Carole King once had a hit with the song 'It might as well rain until September' - quite apt after the August and the summer that Blackpool have had. There was always that question 'can we get away with not having a pre-season and a thrown together squad?'. Well that question has now been answered in the most stark way with six defeats in August and records broken left, right and centre.

Blackpool have got Crewe to thank for not being the worst team in the football league going in to the international break (although because Crewe play next week when Blackpool have time off, that could well change). It has been the most horrendous start for Jose Riga who when asked the question pre-season 'were Blackpool favourites to go down' must now have wished he'd replied with heart and not head! At this level you can't throw together a group of strangers and expect instant results and so it has proved. Whilst we could have grabbed a point in all of the last four league games at the death, the fact we didn't leaves Blackpool isolated at the bottom of the Championship with a mountain to climb before the season has really got underway.

McDonald broke the deadlock for Millwall i n this game when he curled home from the edge of the area after Powell’s free-kick lay-off. Andrea Orlandi stabbed over a half-chance for the Tangerines after they forced a string of corners as the Lions took their lead into the interval. It was Millwall doubled their advantage six minutes after the restart with a well-worked second goal. After Fuller did well to hold up the ball, Carlos Edwards found goalscorer McDonald inside the box and the Australian’s low cross was turned in by Malone at the far post.
Nathan Delfouneso spurned a guilt-edged chance to pull a goal back when he headed tamely at David Forde from point-blank range when it looked easier to score. Blackpool hauled themselves back in the contest when Ranger finished off a quick counter-attack with a composed finish inside Forde’s near post. And Ranger nearly created an unlikely equaliser when he cut the ball back for Steve Davies inside the area, only for the striker to loft an unconvincing effort over the bar. Both Davies and Fonz look bit part strikers this season but at least they had chances unlike a struggling Miller.

So where does Riga start in the next fortnight. Getting Cubero in the squad would be a start, bringing in strikers who can score would also be a help and putting arguments to one side and getting on with managing the team might yield some success. Blackpool couldn't buy a win in August, maybe buying some players will help them achieve that in September.

Photo: Action Images

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