An 'Oyston free BFC' seems as close as ever following the events off the field this week. Paul Stewart has confirmed that his consortium is looking to front a takeover of Blackpool Football Club, but as ever Blackpool fans mus be skeptical. The ongoing Oyston and Belokon legal feud has become a real stumbling block and the takeover remains in its infancy.
Blackpool will still face Coventry this weekend though and they have to remain focused. Stewart himself has said that there is the possibility of a 12 point deduction, so Blackpool can not slacken their standards. At any moment they could be tossed into a relegation battle. With the table as it is now though, this remains an essential match between two teams chasing the playoffs.
Injuries and Suspensions:
Coventry have both Jodi Jones and Liam Kelly out injured with Blackpool left without Cullen, Ryan and Clayton. Turton could return, along with Howard, but Dodoo is still a little off.
Coventry City FC:
Blackpool and Coventry have led parallel seasons so far, with both teams currently on the 39 point mark, but Blackpool have played 2 games less that their rivals. With Coventry's plentiful attacking options, it would seem this would be one of their strong points, but it is quite the contrary. Hiwula and Chaplin have failed to truly fire Coventry up the league and this is the main thing that is restricting them so far. After defeating Exeter, similarly to Blackpool, in the League Two Playoff Final last year, the sky blues obtained promotion to League One and have continued their good form.
Coventry are a club with a rich history and were formed in August 1883. They will entertain Blackpool at the 32,609 capacity Ricoh Arena on Saturday, a stadium that has created a severe division among the fan base, with no sign of relocation happening any time soon. In terms of all time club honours, Coventry managed to win the FA Cup in the 80's and also won the Football League Trophy in the 2016/17 season.
The Manager:
The experienced Mark Robins has managed Coventry in two separate spells, but after a very successful opening few months the first time around, he quickly took the opportunity at Huddersfield where he would only manage to keep them in the division before parting ways. He also managed Scunthorpe, Barnsley and, his first manager's job, Rotherham, after being a player. He returned to Coventry in 2017 and won the Checkatrade Trophy with them and got them promoted for the first time in 51 years. It was not a bad way to make your return to say the least.
During his playing days he was a striker, starting off at Manchester United, scoring 11 times in 48 appearances. He would then play for Norwich and Leicester before falling out of favour. His most successful stint for the remainder of his career was at Rotherham, where he scored 44 goals in 107 matches, a record that would contribute to him later becoming manager.
Stats:
As it has been said already, theoretically, with the players they have in attacking positions, Coventry should be scoring a lot of goals, but this is simply not happening. They have scored 1.07 goals on average and this suggests there is not enough creativity in the final third. Coventry are also very much a confidence team. They won three on the spin around Christmas and 5 on the bounce in October, but have recorded just 3 other League wins. They are winless in three and minus those wins around Christmas, have not won since late October.
Defensively things get better for Coventry as they have a pretty respectable record of just conceding 1.17 on average. Blackpool should also be wary tomorrow of Coventry's knack of scoring late goals, such a knack that over 50% of their goals in the League have come in the last half hour.
Coventry crashed out of the three cup competitions in the first round's, so the league remains their last chance at redemption this year. One should not be too harsh on them though as it should be remembered that they are newly promoted and are truly in amongst it all.
Coventry Squad: https://us.soccerway.com/teams/england/coventry-city-fc/692/
Last Meeting:
McPhillips and Player Preview:
Prediction:
(1-3) Blackpool are a squad that is coming back into a state of full fitness and this could be a true asset. McPhillips may utilise his loan signings tomorrow (Kirby and Sorenson) and in all honesty he needs to change something. They did not have a single shot on target against Shrewsbury even if they hit the bar. Their service to the strikers has been poor so I think a bit of a switch up from McPhillips could be the green light for Blackpool to start scoring more, especially with the two exciting youngsters on loan. Blackpool have potential for sure, it will just take a bit of tinkering to find the right formula; it is certainly a discovery long overdue.
UTP