Opinion: Critchley’s back – right decision?

It’s just under 12 months since Neil Critchley shocked, stunned and horrified the majority of Blackpool fans by walking out and joining Aston Villa as assistant manager, having led the tangerines to 16th in the Championship and committed to a five-year contract.

Almost 12 months to the day, Blackpool have confirmed his return. This decision is one that has already split fans, with many being caught up in the emotions surrounding his departure which led towards the disastrous campaign and, ultimately relegation, while others are excited for a return to the same style that had become notable with the football club and had led us back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Isaac Selley gives his thoughts on whether this is the right decision, and where we go from here…

For me, Neil Critchley’s return is an excellent decision for all parties. While there will be some fans who will be caught on the fence of this move, and even some who will be against it, I genuinely believe they will be brought on side. Of course, the only way to do that is by delivering results on the pitch.

Critchley himself has admitted he made a mistake in the manner that he left the club. To leave without putting out a statement, after such an incredible connection with the players, the staff and most importantly, the fans, made the wound sting even more. The connection that was built and formed was remarkable, given the circumstances of the game. And that’s why it hurt so much that he seemingly blindsided everyone by walking out, almost without a second thought.

Taking a trip down memory lane

I am a big believer that community clubs are a much more personal experience compared to following a big club on TV. You get to meet different fans, but also occasionally get a chance to interact with club personnel. However, this aspect was removed during Critchley’s unique time at the club.

When he took charge, the Covid-19 pandemic was just beginning to brew. Critchley only had two games before the lockdown was enforced. Blackpool then brought in 19 new signings to really rubberstamp the start of Simon Sadler’s era in charge of the club, overseen by Critchley. While the season started a little slow, it’s easy to forget the incredible pre-season, facing and matching up against Premier League sides like Liverpool and Everton.

After 8 games, we found ourselves in the relegation zone and some fans clamoured for Critchley to go, but from that point forward, the ship was turned around. As new faces started to gel, Blackpool picked up two big wins, against MK Dons at home, and Burton Albion away. From then until the end of the season, Blackpool had a firm identity for being hard to beat, compact, but quick on the counter attack, with flair and ability to make things happen. This adaptability to change and play against the opponents was something Critchley became renowned for among supporters, always tweaking the team where needed.

Quite incredibly, we finished the season in 3rd place, missing out on automatic promotion only due to that slow start. The play-offs were secured with a 2-0 win against Doncaster Rovers, with the connection between the squad and the fans being evident, as a number of players emerged from the dressing rooms to see a small group of fans gathered outside the ground, with Critchley also appearing. This was again epitomised, with the final day win over Bristol Rovers, with fans again gathering in larger numbers, chanting and singing, with players this time watching on from the executive boxes, faces pressed against the open windows, in the backdrop of the ongoing lockdown and restrictions involved from the pandemic.

Blackpool quite frankly coasted through the playoffs, beating Oxford 3-0 away, followed by an entertaining 3-3 draw. That took the Seasiders to Wembley, who despite falling behind in 48 seconds to an own goal, rallied together to come back and win 2-1, with a famous Kenny Dougall brace. The day was only slightly tarnished by the disappointment of not being able to take more fans.

And then in the Championship, despite – as always – the bookies tipping us as odds-on favourites to go straight back down, Critchley once again worked his magic to keep Blackpool up. With some smart recruitment again, Blackpool had a tough to beat, hardworking side again. Highlights include the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, the shock 1-0 win over Fulham at Bloomfield Road and wins against the likes of Middlesbrough, Barnsley and Blackburn in the early part of the season.

Then came the win over Preston North End for the first time in a league fixture for going on a decade. By the time we beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, we were on the cusp of the play-offs – a remarkable achievement with a team who were tipped for relegation. From there, Blackpool’s performance ebbed and flowed, as the side ended up finishing an impressive 16th place, in their first season back, which could have been even higher if it wasn’t for a spell of poor form at the halfway mark of the season.

Tom spoke to Radio Lancashire about Critchley’s return recently and you can listen to that back here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0flcf7j

What that means for the future

Now why bring this all up? Well I touched on the departure, and the sting that left, but really that only stung because we all knew how special of a thing we had going. The atmosphere around the club had changed. From just a couple of years earlier, with a toxic environment and energy around the club, to one that made us all feel proud to be Blackpool fans. A large part of that was Critchley, and some of the memories that we have all made have to thank him. Some games haven’t even been mentioned in the summary of his first spell at the club, in a failed attempt to keep it short, like a 6-1 win at home against Birmingham. It is a massive shame that the pain of him leaving, and especially in the way that aspects of it were handled cloud over his achievements and memories that he helped to create.

The recent couple of years will without a doubt go down as my favourite being a Blackpool fan, mainly because I was so young during the Holloway era but also because this spell was my teenage years. As special as the memories of promotion and beating Preston are, the one that sticks out with the most pride is being stood in that away end at Bramall Lane. To have gone and won there, but also propelled ourselves into the playoffs was special, and seeing Critchley get emotional as he fist pumped to the crowd before getting a roar of “Neil Critchley’s Tangerine Army” back was truly special. We never went on to get playoffs or a spectacular promotion, but what was for sure was in that moment, I was able to dream, and I owe a lot of that to Neil Critchley.

There are many memories that I haven’t mentioned from that, but there are other reasons for this being a good decision. I’ve taken the side of viewing the decision with emotion, but sometimes, it is possible to be too emotional in these situations. To remove emotion entirely, Critchley is without a doubt qualified for the gig. His ability to tweak the tactical adjustment of his teams to best suit his aims and objectives for certain games is second to none, but he is also a remarkable man manager. He briefly mentioned it in the club interview, but it is such an important side to the game, that often fans can underestimate the necessity of man management, but also the difficulty of it.

With a squad of 22-25, you are going to have to tell some players that they aren’t starting or aren’t in the squad, which can be difficult for some players to swallow. Yet Critchley showed a remarkable knack for doing this, and while none of the characters in the dressing room are the type to kick up a fuss over this, he navigated this problem well and balanced the situation. I was lucky enough to interview him, and just from that relatively short time speaking to him, you could really sense that he cares about those around him, and takes an interest in them, deeper from outside football. This is vital to ensure that both players and staff can perform to the highest level, as they feel trusted and valued.

A lot of these faces have remained the same, and while some faces have moved on, and some new ones have arrived, Critchley brings this in. All you have to do to see this side of his management, is to keep an eye out to what the players say, and the reaction they had to his methods. While there have been rumours of some squad members being discontent, there’s a large swell of support for him, and even some discontent would be expected, you’re never going to get on with everyone in life. The truth is though, 95% of Blackpool fans would want Critchley, if it wasn’t for the fact his success had come with us and the way he left us. Fans forget there was a time that some fans compared him to the great Billy Ayre, and despite not surpassing him, Critchley had certainly earned himself a spot to be remembered among some of the greatest Blackpool managers.

Since the departure, things haven’t been perfect, for either party. Critchley left Villa after three months with Gerrard, before taking the QPR job, which saw him win just 1 in 12 games. However, there were reasons for both, with Villa being poor under Gerrard, the club had to change, and with that completely cleared out the backroom staff. I was surprised Critchley wasn’t handed the job on an interim basis, due to his previous success, especially as an assistant can only do so much. Arriving at QPR, the club was facing serious problems behind the scenes, which have only recently started coming to light, and since his departure for the R’s, things have only continued as they were, and if anything, have gotten worse. For Blackpool, a turbulent season ended in relegation, with poor managerial decisions, poor discipline and rotten injury luck all a factor in the eventual relegation. While I’m sure both parties would change in the last 12 months, it’s important to recognise that it could actually have a massive benefit going forward.

Both sides have learned valuable lessons that they may never have otherwise, learning from mistakes that have been made. For people to grow, mistakes have to be made to recognise the error in thinking and action. In sport, you always learn more from the losses than you do the wins. The board will have learnt so much from last season, probably more than they learnt from the previous two successful seasons. The same will go for Critchley, who will have only grown his knowledge, while picking up tricks to take with him. His first senior job was Blackpool, and so seeing two other clubs and how they operate is useful, as he will have been able to see things to bring back with him. He worked with some elite level players, who will have also helped him develop and grow. Great coaches not only teach and improve their players, but also listen and learn themselves from them.

I do not doubt that the upcoming challenge will not be easy for Critchley, and in fact will likely be the opposite, and he may have to win over a portion of fans first. The truth is though, Critchley knows the club, and the town. He created some fabulous memories for the fans, and himself, and there was genuinely a connection there. That didn’t change when he left the club, no matter how it happened. While he didn’t leave in the perfect way, which he has admitted, there is still something there. The majority of fans will forget all of what has happened as soon as the club starts to win games again, which I’m confident we will. Critchley is a football man, who knows his stuff, with a great list of contacts, which will have only grown. This is an exciting time to follow the football club, and a new chapter is opening. It is vitally important that us, the fans, back the squad and the manager now. Blackpool is a special club, and we help make that special. There have been disagreements between fans over recent weeks and months, but we all want the same thing, which is the best for our town and football club! This move will be successful and will benefit the club in the long term. Let’s all get behind the club. Together. Up the mighty ‘Pool!

This website is closing down this summer. Thank you for your support across our blogs. We do hope to continue to provide Podcasts and unique content in certain forms in the future but don’t have the time to be able to commit to this on a more regular basis. We do still have some mugs for sale which you can find on our site or across Facebook marketplace so please get in touch!. Up the mighty Pool.