The 2019–20 Blackpool F.C. season was the club's 111th season in the English Football League and their third-consecutive season in League One, the third tier of the Football League. The season covered the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. Blackpool finished a curtailed season in 13th place.
Along with competing in League One, the club were also participants in three cup competitions. They were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Reading, after a replay; they were eliminated from the EFL Cup in the first round by Macclesfield Town; and they were knocked out of the EFL Trophy in the second round by Scunthorpe United.
Terry McPhillips resigned as manager on 5 July after one season in charge. He was succeeded by Simon Grayson, who returned to the club after leaving them for Leeds United in 2008. Grayson was sacked on 12 February after a string of defeats. Neil Critchley was appointed as his successor on 2 March.
Pre-season Eight players were released at the end of the 2018–19 campaign: defender Donervon Daniels; midfielders John O'Sullivan, Finlay Sinclair-Smith and Chris Taylor; and forwards Max Clayton, Mark Cullen and Chris Long. Forward Scott Quigley joined Barrow on a free transfer.
Simon Sadler was announced as Blackpool's new owner on 13 June,"Simon Sadler announced as new owner of Blackpool Football Club" - The Gazette, 13 June 2019 ending a 32-year reign of the Oyston family.
Prior to Terry McPhillips' departure on 5 July, Blackpool agreed moves for five players, all from free agency. The first arrival was 27-year-old former Solihull Moors striker Adi Yussuf. (Yussuf returned to Solihull on loan in September without making an appearance for Blackpool.)"Yussuf Returns To Solihull Moors" - Blackpool F.C., 17 September 2019 Central defender Ryan Edwards, 25, left Plymouth Argyle at the end of the 2018–19 season after turning down a new contract. Irish midfielder, 28-year-old Jamie Devitt, put pen to paper after rejecting a contract renewal from Carlisle United. (Devitt was loaned out to Gary Bowyer's Bradford City on 23 August.) Fellow midfielder Ben Tollitt joined the following day. The 24-year-old had been released by Tranmere Rovers. (Tollitt was loaned out to Wrexham on 23 August.) Into July, 23-year-old former Crystal Palace midfielder Sullay Kaikai terminated his contract with NAC Breda to move to Bloomfield Road.
Simon Grayson's first bit of business was bringing in 22-year-old Scottish striker Ryan Hardie from Rangers for an undisclosed fee. The following week, Hardie was joined by his former Rangers teammate, goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, on a year-long loan. That meant Blackpool had five goalkeepers in their squad, until Myles Boney departed on loan to South Shields on 25 July. Left-back James Husband joined on loan from Norwich City on 26 July, again on a year-long term.
Left-back Marc Bola left to join Middlesbrough on 28 July for an undisclosed fee,Marc Bola: "Middlesbrough sign Blackpool defender" - BBC Sport, 28 July but returned on-loan in January until the end of the season. He was Blackpool's Player of the Year for 2018–19.
Two days before the season kick-off, Belgian centre-back Rocky Bushiri joined on loan from Nottingham Forest. Striker Joe Nuttall also signed, for an undisclosed fee, from Blackburn.
On the eve of the campaign, Blackpool had a squad of 28 players. The depth in positions: four goalkeepers, seven defenders, nine midfielders and eight forwards.
Results
Blackpool's opening pre-season friendly was at Dundee on 9 July. The hosts won the game by a single goal.
A week later, Blackpool faced local side AFC Fylde at Mill Farm. They won 2–0, with goals from Nathan Delfouneso and a debut strike from Adi Yussuf.
On 20 July, a split squad travelled to both Altrincham and Barrow. The Altrincham side lost 2–1 (Ben Tollitt netting for the visitors), while the Barrow side won 3–0, with strikes from Nathan Delfouneso, Armand Gnanduillet and an own-goal from Connor Brown. Former Seasider Ian Evatt, now manager of the hosts, came on as a late substitute to officially end his playing career, against the manager who brought him to Bloomfield Road in 2006.
Blackpool's first home friendly was against Blackburn Rovers on 27 July. They lost 2–0 to the Championship side. Jak Alnwick was given a starting debut, while James Husband came on as a substitute just after the hour mark.
Their final friendly before the season officially kicked off was at Longridge Town on 28 July. Goals from Callum Guy, Yusifu Ceesay, Harry Pritchard and Adi Yussuf helped the Seasiders to a 4–2 win.
On 6 August, three days after their opening 2−0 League One win at home to Bristol Rovers, Blackpool played a hastily arranged friendly against Fleetwood Town at Town's Poolfoot Farm training facility in Thornton-Cleveleys. The match finished 1–1, with Michael Nottingham scoring Blackpool's equalising goal.
In detail
Season proper On 20 June 2019, the EFL League One fixtures were revealed.
August
Blackpool opened their League campaign at home to Bristol Rovers on 3 August, and gave a starting debut to four players: Jak Alnwick, James Husband, Ryan Edwards and Sullay Kaikai. A crowd of over 11,000 watched Jay Spearing put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot in the 28th minute after Rovers' goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola caught Curtis Tilt with the follow-through of a punch to clear the ball. Armand Gnanduillet doubled the lead a minute after the break with a diving header from Spearing's cross. The result put the Tangerines second in the table, behind local rivals Fleetwood Town.Blackpool 2–0 Bristol Rovers - BBC Sport, 3 August 2019
A week later, Blackpool travelled to the south coast to face Southend. Simon Grayson retained the same lineup that started against Bristol Rovers. An own-goal from the hosts' Harry Lennon gave the Seasiders the lead after nine minutes. Three minutes later, Nathan Delfouneso opened his scoring account for the campaign with a strike. He scored his second on 37 minutes, giving Blackpool a 3–0 lead at the break. James Husband was given a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Elvis Bwomono. Simon Cox pulled one back for Southend with fifteen minutes to go. Blackpool moved to the top of the table on goal-difference with the victory.Southend United 1–3 Blackpool - BBC Sport, 10 August 2019
On 13 August, Blackpool began their EFL Cup campaign with a home fixture against Macclesfield Town. Ollie Turton put Blackpool ahead just after the half-hour mark. The visitors levelled on 39 minutes via a Rocky Bushiri own-goal. Macclesfield went ahead midway into the second half through Virgil Gomis. Armand Gnanduillet equalised from the penalty spot in the 90th minute. The match went to a penalty shootout, which Macclesfield won 4–2.Blackpool 2–2 Macclesfield Town - BBC Sport, 13 August 2019
Back to League business, Oxford United visited Bloomfield Road on 17 August. The hosts were without Jay Spearing, who injured his shoulder in midweek, and the suspended James Husband. Ollie Turton deputised as captain in Spearing's absence. Ryan Edwards opened the scoring with a header on five minutes. Armand Gnanduillet doubled the lead from the penalty spot two minutes into first-half injury time after he was felled. Josh Ruffels pulled one back for the visitors two minutes later. The hosts held on for the victory, despite Oxford having 69% of the possession and 23 shots. Blackpool dropped to second in the table after Lincoln City, the only other team with a 100% record, won 4–0 at home to Southend.Blackpool 2–1 Oxford United - BBC Sport, 17 August 2019
Blackpool made a midweek trip to Gilligham on 20 August. After going two goals down inside 37 minutes to a brace from Alex Jakubiak, Sullay Kaikai scored his first goal for the Tangerines to put them back in the game. Armand Gnanduillet scored his fourth goal of the campaign in first-half injury time to level matters. The match finished 2–2, and Blackpool returned to the top of the table after Lincoln City lost at MK Dons.Gillingham 2–2 Blackpool - BBC Sport, 20 August 2019
On 23 August, two players departed on loan — Jamie Devitt to Bradford City and Ben Tollitt to Wrexham — while Ben Heneghan returned to the club on loan until January.
The following day, Blackpool made the trip to Spotland Stadium to face Rochdale. The match finished goalless. Blackpool dropped to second place after Ipswich Town won 5–0 at Bolton.Rochdale 0–0 Blackpool - BBC Sport, 24 August 2019
On 27 August, Simon Grayson made his third permanent signing of the season when left-back Calum Macdonald joined from Derby County on a free transfer. On 30 August, the eve of Blackpool's home match against Portsmouth, Sean Scannell joined in a permanent deal from Bradford City. Harry Pritchard went in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, midfielder Yusifu Ceesay joined Altrincham on loan until January.
Portsmouth took the lead in said match, Marcus Harness finding the net after 17 minutes. Armand Gnanduillet scored his fifth goal of the season just before the hour mark to maintain the hosts' unbeaten campaign. Blackpool dropped to third position in the table.Blackpool 1–1 Portsmouth - BBC Sport, 31 August 2019
September Blackpool made a winning start to their EFL Trophy campaign on 3 September with a 5–1 scoreline against Morecambe at Bloomfield Road. Ben Heneghan opened the scoring after four minutes. Kevin Ellison levelled for the visitors midway through the first half, before Michael Nottingham restored the home side's lead one minute into first-half injury time. Ryan Hardie scored his first goal for Blackpool six minutes after the break to make it 3–1. Substitute Sullay Kaikai made it 4–1 on 89 minutes. Joe Nuttall also opened his account for Blackpool with a goal one minute into injury time.Blackpool 5-1 Morecambe: Seasiders run riot in opening EFL Trophy group game - Blackpool Gazette, 3 September 2019
Back to League duty on 7 September, Blackpool made the trip to Birmingham's St Andrew's stadium to face a homeless Coventry City. Sullay Kaikai opened the scoring inside the first minute. He repeated the feat after 38 minutes, but Coventry levelled matters before the break, with goals from Matt Godden on 41 minutes and, five minutes later, Wesley Jobello. Callum O'Hare, on loan from Aston Villa scored what proved to be the winner one minute into injury time. Blackpool had played the last eight minutes with ten men after substitute Nathan Delfouneso went off with hamstring tightness"Blackpool boss provides update on Nathan Delfouneso as forward suffers another injury blow" - Blackpool Gazette, 7 September 2019 on 87 minutes. The result ended Blackpool's unbeaten start to the League season, while also extending Coventry's. Blackpool dropped to sixth place, three points behind new leaders Wycombe Wanderers.Coventry City 3–2 Blackpool - BBC Sport, 7 September 2019
A second-consecutive defeat occurred on 14 September at home to MK Dons. Russell Martin scored the visitors' first goal on five minutes. A mistake by Curtis Tilt let Jordan Houghton through, who made it 2–0 just after the hour mark. David Kasumu made it 3–0 with fifteen minutes remaining. Blackpool dropped to ninth place in the table.Blackpool 0–2 MK Dons - BBC Sport, 14 September 2019
A midweek away trip to Doncaster Rovers on 17 September resulted in a single-goal victory for Blackpool. Armand Gnanduillet, in the third minute of injury time, headed his sixth goal in all competitions. Blackpool's three points saw them climb four places to fifth in the table.Doncaster Rovers 0–1 Blackpool - BBC Sport, 17 September 2019
A short trip to Accrington Stanley on 21 September ended with a 1–1 draw. A Curtis Tilt own goal on 16 minutes was cancelled-out in injury time by Matty Virtue. Blackpool dropped one place to sixth.Accrington Stanley 1–1 Blackpool - BBC Sport, 21 September 2019