Blackpool sit bottom of League One and are without a competitive victory since January. The Tangerines are in danger of disappearing back to League Two even quicker than their rapid climb to the Premier League five years ago. The well-documented off-field problems continue on a daily basis and what seems a never ending battle between supporters and owners rumbles on.
Two Blackpool fans were arrested this week, accused of harassment. This news follows protests against the Oyston family in various places throughout the day. It is just the latest incident in the long line of conflict that neither side look like backing down from, but the owners definitely should. Throughout the whole saga, everything they (the Oystons) have done and continue to do has had a negative impact on the club and its long suffering supporters.
Whilst, for most clubs it would be too early to worry about being bottom after just four games; for Blackpool, as a club, it looks an uphill challenge already. Some fans argue that the on-field results don’t matter and the main aim until further notice is to remove the owners, disregarding how far the team fall in the meantime. You can see why that is the case; starting again wouldn’t be any worse than things are now.
Dwindling crowds stuck watching drab, lifeless football in a toxic but silent atmosphere is no place for entertainment. Enjoying a Blackpool game is not only practically impossible, but strictly forbidden these days. The manager and players can put whatever positive spin on things they like, but, the truth is, for most people who care about the club, it has long been dead. I could never personally wish defeat on Blackpool but I have found myself not caring about the results. The lack of feeling towards a team I have grown up adoring indicates just how dire the situation is.
There will be supporters a lot older than I, who have spent decades upon decades watching their club who may never go and see them again. I find it incredible that one family can be allowed to inflict that kind of punishment on loyal, paying customers. Self-imposed exile is one of the most desperately sad, but poignant, protests any fan could make.
You get the feeling that the owners don’t mind how long the battle continues. Most companies would be desperate to please their customers and help however they could; after all, ‘the customer is always right’. Although, that message seems to have eluded the Oystons.
With Manager, Neil McDonald, admitting he’s concerned and with very little movement in the transfer market, it looks like another long season lies ahead. For Blackpool fans, it’s the same old story; for other football fans, it’s a story more and more people know about and sympathise with. That can only be a good thing for the future. Football fans should not be treated in such a foul way and the more people who hear and see that and opt to do something about it, will hopefully prevent this terrible situation from happening at any other football club.
There’s nothing civil about this war.
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