Blackpool have sealed their playoff place and are on course for a Championship return after a six year absence

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Blackpool have officially sealed their place in the League One playoffs following victory against Doncaster Rovers at Bloomfield Road.

But rather than going into the match itself, now feels like a perfect time to reflect on where this club has been in recent times and just how special this achievement is for the club.

It is just over two years since the Oyston regime lost ownership of the Seasiders as the high court placed Blackpool into receivership following a court case that deemed they had “illegitimately stripped” the club of £26.77m.

Fans felt they had no other option but to spend years in exile, in a boycott that bid to starve the owners of any financial oxygen, even boycotting sponsors and associates of the club in a bid to back them into a corner.

Nearly four entire seasons supporters turned their back on the football club they loved and the stadium they loved, in order to make a stand against a spiteful family that had torn apart the history of one of British football’s finest institutions.

This club was in civil war mere years ago.

The scars of the battle of that time still ring true throughout the fanbase that will never fully heal its relationship with one another.

Supporters who wear the Blackpool shirts of the seasons where fans enacted their ‘not a penny more’ campaign are berated for doing so, faces who entered the turnstiles whilst others protested outside are remembered.

It is a prevalent topic given the recent events in the upper echelons of football but down the pyramid it is an all-familiar story of clubs having their hearts and souls ripped out by businessman who have no interest other than financial.

But Blackpool fans and the club itself have firmly left those days behind them and are within touching distance of a return to the Championship.

Whilst looking forward is the mantra of many Tangerine fans these days, it has to be acknowledged that many did not envisage a day where this would be even a remote possibility.

Many had begun to accept that they may never walk into Bloomfield Road again, they may never get to support their team again.

Talks had even started within supporters’ groups of the potential of forming a phoenix club to outlast the expectation that Blackpool Football Club simply would not exist in the future.

This club has come back from the dead and become stronger for it.

In Simon Sadler, a Blackpool man turned Hong Kong businessman, they have found the perfect recipe for success both on and off the field and now a complete u-turn has arisen from a mass hatred of the ownership to sheer affection.

Sadler has a clear plan in mind, a clear philosophy much like Barnsley and Brentford of the division above, utilising data, analysis and player development to create a modern, forward-thinking culture at the club.

In Neil Critchley, Blackpool have another youthful, progressive coach who prioritised player development and a belief in his system and approach above all else.

The long-term gains from patience and belief in that culture developing as things move forward is exactly why the Seasiders have become the mammoth force that they have in League One.

A turnover of 19 players in the summer and an inability to pick up wins in the early stages of the season had disaster written all over it.

But when many, including myself, panicked at this prospect, the club did not flinch, they trusted in the process and that is the sort of level-headed management of a football club that is bound to bring success for years to come.

There is a fluidity about the play on the pitch, despite an injury crisis that has caused rotation to become the norm for Critchley, the culture and identity of play has allowed for an easy transition from one player to the next.

Anyone can slot in and know their specific role for their game, exactly what their responsibilities are and they can enact them with a relative ease.

One down point of this season is that the fans have not been able to come along on the ride with what is a delightful group of professionals.

Bloomfield Road in the midst of this charge towards a potential promotion would have been a force to be reckoned with.

A North Stand packed to the rafters without a single person sat in their seat, standing, jumping and singing their hearts out with a passion that just feels different on the Fylde Coast.

It means more to those fans than most.

They have seen the lowest depths that football has to offer, but as much as it felt like they were being bombarded with defeat after defeat, their spirit was never broken.

That strength in adversity brought a community closer together and out of the wreckage has come an undying bond to their football club, to their community and what it means to be part of Blackpool.

Should supporters be able to attend play off matches, even if it is to be a 25% capacity at Bloomfield Road, those fans will make it an intimidating venue to travel to and offer that extra 10% that their players may well require to get themselves over the line.

It is hard to argue for anyone over Blackpool to go all the way and gain promotion to the second division of English football right now, and a trip to Wembley could be just weeks away.

Yet the last time Blackpool travelled to Wembley for the League Two playoff final, you would have thought coronavirus restrictions were in place.

Supporters boycotted in their thousands, turning their backs on what should be one of the finest days of following a football club in the EFL.

This is where Blackpool supporters’ resilience is unmatched. They never broke no matter the circumstance whether it be Arsenal travelling to Bloomfield Road for an FA Cup tie, or a playoff semi-final against Luton Town.

They knew the bigger picture was the more important cause and they are an inspiration to those who find themselves in similar struggles.

But that is why they deserve to see their side play at Wembley without the dilemma of whether they should attend or not, or whether winning that final would be in the long-term interests of the club.

They are just normal football supporters again, talking about normal football matters and it is about time they get their day in the sun once more.

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