Our Ambition this Season

AmericanTangerine

Well-known member
A lot has been made of Sadler and the club's ambition this Summer with many impatiently jumping the gun, saying our business was "shambolic" or "unimpressive" before the players had even returned for preseason.

But after this week it couldn't be more clear that our ambition is an immediate return to the Championship.

Signing the player of a season on a top half team (Pennington) while poaching a catalyst from one of last year's Playoff teams (Norburn) is a serious sign of intent, especially with Norburn considering we've just paid a fee for a 30 year old. That is a "we want to win right ** now" signing.

And this is just the start of our business, the club have set the bar high and I have full faith they will continue to meet it. There will be more to come.

Sadler is not content with League 1 football and it's showing so it's time for people to drop the negativity and get behind the club and manager with everything you have, because it's going to be a fantastic season.

Up the Mighty ** Pool. 🍊
 
2 more players of Pennington and Norburns quality and we'll have a cracking squad.

Hopefully a winger and a big striker
Midfield all but sorted (maybe a loan as the icing on the cake?) and strikers are in decent shape (Holmes, Lavery, Beesley, and Jerry are a great core) so wingers are definitely the priority now.

I'd have a cheeky look at Carlos Mendes from Luton Town, only 1 year left on his contract and definitely won't play for them this year.

Did great for Fleetwood last year and is a live wire.
 
Midfield all but sorted (maybe a loan as the icing on the cake?) and strikers are in decent shape (Holmes, Lavery, Beesley, and Jerry are a great core) so wingers are definitely the priority now.

I'd have a cheeky look at Carlos Mendes from Luton Town, only 1 year left on his contract and definitely won't play for them this year.

Did great for Fleetwood last year and is a live wire.
Mendes Gomes is a great shout. He's Salford based, so it could work for all parties
 
I'd have a cheeky look at Carlos Mendes from Luton Town, only 1 year left on his contract and definitely won't play for them this year.

Did great for Fleetwood last year and is a live wire.
I've seen him play for West Didsbury and Chorlton in tier 10.

In Critch Era 1, I always felt we lacked a creative midfielder to play in front of Dougall and Stewart/Wintle, feed the attackers, so we played 442 instead and went wide all the time. Maybe Morgan can do that, but we probably still need to sign somebody.
 
Bit of self praise here, but bollocks to it. I was lucky enough after playing for Lancashire to go for North of England trials at Heswall on The Wirall, run by Tom Saunders Chief Scout at Liverpool.
Final day we had an input from Bill Shankley, can't remember the exact year, but one of his old clubs Carlisle had been promoted to the old first division.
He talked about ambition, Alan Ashman the Carlisle manager had said his ambition was to survive relegation. Shankley said to the assembled group of kids, he couldn't believe anyone's ambition wouldn't be to win the league. Always stuck with me and the nearest we got to that way of thinking was Holloway.
Long story short, if our ambition isn't to win Division One, it bloody well should be.
 
I've seen him play for West Didsbury and Chorlton in tier 10.

In Critch Era 1, I always felt we lacked a creative midfielder to play in front of Dougall and Stewart/Wintle, feed the attackers, so we played 442 instead and went wide all the time. Maybe Morgan can do that, but we probably still need to sign somebody.
That's a big question for sure, do we revert back to the 442 we saw during the Championship and throughout League 1, or maybe go to a 4-2-3-1?

Throughout the Playoffs in 2021 we saw 4-2-3-1 and it worked a treat scoring 8 goals in 3 matches.

If we do go with a midfield three then I'd assume Albie Morgan and Sonny Carey would be the CAM (with Dougall, Norburn, and Trybull rotating at the base), but if that's the case then maybe we could use one more.

I liked the look of Jensen Weir at Morecambe last year. 10 goals/5 assists in a very poor team and should be available.
 
Bit of self praise here, but bollocks to it. I was lucky enough after playing for Lancashire to go for North of England trials at Heswall on The Wirall, run by Tom Saunders Chief Scout at Liverpool.
Final day we had an input from Bill Shankley, can't remember the exact year, but one of his old clubs Carlisle had been promoted to the old first division.
He talked about ambition, Alan Ashman the Carlisle manager had said his ambition was to survive relegation. Shankley said to the assembled group of kids, he couldn't believe anyone's ambition wouldn't be to win the league. Always stuck with me and the nearest we got to that way of thinking was Holloway.
Long story short, if our ambition isn't to win Division One, it bloody well should be.
Couldn't agree more, our ambition should be to win the league and that's what our transfer business is showing.

People forget that last time we were in this league our biggest signings were from League 2 (Jerry Yates, Keshi Anderson, Marvin Ekpiteta).

The fact that almost all of our signings have not only been from this division, but from top half teams in this division bodes really well.

Can't wait to see what Critchley does with this squad. 🍊
 
A lot has been made of Sadler and the club's ambition this Summer with many impatiently jumping the gun, saying our business was "shambolic" or "unimpressive" before the players had even returned for preseason.

But after this week it couldn't be more clear that our ambition is an immediate return to the Championship.

Signing the player of a season on a top half team (Pennington) while poaching a catalyst from one of last year's Playoff teams (Norburn) is a serious sign of intent, especially with Norburn considering we've just paid a fee for a 30 year old. That is a "we want to win right ** now" signing.

And this is just the start of our business, the club have set the bar high and I have full faith they will continue to meet it. There will be more to come.

Sadler is not content with League 1 football and it's showing so it's time for people to drop the negativity and get behind the club and manager with everything you have, because it's going to be a fantastic season.

Up the Mighty ** Pool. 🍊
👏 best post I've read in some considerable time. In Sadler I still trust.
 
I don't know Weir so you're doing well from 3000 miles away! But yes maybe 4231 or similar. I think Poveda was the sort of player who could play that role behind the strikers. Technically gifted and sees the runs and the angles etc.
 
It is great that we are addressing the obvious weak spots in the squad. Pennington and Norburn will be big players for us this season. We still need another striker to replace Madine and at least 1 more winger however. I still think Yates will end up leaving, rumours now floating around that Ipswich are showing interest. Hopefully we have targets in mind if an offer too good to turn down does come in.
 
Personally I want to see better out wide. Dale we aren't sure about. CJ has proven about a million times he's not consistent enough for professional football and yet gets a free pass from Blackpool fans because he's quick. And I don't actually know who else we have for outwide.

We're 2 wingers, a CB and a Striker away from a good enough squad to be top 2 in this league. That's assuming we don't lose Yates, Ekpiteta, Lyons or Grimshaw.
 
I think this week shows the importance of being patient, we were never going to have a fully assembled squad before pre season had even started.

Now we look to be in a good position for the end of June, I’d still like some more creative options, especially out wide. CJ winds me up as much as anyone but I still think he can have a role in League One, pace is his main asset but it terrifies defenders. Dale has been a decent performer in League One for a few years too, so I’m not against him being given a chance.

We could see some of our fringe players really step up this year, players do have breakout seasons where something clicks and I am hoping it could be Carey’s year.

The ambition is to establish ourselves in the Championship, always has been. We took a knock last year with poor performances from almost every aspect of the club, it was disappointing and hard to watch. We need to move on, collectively learn from our mistakes and go again, you can’t be successful every year.

It’s great to see a bit of positivity from the O/P, I’m excited for the season ahead and getting back on track. Hopefully some good results can unite the fanbase. I understand there’s some cynicism in our ranks, we’ve been through a lot but it does get a bit silly on here at times. Our fans are ** brilliant home and away and I can’t wait for that match day atmosphere again!

UTMP
 
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I think this week shows the importance of being patient, we were never going to have a fully assembled squad before pre season had even started.

Now we’re look to be in a good position for the end of June, I’d still like some more creative options, especially out wide. CJ winds me up as much as anyone but I still think he can have a role in League One, pace is his main asset but wr all know how much that terrifies defenders. Dale has been a decent performer in League One for a few years too, so I’m not against him being given a chance.

We could see some of our fringe players really step up this year, players do have breakout seasons where something clicks and I am hoping it could be Carey’s year.

The ambition is to establish ourselves in the Championship, always has been. We took a knock last year with poor performances from almost every aspect of the club and it was disappointing and hard to watch. We need to move on, collectively learn from our mistakes and go again, you can’t be successful every year.

It’s great to see a bit of positivity from the O/P, I’m excited for the season ahead and us getting back on track. Hopefully some good results can unite the fanbase. I understand there’s some cynicism in our ranks, we’ve been through a lot but it does get a bit silly on here at times. Our fans are ** brilliant home and away and I can’t wait for that match day atmosphere again!

UTMP
Precisely, I always understand why some people would be antsy before any business is done especially given our relegation, but often times patience instead of reactionary-ism is needed and more people need to understand that on the whole, Simon Sadler has worked wonders since he has come in and there is nothing at all to indicate that he would leave us out to dry.

Last season was shit, but I always felt (and still do) that he will come through.
 
Good o/p and wisdom as usual mate. There are some real idiots on here who don't know they are born.

Shambolic....underwhelming...media black-outs...hilarious when you step back.

Re the Championship. It was a disaster, Critch left suddenly for a great opportunity, Appleton was crap and Big Mick and TC never did get a tune out of our strikers. Ridiculous injury list and an even worse disciplinary record contributed. However, SS has always said we can't break the bank or jeopardise the club financially and in that division we are up against some serious money and clubs irresponsibly gambling with huge debts. Rhian Brewster, getting chubbier every week sat on his arse at Sheff Utd, banking 45k a week. I could go on, but some morons on here need to think a touch more.

This coming season we will be up there, looks like a good team is being put together! And only 1 fee paid so far.
 
This season is make or break for him.

After showing flashes in the Championship he needs to develop consistency.

If he does we will be in for a treat.
How old is Carey? Barely out of his teens isn't he? He's got the intelligence to make a big impact. He just needs experience and a bit more bite/muscle. Some of that can be coached and some will arrive naturally. Could this be his season?
 
For every match this season we need 18 good players, so who the manager picks he will aim to bring in good quality to the squad. I think we will have a stronger squad than last season.Let’s wait and see.
 
How old is Carey? Barely out of his teens isn't he? He's got the intelligence to make a big impact. He just needs experience and a bit more bite/muscle. Some of that can be coached and some will arrive naturally. Could this be his season?
22 this year, he certainly got better from his first season in the Champ to his second, but now in a worse division he needs to tear it up, would love to see him do it too.
 
Good o/p and wisdom as usual mate. There are some real idiots on here who don't know they are born.

Shambolic....underwhelming...media black-outs...hilarious when you step back.

Re the Championship. It was a disaster, Critch left suddenly for a great opportunity, Appleton was crap and Big Mick and TC never did get a tune out of our strikers. Ridiculous injury list and an even worse disciplinary record contributed. However, SS has always said we can't break the bank or jeopardise the club financially and in that division we are up against some serious money and clubs irresponsibly gambling with huge debts. Rhian Brewster, getting chubbier every week sat on his arse at Sheff Utd, banking 45k a week. I could go on, but some morons on here need to think a touch more.

This coming season we will be up there, looks like a good team is being put together! And only 1 fee paid so far.
In a lot of games, our starting XI wouldn’t have added upto £45k per week.
Critch showed what organisation and teamwork could do against a big budget with a mid table finish. However to keep doing that every season in an arms race is bloody tough. Yes Luton did and so did Holloway, but on average it’s the teams with the largest budgets
 
Ah @td53. Fellow insomniac?! Carey, Apter and Morgan all possible AMs. Healthy competition at least.

As far as ambition goes, we havent yet got the players we'd need to achieve automatic promotion in my opinion. With Pennington and Norburn we've added the kind of solidity that Critch craves more than anything, but as yet we don't have the attacking players to consistently win games IMO. I think this will become glaringly obvious when Yates leaves.

Our attacking midfielders are Carey and Morgan and maybe Apter. All young and have it all to prove. All clearly have some talent, but can they impose themselves on a 46 game season? Between them?

And once Yates has gone our attacking options are Lavery, Beesley, Hamilton and Dale. Not automatic promotion material in my book

Oyr last promotion was achieved with much better attacking options. Yates Simms Embleton Madine Anderson.

Assuming Yates is leaving, we are going to be a fair bit weaker next season than that, as things stand. And we'd need that kind of quality for automatic, surely? Or similar.
 
Are we playing four at the back this season as posters keep mentioning we need wingers?

Back 3/5- Husband,Marv, Pennington-Lyons, Thompson, Gabriel(when back from injury) Apter all playing that wing back role and after two of signings we've just made this possibley could be the case.
 
Ah @td53. Fellow insomniac?! Carey, Apter and Morgan all possible AMs. Healthy competition at least.

As far as ambition goes, we havent yet got the players we'd need to achieve automatic promotion in my opinion. With Pennington and Norburn we've added the kind of solidity that Critch craves more than anything, but as yet we don't have the attacking players to consistently win games IMO. I think this will become glaringly obvious when Yates leaves.

Our attacking midfielders are Carey and Morgan and maybe Apter. All young and have it all to prove. All clearly have some talent, but can they impose themselves on a 46 game season? Between them?

And once Yates has gone our attacking options are Lavery, Beesley, Hamilton and Dale. Not automatic promotion material in my book

Oyr last promotion was achieved with much better attacking options. Yates Simms Embleton Madine Anderson.

Assuming Yates is leaving, we are going to be a fair bit weaker next season than that, as things stand. And we'd need that kind of quality for automatic, surely? Or similar.

Got up early to write 'a quick blog' but as usual it became 'a long blog' and tbh, what I've written this far isn't that for from what you've written.

Back to the grindstone for more superfluous words I go...
 
Ah @td53. Fellow insomniac?! Carey, Apter and Morgan all possible AMs. Healthy competition at least.

As far as ambition goes, we havent yet got the players we'd need to achieve automatic promotion in my opinion. With Pennington and Norburn we've added the kind of solidity that Critch craves more than anything, but as yet we don't have the attacking players to consistently win games IMO. I think this will become glaringly obvious when Yates leaves.

Our attacking midfielders are Carey and Morgan and maybe Apter. All young and have it all to prove. All clearly have some talent, but can they impose themselves on a 46 game season? Between them?

And once Yates has gone our attacking options are Lavery, Beesley, Hamilton and Dale. Not automatic promotion material in my book

Oyr last promotion was achieved with much better attacking options. Yates Simms Embleton Madine Anderson.

Assuming Yates is leaving, we are going to be a fair bit weaker next season than that, as things stand. And we'd need that kind of quality for automatic, surely? Or similar.
I don’t disagree with the thrust of your argument, but as things stand do we see two teams that have clearly better squads than us? There were three teams last season who were clearly better than the rest; the other two who replaced them are coming into the season off the back of very difficult times (one of them still in the grip of those problems).

Barnsley have undoubtedly gone backward; Bolton might’ve been stronger had those two deals last week not collapsed; Posh are rebuilding; Derby may improve but will have to do so without a couple of really good players; Pompey and Oxford might come through.

Sure I could make a case for any of those teams and maybe a couple of others. Not sure it would be a stronger case than the case for us at this exact moment.

It’s probably not going to be a case of three teams getting around the 100 point mark…
 
In a lot of games, our starting XI wouldn’t have added upto £45k per week.
Critch showed what organisation and teamwork could do against a big budget with a mid table finish. However to keep doing that every season in an arms race is bloody tough. Yes Luton did and so did Holloway, but on average it’s the teams with the largest budgets
You are absolutely right, Chunkylad, but, of course, challenging 'the odds' then becomes even more of a prerequisite, as a motivating force, for certain sides, if they are to compete successfully at the next level. But there have been examples of how it 'can' be done, as you yourself, quite rightly, cite the case of us, under his holiness (doffs cap) 'Sir' Ian Holloway, and how, hopefully, the same will be set to continue with Luton Town, in the Premiership, in the coming season.

I guess the key, for the smaller sides (ranged against clubs with serious financial 'clout'), in building on success is to get as many elements stacked in your favour as you possibly can. This obviously requires alot of groundwork to be undertaken, in combination with levels of both studious and careful planning, but, with the necessary personnel in place (which we, as, a club, are steadfastly continuing to achieve), and under the 'unremitting' stewardship of SS, we are now, unquestionably, beginning to head in the right direction. And long may it continue...
 
I don’t disagree with the thrust of your argument, but as things stand do we see two teams that have clearly better squads than us? There were three teams last season who were clearly better than the rest; the other two who replaced them are coming into the season off the back of very difficult times (one of them still in the grip of those problems).

Barnsley have undoubtedly gone backward; Bolton might’ve been stronger had those two deals last week not collapsed; Posh are rebuilding; Derby may improve but will have to do so without a couple of really good players; Pompey and Oxford might come through.

Sure I could make a case for any of those teams and maybe a couple of others. Not sure it would be a stronger case than the case for us at this exact moment.

It’s probably not going to be a case of three teams getting around the 100 point mark…
I've no idea what the opposition will be like. But last time we were in L1 we struggled to get goals against mediocre teams and only became a strong promotion team thanks to the addition of Embleton and Simms, probably, alongside Yates and Anderson etc. Without Yates and the support he got from those we will likely struggle up front, I think, as things stand. In terms of being auto candidates. Additions required. Loans maybe.
 
Got up early to write 'a quick blog' but as usual it became 'a long blog' and tbh, what I've written this far isn't that for from what you've written.

Back to the grindstone for more superfluous words I go...
I guess Critch will look to loans to get his attacking stardust. Embleton and Simms took us to another level. But we already had Jerry Keshi and Gaz too. I really liked what Dobbie did and would have liked to see more. I was hoping he'd work with Critch but he doesn't appear to want to. Will they help each other?

Dobbie had Bowler Rogers Fiorini Poveda. We cant expect to get that quality but we need some players of that ilk I think. Beesley Lavery CJ dont have that quality. Hopefully Critch will find a bit of that. He's a safe pair of hands for developing stars from top academies.
 
With Grimshaw, Ekpiteta, Pennington, Husband, Lyons, Gabriel, Norburn, Dougall, Trybull I think we've got more than enough in that lot to keep plenty of clean sheets, assuming we don't lose too many to injury.
So my thoughts so far are that we probably won't lose too many games next season. The question is will we actually win enough?
With Yates, Lavery and Beesley I think we can finish plenty of chances.
But with Carey, Morgan, Dale and CJ, I don't think we have nearly enough to create, and that's where our priority needs to be in recruitment for the next five weeks. Creative, flair players. I rate Carey tbf, but we need more from the wide areas.
If Yates leaves we'll obviously need to find a good replacement for him. But I'm thinking if we can find two or three players who can play wide and create chances and contribute to the goals for column, then a top two place is without doubt within reach. We really aren't that far off imo, especially with Wigan starting on -8, and Reading having their own difficulties. Bolton and Derby are the obvious threats to that, but I genuinely think beyond those two, there isn't much to fear.
 
I guess Critch will look to loans to get his attacking stardust. Embleton and Simms took us to another level. But we already had Jerry Keshi and Gaz too. I really liked what Dobbie did and would have liked to see more. I was hoping he'd work with Critch but he doesn't appear to want to. Will they help each other?

Dobbie had Bowler Rogers Fiorini Poveda. We cant expect to get that quality but we need some players of that ilk I think. Beesley Lavery CJ dont have that quality. Hopefully Critch will find a bit of that. He's a safe pair of hands for developing stars from top academies.
Agreed that a decent dip into the m loan market is the icing on the cake.

I think undoubtably behind the scenes anyone wearing the badge helps each other. Regardless of the whether they stand by the touchline or not, Dobbs and Critchley will want success for Blackpool.
 
Bit of self praise here, but bollocks to it. I was lucky enough after playing for Lancashire to go for North of England trials at Heswall on The Wirall, run by Tom Saunders Chief Scout at Liverpool.
Final day we had an input from Bill Shankley, can't remember the exact year, but one of his old clubs Carlisle had been promoted to the old first division.
He talked about ambition, Alan Ashman the Carlisle manager had said his ambition was to survive relegation. Shankley said to the assembled group of kids, he couldn't believe anyone's ambition wouldn't be to win the league. Always stuck with me and the nearest we got to that way of thinking was Holloway.
Long story short, if our ambition isn't to win Division One, it bloody well should be.
Great story. Completely agree. “If you want to crash through the roof, you have to aim for the stars.” - Bill Shankly
 
I think undoubtably behind the scenes anyone wearing the badge helps each other. Regardless of the whether they stand by the touchline or not, Dobbs and Critchley will want success for Blackpool.
I really hope so. It would be stupid for them not to. But the dev squad may train elsewhere? So it may be an occasional chat. Will Critch discuss the first team with Dobbs?
 
I really hope so. It would be stupid for them not to. But the dev squad may train elsewhere? So it may be an occasional chat. Will Critch discuss the first team with Dobbs?
I’d like to think he would, everyone will be pulling in the same direction and with Dobbie having managed the first team albeit briefly Critchley should show him the respect he deserves and involve him somewhat.

I doubt Dobbie has sour grapes, he surly realises it’s just not his time yet.
 
Ah @td53. Fellow insomniac?! Carey, Apter and Morgan all possible AMs. Healthy competition at least.

As far as ambition goes, we havent yet got the players we'd need to achieve automatic promotion in my opinion. With Pennington and Norburn we've added the kind of solidity that Critch craves more than anything, but as yet we don't have the attacking players to consistently win games IMO. I think this will become glaringly obvious when Yates leaves.

Our attacking midfielders are Carey and Morgan and maybe Apter. All young and have it all to prove. All clearly have some talent, but can they impose themselves on a 46 game season? Between them?

And once Yates has gone our attacking options are Lavery, Beesley, Hamilton and Dale. Not automatic promotion material in my book

Oyr last promotion was achieved with much better attacking options. Yates Simms Embleton Madine Anderson.

Assuming Yates is leaving, we are going to be a fair bit weaker next season than that, as things stand. And we'd need that kind of quality for automatic, surely? Or similar.
Agreed, we're not quite at "automatic promotion" yet, and that is purely because we lack quality in the attacking thirds.

We'll need a replacement for Yates if he goes plus two wingers and maybe even an attacking midfielder.

Not there yet but based on the caliber of player we've brought in already, I'm excited to see who we bring in for those positions.
 
Bit of self praise here, but bollocks to it. I was lucky enough after playing for Lancashire to go for North of England trials at Heswall on The Wirall, run by Tom Saunders Chief Scout at Liverpool.
Final day we had an input from Bill Shankley, can't remember the exact year, but one of his old clubs Carlisle had been promoted to the old first division.
He talked about ambition, Alan Ashman the Carlisle manager had said his ambition was to survive relegation. Shankley said to the assembled group of kids, he couldn't believe anyone's ambition wouldn't be to win the league. Always stuck with me and the nearest we got to that way of thinking was Holloway.
Long story short, if our ambition isn't to win Division One, it bloody well should be.
Sadly Alan couldn't fulfill his ambition & indeed Carlisle were relegated from the top tier. Remember a very early MOTD that season in the 70's from Brunton Park when they briefly topped the league.
Sounds a bit familiar 🧡
 
Pretty happy with the way our recruitment has gone so far, defence and midfield look sorted, as others have said it's a big season for Sonny Carey, with a bit on an enforcer with him he could just step up.
It's the forward line that now needs some attention, we've got to decide if we want to keep Dale, not wholly convinced with Beesley, although he's hardly played due to injury. The main focus, for me, is the Jerry equation, if he stays find him a partner. If he goes we need a quality replacement, Lavery may come good but we still need that scoring focal point. A bit of a marquee signing would do wonders for our ambition.

CJ? I'm not convinced, yes he's fast and he sometimes looks like the answer to our prayers. But, he also looks like he can't trap a bag of cement, a headless chicken, a man who has been parachuted into the wrong job! Frustration personified, he obviously has ability, it seems sometimes he wants to hide it.
 
I really hope so. It would be stupid for them not to. But the dev squad may train elsewhere? So it may be an occasional chat. Will Critch discuss the first team with Dobbs?
Maybe Dobbs will even FaceTime Critch from the Stanley Park Astros and show him a whiteboard and some small circles that represent players and a note that says ‘give it to Apter on 80mins+
 
But after this week it couldn't be more clear that our ambition is an immediate return to the Championship.
Sadler will have learnt a lot from last season. This football lark isn't as easy as we all think and you can get away with one or two bad decisions but last season was just bad decision after bad decision. Bar Dobbie at the end it was a shit show.
 
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