kudos for Matt for securing the interview. However I always find the interviews slightly defensive (you may expect them to be) and more targeted at a small % of support of negativity seen on here or more so Twitter.

CamBran - Think most people are disappointed but understand that Oxford clearly offered him a lot of money that we were not prepared to do. We’ve already moved on.

Reading being a six pointer - Clearly this wasn’t the case - however naturally a win against a team who no doubt will be in the bottom third of the table would give us a spring in out step to start the season.

Simms - Again most of the support recognise that Sunderland more of an attraction than us, disappointment yes but surely that can be allowed to air.

Just a few things I picked out there but all seems a bit overblown to me, maybe Matt approached them and they thought they would like another opportunity to put the record straight
 
tangysider said:
Think that medicals being rigorous is a good thing. Too many players have had lengthy periods out of the game, which maybe due to previous injuries.
This has resulted in us buying/loaning "cover" players rather than a player significantly better than what we have, as well as adding to the team disruption.
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Great point. They are addressing the major issue of the past 2 years and that is the crippling injury list. That is a big waste of player salaries.
 
Wizaard said:
Some interesting insights there, giving a straight answer to the questions that have seen this board in meltdown over the summer.

Cant help but think that now we're back playing, some o the hysteria will die down.
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I think supporters asking questions (and we all complain) of their club is quite normal isn't it? Don't all supporters do this - including the top 6 in the PL?
It's not a matter of going into meltdown or being hysterical. If we all saw things as being rosey in the garden, life would be utopia!
 
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Junior_BentsPlatformShoes said:
They clearly don’t get your sense of humour SATW, as your thread appears to be mentioned : ‘I even read the Reading game was a must-win, it was a six-pointer. It’s the first game of the season!’
It would appear that joke posts don’t translate well to the club on this site - I didn’t read anyone else’s seriously saying it was a must win 😁
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That struck me as well as I had also mentioned Reading being a 6 pointer which was clearly tongue in cheek.
Lots of humour on here and lots of WUMs which clearly need recognising. Lots to be reassured about though from our Custodian and his henchman (joke).
 
Junior_BentsPlatformShoes said:
They clearly don’t get your sense of humour SATW, as your thread appears to be mentioned : ‘I even read the Reading game was a must-win, it was a six-pointer. It’s the first game of the season!’
It would appear that joke posts don’t translate well to the club on this site - I didn’t read anyone else’s seriously saying it was a must win 😁
Click to expand...
More to do with twatter i think.
 
Philbfctrois said:
I'm not Welsh and to be honest you should all be thankful that I raised the concerns

It's good that they have tried to address my questions from this site

I don't understand the investment bit though as SS has always said he doesn't need outside investment, does he know need it

Why, What's happened?
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They're clearly winding you up. It's just a joke. 😃
Seriously though I recall exactly the same as you what was said about bringing in "investors" which might have a slightly different meaning to "investment".
 
Junior_BentsPlatformShoes said:
They clearly don’t get your sense of humour SATW, as your thread appears to be mentioned : ‘I even read the Reading game was a must-win, it was a six-pointer. It’s the first game of the season!’
It would appear that joke posts don’t translate well to the club on this site - I didn’t read anyone else’s seriously saying it was a must win 😁
Click to expand...
I think SS missed the point with the "6 pointer".
Some supporters were merely pointing out that Reading are tipped by many to be relegated, so playing them at home, is a game we need to win .... and we did .... happy days. Had we been playing Norwich, Burnley or Watford, the expectations wouldn't have been so high.
 
johnnyb said:
An interesting read and some good points made. If Brannigan did get offers silly money by Oxford, how does this square up with the salary cap ?

https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/football/blackpool-fc/simon-sadler-and-ben-mansford-address-fans-concern-over-blackpools-summer-recruitment-3788514
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The salary cap was scrapped. I think the PFA said it was unlawful and threatened legal action. Obviously financial fair play is still in place, but that doesn't seem to bother many clubs.
 
A good interview and good to hear from the powers that be at the club. Its just a shame that some people on Twitter are so negative and questioning Matt’s journalism by doing it.
 
Excellent points made by Sir Simon and Ben - it's hard to see how any Blackpool fan can disagree with that.

There are questions, however, on the "We need investment" issue, as others in the thread have said. Where might that come from?

I'm sure all fans are doing the most they can to support the club shop, and to attend games with friends and family, but what about giving fans the opportunity to buy shares in the club? It's happened before and there's a tiny residue of fan shareholders even now.

Simon could sell, say, 10-20 percent of the club and still retain control. I'd be interested in buying some - not to gain any profit out of it, but just to have a stake in the club and to leave as a legacy to my children and grandchildren.
 
I'm delighted that we have a sensible, intelligent owner running our club with his carefully chosen board members and personnally I don't moan about how they run our club.
However; some posters repeatedly saying how grateful Pool supporters should be, supporters should kneel & pray in appreciation, and must not complain about anything, is all getting a bit boring & is dismissive of the right of others to express an opinion.
Football supporters the country over moan and complain & always want more investment in players - even those who support the top 6 in the PL.
 
Be bop deluxe said:
So why don't we trust the club it's not like they haven't the clubs best interests at heart. There really are some weapons on this site and think things aren't good enough and impatient. FFS
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I think people generally do trust the club but the investment issue worries me as do the comments regarding grandparents buying memberships etc

It does appear that the club are trying to squeeze every last penny out of us fans
 
I can't disagree with any single thing said there, complete straight talking sensibility amidst the storm of unease and chaos this forum tends to spew out.
 
Philbfctrois said:
I'm not Welsh and to be honest you should all be thankful that I raised the concerns

It's good that they have tried to address my questions from this site

I don't understand the investment bit though as SS has always said he doesn't need outside investment, does he know need it

Why, What's happened?
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That's the main thing that jumped out at me from this interview.....this club needs capital investment.
 
It's a lot of words but they still struggle to get deals over the line, to the tune of zero deals, when a player has a clear choice of clubs or to stay where he is. So I'd suggest the best market to shop in is the Dom Thompson market where he's in a reserve set up, his club want him gone, he's grateful for your interest and you can get it done.

Also on the right back fight back. Callum Connolly isn't a right back. He might be three players for the price of one and be the ideal financial planners player, but he's not a right back. Him covering there stops the head coach from being able to strengthen his midfield. There's FOUR left backs on the books with one out on loan. It's wonky planning however it's dressed up. And I think how it ended up like that came down to nothing more than Critchley being left handed and left thinking.

What's happening with Josh Bowler? Is he the capital investment if they can get a fee paid in full before his contract ends? Why the one year when others got three? The option year is mandatory in all new contracts now.

And finally, biting to the SATW post about the six-pointer if they've been reading this board. It's probably best they get used PDQ to the characters on here if they're going to take it to heart.
 
I was talking to my mate on Saturday about how AVFTT and Twitter have a tendency to magnify the already exaggerated thoughts of a tiny minority of supporters. It’s important for the Club to put them into context and realise that the overwhelming majority of fans are happy and understand that we can’t just blow money st a whim.

Much of what they said there in the interview is stuff that has really already been said on here, by people with a more balanced perspective.

We’re in there trying to land players who will improve the squad, reading between the lines the change of manager has thrown our recruitment planning into a bit of disarray and the competition is pretty fierce.

When SS says the Club needs investment, I don’t think he means ‘outside investment’, but rather the ‘Capital Investment’ that he has said he intends to make to develop the East Stand and a Training Facility.

For me… It’s a tough one…

There’s a part of me that feels that the fans need to dig deep here and do whatever they can afford and get behind and support SS. That means that maybe instead of moaning about the price of tickets or memberships (which are admittedly expensive) we maybe have to realise that this isn’t a one man job…

On the other hand, I’m not sure that the Club can realistically grow without a sustained period of cash injection in terms of both infrastructure and player recruitment.

In the short term it would be good to se SS and the Club catch a few breaks with maybe a decent incoming transfer fee or two, perhaps a lucrative cup run, which maybe helps to support the investment.
 
Good insight from Simon’s perspective of last few years and reminder of long term aims. The club continues along the right track. Of course some deals will not work out, the squad can always be improved on, but we are in good place.
Short term the team just needs to get on a roll with the positive results.
 
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