Blackpool SLO column: Hoping to continue the feelgood factor from Tuesday night

Blackpool beat Liverpool’s Under-21s 5-2 in the EFL Trophy and well done to the 2,500 fans who turned up to support Neil Critchley’s youthful squad as they took on the Reds – who were playing in green and white.

It was a very enjoyable game to watch and not just for Kylian Kouassi’s hat-trick.

It gave those players who don’t get regular first-team game time a chance to show supporters what they can do and it was great to see Will Squires given his debut.

Let’s hope that several of the lads who impressed on the night continue to develop, to the point where they can break into the first team squad on a regular basis – and that the positivity of Tuesday night rolls on into Saturday’s fixture.

We welcome Stevenage to the seaside this weekend. We’ve only played the Hertfordshire club twice, as far as I recall, back in the 2016/17 season.

We won both home and away without conceding a goal, so let’s hope for more of the same starting tomorrow.

Stevenage are currently above us, in the League One play-off positions, but our track records are identical over the last five matches played and, with a game in hand, we have a real opportunity to close the gap on the teams above us.

As I’ve said many times before, the players take confidence from the noisy and passionate support that our three sides of the ground can give them.

Get yourselves down to fortress Bloomfield Road early to avoid any congestion at the turnstiles and let’s create that special Seaside atmosphere inside the ground.

Following on from the club’s successful ‘Tangerine Teammates’ tie-in to local grassroots clubs, Blackpool FC recently announced a ‘Tickets For Teams’ initiative whereby two adults and up to 15 children from any grassroots club or school team with an FY postcode can watch the Seasiders in action for just £60.

Team tickets are currently available for tomorrow’s game and the matches against Cheltenham Town and Peterborough United.

If you know a club side or school team that might be interested, please share this information. More details are available from the club website and the ticket office.

There was some speculation on social media platforms recently about the club developing a ‘fan engagement’ charter. Several football clubs have already started down this route.

The work being done on the Government’s White Paper to introduce independent regulation into the sport recognises that fans are a club’s biggest asset.

Fan engagement charters are intended as a positive development to improve the breadth and quality of supporter engagement with football clubs. More on this next time.

If any supporter wishes to contact me for any reason at all, my contact email is [email protected] and you might also like to follow @bfcslo on Facebook and Twitter.

UTMP!