Jordan Rhodes is back for Blackpool- but did others do enough to grasp the opportunity in his absence

The striker had been out of action since the end of January after picking up a rib problem in a collision during a draw with Charlton Athletic at Bloomfield Road.

Ahead of Saturday’s game against League One leaders Portsmouth, Rhodes could be set to resume his place in the Seasiders’ starting line-up. The Huddersfield Town loanee has become a popular figure since his arrival on the Fylde Coast, scoring 15 times in 26 appearances.

By his own standards, he had been going through a goal drought before his spell on the sidelines, with his wait to find the back of the net going back to just before Christmas in the game against Bristol Rovers at home.

In all competitions, Jake Beesley is just behind Rhodes in the Blackpool scoring charts. Despite his game time being limited at times through both selection and injury, the 27-year-old has scored 11 times.

In fact, the Seasiders have a number of strong options up front, with Kyle Joseph, Shayne Lavery and Kylian Kouassi all enjoying bright spells at various points this season; even if they’ve not got the same goal return.

A big question is, did the other striker do enough to assert themselves during Rhodes’ absence.

Starting with Kouassi, he made his return from a hamstring injury in the 1-0 defeat to Stevenage, and was kept pretty quiet on the whole. Out of the Seasiders players that started he had the least amount of touches (20), and was unable to get a shot away, which can be put down to the way the fixture went for Critchley’s side.

The 20-year-old was also unable to find the back of the net in his three outings since. His only other start in that time was against Cheltenham, which was a similar story to the game at the Lamex Stadium. He got on the ball the least amount of times in the starting XI, but also failed to make the most of a big opportunity.

Lavery has also had his injury problems this term, but apart from the recent Leyton Orient trip at the end of February, he has been involved in every league game since January 13.

During that run, he has only managed one goal, which came from the penalty spot in a fantastic second half display against Peterborough, having two shots on target and producing two key passes. On the whole during that time a better return has been needed from the striker, despite some bright displays.

Like his two colleagues, Beesley has also worked his way back from his own injury during the time Rhodes was out. His return in the league game against Peterborough was nothing but a brief cameo, while it was clear he wasn’t at full match fitness in the EFL Trophy semi-final defeat against the same opponent.

It was the league game against Bolton where he really stepped up, which was similar to a few games before his spell on the sidelines, as he claimed a brace and looked sharp throughout.

Since the victory over the Trotters, he’s been kept quiet in the two outings since. Producing just one off target shot in both the defeat to Leyton Orient and the victory over Shrewsbury.

Finally we come to Kyle Joseph. While his injury was a while ago, it’s clear a lack of pre-season is still impacting him a little bit. In Rhodes’ absence he has failed to score, but was on hand with assists against both Peterborough and Bolton, which were standout games for him as well.

Like the others, consistency has been an issue, and there’s been some matches where he’s failed to have the effect he would’ve desired.

In conclusion, you’d probably say none of the other strikers have truly stepped up and taken control in Rhodes’ absence. They’ve all demonstrated snippets which has helped Blackpool get through some games, but none of them have really done enough to stand out on their own as the club’s second best striker.