Blackpool drew 2-2 with Southampton on their third televised league outing of the season, making it won one, drawn one and lost one in front of the cameras. Here are my observations from Saturday’s match:

It was always likely to be a tough game for Blackpool’s back four at St Mary’s, coming up against a team who had won all their matches on home turf this season. The return of Rickie Lambert to the starting line-up after injury only served to ramp up the difficulty. The way Southampton sought to exploit Blackpool’s defence can be explained by the diagrams below.

Blackpool had the better of the first 10 minutes, but Southampton did find their feet and in the example below caused issues for the Seasiders. Notice how many white shirts are tightly packed, and Southampton use this to their advantage by passing out wide and delivering a dangerous cross.

Shortly afterwards, Southampton once again forced the Blackpool defence very narrow, creating huge swathes of space on the flanks to be exploited.

Not long after the hosts had taken the lead, Rickie Lambert almost made it 2-0, but for an excellent save from Matt Gilks. The image below shows Ian Evatt charging out of defence a little too rashly, with the Southampton forwards poised to pounce.

The effect of Evatt’s decision to rush to the ball is even more visible in the image below, showing the same situation from a side angle. On this image, you can see how Lambert has peeled off the back of Neal Eardley, with Lallana completely unmarked on the Saints’ left. Evatt’s movement towards the ball has seen the defence shift out of position, with ‘Pool fortunate not to concede a second and be out of the game with just half an hour or so on the clock.

Neal Eardley, who has been a target of a not insignificant section of Blackpool support in his time with the club, had a moment to forget for his part in the opening goal of the afternoon. Gilks played a regulation short ball out to him, but a poor first touch led to Eardley being too easily dispossessed before the ball found its way to Lambert who scored via a Cathcart deflection. It was sloppy play from the right-back, but at the same time one wonders if he received a shout of man-on from his teammates – if he did, he certainly didn’t react to it.

It wasn’t just Evatt and Eardley who had a bad day at the office – neither Cathcart nor Stephen Crainey will be satisfied with their performances either. Crainey struggled for much of the game to handle Morgan Schneiderlin, and for the last minute Lambert goal, Cathcart afforded the former ‘Pool trainee too much space for a player as good in the air as he is. Visiting top of the league, the Blackpool defence wobbled, but thankfully for them, it’s another away game at a top team out of the way.

Ludo Sylvestre finally broke into Ian Holloway’s team away at Leeds, and after the Millwall game which followed it I commented on how the flatter ‘Pool midfield was based around Barry Ferguson as a pivot point. With Keith Southern’s health concerns, Holloway reverted to using Gary Taylor-Fletcher at the tip of a midfield three in recent weeks, the success of which is up for debate. After the 1-0 win over Reading, I floated the idea of Chris Basham or Angel Martinez being brought in alongside Ferguson and Sylvestre, particularly for away games. Holloway did exactly that and Basham won his first midfield start of the season – his only other start came at right-back away at Brighton.

During his 15 month Blackpool career so far, Basham has suffered with a string of injuries, before being cast in the rather unfortunate role of utility man. On the few occasions Basham has got into the side, it has typically been as cover for an injury or suspension, which has seen the former Bolton man back out of the side when the player he replaced is available. Danny Coid proved over the course of a decade that being a utility man, while handy for the manager, is not always a blessing for the player himself. Coid too was no stranger to the treatment table, and when fit struggled to nail down any particular place for any length of time.

Chris Basham will be hoping he can avoid falling into the same trap, and his performance on Saturday lunchtime was a massive step in the right direction. Presumably brought in to give the Blackpool midfield more solidity, it was unexpected at just how well Basham got forward. Aside from his goal, Basham worked his way into the Southampton box on a number of other occasions and does appear an attacking aerial threat, as commented upon following the 2-0 defeat at Leicester. Until Southern or Elliot Grandin return to full fitness, Basham represents a genuine alternative in midfield, which before the weekend did not seem to be an option the manager was seriously considering.

3. …but doesn’t survive the substitutions.

With ‘Pool leading 2-1, Ian Holloway opted to make some changes in the closing stages of the game. Kevin Phillips joined the action to a chorus of boos from the home supporters, clearly not fondly remembered for his time at Southampton, replacing Callum McManaman. A few minutes later Chris Basham also departed the field for Lomana Lua Lua, which following some criticism has since been explained as the midfielder apparently carrying a knock, as well as Holloway being eager to take him off after his full-blooded challenge on Dan Harding, which on another day may have earned him more than just a yellow card.

At this point, the shape of the side did crumble a little. The first substitution looked like ‘Pool may have switched to a 4-4-2 with Kevin Phillips and Taylor-Fletcher up front, but then the second change saw Taylor-Fletcher drop a bit deeper, with ‘Pool then operating a 4-3-3-cum-4-2-4. Given how the Seasiders had closed out the game against Reading by going to a more compact midfield, it was more than a little surprising that the more defensively-minded Angel was not brought on to replace Basham.

This is not to say that Blackpool were completely overrun in the final 10 minutes or so. Southampton pushing for equaliser, combined with the Blackpool changes in both tactics and personnel, served to stretch the game, with the match turning into an end-to-end affair. Indeed, one could easily argue that the visitors should have killed off the game, spurning good chances on the break with Taylor-Fletcher one notable culprit. However, the puzzling decision to change tactics of how to hold onto a lead from one game to the next invites a few questions, and having done it successfully the previous week, it was disappointing in the end to drop two points with Lambert’s late goal.

The equalising goal was sickeningly late from a Blackpool point of view, but it’s hard to deny that Southampton deserved something for their part in an entertaining game. Once again Blackpool came to rely on Matt Gilks to bail them out of some dangerous situations, and the hosts kept going right until the final whistle, and may have been disappointed themselves not to take all three points, wasting a four-on-two overload just after scoring their late equaliser.

Nigel Adkins has done a sterling job since taking the reins at Southampton and has seemingly fully justified his decision to drop down a division when he swapped Scunthorpe for the south coast last year – the Iron now find themselves struggling at the wrong end of League One, 43 league places below Adkins’ current side. Southampton are a side filled with good footballers all over the pitch, although goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski starting his first league game for two years had a well-publicised afternoon to forget.

Saints may have surrendered some ground to their rivals in recent weeks, but with flexible wide players like Schneiderlin and Adam Lallana and a front two of Lambert and Guly do Prado, they look well placed to cement an automatic promotion place. Their strength at home was visible even when a defeat looked on the cards, and it is the teams that rescue results at the end of games that typically go on to do well.

All in all it was a rather forgettable afternoon by the seaside on Saturday, but a 1-0 win over Reading ensured Blackpool ended a run of three games without a victory to keep themselves on the fringes of the play-off places. Here are my thoughts on the weekend’s action:

The weather set the tone for the occasion on Saturday, with the damp and blustery conditions playing their part in a forgettable day. As part of a pre-match preview for the Reading blog The Tilehurst End, I tipped a narrow Blackpool win and advised Royals’ fans to brace themselves for inclement weather. If nothing else, I hope they at least followed my advice and wrapped up warm, as there was little other comfort to be taken from their long journey north.

The first half was particularly uneventful, as neither side really got going – stray passes were the norm and the main action centred on two refereeing decisions. Lomana Lua Lua’s through ball found Callum McManaman running through on goal, only for him to be felled outside the box. The referee gave no decision, when surely it was either a professional foul from the Reading defender or a bookable offence for a dive from McManaman. At the other end, Reading had a goal ruled out for offside – Matt Gilks saved well from a header following a free-kick, and although the rebound was poked in, the flag went up.

It was a marginally better second half, but still not enough to elevate the game above anything other than dull. One good five minute spell for ‘Pool brought the winning goal, when Matt Phillips charged down the left before finding McManaman in space just inside the Reading box. A sharp turn created just enough space for a shot and McManaman found the corner to hand ‘Pool all three points. It may not have been pretty, but in the end Blackpool did enough and once ahead never really looked like succumbing their advantage. Over the course of a successful season, victories like the one over Reading are vital, and winning in this fashion from time to time should be commended.

As one of the many teams aiming for a play-off finish this season, Reading’s trip to Bloomfield Road should have been an entertaining encounter between two teams vying for the same goal. However, without the injured Noel Hunt and the influential Jobi McAnuff, who was suspended having picked up his fifth booking in the 3-2 win over Peterborough, Reading were something of a let-down.

Reading may have a case to claim they had just about the better of the opening 45 minutes, but ultimately the visitors created very little. Attacking down the flanks appeared to be the most obvious gameplan, but with poor delivery from crosses, Blackpool were more often than not able to clear quite easily. Set-plays provided Reading with their most dangerous moments of the match though, with the disallowed goal coming from a free-kick in the first half – defending set-pieces can be a weakness for ‘Pool, but Reading were unable to make the breakthrough.

This is by no means a bid to write Reading off however, and it may simply be an off day for them, not helped by the absence of key players. Inconsistency is rife in the Championship and it’s entirely plausible that the return match will look like it’s being contested by two completely different teams. There is no doubt that Reading will play better this season, and even then they were only just edged out on Saturday.

The starting line-up saw Gary Taylor-Fletcher restored to the midfield, with McManaman earning a recall in the front three alongside Lua Lua and Matt Phillips. Taylor-Fletcher has of course filled this role already this season with varying degrees of success, and it was another mixed display for the midfield as whole. The same fluency that appeared to accompany the trio of Barry Ferguson, Keith Southern and Ludo Sylvestre was not quite there against Reading.

A major reason for this, is that with Taylor-Fletcher in the midfield, he will often push forward to make it into a midfield two and forward four. It was often a similar story when Jonjo Shelvey occupied that role, and makes you wonder if it has been a conscious decision from the management. Having this option alongside a flatter midfield three makes ‘Pool flexible and a bit harder for other teams to predict, but does mean the short passing game of the midfield is a little more neglected.

As the second half wore on, Matt Phillips dropped into the midfield with Taylor-Fletcher swapping places, and while it was effective in one sense, with Phillips running from deep to provide an assist, it is not an arrangement that one can envisage being used very often. As the substitutions were made, both Chris Basham and Angel were used in a more defensive-minded midfield, and their presence helped close out the game. One wonders if Ian Holloway may use either of these two players alongside Ferguson and Sylvestre in a return to flat a midfield three in the coming weeks, particularly away from home. If not, then it is likely to be Taylor-Fletcher who will continue in what is becoming a more familiar role for him.

It has been a reflective week or so for football in light of the news of Gary Speed’s untimely passing, and Blackpool supporters had another reason to put things into perspective when Keith Southern’s troubles were revealed. It emerged before the Reading game that Southern had had an operation to remove a tumour from one of his testicles. Results from the biopsy are as yet unknown, but it is believed the operation went well and Southern himself is targeting a return to training in January.

The longest serving player at the club has a tremendous attitude towards the game, and despite not being blessed with an awful lot of on the ball talent, his work ethic and determination has seen him be an almost ever-present name in the Blackpool team for the best part of a decade. Even now his absence is keenly felt, the midfield losing a key ingredient without him in the side.

It is to be hoped his recovery is as successful as it is swift. Our thoughts are with Keith and his family and hopefully we will see him step back out at Bloomfield Road in the not too distant future.

1. Harsh first half scoreline

Leicester led 1-0 at the break courtesy of Andy King’s goal from a Lloyd Dyer through ball, but ‘Pool had certainly deserved more. With the same starting line-up that had taken to the pitch in the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Birmingham, it was Ian Holloway’s side that sought to dictate the pace of the game and the short sharp passing we have become accustomed to in recent weeks. Having the better of the possession and on the whole looking comfortable, Blackpool had largely restricted the hosts to playing on the counter-attack.

Where Blackpool failed in the first half was with their inability to convert possession to genuine goalscoring chances. A number of players had shots from distance, but there was only one real gilt-edged opportunity to speak of, when Gary Taylor-Fletcher was unable to guide his header past Kasper Schmeichel following an excellent Neal Eardley cross. However, despite seeing less of the ball than the visitors, Leicester were still able to ask questions of the ‘Pool defence, primarily through the use of the ball over the top.

The pace and guile of David Nugent and Jermaine Beckford was always a threat lurking in the shadows and when they did get on the ball they looked dangerous against a high Blackpool line, but it was generally the Seasiders who did most of the running. When a goal did come it was a little against the run of play, but Leicester had earlier forced Matt Gilks into a good save, so the warning signs were there for ‘Pool who should have made their possession count. Still, Holloway will have been frustrated to give his half-time teamtalk to a trailing team.

2. Problems for Evatt and the defence

At the start of the season, the defence looked as if it would be the foundation of the side with no turnover of first team players in this area following relegation from the Premier League. Matt Gilks has backed that statement up with a string of fine performances in goal, particularly in recent weeks, but the back four is starting to appear a little more precarious, through a combination of injury and below-par performances. Craig Cathcart’s injury struck at a bad time, as the former Manchester United man was beginning to recapture his form from the first half of last season. Last night’s injury to Alex Baptiste only compounds the problem.

One man ‘Pool can normally rely on is Ian Evatt, but his displays of late have been a little below his usual standard. Evatt’s positioning could be questioned for both of Birmingham’s goals last weekend, and his role in Leicester’s strikes should be examined too. The first goal came down Evatt’s side, and in the build up to the second he was pulled all over the pitch and could be accused of ball-watching. For some balance though, on neither occasion did the defence receive much help from the midfield, so the blame can’t entirely be placed on Evatt’s shoulders.

Chris Basham came on for the injured Baptiste, and on reflection did fairly well, one panicked moment aside once the game was already lost at 2-0 down. Basham looked good in the air, and particularly in attacking situations looking to get on the end of free-kicks and corners. Whether Holloway sees centre back as Basham’s long-term position is unclear however. Should the injury situation be serious, it may mean a recall for Ashley Eastham as Miguel Llera just gone on loan to Sheffield Wednesday and ‘Pool won’t be able to call him back until 28 days of the loan have elapsed. The only other option would be Matt Hill, but anyone who saw his performance at West Ham would be reluctant to see him return at the heart of the defence. Strengthening in this area in January may now be a priority.

3. Midfield? What Midfield?

Despite a fairly positive first 45 minutes for Blackpool, the second half saw a change of approach from the restart. Taylor-Fletcher began the half in midfield, with Jonjo Shelvey pushing further forward. Soon after, Ludovic Sylvestre was then taken off – fatigue cited as the reason post-match – with Callum McManaman replacing him. This resulted in Shelvey dropping back into midfield alongside Barry Ferguson and Taylor-Fletcher.

This was not an ideal scenario as Shelvey has already been known to struggle positionally in a midfield three and Taylor-Fletcher is also attack-minded. In some ways Holloway had few genuine midfield options, with no Angel Martinez on the bench and Basham already utilised in defence due to Baptiste’s injury. This meant Blackpool’s midfield consisted of too many attackers in an unbalanced second half, the shape of the ‘Pool side crumbling.

Since the Leicester game, Liverpool have recalled Shelvey, which makes the return of Keith Southern all the more important. Tuesday night was the sort of game made for Southern as there was nobody in the Blackpool side in the second half who really looked to take the game to Leicester’s midfield. Holloway looked to have hit on a strong combination with Ferguson, Southern and Sylvestre, and the sooner he can return to this trio the better. Another player to consider is Elliot Grandin, who is nearing a return from injury, and has been a big miss for the Seasiders.

Nigel Pearson’s return to Leicester has certainly given the club a lift, and over the course of the 90 minutes it’s hard to argue that they were anything other than good value for their 2-0 win. Referring to Leicester as ‘functional’ may seem something of a back-handed compliment, but it is said with good intentions. So many teams in the Championship struggle for any kind of consistency, so the way Pearson looks to have set up his team in such a short space of time is to be commended. Being functional with the quality of players they have should see Leicester be realistic automatic promotion contenders.

Leicester set up in a 4-4-2 formation, with the full-backs encouraged to push on, and Richie Wellens sitting deep pulling the strings. Wellens’ midfield partner, Andy King, is a player clearly capable of playing in the Premier League and assisted by their wide men, Leicester appear to have a team that know their roles very well – again a considerable feat given the recent managerial change. There’s every chance Leicester can catch the current top two, and a play-off place is surely a given.

Pearson spoke very fairly post-match by saying that Blackpool had had better of first half. When asked how he spoke to his players at half-time, Pearson stated that he just asked for nothing complicated, but to work harder. This, combined with a downturn in the performance levels of Blackpool, was highly effective. It’s not to say that Leicester’s performance was purely based on graft and bereft of quality though, with their class shining through for their second goal, a lovely well-worked move which cut ‘Pool wide open. Leicester could possibly even have scored a few more goals, but some near-misses and Gilks saves limited the score to 2-0.

Middlesbrough will have been disappointed not to have taken all three points on Saturday, and a large contributing factor in that was the performance of their strikers, Marvin Emnes and Scott McDonald. Both have had to endure a tricky spell to start their careers on Teesside, but now seem to be through that stage and look a real threat.

Emnes was the player that had most ‘Pool fans talking after the game, his ability to hold the ball and his directness causing problems for Ian Evatt and Craig Cathcart, with Alex Baptiste also having a decidedly rocky first half struggling to cope with the Middlesbrough forwards. Emnes did have a tendency to go to ground a little too easily, but it’s easy to see why Boro have had a good start to the season on the back of 10 goals from the Dutchman.

For me though, the more impressive of the two was McDonald. Arriving on a hefty-by-Championship-standards pricetag – £3.5m from Celtic – McDonald bagged both goals for the hosts and I was surprised to learn he’d had something of a scoring drought this season up until recently. Despite his relative lack of height, he won more than his fair share of headers, and was perhaps unlucky not to get a hat-trick on the day.

After their successful month long spell on loan at Sheffield United, Matt Phillips and Billy Clarke both featured from the bench at the Riverside. Whether they’d both have made the 16 without the late removal of Lomana Lua Lua from the squad – Ian Holloway left him out after the forward missed a team meeting on the day of the game – is unclear, but given how they performed at Bramall Lane it was just reward for the pair.

Of the two, it was Matt Phillips who demonstrated a more visible impact once he joined the action midway through the second half. Phillips did not only assist Shelvey’s equaliser, but he was also involved in a few similar chances that may have even won all three points for Blackpool at the death. It’s important for Phillips to have confidence back in running with the ball and crossing into dangerous areas. Saturday was a fine example of how to do that, and if he can replicate that form as the season progresses, there’s no doubt he can play a big role for ‘Pool this campaign.

Clarke had fewer minutes on the pitch to impress, but still showed signs that his spell on loan has been productive. Clarke won praise during his loan spell for the creative side of his game playing just off the main striker – the lack of goals more than made up for by the amount of goals he set up. Looking to tap into this, Holloway used Clarke on Saturday in the hole behind the front three. It was noticeable that Clarke often picked up the ball from a rather deep-lying position, and with so much competition for the forward roles, Clarke’s best chance of any kind of regular action may be in this position.

Matt Gilks won the man of the match award for most onlookers of a Blackpool persuasion, and quite rightly so, as the former Rochdale keeper put in another fine display. There is a case to be made that he is player of the season so far and more performances such as this will only strengthen that view. 

Once again ‘Pool had to rely on their stopper to bail them out of some worrying situations, Gilks making several excellent saves to keep Blackpool in the contest. One save in particular in the first half will be remembered fondly, as Gilks dived low to his right to deny McDonald – comparisons to Gordon Banks vs. Pele weren’t far off the mark at all.

However, for all of the great work Gilks did, if we’re going to be picky then some of his distribution left a little to be desired. His desire to release the ball quickly is certainly to be commended, but sometimes a slight hesitation might be the best idea. Gilks’ quick throw-outs gifted possession to the opposition more than a couple of times, leading to some very dangerous moments indeed. However, that slight blemish aside Gilks is proving a steady foundation, and some minutes for Scotland are surely massively overdue.

As already mentioned, Boro were the more dominant team over the course of the whole game, but it should not be underestimated what an achievement it was to come from behind twice. Doing so in any away game is an excellent feat, but at a team with such a handy home record the comebacks were even more impressive. In a pre-season contribution to The Seventy Two, I tipped Middlesbrough as a side who “could make a credible challenge for the play-offs”. It’s now clear Boro are genuine promotion candidates and so a point for ‘Pool should be regarded as a fantastic outcome.