21st October 2003
Up the ‘Pool on a family break, Son and I took the opportunity, as I am sure countless other holiday makers have over the years, to drop in and lend a bit of support to the Seasiders. In 2003, this was a Bloomfield Road very much in the midst of redevelopment. There were two completed stands, some inhospitable looking uncovered seating along one side, with the area behind one goal a demolition site.
This was a Nationwide Division Two (third tier) tussle between a brace of clubs who, even this early in season looked unlikely to be troubling the play-off fixture compiler - far less being any sort of candidates for automatic promotion.
A third of the way through the season, and Blackpool and their visitors were each sitting on 18 points, occupying 16th and 15th positions respectively.
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| Son outside the main reception, back in 2003 |
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| No son with me second time around, so Fat Old Dad had to stand in. |
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| In 2003, the club was in the process of demolishing the South Stand. It was finally completed in 2010 |
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| The facade of the South Stand (2022) |
Three minutes in, and Blackpool opened the scoring when John MURPHY made the most of some silliness in the visitors’ defence, after which both sides seemed to lose interest in proceedings. Consequently much of the rest of the half just seemed to drag interminably. Until stoppage time that is, when Rushden’s Andy BURGESS fashioned an equaliser apparently out of thin air.
Seconds after the restart the visitors took the lead through Rodney JACK, and I could see Blackpool fans who had left for the refreshment-hut a few minutes early with their side leading 1-0, returning to their seats mightily pissed off to discover they were now down 2-1.
It got worse for the home lot on 55 minutes, when the Seasiders' ‘keeper and one of his defenders left each other to deal with an innocuous looking long ball, allowing Rushden’s Paul KITSON to head into an empty net.
The Blackpool support enjoyed that even less, I can tell you.
John MURPHY then got his second, however, to pull the score back to 3-2, and although the homesters piled on the pressure it was R&D who snuck back down south with the points.
John MURPHY then got his second, however, to pull the score back to 3-2, and although the homesters piled on the pressure it was R&D who snuck back down south with the points.
(Update - come the end of season 2003/4, Blackpool had hauled themselves up two rungs to a moderately respectable 14th place. But for Rushden & Diamonds, this win was one of only four on the road in a league campaign which saw the club relegated on the final day.)
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| Bloomfield Road West Stand in 2003... |
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| ...now known as the Westinghouse Sir Stanley Matthews Stand (2022) |
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| Panorama of Bloomfield Road (2003) |
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By 2020, the South (Jimmy Armfield) Stand has been completed, the East Stand is now roofed. And rather more importantly, as far as I am concerned, all those incongruous red seats have been replaced with orange ones. |
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Blackpool 3-1 Bristol City
5th February 2022
'Twas a wild, wild day in Blackpool, that afternoon:
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