Brighton v Blackpool: The Tangerines view with Up The Mighty Pool

When Blackpool came out of the hat as Brighton & Hove Albion’s FA Cup opponents, it was a game we instantly looked forward to because of the efforts of Tangerines supporters like those behind Up The Mighty Pool in fighting to keep their club alive.

The parallels between Blackpool under the Oystons in the 2010s and Brighton under Bill Archer, David Bellotti and Greg Stanley in the 1990s were clear for all to see.

Both sets of owners had no interest in football, just how much money they could leach from their clubs. They would ban and sue anyone who besmirched, criticised or stood up to them and did not care if they drove centuries old institutions at the heart of their communities out of business.

Just like Brighton fans, Blackpool eventually won their battle to save their club. Better times are now returning to Bloomfield Road and if the Albion are an example of anything, it is of how a football team who went to the brink of extinction can bounce back to join the elite.

Wouldn’t it be great to see the Tangerines back in the Premier League one day? For now, we will just have to settle for facing them in the FA Cup – and to get a flavour of what to expect against Neil Critchley’s exciting League One side, we spoke to Tom from Up The Mighty Pool.

Since Brighton and Blackpool last played each other in 2015, you have finally seen off the dreaded Oyston regime. Can you tell us a little bit about saving your club and what has happened since they left?
We were in a really dark place in 2015. The previous regime were going through managers and players like hot dinners, and suing their own supporters which was the final straw for most.

Since the ousting of the previous regime, the progress made on and off the field has been superb under Simon Sadler. He’s given supporters a reason to dream again, connect with a new group of players and get us moving in the right direction.

Last season didn’t go particularly well and mistakes were made with signings and management, however he backed us significantly again in the summer with the backdrop of a global pandemic and has delivered on every promise he has made. It seems a matter of time before we start to move up the league again, and this cup run is a bonus.

Speaking of moving up the leagues, this is your fourth season in League One. What are your expectations for it? Is a return to the Championship likely anytime soon?
We are aiming for promotion as soon as possible. While our league position may not suggest we are on track, we are still in touching distance and just need a decent run.

If we miss out, it will be promotion at all costs next year. The club has been aggressive with that notion and made clear that it’s the aim, so hopefully they can deliver on it. As you well know, it can be a tough league to get out of.

With promotion the aim, how seriously will Blackpool be taking the FA Cup?
We try to win every game and have been working on getting that elite mentality to go into each thinking we can win. We won’t be coming to Brighton trying to nick a point, but at the same time our games don’t tend to include a lot of goals so it could be tight.

Having seen Brighton need penalties to overcome Newport County, do you feel confident of an upset?
There is every chance, but we could also get beat three or four nil too. We were 2-0 up at Anfield in pre-season and ended up losing 7-2, and we also raced into a 3-0 lead against Everton only to draw 3-3, so we tend to raise our game against better opposition.

We have also taken Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion to penalties, as well as beaten Hull City, Portsmouth and Peterborough United in the league. So we are confident we will play well, but whether we can see you off would probably come down to the shootout if we can get there as Newport did.

Which Blackpool players should we be looking out for at the Amex?
CJ Hamilton has been our main man – he is lightning quick, but has been injured since Christmas and is unlikely to be fit. Otherwise, Kenny Dougall is surely the best midfielder in League One and tends to raise his game against better opposition. He has got bleach blonde hair in midfield so you can’t miss him.

Your manager Neil Critchley is one of the most qualified and highly rated young coaches in the country. Has he impressed since arriving from Liverpool last March?
Yes he has. The style of play we adopted almost immediately is far better than we had seen under Simon Grayson and there are encouraging signs.

We have controlled possession in almost every game this season, including against Premier League West Brom, though our issue has been turning that into goals as we did so successfully under Ian Holloway.

It feels like things are slowly coming together, but Critch is learning on the job too and will inevitably make mistakes as we build things the right way.

Football League clubs have been hit hard by Covid-19 and playing matches behind closed doors with a shameful lack of support from the Premier League. How have Blackpool coped through the pandemic?
Staying away from Bloomfield Road is sadly not a new experience for most of our fans. We boycotted from 2015 to 2019 and therefore it is a shame that only 12 months after our return, we had to come away again.

But streaming the games is far better than having no interest at all and we are all desperate to get back into the ground and get behind this new group.

Financially, we are very fortunate that Sadler has backed us significantly, but only time will tell how long he can continue to invest in each window when finances are as they are.

Supporters have still backed the club where we can – we sold out our 4,000 limit of season tickets in the summer, and have bought merchandise where possible to show our gratitude to Sadler for his investment so far.

Bit of a niche question this, but we bloody loved Andrea Orlandi during his two years with Brighton – what did you Up The Mighty Pool and Blackpool fans make of him during his season at Bloomfield Road?
He came during a tough time so was always up against it. He used to write a blog which the fans always enjoyed and was fairly well respected, but that team was one of the worst in our history.

From memory, he did some encouraging things at times but struggled for fitness and could be a little passive at times. We wish him well of course.

Finally, what is the Up The Mighty Pool score prediction for Brighton v Blackpool?
3-1 Brighton. We don’t tend to do well at your place unless we have Kevin Phillips on the bench, do we? Confident we can keep it tight for an hour, but you will probably tire us out and grab a couple of late goals.

Thanks to Tom for taking the time to speak to us before Brighton v Blackpool – you can read all about the Tangerines’ promotion push on Up The Mighty Pool and by following UTMP on Twitter.