Steve Bruce has had an instant impact at Blackpool since taking over during the September international break. The Seasiders made it three wins from three in League One with eye-catching victories at Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town this week.
This ensures that his new side are awarded The Deck’s League One Team of The Week and Blackpool take the award from Stevenage Town, who were rampant in a big win over Barnsley on matchday six.
Four Goals and Six Points – Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town Beaten By a Resurgent Blackpool
Blackpool had been winless after the opening four League One matches, conceding 11 goals and collecting just two points. Neil Critchley’s second spell as manager had run its course and very few had former Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce at the top of the list of potential replacements but his experience of over 1000 games managed, almost 500 of those in the Premier League, has been instrumental to settle the team after a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign.
Despite exiting the Carabao Cup to Sheffield Wednesday in a narrow defeat, Blackpool have followed up their win over Exeter City by beating Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town in the space of a few days. The 2-1 victory over Charlton Athletic was particularly impressive as the away side had to withstand periods of intense pressure to hold on after taking a two-goal lead within the opening 35 minutes.
The Addicks are still sitting in the play-off positions despite the defeat, as are Huddersfield Town despite deservedly being beaten by Blackpool. The away side were dominant throughout the first half as they raced into a two-goal lead and kept the Terriers at bay with little fuss in the second half to resurrect their season.
Steve Bruce made just one change to his starting line-up over the two outings and the form of CJ Hamilton and Kyle Joseph will be key if they are to replace the goalscoring void left by the departures of Jordan Rhodes and Karamoko Dembele, who scored 23 league goals between them in 2023/24.
Hamilton has scored half the number of league goals he managed in the entire of last season and Joseph has trebled his tally after being given a more starring role this campaign. Blackpool have been excellent in creating goalscoring opportunities but have conceded 13 goals from an expected goals against of just 9.35 so it is at the back where they will need to make improvements to build on last season’s eight-place finish.
Upcoming Fixtures and Future Prospects
It will be intriguing to see if Steve Bruce can continue to lead his side to results on the road as it is the Seasider’s away form that hindered their chances of finishing in the play-offs last season. Blackpool picked up just 25 points on the road, placing them outside the top half in the away table and this cancelled out their impressive form at Bloomfield Road, where they picked up 48 points and were defeated on just three occasions.
Next up is a winnable home tie with Burton Albion, who are winless after six games and sitting in the bottom four. Burton Albion have been competitive in every match this season and look primed to pick up some wins in the short term but it should be targeted by Blackpool as a fixture where they can pick up three points to continue their improved form.
Lincoln City are the next side to travel to Bloomfield Road and a result against Michael Skubala’s side, who are unbeaten since winning The Deck’s Team of The Week on matchday three would be an indication that Blackpool can compete for a place in the playoffs this campaign.
It is difficult to judge if they can compete for the automatic promotion spots this early in a new regime, but the early signs are promising and Blackpool appear to have made the right choice in terms of their managerial appointment. It could come down to their record on the road and they have picked up two incredible away wins in the last week. Their next away trip is to Mansfield Town on October 5th, who have won and drawn two of their opening four home matches in League One.