For some, we’d bet the title of this preview seems almost like the perfect weekend soiree – albeit in reverse. It is a brave man who takes a wee dram, before ballroom dancing his way around the beer garden at Old Town Wetherspoons. But, dearly beloved, we have gathered here to run the rule over something momentous. Not once in our four decades bounding around the leagues have we come up against Blackpool FC. This weekend, we finally say “no, nay, never; no, nay, never, no more”. And you’ll ask how long we’d been at that whiskey…
The Tangerines come to these hither parts for the first time in their 129 years – this ‘first meeting’ malarkey works both ways you realise? And what a quirky little side-story we have amid the overall League Two kerfuffle this weekend. For Boro’, we roll out the red carpet for a side sat immediately above us in the table. We differ only by the good god. By which, we mean Goal Difference or GD. Next week, by way of a postcript to this tete-a-tete here, we go up against the side currently immediately below us in the table. You can’t write this.
Stevenage v Blackpool: It Takes Two To Tangerine…
First thing is, as agreed by consensus, first. Blackpool are the task at hand and come to us off the back of a pelanty shootout win in the Feckoff Trophy midweek. Of course, we did something much more worthwhile – putting one over our former leader in our last remaining league game in hand. That three points hauled us right up to the back bumper of the Tangerines. We’re not yet sure if they have checked their mirrors. But it makes for a tasty encounter. Not least because the winner could find themselves in a playoff spot by 5pm.
Now, we’re not going to go over the fact that our form in the last six home games makes for grim reading. We *know* this. We did this last week. Admittedly, you have to cast a glance at the calibre of the opposition that have swung by of late. Let’s get back right on track, however. Blackpool’s away form this season is a bit pants to be frank – winning two of their 10 trips and keeping just one clean sheet in the process. It should be music to the ears of the lads we play up top. Our record in attack on home turf is the fifth best in the division.
The extent to which League Two is still batshit wowzers is that we could be back in 14th with a defeat. But we can’t, and we won’t, keep pisspronuncing our lines at the Lamex. It’s not within our power (yet) to decide if that ‘hoodoo’ ends this weekend. It’s only a matter of time we’re told, however. Anyway, Darren Sarll ought to have a near-enough full squad to pick his side from – and there is more than enough talent in there to get it done. Otherwise, we’ll be throwing up our hands and uttering “whiskey Tangerine foxtrot” in despair.
Stevenage v Blackpool: The latest form thanks to those League Two stats from Kick Off:
Stevenage v Blackpool: FIFA 17 Verdict
The FIFA 17 prognosis is good. Mind you, that’s because we had complete control over affairs – something that you, us or Darren Sarll does not have. The first half was one-way traffic in Boro’s favour, with two crackers that established an advantage we weren’t going to lose. To be honest, we should have bagged more. Bennedy did a blunder with a one-on-one, to our eternal shame – not his. The Tangerines came back strong in the second half and bayjeezused the post. The fact remains they scored nil to our two – and that’d be lovely in real life too.
BoroGuide’s Blackpool club profile – it’s got a better tower for a start…
