Critchley, Blackpool happy to make smaller Championship splash

Neil Critchley and Blackpool will be happy to fly under the radar as managers and teams at either end of the table dominate the headlines.

While there are a number of standout candidates making claims to be named Championship Manager of the Season, Blackpool chief Neil Critchley can be more than content with his non-headline-making job by the seaside once more.

Wayne Rooney, Marco Silva, Tony Mowbray, Nathan Jones, Carlos Corberan and Mark Warburton will all have their hats in the ring to be crowned the ultimate second-tier boss of a quite delightful 2022/23 campaign; Critchley’s work has gone largely under the radar.

But being mid-table should not detract from just what a stellar job he has done with the Seasiders this season. The former Liverpool Under-23 manager showcased his senior coaching abilities when filling in for Jurgen Klopp during the 2019/20 campaign and he has gone from strength to strength in his first full-time job as leading man in the dugout.

For a club which hit rock bottom under the poisonous ownership of Karl Oyston after the miraculous highs of making the Premier League just over a decade ago, the constant and sustainable happiness which has swept the tide of Blackpool FC over the past couple of years is most welcome.

There is unlikely to be a repeat of last season, when a superb second half of the campaign saw the promising ‘Pool storm their way to the play-offs and promotion. But mid-table is more than fine for a club with three promotions and relegations apiece in the last dozen years.

Just thinking, if Blackpool had been deducted 21 points, they’d currently be 2 points above Derby.

Neil Critchley must also be in the running for manager of the year? 😏 UTB

— Is he Slovenian? (@raidovermoscow) February 17, 2022

Unlike a number of their Championship contemporaries, Blackpool are in no rush to get anywhere quickly. While plenty of their second-tier opponents are on the cusp of financial distress and potential points deductions – albeit the EFL’s statement earlier this month may be a let off – Blackpool are on solid footing.

They have no need to strike while the iron is hot on their squad. There are no standout figures and that suits Critchley’s demeanour just fine. For a team who play in tangerine shirts, they are more than happy to blend into the background while clubs with far greater resources struggle beneath them.

In fact, they have not been afforded the chance to have individual stars to rely upon. Critchley’s side have had terrible luck when it comes to injuries and have used a swathe of players throughout the season with little consistency from line-up to line-up, while consistently getting enough points on the board to make sure relegation thoughts haven’t crept up once since the opening month.

Some will use the fact Blackpool are streaky and operate in extended periods of form both good and bad as an argument against them, but there have been clubs with much weightier expectations who can only manage the latter for an extended period. It is why Cardiff, Hull, Swansea, Birmingham and Bristol City have spent much more of the campaign glancing over their shoulders while ‘Pool continue to look forward as they have done since Simon Sadler took ownership of his hometown club in 2019.

Only right-back Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel was bought for a fee over the summer, with Blackpool having tried before buying with a successful loan spell in 2020/21. Otherwise, their business was free in terms of transfer fees – the signings of winger Josh Bowler, centre-back Richard Keogh and striker Shayne Lavery have been especially successful.

Critchley’s talents lie in making a team greater than the sum of its parts, but Bowler is now being linked with Premier-League bound clubs, Keogh has had an unexpected career renaissance and Lavery has proven it is capable to make the step up from Ireland to the second tier of English football. Many managers would be happy with just one of those successes, never mind a full house.

All the signs point towards this finally being a club capable of going to good places and moving forward. Critchley is the glue that holds much of it together, but his appointment was a smart one from the off and you would back those behind that decision to get it right again when he inevitably heads for greener pastures – although that will likely be later rather than sooner.

For while those half dozen managers continue to defy all odds, performing near miracles at either end of the table, making the headlines and being linked with bigger and better jobs, Critchley and his employers should be extremely happy with flying under the radar.