Blackpool v Manchester United Postponed Due To Frozen Pitch
Referee Calls Off Match After Parts of Ground Frozen
Saturday’s Premier League clash between Blackpool and Manchester United has been postponed.
The decision came after referee Peter Walton inspected the Bloomfield Road pitch and expressed concern that some parts would not be safe to play on by tomorrow afternoon.
Overnight temperatures mast night of minus eight degrees left parts of the Bloomfield Road playing surface frozen and with snow falling in the north-west of England this morning and sub-zero overnight temperatures forecast once again, the decision was taken to postpone the game.
The Bloomfield Road ground has no undersoil heating but Blackpool placed frost protection covers onto the pitch after a reserve match was played over a week ago.
The club sourced additional blowers to try and thaw out the pitch and although these were put in place on Friday lunchtime parts of the ground were not expected to thaw out before tomorrow afternoon.
Saturday’s Premier League clash between Blackpool and Manchester United could be postponed after freezing overnight temperatures left parts of the Bloomfield Road playing surface frozen.
Blackpool placed frost protection covers on to the pitch after a reserve match was played on the ground over a week ago but with temperatures in the early hours of Friday falling as low as minus eight the problematic areas have increased and the club has sourced additional blowers to try and thaw out the pitch. These should have been put in place on Friday lunchtime.
Ground staff at Bloomfield Road worked throughout the night on Thursday and are expected to do so again on Friday night in order to ensure the game with United will take place.
Blackpool Transfer News and Rumours, Monday 22 November
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Blackpool To Sign Varney For £250k
Luke Varney’s loan move to Blackpool could become permanent after Seasiders’ boss Ian Holloway revealed that the club have a £250,000 clause in his loan deal.
Varney scored his fourth league goal of the season against Wolves on Saturday as Blackpool’s impressive start to the season shows no signs of abating. Blackpool have 18 points in their opening 14 games and Saturday’s 201 win was their fifth victory of the season.
“We are going to sign him in January,” Holloway said of Varney. “We have a massive clause in there. He can’t go anywhere else and we get him for £250,000. They can’t change that, there’s nothing they can do about it,” he said.
Holloway insisted on the clause after seeing a number of the loan signings who helped Blackpool to promotion last season priced out of their reach.
League To Write To Blackpool Over Villa Team Changes
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League To Write To Holloway Over Team That Faced Villa
The Premier League have confirmed that they will be writing to Blackpool to demand reasons why Ian Holloway made 10 changes to the team that played Aston Villa last night.
Holloway made the changes ahead of a vital clash with West Ham on Saturday but despite playing with an almost different team to that which faced Everton last weekend the Seasiders were only edged out by a late Villa goal in a 3-2 defeat.
“I’d pack it in — I can’t work for this madness,” Holloway said when it was put to him that he had rested players ahead of the West Ham game.
“I would resign. They do not know what they’re talking about.
“Let person from the Premier League dare tell me who I should pick.
“I am the manager of Blackpool football club, I select people to come to the club and play them whenever I want. How dare anyone suggest we have more chance of beating West Ham than Aston Villa.
“I came here to try and beat Aston Villa and I’m going to go to West Ham and try and beat them too and if I pick a different team I’ve got every right to do what I like.”
Last season Wolves were hit with a suspended £25,000 fine after manager Mick McCarthy made 10 changes to his side to face Manchester United at Old Trafford, a game Wolves lost, 3-0.
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Blackpool have named a 23-man Premier League squad:
Charlie Adam,
Alex John-Baptiste,
Chris Basham,
Stephen Crainey,
Malaury Martin,
Daniel Coid,
Ishmael Demontagnac,
Neal Eardley,
Robert Edwards,
Jason Euell,
Ian Evatt,
Matthew Gilks,
Elliot Grandin,
Marlon Harewood,
Dekel Keinan,
Brett Ormerod,
Keith Southern,
Ludovic Sylvestre,
Gary Taylor-Fletcher,
Luke Varney,
David Vaughan,
DJ Campbell,
David Carney.
Blackpool Given Go-Ahead To Sign Australian Winger
Blackpool have signed Australian left-sided midfielder/defender David Carney from Dutch champions Twente Enschede. The 26-year-old was a last-minute addition to Blackpool’s squad on transfer deadline day and the Seasiders had an anxious wait for the Premier League’s approval of the deal.
“We got the e-mails back from FC Twente just before six so it was a mad dash to get them printed off and faxed over to the FA and Premier League,” said club secretary Matt Williams.
”Fortunately the confirmation came through on Wednesday morning and I was delighted to tell the Gaffer and Carns that the move had been given the green light.”
Carney had a spell with Everton as a youth and played in the team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2002 alongside Wayne Rooney. After brief spells with Oldham and Hamilton Academical he returned to Australia and joined Sydney FC but came back to England for a two-year spell with Sheffield United that ended with a loan at Norwich. He then left for FC Twente last summer and although he was out of action with a shoulder injury Carney returned to the team for the end of a season which saw them lift the Dutch league title for the first time in their history.
Carney told the Blackpool official website: “It has been a busy 24 hours but I am delighted it is done now and I am looking forward to getting out there playing. The way Blackpool play suits me and I am looking forward to meeting the lads and getting started.”
Carney joins up with his new club after playing for Australia against Switzerland in St-Gallen on Friday.
Meanwhile former Strasbourg midfielder Mamadou Bah has spoken of Blackpool’s interest in him. Work permit problems prevented Bah from moving to the Seasiders and he completed a move to Bundesliga side Stuttgart, but the 22-year old has spoken of his desire to play in the Premier League: “I heard Blackpool were very interested,” Bah told skysports.com.
“I am a Stuttgart player now and I want to give my best to my new club and prove myself in one of the top leagues in all of the world.” He added: “I love the Premier League and maybe one day I will be there to play, all good players dream about it.”
Blackpool have signed DJ Campbell from Leicester City on a two-year deal. The Seasiders had been linked with a move for Campbell for much of the summer and he joins for fee that has not been disclosed but which is believed to be around £1 million. Campbell scored eight goals in 15 games for the Seasiders last season.
Blackpool have also signed 19-year-old winger Matt Phillips from Wycombe Wanderers. Phillips made his debut for Wycombe aged just 17 and has become a regular in the Chairboys’ first team. Blackpool have paid an initial £325,000 for Phillips.
Blackpool transfer target Mamadou Bah signed yesterday for German side Vfb Stuttgart from Strasbourg.
Blackpool have made an enquiry about Guinean midfielder Mamadou Bah. The 22-year-old midfielder plays for RC Strasbourg in the third tier of French football but has made just 17 appearances since joining them in 2007.
Meanwhile, striker David Nugent has turned down the opportunity to sign for the Seasiders having decided to stay at Portsmouth. Blackpool have also asked Rangers to take former Burnley striker Kyle Lafferty on a season-long loan.
Blackpool and Bolton are both eyeing up bids for Barnsley’s Adam Hammill.
The 22-year-old winger is under contract at Oakwell until 2012 but Barnsley are bracing themselves for a bid from a Premier League club. Hammill was impressive in his team’s 2-0 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday scoring an early contender for goal of the season.
Meanwhile Blackpool hope to tie up the signing of Leicester striker DJ Campbell in a £1 million deal. Campbell had a four-month spell at the Seasiders during their successful promotion season.
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Blackpool are interested in signing goalkeeper Richard Wright. The former England international has been without a club since leaving Ipswich at the end of last season and boss Ian Holloway is keen to sign him as back-up for keeper Matt Gilks.
Current first-choice keeper Paul Rachubka is sidelined with an injury for at least another month.
The 32-year-old Wright has been training with Crystal Palace but has no chance of a deal there as number one choice Julian Speroni looks set to stay at the club.
Wright was also rumoured to be interesting West Ham before the start of the season.
Ian Evatt returns for Blackpool having missed the Carling Cup defeat at MK Dons through suspension.
Louis Almond, Jason Euell, Paul Rachubka and Keith Southern are all sidelined while Billy Clarke is a long-term injury.
Blackpool have signed Luke Varney on loan from Derby and he goes straight into the squad for tomorrow’s game.
Fulham Team News
Fulham’s new signing Rafik Halliche goes into the squad for tomorrow’s game with Blackpool while Moussa Dembele will be looking for his first league start after scoring in the Carling Cup victory over Port Vale this week.
Paul Konchesky could return from injury while David Stockdale will be confident of retaining his place in goal as Mark Schwarzer is still injured
Long-term injury casualties Philippe Senderos, Andrew Johnson and Diomansy Kamara are all still sidelined.
Blackpool Transfer News: Luke Varney Signs for Blackpool
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Blackpool Sign Luke Varney
Blackpool have signed Derby striker Luke Varney on a season-long loan with an option to purchase the player at the end of his loan spell.
Varney moved to Derby at the beginning of last year in a £1 million deal after a five-game loan spell, but he only made more seven appearances in 2008-09 before being loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday. He spent the whole of last season on loan at Hillsborough scoring nine goals in 39 games before returning to Derby at the start of this season.
Blackpool boss Ian Holloway said: “He is a great lad, he has got some pace and I think he’ll play really well in a 4-3-3 formation.
“He is a fantastic lad off the field – I think he will just slot straight in to our system and hopefully I can get him going again,” he added.
Blackpool are ready to land strike duo DJ Campbell and Chris Porter.
Sky Sports News reported on Thursday that a deal is set to be done for Campbell, who starred in the Seasiders’ promotion season in a successful loan spell from Leicester, while a deal is also close with Motherwell for former Oldham striker Porter.
Blackpool are trying to sign Angel Rangel and Stephen Dobbie from Swansea City in a combined £750,000 deal.
The Swans rate defender Rangel alone at £750,000 and are not keen on throwing in Dobbie for nothing. They rate Dobbie, who spent the latter half of last season on loan at Bloomfield Road, at around £250,000.
Blackpool Want Best While Pitman Heads for Bristol
Blackpool want Newcastle striker Leon Best. The Republic of Ireland international is out with an ankle injury at the moment but after making just six starts during Newcastle’s Championship-winning season Blackpool boss Ian Holloway believes Best can help boost the Seasiders’ strike force.
Meanwhile the Seasiders could be about to miss out on Brett Pitman. Reports from Bournemouth suggest the striker will join Bristol City on Monday if he passes a medical at the club. Blackpool agreed a fee of around £600,000 with the south coast club only for Pitman to reject the terms they offered to him. Pitman will team up at Ashton Gate with Sam Vokes, his former strike partner at Dean Court who is on-loan at City from Wolves.
Blackpool’s bid for Bournemouth striker Brett Pitman is still on. The 22-year-old rejected the Seasiders’ first offer of a contract but boss Ian Holloway is expected to go back with an improved offer.
The two clubs agreed a fee this week of £500,000, rising to £800,000 with add-ons.
Bournemouth are said to be keen on re-signing Doncaster forward James Hayer as a replacement for Pitman. Hayter had an 11-year spell at Dean Court until he signed for Doncaster in 2007.
Villa Refuse Bannan Loan Bid
Aston Villa have turned down Blackpool’s request to take Barry Bannan on loan.
The 20-year-old Scottish midfielder spent part of last season on loan at Bloomfield Road helping them to win promotion to the Premier League, but Villa want to keep him at Villa Park this season and push for a first-team place.
Bannan scored in Villa’s 1-1 draw with Rapid Vienna in the Europa League play-off on Thursday.
Blackpool Linked With Keeper Loan Move
Blackpool have been linked with a loan move for Birmingham City goalkeeper Maik Taylor after Paul Rachubka picked up an injury in training this week.
Rachubka suffered a knee injury and could be out for up to three months. However, City are reluctant to let Taylor go.
Blackpool Transfer News-Fee Agreed For Brett Pitman
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Blackpool and Bournemouth Agree Pitman Fee
Blackpool and Bournemouth tonight agreed a fee for the League One club’s striker Brett Pitman.
Blackpool had a £500,000 bid turned down by Bournemouth earlier today but have returned with an improved offer which has been accepted by the south coast side, according to the Bournemouth website.
Pitman is now discussing personal terms with the Seasiders.
The Jersey-born 22-year-old striker hit 28 goals in 50 league and cup games last season and opened his account for this season with a hat-trick in the Cherries’ 5-1 win over Peterborough on Saturday.
Earlier today, Blackpool signed Israeli defender Dekel Keinan on a free transfer from Maccabi Haifa.
Blackpool have signed Israeli defender Dekel Keinan on a free transfer from Maccabi Haifa.
Keinan has signed a one-year deal at the Bloomfield Road club with an option for a further 12 months. He has been granted a work permit and goes straight into Blackpool’s squad for the game at Arsenal on Saturday.
“I’m looking forward to the first game and I’m very happy that everything is done,” Keinan said. “I just want to play for Blackpool and help this team.
“I had different offers but after I met the gaffer I was sure that I wanted to play for Blackpool.”
Keinan was due to be unveiled over three weeks ago but Blackpool boss Ian Holloway said at the time that he had yet to sort out a passport and that he had to take English test “which he’ll pass and I would fail.”
Keinan is Blackpool’s seventh signing in the past ten days.
