Post by tangerineted on Nov 28, 2012 0:27:59 GMT 1
The last time that these two sides met it was a thrilling match in front of a full house at St Andrew’s with an electric atmosphere and a place in the play off final at Wembley at stake.
Tonight it could not have been further away from that. It was a dire match between two crap teams. Blackpool should have won but equally could have lost.
Sorry to dwell on the state of the pitch but it really is an utter disgrace. Huge chunks of it were cutting up all the time, the ball bobbled everywhere, hardly conducive to good football, and it really looked like a ploughed field. An utter shambles that a bit of money has not been spent on maintaining a decent playing surface especially when Fleetwood can manage it.
Appleton made two changes with Grandin and Ludo replaced by Gomes and Osbourne meaning that Kevin Phillips and Kirk Broadfoot retained their places. The line up was far too defensive for a home match we should have been looking to win. Angel should have been playing instead of either Osbourne or Basham in my opinion.
Birmingham were very poor especially in the first half where they failed to create a single effort on goal. Blackpool started not much better and the first 15 minutes was absolute dross until Pool took the lead out of nothing. Broadfoot sent in a low hard cross which Phillips connected with only to see his shot blocked but the rebound fell to Ince who fired into the bottom corner.
This seemed to wake the Seasiders from their slumber although the crowd remained somewhat subdued. Five minutes after taking the lead the hosts came very close to doubling their lead. Delfounseo curled a lovely shot towards the top corner only for Butland to get a hand to it to turn it over the bar. The resulting corner from Ince was a poor one but Ince got the ball back, played a one two before curling a splendid effort against the underside of the bar.
Phillips was on hand to turn in the rebound on the line but the flag went up to rule the goal out. It was a late flag and I do not really think the linesman had a clue whether he was offside or not but put his flag up when the defenders protested.
Not much else happened in the first half. Phillips and Marvin King appeared to be having a competition as to who could be flagged offside the most number of times and both teams had penalty shouts that could have been given but weren’t.
Two minutes into the second half Blackpool surrendered their lead. Ince failed to control the ball in his own half, Birmingham went forward and won a corner. Some things never change as the defence stood still, Gilks was glued to his line and the opposition headed the ball into the net unchallenged.
The second half performance from Blackpool was nearly as bad as the first half performance on Saturday, Ince fired over and Dicko saw a shot blocked near the end but that was pretty much it apart from nearly benefitting from an own goal when a Birmingham defender guided the ball past his own keeper following good work from Gomes only for the post to rescue the visitors.
The best chance of the half came to Birmingham when Lovenkrands got in behind the defence, with Broadfoot AWOL, only to see his shot crash into the crossbar when it really seemed easier to score. Birmingham had a second chance after the rebound but could only shoot over the bar.
Blackpool had two further penalty claims in the second half. The first for a handball in the box, they have certainly been given but not by this ref. The second was a clear tug on Gomes which stopped his momentum and was right under the nose of the referee who inexplicably failed to blow his whistle. Anywhere else on the pitch and the whistle would have been straight to the lips. A disgusting decision not to give it.
Kevin Phillips was ineffective for the second match running. I fail to see why he is selected to start and why he is then kept on for 78 minutes. He should be used as a sub for the last 10 minutes if at all. Wes Thomas had the best part of 20 minutes to show what he could do but he touched the ball about three times and failed to have any sort of an impact at all.
What was happened to the team that destroyed Leeds, Ipswich and Middlesbrough? Please can we have them back?
Seven matches at home without a victory is very worrying and Appleton needs to do something quickly to prevent the season turning into a relegation battle.
Tonight it could not have been further away from that. It was a dire match between two crap teams. Blackpool should have won but equally could have lost.
Sorry to dwell on the state of the pitch but it really is an utter disgrace. Huge chunks of it were cutting up all the time, the ball bobbled everywhere, hardly conducive to good football, and it really looked like a ploughed field. An utter shambles that a bit of money has not been spent on maintaining a decent playing surface especially when Fleetwood can manage it.
Appleton made two changes with Grandin and Ludo replaced by Gomes and Osbourne meaning that Kevin Phillips and Kirk Broadfoot retained their places. The line up was far too defensive for a home match we should have been looking to win. Angel should have been playing instead of either Osbourne or Basham in my opinion.
Birmingham were very poor especially in the first half where they failed to create a single effort on goal. Blackpool started not much better and the first 15 minutes was absolute dross until Pool took the lead out of nothing. Broadfoot sent in a low hard cross which Phillips connected with only to see his shot blocked but the rebound fell to Ince who fired into the bottom corner.
This seemed to wake the Seasiders from their slumber although the crowd remained somewhat subdued. Five minutes after taking the lead the hosts came very close to doubling their lead. Delfounseo curled a lovely shot towards the top corner only for Butland to get a hand to it to turn it over the bar. The resulting corner from Ince was a poor one but Ince got the ball back, played a one two before curling a splendid effort against the underside of the bar.
Phillips was on hand to turn in the rebound on the line but the flag went up to rule the goal out. It was a late flag and I do not really think the linesman had a clue whether he was offside or not but put his flag up when the defenders protested.
Not much else happened in the first half. Phillips and Marvin King appeared to be having a competition as to who could be flagged offside the most number of times and both teams had penalty shouts that could have been given but weren’t.
Two minutes into the second half Blackpool surrendered their lead. Ince failed to control the ball in his own half, Birmingham went forward and won a corner. Some things never change as the defence stood still, Gilks was glued to his line and the opposition headed the ball into the net unchallenged.
The second half performance from Blackpool was nearly as bad as the first half performance on Saturday, Ince fired over and Dicko saw a shot blocked near the end but that was pretty much it apart from nearly benefitting from an own goal when a Birmingham defender guided the ball past his own keeper following good work from Gomes only for the post to rescue the visitors.
The best chance of the half came to Birmingham when Lovenkrands got in behind the defence, with Broadfoot AWOL, only to see his shot crash into the crossbar when it really seemed easier to score. Birmingham had a second chance after the rebound but could only shoot over the bar.
Blackpool had two further penalty claims in the second half. The first for a handball in the box, they have certainly been given but not by this ref. The second was a clear tug on Gomes which stopped his momentum and was right under the nose of the referee who inexplicably failed to blow his whistle. Anywhere else on the pitch and the whistle would have been straight to the lips. A disgusting decision not to give it.
Kevin Phillips was ineffective for the second match running. I fail to see why he is selected to start and why he is then kept on for 78 minutes. He should be used as a sub for the last 10 minutes if at all. Wes Thomas had the best part of 20 minutes to show what he could do but he touched the ball about three times and failed to have any sort of an impact at all.
What was happened to the team that destroyed Leeds, Ipswich and Middlesbrough? Please can we have them back?
Seven matches at home without a victory is very worrying and Appleton needs to do something quickly to prevent the season turning into a relegation battle.