Worrying display, 3-4-3 and reluctance to change: Talking points from Blackpool’s abject defeat to Rotherham United

Stoke City was bad, but at least the Seasiders created two or three openings on that occasion, they at least attempted to lay a glove on their opponents and actually carried something of a threat at times.

On this occasion, there was none of that.

After the defeat at the bet365 Stadium at the start of the campaign, Michael Appleton pledged a passive display of that nature wouldn’t happen again under his tenure. Unfortunately it has, only this time it was even worse.

Second best

The Seasiders can have no complaints with the result or scoreline. If anything they were fortunate it wasn’t even worse.

They were second best throughout and struggled to get anywhere near the Millers, always appearing a yard or two off the pace.

That was no more evident than in central midfield, where an undercooked Kenny Dougall and Callum Connolly struggled – nay, utterly failed – to get to grips with the home side.

The visitors were left chasing shadows for much of the 90. Appleton said himself after the game his men were reactive and showed no personality or character.

It was strange then, that Blackpool actually made a really positive start to the match, albeit it only lasted four minutes.

Appleton had warned Rotherham would come storming out of the blocks from the first whistle but that wasn’t the case at all. Instead it was the Seasiders who were immediately onto the front foot.

Callum Connolly saw a deflected volley whistle just wide of the post, while the same player then glanced a header agonisingly off target before Jerry Yates had a drilled effort well saved against his former club.

But that’s as good as it got for Appleton’s side. From that point onwards they were second best by some margin and the end result was inevitable unless something major changed, on or off the pitch.

Where were the changes?

That’s why it was such a surprise it took Appleton so long to make changes off the bench. That’s arguably been the most impressive aspect of his management so far this season, but on Wednesday night he opted to wait rather than be proactive. He too, like his players, was also reactive.

Trailing 1-0 at half-time after a dire first-half display, many expected the Seasiders to make at least one change at the interval, if not two.

The system itself needed an overhaul too. Appleton opted to stick with the 3-4-3 formation that worked against Huddersfield Town in Pool’s last outing 10 days ago, but on this occasion it was clear from early in the game it wasn’t having the same effect.

While Shayne Lavery was introduced 10 minutes into the second-half, the changes Blackpool needed to make were in the centre of the park. It was screaming out for something different.

But Sonny Carey and Callum Wright didn’t appear until the 84th minute, seconds after Rotherham had put the game to bed with their second goal of the night. By then, it was far too late. If anything, that should have been the change at half-time.

He was far from the only one, but Dougall really struggled. He and Connolly struggled to get to grips with Rotherham’s midfield all night long.

There were some worrying displays across the park though, this wasn’t a case of some isolated performances. Jordan Gabriel is the only player that came away with an ounce of credit given his full-bloodied commitment to the final whistle, but it’s not like he had a particularly great game either.

No time to sulk

What’s even more worrying for the Seasiders is that they face a similar type of side to Rotherham on Saturday when they make the arduous trip to the capital to face Millwall.

Both sides do the basics very well, which is something Appleton’s side certainly weren’t able to do at the New York Stadium.

If Blackpool deliver a similar display at The Den this weekend, expect a similar result because you can’t get away with such a low standard of performance in the Championship.

For a side of Blackpool’s size, stature and financial muscle to compete in this division, that’s exactly what they have to do: compete. But they didn’t do that at all against the Millers.

Losing games is an inevitability in the Championship, that much is accepted. But it’s the nature of this defeat that wrankles the most.

Losing 3-0 away to Norwich City is one thing, but suffering the same scoreline to a side predicted to finish in and around Blackpool in the table is another.

And I mean that with complete respect to Rotherham, because they were excellent on the night and they made Blackpool look utterly abject.

Now if this becomes a trend rather than a one-off, then we certainly have reasons to be fearful. But thankfully, other than the aforementioned Stoke game, this is the first time this season we’ve witnessed such a pitiful display.

The Millwall game now becomes a real test of Blackpool’s character, especially as it comes so soon off the back of this encounter.

With it being Pool’s last game before the two-week international break, the men in tangerine must find a way of putting things right. Otherwise the mood will remain a low one before the game against promotion-favourites Norwich at the start of October.

Off nights are to be expected, so let’s hope that is what this is. Blackpool have generally performed well this season and have shown they can compete, so they deserve the benefit of the doubt on this occasion.

But Saturday’s game will tell us a lot about this team’s resolve.