Blues ride the Blackpool Roller-Coaster

Andy Munro on the Championship playoffs so far.

Well, in some ways it was predictable. Aptly perhaps, Blackpool attacked in waves although Blues did look dangerous on the break. Whether a nil-one reverse was a good result only time will tell and, to be honest, I was fairly happy because Blackpool could have been out of sight. If Blackpool were rock then we were definitely candy floss, with Ince Jr a real handful. Mind you, it was in the centre of midfield where Blues particularly struggled.

I felt a bit sorry for Colin Doyle who played well only to concede an unfortunate own goal and, in defence, I thought Ramage played well despite Incy’s performance. However, too many of the players disappointed and N’Daw seemed to be short of a yard of the pace while Mutch had one of his over-casual games with too many loose balls. At that rate, the return of Keith Fahy for the return tie could be really vital if the Blues medical team can get him fit.

Our general lethargy in midfield meant that the service to the forwards was poor and they therefore struggled to make an impression. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but probably Nathan Redmond would have been better coming on as a surprise package when the Blackpool defence were tired but I suppose his cameo performance against Brighton probably warranted a start.

Not being a gold, silver, platinum or Palladium etc etc supporter category, I had no chance of a ticket so had to settle for watching it on the box; even more annoying to see so many empty seats in the home support areas. As usual, watching it from afar is more stressful so I’m looking forward to shouting my head off with the rest of the Tilton Roaders in the return. On that note, I really think that the fans can play a major role in shouting us to Wembley.In fairness, hats off to Blackpool for an excellent performance but I think that it is still all to play for.

Who would I play in the return presuming just Myhill, Carr and Caldwell are unfit?

Doyle; Spector, Ramage, Davies and Murphy; Burke, Fahy, Mutch and Townsend; Zigic and King. Subs: Butland, Ibanez, Elliott, Redmond and Rooney.