Rusty Old Tower

The day that every football fan dreams about has finally arrived.

An away match at Old Trafford?

No!

A day out at the Millennium Stadium?

No!

It’s a trip to Blackpool.

When the fixtures are announced football fans up and down the land search out the date and make arrangements for their annual trip to the seaside.

Why do they do this? It’s a dump.

Blackpool (or should I say, ahem – “Las Vegas of the North”) is horrible. Kiss me quick hats, rip you off amusement arcades and fortune tellers make this place extremely unpleasant. Look beyond the naff decorations and cheap lager and you will find nothing bar a rusty iron tower (built in 1894) and donkey dung.

This is a place where thousands gather every weekend to waste hundreds of pounds, drink gallons of watered down “beer”, throw up up in the street and have a fight. By all accounts this is called “having a good time”. Great!

Blackpool hasn’t really developed since the turn of the century. Yes, the lights get more gawdy (Walsall Illuminations are far better) and more tat shops appear on the sea front but otherwise it’s a rundown town trying to make a quick buck.

It requires regular visits from half the population of Birmingham and Manchester in order for it to exist.

Maybe, if everyone decided to boycott Blackpool it would close down – forever. Now that’s a good idea.

Believe it or not, Blackpool FC was once a respected football club with a fine pedigree. The once great Stanley Matthews played here. Nowadays though, no-one can take the Seasiders seriously as the club and all its history has been dwarfed by the grotty sea front, commercial enterprise – and Preston!!

From the halcyon days of Matthews and Mortensen they have sadly declined to the present era of Wellens and Edwards. Hmmm! No comment.

In charge at the seaside is Mister Charisma himself, Colin Hendry.

I have to admit though, this guy features in my all time favourite footballing memory.

What a delight it was when Gascoigne flicked the ball over a statue-esque Hendry and buried it into the bottom corner to give England a victory over the Socks. Nice one Colin, you will always be remembered.

It would appear that Saddlers have the upper hand when it comes to playing Blackpool as we have won the last 3 matches including a 2-0 win last time out at Bloomfield Road.

Remember the days gone by when we seemingly held an Indian sign over them and continually piddled on their promotion parties? What fun it was!

After looking relegation certs the Seasiders seem to have got their house in order. They have lost only 1 of their last 6 outings which was the 0-1 reverse away to Huddersfield.

Three of the last 6 matches they have won by a goal to nil. This would indicate that they will be a tough cookie to break down. Given that Saddlers have now resorted to flooding the midfield away from home I think this is going to be a tight scrappy affair.

Unfortunately Mister Happy predicts a narrow home win.

Seasiders 1 Saddlers 0

P.S. If you want a good weekend away – Whitley Bay is far better!