Blackpool gossips
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Hi everyone, I guess I will also put updates on the 3 newly promoted teams,
naming Blackpool, Newcastle United & West Bromwich Albion..
here it goes~
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YIL BY MOUTH ... DenizDENIZ YILMAZ has begged Bayern Munich to let him move to England.
Blackpool, Newcastle and West Brom are keen on the £1million Turk striker, 22.
QUIDS IN ... play-off hero Brett OrmerodBLACKPOOL players have been told they will receive their £400,000-a-man promotion bonuses by the end of the week.
Lack of payment has caused unrest in the Pool dressing room.
Midfielder Keith Southern, who is owed £425,000, said: "The lads have been assured bonuses will be paid."
Seasiders boss Ian Holloway is fuming over the transfer window.
Ollie, who has only 16 players, said: "It's absolute madness. It is a restraint of trade."
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LOAN STAR ... Seamus ColemanIAN HOLLOWAY admits he is unlikely to bring Seamus Coleman back to Blackpool.
Everton right-back Coleman, 21, impressed during a loan spell at Bloomfield Road at the end of last season.
The Irishman has featured regularly in pre-season friendlies for the Merseysiders since then.
And Holloway feels it will be difficult to convince Toffees boss David Moyes to part with Coleman again.
He said: "He is playing so well that David Moyes won't want to let him go.
"I've asked him, I've left messages, I've spoken to Moyesy's agent Kenny, so I'm trying all I can.
"However, I think the honest answer is probably no. But I've got other targets I'm waiting on as well."
Michael BallMICHAEL BALL has been invited to train with Premier League new-boys Blackpool.
The ex-Everton, full-back, 30, has not played since leaving Manchester City in July last year.
Pool also fancy Marlon Harewood, let go by Aston Villa.
TARGET ... James BeattieIAN HOLLOWAY is set to make a move for James Beattie.
Blackpool boss Ollie can land the former England ace, 32, for £1.5million.
Beattie has been frozen out at Stoke and Holloway wants a new striker before the Seasiders open their debut Premier League campaign.
He has already missed out on Rob Hulse, Nathan Tyson, DJ Campbell, Stephen Dobbie and Marcus Tudgay.
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BASHAM ... staying putBOLTON have kicked a bid from Blackpool for Chris Basham into touch.
The Premier League new boys were hoping to secure the defender, 21, in a £400k deal.
But Trotters boss Owen Coyle is keen to hold on to the player, who has been restricted to 21 games in two seasons.
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Ludovic Sylvestre
BLACKPOOL will make ex-Barcelona starlet Ludovic Sylvestre their first summer buy.
The midfielder, 26, who is leaving Czech side Mlada Boleslav, said: "I'll have a medical, then sign.
"I'm looking forward to playing in England."
WANTED MAN ... Chris BashamBOLTON boss Owen Coyle admits he could sell Chris Basham if the price is right.
The Trotters rejected a bid from Blackpool on Friday for the 22-year-old utility man.
But Coyle has revealed Ian Holloway is likely to return with an improved offer.
He said: "Ollie rang me on Friday and informed me he was interested.
"I said I didn't want to lose him because he's a young player that we've got high hopes for at this football club.
"But I can totally accept that young Bash wants to play.
"He probably feels the competition is fierce in the midfield and he maybe thinks he's down the pecking order a little bit.
"What I said was that if Blackpool put forward a bid that we thought was fair, then we would allow permission for them to speak to him, on the basis of being fair to the kid."
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Ian HollowayIAN HOLLOWAY will unveil up to five new signings today to stop Blackpool looking silly in the top flight.
Boss Ollie watched his men slip to defeat in their final pre-season friendly yesterday - and admits they would be outclassed in the Premier League.
But he insists his search for fresh blood has paid off with ex-West Ham and Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood expected to be among the newcomers.
He said: "I know if I went in with this squad it could be embarrassing, but that won't happen. I'll have four or five players to show off on Monday."
Jason Euell put Blackpool in front but Derek Riordan and Liam Miller hit back for Hibs.
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DJ Campbell
IAN HOLLOWAY admits he was gutted at failing to sign Leicester striker DJ Campbell.
Campbell scored 11 goals for Blackpool while on loan from the Foxes last term.
And Seasiders boss Ollie said: "The one I wanted to do more than anything else was DJ. I'm sorry I am not in control of that.
"We're not going to pay £2million or £3million for him because he is 28, but I tried my utmost and we almost did it.
"It was almost there, then his club turned round and said no. And the boy has now scored five goals in his last five games."
Meanwhile,Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston has confirmed the club's players have now been paid their promotion bonuses.
Oyston said: "I think they deserved it.I don't know if it caused any dissent.
"Maybe one or two players thought we'd be there handing them a bagful of money as they walked off the pitch.
"But we didn't get the first chunk of Premier League money in the bank until Thursday and they have received it.
"I'm delighted about that and I hope they earn another £5million this year by keeping us in Premier League."
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wah serious ah bro....blackpool. U must be one hardcore soccer fan.
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GO FOUR IT ... Ian HollowayBLACKPOOL have completed FOUR new signings ahead of their first-ever Premier League campaign.
Seasiders boss Ian Holloway has swooped for defender Craig Cathcart from Manchester United in a £350,000 deal.
Ludovic Sylvestre also joins from Czech side Mlada Boleslav along with CSKA Sofia's Elliot Grandin.
Malaury Martin is the fourth player to put pen to paper after arriving from Monaco.
Belfast-born defender Cathcart, 21, is Northern Ireland U-21 international who has had loan spells at Plymouth and Watford.
He has agreed a three-year deal with the option of a further year.
Former Barcelona and Barcelona B player Sylvestre, 26, has signed a two-year deal.
Grandin is a 22-year-old French winger and has also agreed a two-year contract.
Malaury, 21, has been capped by France at various youth levels.
The midfielder has been on trial at Bloomfield Road for the past month and has signed a one-year deal.
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Originally posted by Rock^Star:
wah serious ah bro....blackpool. U must be one hardcore soccer fan.
haha, no lah..
i just want to let fellow epl fans know more about these newly promoted sides lah..
share share mah..
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TWO GOOD ... Ian HollowayIAN HOLLOWAY last night agreed a new two-year rolling contract as Blackpool boss.
Ollie celebrated by signing four players to add to his Seasiders squad - with Manchester United defender Craig Cathcart, 21, the biggest name.
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SEASIDER ... Defender Chris Basham has joined Blackpool from BoltonIAN HOLLOWAY has made his sixth signing of the week and broken Blackpool's transfer record by snapping up Bolton defender Chris Basham in a deal that could be worth up to £1million.
Full-back Basham was flipping burgers when he was snapped up by Bolton but has not won a regular starting spot.
Bolton boss Owen Coyle said: "Morally, I felt I had to give him the opportunity to play week-in week-out."
Already this week Blackpool boss Ollie has signed Marlon Harewood, Craig Cathcart, Ludovic Sylvestre, Elliott Grandin and Malaury Martin.
RETURN ... Mark HalseyIAN HOLLOWAY insists he will show old pal Mark Halsey no mercy when the referee makes his top-flight return tomorrow.
The Bolton-based official, 49, has battled back from cancer to ref his first Premier League match in 12 months - Blackpool's trip to Wigan.
Ollie and Halsey have been mates for years.
But if his decisions go against the Seasiders, boss Holloway grinned: "I'll wait 30 minutes and then give him the biggest volley of his life.
"Seriously though, people should give the biggest round of applause to him before the game.
"I'm delighted this is his first game at that level again."
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PERFECT START ... Ian HollowayIAN HOLLOWAY says Blackpool's 4-0 thumping of Wigan will help him make more new signings.
Boss Ollie drafted in six new boys before his side's opening clash of the Premier League season but then admitted he needed more before Saturday's trip to Arsenal.
He said: "I hope to get on with buying some players because we have got nowhere near enough.But I think the result at Wigan will help us attract new ones.
"Some might think we are not such a hopeless case after all."
Holloway insisted before the season he wanted NINE new players to cope with the top flight.
He added: "I have not changed my opinion but it might just be a bit easier now to get them in."
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BLACKPOOL ROCKED ... Karl Oyston has quitTHE mastermind behind Premier League fairytale club Blackpool has quit.
Chairman Karl Oyston stepped down just one game into the new season, sickened by fatcat top-flight chiefs.
Oyston said: "The more I speak to other people at other clubs, the more I realise I am a lone voice.
"I'm not sure I have the right approach to be in this division.
"Everyone else seems to subscribe to the way business seems to be conducted and it is a way I find unacceptable.
"I don't think any deal should be about the agent. It should be about the player, about giving them a platform to perform under a wonderful manager on one of world's best stages."
As the Tangerines' chairman, Oyston took tiny Blackpool to the summit of English football on a shoestring.
He steadfastly refused to pay exorbitant wages to players and their agents - and hoped for backing from his fellow chairmen.
Oyston, who has always refused to pay appearance fees and bonuses, set a salary cap of £10,000 a week for players.
But, just four days after Blackpool stunned Wigan 4-0 on the first day of the season, the 43-year-old has seen enough.
He added: "There was some support for things I did and said in the Championship but there doesn't seem to be any in this division.
"Agents are sometimes denying their clients that chance and, from a long-term perspective, it can't be a good decision for a player to forego the chance to play in the Premier League under a manager like Ian Holloway."
Oyston, who will remain as chief executive until the end of the season, made his move on the day it was revealed Football League clubs paid a whopping £12.7m in agents' fees last season.
Blackpool forked out just £40,000 as they won promotion.
So far this summer, the Seasiders have landed eight new faces and last night even set a club transfer record by paying £1m for Bournemouth striker Brett Pitman.
A club statement read: "Karl will continue to work closely with Ian on player recruitment."
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QUIT THREAT ... Ian Holloway
IAN HOLLOWAY last night dramatically threatened to quit Blackpool as a shock bankruptcy probe rocked the club.
The Seasiders were stunned on Wednesday when chairman Karl Oyston resigned, claiming he was driven out by greedy agents.
But last night it emerged Oyston is facing a bankruptcy hearing at Lancaster County Court.
If declared bankrupt, Oyston would fail the Premier League's 'fit and proper' test and be banned from running the club.
Oyston's business interests have always been paired with those of his father, Owen, who handed control of the club to him while serving a jail sentence 11 years ago.
The family businesses cover farming, publishing and property management and are worth around £100million.
Oyston, who will serve as managing director until the end of the season, has been criticised for his reluctance to splash the £90m promotion jackpot.
But boss Holloway has said he is ready to follow him out of the door.
While confirming the signings of Israeli defender Dekel Keinan from Maccabi Haifa and Bournemouth striker Brett Pitman, Ollie was unaware of the latest revelations about the man who hired him last year.
He said: "The day he leaves is the day I will have to consider my future, because it is all about our relationship.
"That is nailed down - as it was last week when everyone said I was leaving! We are like the Men in Black zapping the aliens together. Bosh. Zap.
"Part of my contract is linked to him. I'm totally confident if I lost 8-0 to Chelsea he would not have an itchy finger."
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Gary Taylor-Fletcher
IT has taken 11 long years and eight different clubs for Gary Taylor-Fletcher to go from non-league nonentity to Premier League star.
So overnight sensation he is most definitely not.
But woe betide anybody who tells the Blackpool midfielder he has no right to be rubbing shoulders with the great and the good at the top of the game - like at Arsenal today.
The 29-year-old, six-footer insisted: "I've had to work hard for years to get here so nobody can say I haven't earned the right to finally match myself against the very best.
"It's been a lifelong dream which has now become an incredible whirlwind adventure and I intend to savour every minute of it.
"I haven't had it easy like those youngsters who come up through the ranks at a Premier League club.
"They have all the facilities in the world, the best coaches and the chance to work every day in an unbelievable set-up.
"They have every opportunity to make themselves better players and I know I would have benefited tremendously from something like that. But I didn't get it, nothing like it.
"Me? I started out as a hopeful teenager at Northwich Victoria in the Conference.
"I got £300 a week and worked nights at a Widnes hotel to get an extra £100 to help fund my ambition to be a full-time footballer."
And he's been on one hell of a journey since then to finally realise that goal.
He has turned out for Hull City, Leyton Orient, Grays Athletic, Dagenham and Redbridge, Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town along the way - and even changed his name from Gary Fletcher after marrying Viv Taylor six years ago.
Then in 2007 he signed for Blackpool and he has been living the Tangerine Dream ever since, becoming a real favourite at Bloomfield Road.
No wonder because Taylor-Fletcher scored in the thrilling 3-2 win over Cardiff in the Championship play-off final at Wembley in May.
And he topped that last week by scoring their first-ever Premier League goal to kick-start the 4-0 rout of near-neighbours Wigan.
But he says the reality of life in the Premier League will really hit home today at the Emirates as Blackpool take on one of England's most illustrious clubs.
Taylor-Fletcher added: "Arsenal are a great team full of internationals with one of the best managers in the game. They play the type of football that everyone wants to watch, they are unbelievable.
"It's all very surreal and, yes, you do have to pinch yourself at times to remind yourself that it's finally happened.
"But you also have to think it's my chance to prove I am good enough, that we are good enough.
"In my time in the lower divisions I've had the chance to play against big teams before.
"When I was at Huddersfield I played against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and scored.
"So I know as a small team you can raise your game sometimes in a one-off match. But we are in the top league now and we have to raise our game 38 times this season to compete. And I'm sure we will.
"I promise you we're not just here to make up the numbers - we are going to have a go."
Like most Scousers, the Liverpool-born lad is not short of an opinion, especially on top players' wages.
He added: "It's ridiculous. Yaya Toure earns more in a month at Manchester City than three of our players will in a year.
"But it's not all about how much you earn, it's what you do on the pitch and I'm confident we will surprise quite a few teams this season."
He also reckons they might surprise the odd manager along the way, too.
Taylor-Fletcher said: "Fabio Capello's bound to be at one of our games when we play one of the big teams.
"And I know he's looking for fresh faces - although maybe at 29 I've missed my chance.
"But he should take a look at Alex Baptiste, he's definitely one for the future."
Taylor-Fletcher is also full of praise for his own manager Ian Holloway who has won over fans up and down the country with his off-beat, laugh-a-minute interviews and attitude.
But his midfield ace insists "the gaffer" is far more than just a quick wit and repartee act.
Taylor-Fletcher said: "Yes, he has a story for everything, an anecdote for this and for that.
"But behind every little tale there is a message, so there's actually a reason for what he's saying. And I don't think people understand what a brilliant football brain he has.
"But hopefully they will realise that this season for he has such an enthusiasm, such a passion for the game and an amazingly positive attitude.
"That's why I don't think we will be found wanting."
And just to make sure, Taylor-Fletcher has announced he is making the ultimate sacrifice this season.
He confessed: "I have to admit that in the past I didn't really take too much notice of my diet.
"And my perfect night out is to go to the Chinese with my family and friends. What would I have? Everything!
"But I realise I can't be doing that every week any more. You can maybe get away with it in the lower leagues.
"But in the Premier League you have to do everything right if you want to survive.
"I've worked so hard to get to this level I want to make it last as long as I possibly can."
Now that's what you call using your noodle!
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BANGING ON ... Ian HollowayIAN HOLLOWAY knows he needs to polish up a few more old bangers if Blackpool are going to survive this season.
A bad week for the Tangerines saw their chairman quit before they were hammered at Arsenal and had Ian Evatt sent off.
Holloway, who has bumped back down to Earth after a 4-0 opening-day win at Wigan, said: "I might be shopping in a Skoda garage rather than a Mercedes garage but I'm telling you some old bangers don't half polish up great."
Holloway added: "I admit I also need some big, strong horrible lumps in here because I might have to throw it into the box every now and again to survive.
"Are we going to be good enough? I honestly don't know. But I need to stay calm and try to play some football."
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STAND AND DELIVER ... boss Ian Holloway hopes Blackpool reserves get a big crowdBLACKPOOL need fans to flock to tomorrow's reserve match with Morecambe to secure a safety certificate for their new East Stand.
Secretary Matt Williams said: "We need 1,500 to 2,000 fans."
CITY ARE SLICKER ... Brett Pitman rates Bristol City as 'massive' compared to BlackpoolBRETT PITMAN has taunted Ian Holloway by claiming Bristol City are bigger than Blackpool.
Striker Pitman, 22, rejected Holloway's Premier League newcomers to join Championship side City from Bournemouth in an £800,000 deal.
He said: "Turning down a Premier League club might cause a bit of reaction but I've picked the club over the league. City are massive."
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DOBBIE ... did not fancy moving to BlackpoolSTEPHEN DOBBIE has snubbed Premier League Blackpool to sign a new deal with Swansea.
The Scottish striker, 27, was a loan star for the Tangerines last season and boss Ian Holloway was planning a third bid to sign him this week. But Dobbie, whose new deal runs until 2013, said: "I have fond memories of Blackpool, a lot of friends up there and a lot of respect for the manager.
"But it's important that I am playing and I'm enjoying life at Swansea."
Holloway is now expected to up his initial £500,000 offer for Sheffield Wednesday striker Marcus Tudgay, having watched him in their Carling Cup defeat to Scunthorpe on Tuesday.
