The Swamp

brian wrote:I root for Derby County because its owned by Detroiters but I don't think Blackpool will ever make it back up to the Championship again any time soon, so I can let the comparison slide (Blackpool might have more luck if they were actually just bought by the damn Packers. I can't believe it would only cost 16 million pounds to buy the team -- I would have guessed a hell of a lot more, even with being relegated to League One.

That number is a bit off by itself as the bid includes loan forgiveness and some other assets (the Hotel is attached to Blackpool's Stadium...you can rent rooms with a view of the pitch).

The bid is for parent companies of Blackpool FC, Segesta Limited, Segesta Properties Limited, Blackpool Football Club Limited and Blackpool Football Club Hotel Limited. The deal would see assets Quernmore Park Hall and Travel Lodge hotel return to the Oyston family, as well as writing off loans which are owed back to the club.

Also the trust makes a pretty good argument
http://blackpoolsupporterstrust.org/sit ... 150707.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice to see the Pool bookend the offseason in the same fashion.
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport ... -1-7354237" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 wrote:Nice to see the Pool bookend the offseason in the same fashion.
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport ... -1-7354237" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One for the ladies!

'A Gloving"
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/ ... -1-7364753" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So last year friendlies were being played by guys named trialist. Now teams won't play them because of fan behavior (pitch invasions have the impact)
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport ... -1-7363755" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 wrote:'A Gloving"
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/ ... -1-7364753" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Of course hazing is very British. But this is the most British thing I've heard in a long time:

alleged that he was twice given the punishment during the 1980s at the Potteries club - once for delivering the first team players cold tea.

wlu_lax6 wrote:

brian wrote:I root for Derby County because its owned by Detroiters but I don't think Blackpool will ever make it back up to the Championship again any time soon, so I can let the comparison slide (Blackpool might have more luck if they were actually just bought by the damn Packers. I can't believe it would only cost 16 million pounds to buy the team -- I would have guessed a hell of a lot more, even with being relegated to League One.

That number is a bit off by itself as the bid includes loan forgiveness and some other assets (the Hotel is attached to Blackpool's Stadium...you can rent rooms with a view of the pitch).

The bid is for parent companies of Blackpool FC, Segesta Limited, Segesta Properties Limited, Blackpool Football Club Limited and Blackpool Football Club Hotel Limited. The deal would see assets Quernmore Park Hall and Travel Lodge hotel return to the Oyston family, as well as writing off loans which are owed back to the club.

Also the trust makes a pretty good argument
http://blackpoolsupporterstrust.org/sit ... 150707.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Trust gave the Oystons two weeks to respond to the bid. The Oystons did nothing.

Hmm ... the BBC is reporting that the Oystons are considering the Blackpool Supporters Trust offer to buy the club but they want more time.

brian wrote:I root for Derby County because its owned by Detroiters

I've followed them since I saw them beat Airdrie in the 1972 Texaco Cup Final.

Sam Rush does appear to be doing a very good job there.

Oyston used the beat them back with request for more documentation play...
http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/nor ... eover-bid/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So if we are going to follow a team a few flights down, lets actually learn something...I will go first.

Know your Enemy Colchester United
* Beat Preston North End on the last day of the season to stay up in League 1
* Founded in 1937, the club entered the Football League in 1950
* Nickname "The U's"
* Stadium Capacity is just over 10K and was built of the former "Cuckoo Farm"
* Supporters group is CUSA



Where is Colchester? 51 miles NE of London

Up next is the Capital One Cup and Northampton Town F.C.

Know you enemy
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... png/225px-" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Where is Northampton, Northamptonshire..Just North of Milton Keyes

Blackpool 0-3 Northampton Town - 30'

Who needs those pesky cup matches to get in the way of serious League 1 business anyway.

Know your Enemy --Rochdale (5th in the table--pool in 8th)

Beat Peterborough in the opener 2-0,Drew 1-1 v. Coventary in Capital One Cup

Location--Greater Manchester
Home field is Spotland Stadium (capacity of 10,249)
Founded in 1907
Nickname "The Dale"
Made the League Cup Final in 1962
From 1974 to 2010 they were in the bottom league, the longest time any team has been in the bottom division of the League
Promoted 3 times 1969, 2010 and 2014
Relegated 3 times 1959, 1974 and 2012

well wrong side of a 2-0 result. Sitting 20th in the table. On to Burton Albion

Know you Enemy
Located in Staffordshire
Nickname Brewers
Club is 65 years old
Pirelli Stadium hold just shy of 7K
They beat Cambridge away on the last day of the season last year to get promotion.
Currently 1-1 (3pts) 9th in the table

Blackpool FC hasn't won a game since January 31.

A place called Bloomfield Brewhouse (which I assume is in Blackpool) is advertising this:

Know your Enemy--Sheffield United F.C.

Currently 8th in the table with 6 points (2-1)
nickname-The Blades (which you see on the badge) because the area is known for their production of cutlery
An original founder club of the premier league
Last in the top flight in 2007. Had a shot in the championship final in 2009 but were relegated in 2011 to third tier football



First English club to use the moniker "United"
Bramall Lane holds over 37K

Sheffield United's main chant, "The Greasy Chip Butty Song" (parentheses for references being made). A greasy chip butty can be purchased in any of the many local fish and chip shops. Butty is a dialect word for a sandwich, and a chip butty is simply a sandwich where the filling is chips, ideally greasy and sometimes sprinkled with salt and vinegar. Generally, a white sandwich bap will be used for the bread. In Sheffield, these are simply known as Breadcakes.

The song is to the tune of "Annie's Song" by John Denver:
You Fill Up My Senses,
Like A Gallon Of Magnet, (Magnet Bitter from John Smith's Brewery)
Like A Packet Of Woodbines, (once popular brand of smokes)
Like A Good Pinch Of Snuff,
Like A Night Out In Sheffield,
Like A Greasy Chip Butty,
Like Sheffield United,
Come Fill Me Again,
Na Na Na Na Na...OOOOHH!

Premier League to League Two in 5 years would have to be damn near a record.

Know your enemy, Walsall

Well Walsall only has 1 team ahead of them in the table. 10 points after 4 (3 w, 1 d) for the club founded in 1888
They have never played in the highest level of English soccer
Lost to Bristol City in the promotion final last year (first time in their history they had played for that honor)
Nickname is Saddlers

Play at Bescot Stadium (which was opened by Blackpool legend Sir Stanley Matthew)
Walsall is managed by Dean Smith (but obviously not the UNC one).

Blackpool FC are already at the bottom of the League One table.

Shirt Sponsor says they may have made a mistake
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport ... -1-7430184" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 wrote:Shirt Sponsor says they may have made a mistake
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport ... -1-7430184" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe they should go with Chico's Bail Bonds?

tennbengal wrote:

wlu_lax6 wrote:Shirt Sponsor says they may have made a mistake
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport ... -1-7430184" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe they should go with Chico's Bail Bonds?

Was just going to post this.

The Guardian's Fiver column summed it up neatly:

31 July 2015: “It’s great to be in partnership with Blackpool FC on all levels, with players and fans alike. We look forward to a great future in our partnership with Blackpool FC both on and off the field” – Village hotels chief suit Gary Davis cheers the company’s new sponsorship deal with Blackpool.
27 August 2015: “Blackpool is one of many teams we have supported and in hindsight maybe it’s something that we should have avoided, but the shirt deal is done and we will honour the contract this season. However, we have no direct interaction with the club owners at any level and will not be renewing at the end of the season. We will be happy to continue future sponsorship to a new ownership” – Davis finds reverse gear and puts his foot on the gas.

I think I am missing what the problem was here. Why the backlash?

Shirley wrote:I think I am missing what the problem was here. Why the backlash?

The shirt sponsor was getting boycotted and bad publicity by virtue of having the appearance of supporting the club's ownership (since that's where the sponsorship money goes). That's how toxic Blackpool is right now. Imagine if the Patriots were so bad that New Englanders were protesting Dunkin Donuts because they put their logo up all over their press conferences.

So Blackpool fans are so mad at the organization that they are boycotting their own shirt sponsors? That's fucked up.

Shirley wrote:So Blackpool fans are so mad at the organization that they are boycotting their own shirt sponsors? That's fucked up.

It's a mess, yeah.

Shirley wrote:So Blackpool fans are so mad at the organization that they are boycotting their own shirt sponsors? That's fucked up.

Have you seen all of the shit the owners have pulled?

govmentchedda wrote:

Shirley wrote:So Blackpool fans are so mad at the organization that they are boycotting their own shirt sponsors? That's fucked up.

Have you seen all of the shit the owners have pulled?

Nope, can't say I have. I check this thread every now and then, but I don't always understand what's going on.

Shirley wrote:

govmentchedda wrote:

Shirley wrote:So Blackpool fans are so mad at the organization that they are boycotting their own shirt sponsors? That's fucked up.

Have you seen all of the shit the owners have pulled?

Nope, can't say I have. I check this thread every now and then, but I don't always understand what's going on.

I don't have the time right now, and Sabo is probably more well versed than I am, but it's been a real shit show since they were demoted from the Premier League.

Shirley, here's an article from this May that explains a lot of what the Oystons have done to Blackpool FC:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blo ... -mortenson" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TL;DR synopsis: After Blackpool was relegated from the EPL, the club received parachute payments from the EPL over the next few years. These payments are intended to keep the demoted club from going under due to the financial stress caused by playing in the EPL. Instead of taking that money and investing in the club, the Oystons took money from the club and paid its board of directors with some very tidy sums (IIRC, the grand total was something like £11M). They also withdrew money from the club and loaned it to other Oyston businesses.

The Oystons have also antagonized the fan base multiple times. Karl Oyston was sanctioned by the FA for sending abusive texts to a fan (calling him a "massive retard" among other things), and most recently, an official Blackpool FC Twitter account called a fan an "arsehole wanker". Karl Oyston was also spoken to by police recently when he got into an argument with a fan and allegedly brandished a firearm at the fan. And as mentioned in the first article, the team removed the Stan Mortenson statue from the grounds after a Blackpool fan group had called for an anti-Oyston protest to start at the statue. The team claimed they removed the statue to protect it from the protesters.

There's a slim chance this could be wiped away soon. A group of Blackpool fans created the Blackpool Supporters Trust and have sent the club a proposal to buy the club for £16M (and it includes a provision that wipes the loans to other Oyston businesses off the books). Owen Oyston - Karl's father and the true owner of the club (and a convicted rapist) - requested more information from the BST about a month ago, but I've heard nothing about it since.

It's a flat-out mess with no real end in sight.

But they're still more moral than the Kraft family <drumroll>. I'll be here all week. Thanks, folks.

Most egregiously in the minds of many is how the Oystons haven't even tried to field competitive sides. Not long before last season's first league game, they hadn't even enough players signed to field a team. Preseason games were (almost) glorified public tryouts. The Oystons can't keep a coach and let the team become extraordinarily poor, relative to their leagues.

And yet they averaged 11,000 fans per game last year.

Crazy.

Pruitt wrote:And yet they averaged 11,000 fans per game last year.

Crazy.

Even crazier is they were only one of three teams in the Championship to post a profit, and it was the largest profit in the league. This is based on research done by the Swiss Ramble blog.

If ever there was a team whose fans should boycott the games, this is it.

Seeing that chart, and reading about what the Oyston family does with the money makes me think that the Blackpool fans are masochists of the highest order. In England, they can't pull the old "support us or we move" bullshit.

Pruitt wrote: In England, they can't pull the old "support us or we move" bullshit.

Unless you live in Wimbledon.

Rush2112 wrote:

Pruitt wrote: In England, they can't pull the old "support us or we move" bullshit.

Unless you live in Wimbledon.

Yeah, but that's once in what, 50 years.

Not like North america - partially because the market over there really is fully saturated. Other than Leeds, every large city has a number of teams.