Blackpool F.C. has a bit of a problem: it only has eight players on its roster.
And now, Blackpool manager José Riga has cancelled a planned trip to Spain and the two games it was supposed to take part in. Chairman Karl Oyston explained why:
The manager has taken the decision – and I agree with the decision – to cancel the pre-season tour so that our time is better served to try and get some of the player deals that we’ve been trying to get over the line for some time across the line. Our time will be far better spent preparing here than going over to Spain.”
In other words, we need to get 10 field players and a goalkeeper before we can start playing in any kind of games.
It was just three years ago that Blackpool was competing in the EPL — the top league in England. Today, Blackpool can’t even field a complete team.
Oyston, however, is not panicking, as he told BBC Sport:
There is no panic. In fact, I see it as a benefit rather than a downside. It allows the manager to bring in his own team, as opposed to a manager picking up a squad that is already overloaded and he doesn’t think is good enough.”
Ummm yeah, if I were you, I’d start panicking just a little bit.
[genericon icon=twitter] Follow Sean Wagner-McGough on Twitter @seanjwagner
