PU PREVIEW 36: BLACKPOOL

Blackpool had a football club as early as 1877 when Victoria FC began as a church club. When the team disbanded, some members formed a new club, Blackpool St Johns, with old boys from St John's School. On 26 July 1887, members agreed to wind up St John's and form a new club called Blackpool Football Club. The new club won two cups in its first season and became founder members of the Lancashire League in 1889, finishing fifth in their first season. They played at Raikes Hall (Royal Palace Gardens) and had average attendances of around 2,000. On 13 May 1896, the club became a limited company and successfully applied to join the Football League's Second Division for the 1896-97 season. In 1897-98, the club played home games at the Athletic Grounds (at the present-day Stanley Park), returning to Raikes Hall during the following season. The club was not re-elected at the end of the 1898-99 campaign and spent the following season back in the Lancashire League. They amalgamated with local rivals South Shore and moved to Bloomfield Road, rejoining the Football League for the 1900-01 season. The club appointed its first full-time manager for the 1919-20 season.

Blackpool's most prolific period was post-Second World War when they acquired the services of Stan Mortensen and Stanley Matthews. These two iconic players helped the Tangerines reach three FA Cup finals, the club finally winning the trophy in 1953 in a match that became known as "the Matthews Final". Four Blackpool players represented England in the infamous 6-3 defeat to Hungary in November 1953, including Matthews and Mortensen. The club were First Division runners-up in 1955-56, their highest placed finish in the Football League. In June 1971, Blackpool won the Anglo-Italian Cup, defeating Bologna 2-1 in the final. Former Pompey boss Alan Ball managed Blackpool in 1980-81, having also been a player there. Blackpool won their last thirteen home games of the 1990-91 season. This was extended to fifteen at the start of the 1991-92 campaign and remains a club record. The club won the Football League Trophy in 2002 and 2004, defeating Cambridge and Southend. Blackpool defeated Cardiff City 3-2 in the 2010 Championship play-off final to win promotion to the Premier League but were relegated the following season. Former Pompey boss Michael Appleton became Blackpool manager in November 2012 but left after two months to join Blackburn Rovers.  The club suffered successive relegations to drop into League Two for the 2016-17 season.

Blackpool are known as The Seasiders or the Tangerines and are currently managed by Simon Grayson (appointed July 2019, his second spell as manager). The club finished 10th in League One at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Pompey and Blackpool have met on seventy-one occasions, the first meeting being in September 1924 at Bloomfield Road when the sides drew 1-1. Pompey have won all three Cup meetings, two in the League Cup in 1992 and in the FA Cup in 2004. Of the sixty-eight League matches, Blackpool have won twenty-seven, Pompey nineteen and the remaining twenty-two were draws. The most recent meeting came at Fratton Park in January 2019, which Blackpool won 1-0.

(Information via Wikipedia and www.11v11.com)