Posts Tagged ‘Derby County’
Will the dream become a nightmare for Blackpool?
Back in May, on a baking hot day at Wembley, Blackpool stunned the football World by clinching an unlikely promotion to the Premier League with a 3-2 win over Cardiff.
Their plucky underdog tag, plus the presence of the affable Ian Holloway at the helm, should ensure they will be everyone’s second favourite team this coming season. But being popular doesn’t win your points and for a competitive man like Holloway that just won’t do.
The Premier League relegation odds make the Seasiders favourites to go down, but Holloway would at least like his players to give it a good go.
However, with just three weeks to go until the new season the club are yet to sign a single player, although a deal for Israeli defender Dekel Keinan is believed to be close.
Also, many of last season’s loan stars, such as Leicester’s DJ Campbell and Everton’s Seamus Coleman, have now returned to their parent clubs. This means Blackpool could start the season weaker than they ended last campaign.
They are only going to go one way if they fail to add to the squad both in terms of quality and sheer numbers. No one wants to see the team struggle badly and, despite the strong team spirit at the club built up by Holloway, Derby County’s record low points total could be under threat if they don’t add some new faces.
To a certain extent, I applaud Holloway’s patient approach. He has no doubt been offered hundreds of players desperate to claim a piece of the Premier League pie and his reluctance to sign them up is the reason why he has formed such a strong nucleus of a side - he will only buy the right players. However, the football betting suggests they are in for a really tough season.
Now is the time to start taking a few risks, not necessarily to gamble the club’s future but to ensure that if they do go down, they will at least win a few games on the way.
Tags: Derby County, Dj Campbell, Everton, Favourite Team, Football World, Holloway, Hot Day, Last Campaign, New Faces, No Doubt, Parent Clubs, Patient Approach, Premier League, Relegation Odds, Reluctance, Seamus, Sheer Numbers, Team Spirit, Team Struggle, Underdog Tag