Lancaster v Blackpool was abandoned with the score at 1-3 to the Seasiders, due to a pitch invasion by some visiting supporters. This is the latest in a series of protests against the Chairman, Karl Oyston. Fans have stepped up their campaign to remove Oyston in recent months which saw the clubs last league game against Huddersfield Town abandoned following a similar pitch invasion.
Mark Cullen had bagged a brace on his first appearance for the club and Henry Cameron scored Blackpool’s other goal. Lancaster replied with a penalty but once again the headlines will be taken by non-footballing matters.
Oyston is currently serving a six week football ban for comments made to a supporter and therefore wasn’t present at the game. The clubs Twitter account glossed over the drama by reporting the full-time score as 3-1 and posted the managers comments online. The omission of all the details could be a tactic to save further embarrassment. Although it is more likely to antagonise fans further.
Whilst the fans frustrations are 100% understandable, the time and place of this latest protest does seem somewhat inappropriate. With Oyston not being present, the only real harm done is to the players and supports of both teams, who had gone to enjoy a pre-season day out. Blackpool supporters will have to be careful not to lose the sympathy of the wider football community, fans from other clubs have so far supported Blackpool in their plight, something that has been gratefully received on the seaside. Whilst the blame is entirely on the owners, the fans will only maintain the outside support as long as other clubs aren’t affected.
For me, protests should be organised to affect those responsible for the dramatic Blackpool decline. Of course supporters have the right to protest how they like, however I do believe that such protests should only be carried out with the backing of the vast majority in attendance. This wasn’t the case today and inevitably causes friction between supporters.
The protest comes fresh on the back of the Blackpool Supporters Trust bid to buy the club this week. The Oyston family should sell up and avoid future embarrassment, the scenes we have witnessed at the last two Blackpool games will only become more frequent if they decide to stay, further damaging a historic football clubs reputation. Oyston has been offered a way out and to continue with the constant, unrelenting feud with supporters is pointless. Tensions are getting higher every day and it feels like a major incident of some kind could be round the corner. Save us all the trouble and leave.
It’s been a long time since a positive headline was linked with the club; the heart and soul of proud Blackpool fans has been stripped away. Nobody knows what will happen next but what does seem clear is that Blackpool Football Club, under Oyston control, is on a collision course with disaster. The only way some sort of normality will return sadly won’t be a direct result of matters on the pitch. The crucial point to make is fairly simple, the fans and fans alone want what’s best for Blackpool Football Club, the only argument to be made is, how best to achieve that goal.
