The Reinvigoration of Gary Madine

Most who watched Blackpool under Simon Grayson last season would have expected Gary Madine to leave Bloomfield Road in the summer, yet he now stands as their main man.

The ex-Cardiff man flattered to deceive following his January move to the Fylde Coast on an 18-month deal. He put in a number of ineffectual showings in 2019/20 and evidently lacked belief and confidence to turn around his run of form.

Yet he finds himself a changed man under Neil Critchley and is seen as the main man Blackpool need to sign up to a new deal with his current contract expiring in the summer, should they harbour promotion aspirations in the future.

So where has this turnaround in performance come from?

First of all, Madine is someone that thrives from getting players in and around him. He was left isolated as a lone forward under Grayson and during his unsuccessful spell at Cardiff where he failed to score in 26 appearances over a couple of seasons.

In Jerry Yates he has the perfect partner alongside him to offer that support. Yates is an engine in terms of his work rate, constantly on the move and looking to get in behind where possible. Madine’s dominance in an aerial sense offers the perfect foil for how Yates likes to play and as such Madine’s importance to the side increases.

His hold up play has been a major boost for Critchley who has compromised on his preferred style of play in order to become more direct and effective in approach.

Even against Premier League opposition in West Brom and Brighton, the 30-year-old forward asserted himself on the game, involving himself in all three of the Tangerines’ goals in their ties, scoring two of them.

In Adam Webster, Lewis Dunk and Semi Ajayi, Madine came up against some physical Premier League defenders and yet he showed himself to be a worthy opponent. What he does well is drag central defenders out of position which leaves gaps in behind for Yates to exploit.

He is an intelligent player and his technical ability in a creative sense is massively underrated. Throughout this season, he has brought the ball down and fed balls into the channels, as any target man would do, but he has also looked to turn in behind and force openings himself.

This ability on the ball has gone from strength to strength and it allows an unpredictability about his play that has opened up many League One defences this season.

His increasing run of form did not start straight away. The need for a boost in confidence that has been apparent throughout his career, for example during his loan spell at Bolton where his 10 goals in 28 games helped a struggling side, was evident again.

Two goals in the sides’ 3-0 victory away at National League South opponents Eastbourne Borough were the catalyst to a much improved player. Since then, the confidence has been flowing, that was the game where his partnership with Yates really grew.

Termed ‘Yorke and Cole’ by Blackpool supporters, the pair have provided half of the club’s goals in the League and have provided the spark in an attacking sense, despite a relatively uncreative team as a whole.

It is expected that, despite his age, Madine will find himself under interest in the summer and, given the new salary cap, Blackpool will find it difficult to keep hold of the striker with his contract coming to an end.

Having said that, it seems as if he has found a home in Bloomfield Road. He knows more than anyone that his career has been quite sporadic in nature, with his first spell on the Fylde Coast being unremarkable at best.

At 30 his next move will be the most important of his career. It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise to see interest from newly promoted Championship clubs or from abroad in the coming months and they will be able to offer significantly more in terms of a financial package than Blackpool can.

But what Blackpool can offer is a home where he will be seen as the main man, a project that is looking to see the side playing Championship football before long and a coaching setup that have improved what he brings to a side quite a lot.

Where Madine’s future lies is up for debate, but what is for sure is that in the next six months, he is going to be vital to his team’s season and pivotal in driving them up the League One table.

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