From 8 players a couple of weeks ago (including a couple of crocks, a couple of left overs and a couple not quite ready), Blackpool can finally boast what every other team in the country had in place weeks ago - a squad! However, even now with Jose Cubero still awaiting his work permit and McKenzie, Grant and Barkhuizen crocked, Jose Riga is juggling with numbers.
The good news is that we now have the Oriol brothers both available. My favourite quote after we'd signed Edu was 'is he older than his brother [Joan]'. There may be minutes separating the twins but the two 27 years olds have had bags of experience during their playing careers. Barcelona and Zaragoza are decent sides to have on your CV for Edu whilst Joan can throw a Villareal in to the mix (they must have a pretty decent replica shirt collection. This will be the first time they've played together since kids on the beach in Catalonia (although whether they'll go down to the South Shore practising keep uppy's is debatable.
So with both players available to play against Brentford tonight, it takes Riga's squad up to 25 (with 21 eligible), including Nile Ranger. After an impressive debut from Francois Zoko on Saturday, it means that the Blackpool manager finally has options up front and with his side still a bit shot shy against Blackburn he may well throw some extra firepower on against the Bees.
Whilst the lack of pre-season and the fact this group of players has only been available for a few days can still be used as an excuse for the performance tonight, lack of numbers can't be.