Opinion: A pitiful derby display - Blackpool hit a humiliating new low as rivals PNE piled on the misery

This was the nadir of Blackpool’s season, which is saying something given what we’ve already had to endure over the last seven months. The worst could be yet to come though.

If this isn’t the final nail in Blackpool’s relegation, chances are it’ll be one of the final ones because we’re entering last chance saloon territory now. Fail to beat relegation rivals Cardiff City on Friday and that’s it, barring a miracle.

Losing is bad enough and let’s be honest, we’ve had plenty of defeats this season, 20 now in the league. But being beaten in such a convincing manner by your fiercest rivals really hurts, let’s not shy away from it.

Outclassed

The worst thing is, Preston barely had to get out of second gear to win this derby. It all felt very controlled and routine. Even at 2-0 the atmosphere was surprisingly hushed, perhaps because it didn’t feel like much of a contest.

Derbies are at their most enjoyable when both sides are thundering into challenges, the action is end-to-end and there’s a sense of jeopardy. But barring the opening 10 minutes, Blackpool were never in this.

Mick McCarthy’s side started okay, but even then Preston were better. But the visitors did create one or two decent openings, Keshi Anderson coming closest with a low effort that rebounded off the foot of the post.

But once PNE edged their noses in front – through Brad Potts, of course, who else? – there was no coming back for the Seasiders. Once the second went in, they well and truly fell to pieces and never looked like recovering.

The following 20 minutes or so until half-time was a real tough watch for anyone of a tangerine persuasion. Preston were taking the proverbial, giving the Seasiders the runaround while the home supporters gleefully took full advantage of their rival’s seemingly impending relegation back to League One from the terraces.

Despite going 3-0 down just five minutes into the second-half, Blackpool were improved after the break. Charlie Patino, Ian Poveda and Josh Bowler all made a positive impact off the bench at the interval, but by then it was too little, too late.

But even then, while Blackpool saw much more of the ball and did create some good openings, it did feel like Preston were happy to sit back, soak up the pressure and look for opportunities on the break. They had done the hard work after all, it was just about managing the remainder of the game and seeing out the win to avenge their derby loss at Bloomfield Road earlier in the season.

Had they released the handbrake, chances are they would have added a fourth and a fifth.

Same old story

Why did we expect anything different though? This is the way Blackpool have performed all season. The chances of them turning it on for one game, the derby or not, was always going to be slim.

Even then, I didn’t think the Seasiders could perform much worse than last season’s Deepdale debacle when Neil Critchley’s then side failed to lay a finger on their rivals during a drab 1-0 defeat, but somehow they managed it.

And yet, inexplicably, they’re still in with a chance. A very, very small chance, admittedly, but a chance all the same.

Beat Cardiff on Good Friday and the gap to safety could be down to just a point. Reading are likely to be dragged into the mix as well with their six-point deduction seemingly imminent, which would leave Paul Ince’s side hovering nervously above the bottom three. QPR, well beaten at Bloomfield Road a few weeks back, aren’t out of it either.

But if Blackpool can’t sort themselves out, it’s all irrelevant. Realistically they’ll need at least 12 or 13 points from their final seven games and even then that’s unlikely to be enough.

By way of example, Mick McCarthy’s side have taken just four points from their last seven outings, so they’re a long, long way off where they need to be at this moment in time.

What else can be done? Not much, I don’t think. The inevitable is about to be confirmed.

Clutching at straws

Many will argue the flair players, the type McCarthy seemingly mistrusts, should get more of a showing. I wouldn’t necessarily argue the point, either. Bowler and Poveda certainly showed something different during the second-half.

But are we really saying that, had the two of them featured from the start, that Blackpool would have won this? I can’t say I’m convinced.

It hurts me to write this, but Preston are just a better side from back to front. Watching Blackpool’s powderpuff midfield try and get anywhere near Ben Whiteman, for example, was embarrassing to watch at times.

Others will argue about systems, but every formation under the sun has been trialled this season. Perhaps that’s part of the problem.

McCarthy stuck with the three at the back that worked so well against QPR and for the first-half against Coventry, at least. But both wing-backs, Andy Lyons and CJ Hamilton, were playing so deep during the first-half it was essentially a flat back five.

With all due respect to Hamilton, if you can’t capitalise on his lightning-quick pace in behind there’s no reason whatsoever to deploy him in that role.

Tactically Blackpool were severely lacking, they have done for much of the season if we’re being honest. It’s been a far cry from the disciplined structure we enjoyed under Critchley.

But getting away from talk of tactics, systems and formations, the main issue is a severe lack of quality. It’s that lack of quality that will see Blackpool back in League One unless something drastically changes over the coming weeks.

Let’s hope we’re not waiting too long for the opportunity to enact revenge.