Critch’s bid to bring back golden smile
DESPISED owner Owen Oyston once decided to sunbathe on the roof of the Jimmy Armfield Stand at Blackpool, while his son
Karl boastfully motored around the town with the number plate OY51 OUT.
He knew the Seasiders’ fans couldn’t wait for the day that their controversial reign came to an end.
Even the Premier League season in 2010-11 with Ian Holloway at the helm was tarnished when a High Court judgement declared that the family had been guilty of “illegitimate stripping of the club”.
But as Blackpool, who had enjoyed golden years to go alongside the Golden Mile with Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen and Armfield, slipped into the EFL’S bottom tier, salvation finally arrived in the shape of Hong Kong financier Simon Sadler.
And when lifelong Tangerines fan Sadler spurned the normal merrygo-round of sacked managers for a left-field appointment in Liverpool Under-23s coach Neil Critchley, the battered club were back in business.
Sadly, just 11 days into his new job, the season shuddered to a stop due to the pandemic.
It was five months before Critchley could be reunited with his players.
But even with him at the helm, this season was expected to just be one of establishing themselves in League One.
Now, largely due to a 16-game unbeaten run, which only came to an end at Rochdale on Tuesday night, the play-offs beckon.
It has also endorsed the hopes of around 4,000 Blackpool fans, who invested in season tickets for this campaign, despite the unlikelihood of seeing any live action. “Hopefully, the fans will be back again in their thousands,” said Critchley.
“Blackpool is a town renowned for entertainment and excitement. We want the team to reflect that.
“I think we’ve given the town their club back.”
Having a glimpse of the Championship is also reward for Critchley leaving behind the security of the Liverpool academy where he was highly rated.
After a largely anonymous playing career at Crewe, he made a bigger impression as a coach, and worked under now-england assistant boss Steve Holland at Gresty Road, before moving to Anfield after being headhunted by Brendan Rodgers.
He worked with the Under-18s and then the Under-23s and took charge of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at Aston Villa when boss Jurgen Klopp and the senior squad were competing in the Club
World Cup.
He also was in the Liverpool hotseat for an FA Cup fourth-round replay victory over Shrewsbury when Klopp and the majority of his players were enjoying the winter break.
“The games were special and will live with me for ever,” Critchley said. “I wouldn’t have left Liverpool except for something exciting. You can see what the club means to Blackpool.”
His focus now is on the next few weeks and planning for the play-offs against teams such as Sunderland and Lincoln. “It’s about staying calm and following what has brought us success,” he added.
Then maybe the resort’s traditional Kiss Me Quick hats will be replaced with We’re Going Up.