It may have been a controversial decision from Simon Sadler to employ Steve Bruce, considering his recent exodus from football, the improvement of results from interim manager Richard Keogh, and the fact that the fans had Ritchie Wellens’ name rolling off their tongues, but Bruce has proved his doubters wrong, so far.
Bruce got off to the perfect start, with a 2-1 win at home against Exeter, a game which The Seasiders won through a last minute header from captain James Husband.
The performance overall was much improved from that seen in the previous games, and it has settled any Blackpool fans’ nerves about having Steve Bruce in charge.
Here we take a look at three things we learnt from Bruce’s first game in charge, and Blackpool’s first League One win of the season.
System Change
In his first stint in charge, Neil Critchley earned the title ‘The Tinkerer’ for constantly making small tactical and personnel tweaks to every lineup, making it extremely difficult to guess who was going to be starting, in what position, and what formation would be used.
However, this time round, Critchley opted for a back five, with the same players starting most weeks, and when the tactic failed to work, he was reluctant to change it.
This is one of the reasons Blackpool fans were calling for his head at the back end of last season, and that continued into this season.
Due to this, it was so refreshing to see Steve Bruce opt for a back four, allowing players like CJ Hamilton and Rob Apter to play at their best, rather than worrying about defending.
It worked wonders as well, with CJ Hamilton’s pace causing constant problems down the left hand side, resulting in him opening the scoring, and Rob Apter could link up play further down the field, creating some good chances for himself, Kyle Joseph and Dom Ballard.
The changes worked defensively as well, as apart from a superb free kick from Ed Francis, the Blackpool backline limited Exeter to very little.
Blackpool fans were happy with the system change, and the football looked much better. As a result, they will hope that Bruce sticks with the back four going further forward into the season.
New Lease of Life for Some Players
Many frustrations last season were directed towards midfielder Ollie Norburn for his passive style of play, constantly going sideways or back to the goalkeeper, instead of trying to play his way forward.
However, against Exeter, he was a different player. Norburn, alongside Will Evans, ran the show in the first half, with a dominant display. He looked more like the player who arrived from Peterborough and the player Blackpool fans have been crying out for.
His decision making on the ball helped Blackpool progress up the field, and his quick linkup play with Evans allowed The Seasiders to attack on the counter on multiple occasions.
Norburn was not the only player to benefit from a change in manager and system. Kyle Joseph, who almost joined Wigan in the transfer window, earned himself a man-of-the-match performance.
The striker has hardly impressed in his time at Bloomfield Road so far, but he certainly changed that opinion after a tireless display. His constant pressing of the Exeter defence caused them all sorts of issues, and his aerial ability helped him link up with Ballard on more than one occasion.
Even James Husband looked a much better player, filling in at left back rather than left centre back. The captain had not impressed much so far this season despite scoring twice in a 4-4 draw with Cambridge, but his assured display resulted in a strong overall performance, and a stoppage time winner to cap it off.
It begs the question as to whether the players were playing for Neil Critchley towards the end of his tenure, but Blackpool are certainly benefiting from this now.
The Old Blackpool Are Back
There is a common feeling within the Blackpool supporters that their team often does things the hard way. Whether that be leaving it until the last few games of the season to confirm a playoff spot, scoring a last minute winner to gain three points or scoring just one goal despite being all over a team.
But there was always the feeling that Blackpool would get the job done, and the same can be said in their game against Exeter.
Blackpool started well and got their goal early in the first half, but could not find that second goal to kill the game off. They allowed Exeter back into the game during the second half and ended up conceding late on.
Despite this, there was still a feeling around the ground that Blackpool would still win the game. There was a certain ferocity that Blackpool were attacking the game with in stoppage time that made the fans believe again.
Blackpool had three glorious chances in the last few minutes and were denied by the goalkeeper, goal line blocks and the woodwork, but they still pushed until the final minute, in which James Husband scored.
There was an air of relief after the final whistle. Blackpool had certainly made it difficult for themselves, but they still came away with three points. It was a sign, that the old Blackpool are back.
This is, of course, after Steve Bruce’s first game in charge, and this could all change in the coming weeks. The Seasiders have a difficult fixture against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, before travelling to Charlton and Huddersfield in League One.
It is in these two league matches that Blackpool fans will be able to judge how Steve Bruce and his side will fare, against teams that they should realistically be competing against this season if they have any hopes of getting promoted.
The early signs are there for Blackpool though, a massive improvement on the pitch, and a first win of the season, it will be intriguing to see how this goes for them.
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