2012–13 Blackpool F.C. season

Over the summer, the club released five players: forwards Lomana LuaLua, Daniel Bogdanović, Roman Bednář and Brett Ormerod, and defender Matt Hill. In addition, four loan players returned to their parent clubs: defender Danny Wilson, midfielder John Fleck, and forwards Nouha Dicko and Stephen Dobbie. Elliot Grandin, however, returned from an extended loan to Nice in his native France.

Blackpool made right-back Jake Caprice their first signing on 9 July. He arrived on a free transfer from Crystal Palace.

On 20 July, midfielder Isaiah Osbourne joined from Hibernian for a fee of £250,000.

Five days later, Portuguese midfielder Tiago Gomes was signed on a free transfer.

The following day, midfielder Keith Southern, the club's longest-serving current player, was sold to Huddersfield Town for £300,000, reuniting with his former manager at Blackpool, Simon Grayson. A testimonial match in honour of Southern's ten years of service to the Tangerines took place on 5 August. Everton were the visitors to Bloomfield Road, and Southern played the first fifteen minutes and the last fifteen minutes of the tie. The hosts won 2–0.

On 27 July, Ian Holloway made his fourth signing in Dundee United's 27-year-old Scotland international midfielder Scott Robertson. He arrived on a free transfer, and became the eighth Scot in the Blackpool squad.

As of 28 July, Ian Holloway had a first-team squad of 34 at his disposal. This included the four former Youth players who were handed professional contracts. They were forward Alex Addai, defender Matt Challoner, and midfielders Jamie Menagh and Curtis Thompson. While the squad were at their pre-season training camp in Portugal, Craig Sutherland suffered a knee injury that will put him out of action for twelve months.[1]

The first of Blackpool's three pre-season friendlies took place at Wrexham, managed by former 'Pool striker Andy Morrell, on 28 July. Goals from Kevin Phillips and new signing Scott Robertson gave the visitors a 2–1 victory. Recent departure Brett Ormerod started for Wrexham, while Morrell came on as a second-half substitute after being urged on by the visiting support.[2]

On 18 June, the Football League fixtures were published. Blackpool had four Lancashire-derby fixtures this campaign, with Blackburn Rovers having been relegated from the Premier League last season. They joined Burnley as Blackpool's rivals in the Red Rose County.

Blackpool officially kicked off their season on 12 August, with a League Cup first-round fixture against Morecambe at Bloomfield Road. The first-ever competitive meeting between the two Fylde Coast clubs ended with victory for the visitors. The Shrimps took the lead inside six minutes via Lewis Alessandra. Andrew Fleming doubled their lead eleven minutes into the second half. Alex Baptiste scored what proved to be a consolation for the hosts with thirteen minutes remaining.[3]

On 14 August, Blackpool completed a trio of signings. Danish-Algerian striker Adda Djeziri, who had played under Ian Holloway at Leicester City, joined from Viborg. Spaniard Alberto Noguera, a midfielder, signed from Atlético Madrid, while fellow midfielder, Englishman James Caton, also put pen to paper. All three had been on trial with the club.[4]

On the eve of their first League game of the season, striker Nouha Dicko re-joined the club on a season-long loan from Wigan Athletic,[5] thus making the first-team squad total 38.

The following day, a 2–0 victory at Millwall put Blackpool joint-top of the table with Burnley.[6]

Blackpool maintained their 100% start to the League campaign with a 2–1 win at home to Leeds United. Tom Lees put the visitors ahead in the 16th minute. The score remained the same until fifteen minutes from time, when Nouha Dicko opened his account for the season. Substitute Matt Phillips, reinstated to the matchday squad after submitting a transfer request at the weekend, netted the winner five minutes later. The win kept the Seasiders top of the table, two points clear of Sheffield Wednesday.[7]

On 23 August, Ivorian forward Anderson Banvo and Frenchman Brice Irie-Bi joined the club on one-year contracts. They will start out in the Seasiders' development squad.[8]

They made it three wins out of three with a 6–0 whitewash of Ipswich Town four days later.[9]

On 31 August, transfer-deadline day, Blackpool signed Nathan Eccleston from Liverpool for an undisclosed fee and Nathan Delfouneso from Aston Villa on a season-long loan.[10]

Blackpool's 100% start to the League campaign was ended on 1 September, with a single-goal defeat at Ian Holloway's former club Leicester City — a disputed penalty the difference. Blackpool remained top despite the defeat, however.[11]

On 4 September, former Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot joined the club on a free transfer, becoming the ninth Scot at Ian Holloway's disposal.[12]

After a two-week break due to internationals, Blackpool travelled to Barnsley on 15 September. They came away with a draw — Tom Ince scoring his fifth goal in as many League games — and were knocked off the top of the table by Blackburn Rovers. Nathan Delfouneso became the 22nd player used by Ian Holloway in the club's five games thus far.[13]

Three days later, the Seasiders hosted Middlesbrough at Bloomfield Road. A double from Nathan Delfouneso, on his full debut, inside 40 minutes put Blackpool into the driving seat. Andre Bikey pulled one back on the stroke of half-time. Tom Ince made it 3–1 ten minutes into the second half, in the process making himself the division's leading scorer, with six goals. Elliot Grandin made it 4–1 from the penalty spot after he was fouled. The win kept Blackpool in second place, behind Blackburn Rovers, in what was their best start to a League season in 57 years.[14]

Two successive defeats ensued – 3–1 at home to Huddersfield Town, managed by former Blackpool boss Simon Grayson, and 3–0 at Cardiff City.

A victory, at Hull City on 2 October, followed, but a third defeat in four games occurred at home to Charlton Athletic. After that result, Blackpool lay in eighth position, six points behind leaders Cardiff City.

Four days later, Charlton Athletic dealt Blackpool their second-consecutive home defeat.

A fourth loss in five outings occurred two weeks later, after an international break. It was a Lancashire derby against Burnley at Turf Moor. Charlie Austin netted the only goal of the game inside twenty minutes.

Two successive home draws followed — against Nottingham Forest on 23 October and against Brighton & Hove Albion four days later.

Ian Holloway resigned as manager on the morning of 3 November, a match day at Derby County, to become the new manager of Crystal Palace. Assistant manager Steve Thompson took charge in a caretaker capacity for the fixture, but Holloway's team selection stuck. Blackpool lost 4–1, their sixth defeat of their fourteen League games.

Thompson remained in charge for the following game, in which Blackpool balanced their win/loss record with a 2–0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday.

Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton was named as Holloway's successor on 7 November. His first game in charge was at home to Bolton Wanderers three days later. The match finished 2–2.

A week later, Blackpool travelled to Bristol City and came home with a point after a 1–1 draw. A Tom Ince penalty — his tenth goal of the campaign — in the closing seconds of the game kept Appleton's unbeaten start intact. Blackpool climbed to 12th place in the table with the result.

A third-successive draw followed, at home to Watford on 24 November. The Hornets went two goals ahead before the half-hour mark, but the hosts fought back to take a point with second-half strikes from Kevin Phillips and, in the final seconds of the game, Isaiah Osbourne.

Three days later, Blackpool hosted Birmingham City. Tom Ince opened the scoring on 17 minutes, but Curtis Davies put City level three minutes into the second half. Blackpool sat sixteenth with the point.

Into December, and Michael Appleton notched his first win with a 4–1 scoreline at Peterborough United. Wes Thomas, on loan from Bournemouth, put the visitors ahead on 51 minutes with his first goal for the Tangerines. Seven minutes later, Tom Ince doubled Blackpool's lead from the penalty spot. Dwight Gayle pulled one back for the Posh on 71 minutes, but Nouha Dicko restored Blackpool's two-goal cushion ten minutes later. Two minutes from time, Ince scored his second and Blackpool's fourth. The win lifted Blackpool to eleventh.

On 8 December, Blackpool travelled to Ian Holloway's Crystal Palace. Nathan Delfouneso gave Blackpool the lead on 37 minutes. Owen Garvan equalised seven minutes in the second half. Glenn Murray put Palace ahead for the first time just after the hour mark, but substitute Nouha Dicko scored in the final minute to maintain Michael Appleton's unbeaten start to his Blackpool career.

On 15 December, Blackpool faced Blackburn Rovers at Bloomfield Road. Wes Thomas scored his second goal of the season on 22 minutes. Kirk Broadfoot opened his scoring account for Blackpool with an 81st-minute header to give Blackpool the three points and extend their unbeaten run to eight.

Wolves visited the seaside on 21 December, and came out the victors 2–1 in what was the halfway point of the campaign. Captain Alex Baptiste was Blackpool's scorer.

Blackpool crossed the Pennines on Boxing Day to face Huddersfield Town. The spoils were shared in a 1–1 draw, Nathan Delfouneso scoring for the visitors.

For their last fixture of 2012, Blackpool travelled north-east to take on Middlesbrough. They lost 4–2, with Wes Thomas and Chris Basham getting their goals.

New Year's Day saw Hull City switch coasts. They returned to Yorkshire with a point after a goalless draw.

On 11 January, after just two months in charge of the Seasiders, Michael Appleton quit to take over at Blackburn Rovers, leaving Karl Oyston the task of looking for a new manager for the second time this season.

Steve Thompson was again put in temporary charge for the trip to Charlton Athletic the following day. The Tangerines lost 2–1, with Nathan Eccleston netting his first Blackpool goal.

A week later, eventual champions Cardiff City travelled up the coast, looking to complete a double over Blackpool. They succeeded, with a 2–1 scoreline. gary Taylor-Fletcher scored the hosts' goal. Blackpool had now gone six games without a victory.

This was remedied on 26 January with a victory at Wolves. Tom Ince scored both Blackpool goals in the 2–1 scoreline.

Another defeat followed, however — this time at home to Barnsley, who went on to finish bottom of the table. Ince scored Blackpool's goal.

On 9 February, Blackpool beat Millwall 2–1 at Bloomfield Road. Ince, with his fourth goal in three games, and Nathan Delfouneso did the damage for Blackpool.

A long trip to Ipswich Town on 16 February proved fruitless, the Seasiders going down by a single goal.

Paul Ince was named as Michael Appleton's successor on 18 February, and his first match in charge was at Leeds United two days later. They lost 2–0.

Two goalless home draws followed — against Leicester City and Bristol City — leaving Blackpool without a goal to their name in 360 minutes of football.

Another draw, this time 1–1, at Birmingham City occurred on 5 March. Kirk Broadfoot opened his scoring account for Blackpool.

Paul Ince's first victory came on 9 March, at Watford, thanks to goals from Ince junior and Gary MacKenzie.

This was cancelled out, however, with a defeat the following week, at home to Peterborough United, another side relegated at the end of the campaign.

Blackpool made the short trip to Blackburn Rovers on 29 March. They would have expected to face former manager Michael Appleton, but he was relieved of his duties the previous week after 67 days in charge. The match finished 1–1. Gary MacKenzie found the net for the second-successive game.

They did face a former manager in the next game, when Ian Holloway brought his Crystal Palace side to Bloomfield Road. Despite having Barry Ferguson sent off just before half time, Matt Phillips' goal was enough to give the hosts a valuable three points.

A visit to Nottingham Forest on 6 April resulted in a point from a 1–1 draw. Ludovic Sylvestre scored for the Seasiders.

Local rivals Burnley visited the seaside on 13 April. Blackpool exacted revenge for the defeat at Turf Moor in the reverse fixture with a single-goal victory. Ludovic Sylvestre scored the goal.

A third clean sheet in four games followed with a goalless draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

Blackpool travelled to the south coast to face Brighton on 20 April, and they suffered their heaviest defeat in recent memory after Gus Poyet's men ran out 6–1 winners. The hosts scored all seven goals: Hammond put through his own goal.

Paul Ince got his fourth win the following week with a 2–1 scoreline against Derby County. Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Ludovic Sylvestre were on the mark for the hosts.

Blackpool's season was brought to a close with a 2–2 draw at Bolton Wanderers on 4 May. They led 2–0 before Bolton struck twice just before half time to level matters. Matt Phillips scored Blackpool's first, before Ludovic Sylvestre, with his fourth goal in six games, doubled the lead. The draw resulted in Wanderers' dropping out of the play-off zone in favour of Leicester City.

As of 4 May 2013

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Matt Gilks	47	0	44+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0
2	DF		Paul Bignot	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
3	DF		Stephen Crainey	45	0	42+0	0	1+1	0	1+0	0
4	MF		Scott Robertson	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
4	DF		Reece Wabara (loan)	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
5	DF		Neal Eardley	26	0	20+3	0	2+0	0	1+0	0
6	DF		Ian Evatt	12	0	11+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
7	MF		Matt Phillips	35	4	28+6	4	0+0	0	1+0	0
8	MF		Tiago Gomes	26	0	20+4	0	0+1	0	0+1	0
9	FW		Kevin Phillips	18	2	9+8	2	1+0	0	0+0	0
10	MF		Elliot Grandin	13	3	6+6	3	0+0	0	0+1	0
11	MF		Tom Ince	46	18	41+2	18	2+0	0	1+0	0
12	MF		Gary Taylor-Fletcher	36	5	27+7	5	1+0	0	1+0	0
14	MF		Ludovic Sylvestre	31	5	21+7	4	1+1	1	1+0	0
15	DF		Alex Baptiste	45	2	42+0	1	2+0	0	1+0	1
16	MF		Barry Ferguson	20	0	19+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
17	MF		Chris Basham	27	1	23+2	1	2+0	0	0+0	0
18	MF		Isaiah Osbourne	29	1	22+5	1	2+0	0	0+0	0
19	MF		Alberto Noguera	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
20	DF		Craig Cathcart	26	1	22+3	1	0+1	0	0+0	0
21	GK		Mark Halstead	2	0	1+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
22	DF		Ashley Eastham	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
23	MF		Gerardo Bruna	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
24	FW		Craig Sutherland	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
25	GK		Chris Kettings	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
26	MF		Liam Tomsett	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
27	FW		Tom Barkhuizen	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
28	MF		Adam Dodd	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
29	MF		Jamie Menagh	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	FW		Louis Almond	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
31	MF		Ángel Martínez	22	0	17+4	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
32	MF		Curtis Thompson	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
33	DF		Bob Harris	5	0	3+1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
34	FW		Alex Addai	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
35	DF		Jake Caprice	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
36	DF		Matt Challoner	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
37	MF		James Caton	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
38	FW		Nouha Dicko (loan)	21	5	2+19	5	0+0	0	0+0	0
38	FW		Matt Derbyshire (loan)	12	0	4+8	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
39	FW		Wes Thomas (loan)	8	3	6+2	3	0+0	0	0+0	0
39	FW		Gary MacKenzie (loan)	12	2	12+0	2	0+0	0	0+0	0
40	FW		Nathan Delfouneso (loan)	41	7	22+17	6	2+0	1	0+0	0
41	FW		Nathan Eccleston	8	1	0+6	1	1+1	0	0+0	0
42	DF		Kirk Broadfoot	33	1	31+0	1	2+0	0	0+0	0
43	FW		Márkó Futács (loan)	3	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
—	FW		Anderson Banvo	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
—	FW		Adda Djeziri	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

Players used: 32
Goals scored: 65 (62 League; 2 FA Cup; 1 League Cup) (includes two own-goals)

Note: Players in italics are no longer with Blackpool