2015–16 Blackpool F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was Blackpool's 107th season in the Football League, and their first season back in League One following relegation from the 2014–15 Football League Championship.^[1] Along with competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and Football League Trophy. The season covered the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Blackpool

2015–16 season
Owner	Owen Oyston
Chairman	Karl Oyston
Manager	Neil McDonald
Stadium	Bloomfield Road Blackpool, England (Capacity: 17,338)
League One	22nd (relegated)
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	First round
Football League Trophy	Northern quarter-final
Top goalscorer	League: Mark Cullen (9) All: Mark Cullen (9)
Highest home attendance	9,226 vs. Wigan Athletic (30 April 2016)
Lowest home attendance	5,960 vs. Chesterfield (29 September 2015)
Home colours Away colours
← 2014–15 2016–17 →
All statistics correct as of 8 May 2016.

The club was managed by Neil McDonald, in his first season in charge. Following Blackpool's relegation to League Two at the end of the season, McDonald left his role as Blackpool manager.^[2]

Blackpool finished 22nd in League One and were relegated for the second-successive season. They played the 2016–17 campaign in League Two, their first time playing in the bottom division of English professional football in fifteen years.

They were also knocked out of both the FA Cup and League up at the first-round stage.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	FW		Mark Cullen	Luton Town	£180,000	[3]
1 July 2015	GK		Colin Doyle	Free agency		[4]
1 July 2015	MF		John Herron	Free agency		[5]
1 July 2015	GK		Kyle Letheren	Free agency		[6]
1 July 2015	MF		Brad Potts	Carlisle United	Undisclosed	[7]
1 July 2015	MF		Jarrett Rivers	Blyth Spartans	Undisclosed	[8]
1 July 2015	DF		Clark Robertson	Free agency		[9]
10 July 2015	MF		Jack Redshaw	Morecambe	£180,000	[10][11]
29 July 2015	MF		Jim McAlister	Free agency		[12]
5 August 2015	DF		Emmerson Boyce	Free agency		[13]
3 September 2015	MF		David Norris	Free agency		[14]
14 September 2015	FW		Martin Paterson	Free agency		[15]
7 January 2016	FW		Danny Philliskirk	Oldham Athletic	Undisclosed	[16]
7 January 2016	MF		Mark Yeates	Oldham Athletic	Free	[17]
14 January 2016	DF		Will Aimson	Hull City	Undisclosed	[18]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	FW		Tom Barkhuizen	Released		[19]
1 July 2015	DF		Andre Blackman	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	DF		Peter Clarke	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	MF		Tomasz Cywka	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	FW		Steve Davies	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	FW		Nathan Delfouneso	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	DF		Joël Dielna	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	FW		Bobby Grant	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	DF		Gary MacKenzie	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	DF		Tony McMahon	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	MF		Jacob Mellis	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	DF		Nyron Nosworthy	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	DF		Darren O'Dea	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	GK		Elliot Parish	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	MF		David Perkins	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	DF		Jeffrey Rentmeister	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	FW		Saër Sène	Released		[20]
1 July 2015	FW		François Zoko	Released		[20]
20 July 2015	FW		Dom Telford	Stoke City	To be decided by tribunal	[21]
20 July 2015	MF		Mark Waddington	Stoke City	To be decided by tribunal	[21]
3 September 2015	MF		Andrea Orlandi	Anorthosis Famagusta	Free transfer	[22]
19 January 2016	MF		José Miguel Cubero	Herediano	Undisclosed	[23]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Until	Ref.
10 July 2015	DF		Lloyd Jones	Liverpool	End of season [a]	[24][25]
29 July 2015	FW		Kwame Thomas	Derby County	26 November 2015 [b]	[26][27]
19 October 2015	DF		Hayden White	Bolton Wanderers	End of season [c]	[28][29]
9 November 2015	DF		Will Aimson	Hull City	9 January 2016 [d]	[30][31]
12 November 2015	GK		Dean Lyness	Burton Albion	2 January 2016	[32]
17 November 2015	FW		Andy Little	Preston North End	30 January 2016 [e]	[33][34]
26 November 2015	FW		Elliot Lee	West Ham United	3 January 2016	[35]
21 January 2016	FW		Uche Ikpeazu	Watford	End of season	[36]
13 February 2016	GK		Dean Lyness	Burton Albion	22 March 2016	[37]
3 March 2016	MF		Liam Smith	Newcastle United	End of season	[38]
22 March 2016	FW		Jacob Blyth	Leicester City	End of season	[39]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Until	Ref.
1 March 2016	DF		Charles Dunne	Crawley Town	End of season [f]	[40][41]
24 March 2016	MF		Connor Oliver	Morecambe	End of season	[42]

1. Jones' loan was extended on 3 August 2015.
2. Thomas was recalled by Derby County on 26 November 2015.
3. White's loan was extended on 6 January 2016.
4. Aimson's loan was extended on 27 November 2015.
5. Little's loan was extended on 5 January 2016.
6. Dunne's loan was extended on 29 March 2016.

Competitions

Pre-season friendlies

Lancaster City v Blackpool

11 July 2015 (2015-07-11) Friendly	Lancaster City	A–A Match abandoned after pitch invasion	Blackpool	Lancaster
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Giant Axe

Blyth Spartans v Blackpool

14 July 2015 (2015-07-14) Friendly	Blyth Spartans	0–2	Blackpool	Blyth
19:30 BST		Report	Oliver 21' Ball 72'	Stadium: Croft Park

Ross County v Blackpool

22 July 2015 (2015-07-22) Friendly	Ross County	1–1	Blackpool	Stirling, Scotland
15:00 BST	Graham 25'	Report	Cullen 89'	Attendance: 0

St Johnstone v Blackpool

25 July 2015 (2015-07-25) Friendly	St Johnstone	0–1	Blackpool	Tulloch, Scotland
15:00 BST		Report	McAlister	Stadium: McDiarmid Park

Morecambe v Blackpool

28 July 2015 (2015-07-28) Friendly	Morecambe	2–2	Blackpool	Morecambe
19:45 BST	Molyneux Ellison	Report	Cullen Drury	Stadium: Globe Arena Attendance: Played behind closed doors

Accrington Stanley v Blackpool

31 July 2015 (2015-07-31) Friendly	Accrington Stanley	1–1	Blackpool	Accrington
19:45 BST	Conneely	Report	Osayi-Samuel 68'	Stadium: Crown Ground

League One

Colchester United v Blackpool

8 August 2015 (2015-08-08) 1	Colchester United	2–2	Blackpool	Colchester
15:00 BST	Gilbey 22' Ambrose 56'	Report	Cullen 18', 45'	Stadium: Colchester Community Stadium Attendance: 4,438 Referee: James Linington

Blackpool v Rochdale

15 August 2015 (2015-08-15) 2	Blackpool	0–2	Rochdale	Blackpool
15:00 BST		Report	McDermott 58' Henderson 87'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7,076 Referee: Darren Drysdale

Blackpool v Burton Albion

18 August 2015 (2015-08-18) 3	Blackpool	1–2	Burton Albion	Blackpool
19:45 BST	Redshaw 26'	Report	El Khayati 58', 85'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,197 Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Sheffield United v Blackpool

22 August 2015 (2015-08-22) 4	Sheffield United	2–0	Blackpool	Sheffield
15:00 BST	Sharp 60' McNulty 72'	Report		Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 20,199 Referee: Darren Deadman

Blackpool v Walsall

29 August 2015 (2015-08-29) 5	Blackpool	0–4	Walsall	Blackpool
15:00 BST		Report	Sawyers 25', 74' Aldred 57' (o.g.) Mantom 67'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7,489 Referee: Eddie Ilderton

Scunthorpe United v Blackpool

5 September 2015 (2015-09-05) 6	Scunthorpe United	0–1	Blackpool	Scunthorpe
15:00 BST		Report	Potts 35'	Stadium: Glanford Park Attendance: 3,313 Referee: Tony Harrington

Gillingham v Blackpool

12 September 2015 (2015-09-12) 7	Gillingham	2–1	Blackpool	Gillingham
15:00 BST	Loft 17' Dack 81'	Report	Jackson 51' (o.g.)	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 6,231 Referee: Gary Sutton

Blackpool v Barnsley

19 September 2015 (2015-09-19) 8	Blackpool	1–1	Barnsley	Blackpool
15:00 BST	Redshaw 55'	Report	Hourihane 8'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7,542 Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Shrewsbury Town v Blackpool

26 September 2015 (2015-09-26) 9	Shrewsbury Town	2–0	Blackpool	Shrewsbury
15:00 BST	Akpa Akpro 73', 76'	Report		Stadium: New Meadow Attendance: 5,241 Referee: Darren England

Blackpool v Chesterfield

29 September 2015 (2015-09-29) 10	Blackpool	2–0	Chesterfield	Blackpool
19:45 BST	Cullen 2' Potts 68'	Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 5,960 Referee: Scott Duncan

Blackpool v Swindon Town

3 October 2015 (2015-10-03) 11	Blackpool	1–0	Swindon Town	Blackpool
15:00 BST	Cullen 38'	Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,704 Referee: David Webb

Coventry City v Blackpool

17 October 2015 (2015-10-17) 12	Coventry City	0–0	Blackpool	Coventry
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Ricoh Arena Attendance: 12,094 Referee: Keith Hill

Blackpool v Millwall

20 October 2015 (2015-10-20) 13	Blackpool	1–1	Millwall	Blackpool
19:45 BST	Redshaw 82' (pen.)	Report	Beevers 35'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,225 Referee: Nigel Miller

Blackpool v Crewe Alexandra

24 October 2015 (2015-10-24) 14	Blackpool	2–0	Crewe Alexandra	Blackpool
15:00 BST	White 64' Redshaw 87' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,970 Referee: Mark Haywood

Bury v Blackpool

31 October 2015 (2015-10-31) 15	Bury	4–3	Blackpool	Bury
15:00 GMT	Rose 2' 10' Hussey 27' Soares 34'	Report	Cullen 12' Robertson 44' Redshaw 84' (pen.)	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 5,013 Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Bradford City v Blackpool

3 November 2015 (2015-11-03) 16	Bradford City	1–0	Blackpool	Bradford
19:45 GMT	Hanson 45'	Summary		Stadium: Coral Windows Stadium Attendance: 17,435 Referee: Andy Haines

Blackpool v Doncaster Rovers

14 November 2015 (2015-11-14) 17	Blackpool	0–2	Doncaster Rovers	Blackpool
15:00 GMT		Report	Williams 5' Taylor-Sinclair 40'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,597 Referee: Ross Joyce

Southend United v Blackpool

21 November 2015 (2015-11-21) 18	Southend United	1–0	Blackpool	Southend-on-Sea
15:00 GMT	Thompson 76'	Report		Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 6,290 Referee: Graham Horwood

Port Vale v Blackpool

24 November 2015 (2015-11-24) 19	Port Vale	2–0	Blackpool	Burslem
19:45 GMT	Leitch-Smith 82' Birchall 86'	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,640 Referee: David Webb

Blackpool v Fleetwood

28 November 2015 (2015-11-28) 20	Blackpool	1–0	Fleetwood	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Pond 17' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7,755 Referee: Graham Scott

Wigan Athletic v Blackpool

12 December 2015 (2015-12-12) 21	Wigan Athletic	0–1	Blackpool	Wigan
15:00 GMT		Report	Aldred 36'	Stadium: DW Stadium Attendance: 8,424 Referee: Phil Gibbs

Blackpool v Peterborough United

19 December 2015 (2015-12-19) 22	Blackpool	2–0	Peterborough United	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Cullen 3' Potts 31'	Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,204 Referee: Robert Lewis

Blackpool v Oldham Athletic

26 December 2015 (2015-12-26) Postponed	Blackpool	P–P	Oldham Athletic	Blackpool
15:00 GMT		Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road

Barnsley v Blackpool

28 December 2015 23	Barnsley	4–2	Blackpool	Barnsley
15:00 GMT	Winnall 3' 54' Watkins 56' Long  86' Templeton 90+2'	Report	Ferguson  18' Aimson  45+1' Cullen 52'  83' Potts  84' Little 90'	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 9,072 Referee: Chris Sarginson

Burton Albion v Blackpool

2 January 2016 24	Burton Albion	1–0	Blackpool	Burton upon Trent
15:00 GMT	Weir  41'  Duffy 63'	Report	Aimson  30' Aldred  61'	Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 4,339 Referee: Richard Clark

Blackpool v Port Vale

9 January 2016 25	Blackpool	0–1	Port Vale	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Norris  21' McAlister  52' Aimson  66' White  90+1'	Report	Leitch-Smith 49' Brown  90+1'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,527 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

Blackpool v Scunthorpe United

16 January 2016 26	Blackpool	5–0	Scunthorpe United	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Aldred 2' Potts 12' 28' Norris 55' Philliskirk 82'	Report	Williams  19' van Veen  58'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,004 Referee: Darren Deadman

Walsall v Blackpool

23 January 2016 27	Walsall	1–1	Blackpool	Walsall
15:00 GMT	Chambers  34' Taylor  45+1' Demetriou 66' Downing  90+3'	Report	Norris  18' Aldred  48' McAlister  85' Philliskirk 90+4'	Stadium: Banks's Stadium Attendance: 5,022 Referee: Dean Whitestone

Blackpool v Sheffield United

26 January 2016 28	Blackpool	0–0	Sheffield United	Blackpool
19:45 GMT		Report	Sammon  63' Edgar  90+2' Brayford  90+5'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,296 Referee: Ross Joyce

Blackpool v Gillingham

30 January 2016 29	Blackpool	1–0	Gillingham	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Redshaw 45' (pen.) Cullen  66' Norris  75'	Report	Morris  44' Ehmer  53'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,828 Referee: Andy Madley

Oldham Athletic v Blackpool

6 February 2016 Postponed	Oldham Athletic	P–P	Blackpool	Oldham
15:00 GMT				Stadium: SportsDirect.com Park

Blackpool v Shrewsbury Town

13 February 2016 30	Blackpool	2–3	Shrewsbury Town	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Aldred 36' Aimson  53' Philliskirk 54'	Report	Knight-Percival 5' Whalley 7' Mangan 29' Akpa Akpro  90+1'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,873 Referee: Carl Boyeson

Blackpool v Oldham Athletic

16 February 2016 31	Blackpool	0–0	Oldham Athletic	Blackpool
19:45 GMT		Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7,197 Referee: Paul Tierney

Swindon Town v Blackpool

20 February 2016 32	Swindon Town	3–2	Blackpool	Swindon
15:00 GMT	Ajose 17' 61' 88' Traoré  37' Barry  82'	Report	Aldred 2' Norris  24' Philiskirk 65' (pen.)	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,412 Referee: Phil Gibbs

Blackpool v Bradford City

27 February 2016 33	Blackpool	0–1	Bradford City	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Aimson  16'  90+4'	Report	Reid 54'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 8,780 Referee: Michael Bull

Chesterfield v Blackpool

1 March 2016 34	Chesterfield	1–1	Blackpool	Chesterfield
19:45 GMT	O'Shea 57'	Report	Potts 54' Ferguson  18'  89'	Stadium: Proact Stadium Attendance: 5,915 Referee: Eddie Illderton

Millwall v Blackpool

5 March 2016 35	Millwall	3–0	Blackpool	Bermondsey
15:00 GMT	Gregory 7' Wallace 24' Morison 84' (pen.)	Report	White  56'  76'	Stadium: The New Den Attendance: 9,753 Referee: Lee Swabey

Blackpool v Coventry City

12 March 2016 36	Blackpool	0–1	Coventry City	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Boyce  69' Osayi-Samuel  90+7'	Report	Fortuné 26'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 8,869 Referee: Mark Brown

Oldham Athletic v Blackpool

15 March 2016 37	Oldham Athletic	1–0	Blackpool	Oldham
19:45 GMT	Palmer 53' Kelly  60' Jones  64'	Report	Potts  60' Aldred  62'	Stadium: SportsDirect.com Park Attendance: 3,715 Referee: Jeremy Simpson

Crewe Alexandra v Blackpool

19 March 2016 38	Crewe Alexandra	1–2	Blackpool	Crewe
15:00 GMT	Haber 83'	Report	Redshaw 34' Aldred 84' Redshaw  34'  39'	Stadium: Alexandra Stadium Attendance: 4,480

Blackpool v Bury

25 March 2016 39	Blackpool	1–1	Bury	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Philiskirk 74' (pen.)	Report	Mayor 76'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7,645

Doncaster Rovers v Blackpool

28 March 2016 40	Doncaster Rovers	0–1	Blackpool	Doncaster
15:00 GMT		Report	Cullen 87'	Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium Attendance: 5,575

Blackpool v Southend United

2 April 2016 41	Blackpool	2–0	Southend United	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Cullen 49' Blyth 79'	Report	Barnett  90+2'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,979 Referee: Mark Haywood

Blackpool v Colchester United

9 April 2016 42	Blackpool	0–1	Colchester United	Blackpool
15:00 GMT	Aldred  29' McAlister  85'	Report	Porter 60'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 6,242

Rochdale v Blackpool

16 April 2016 43	Rochdale	3–0	Blackpool	Rochdale
15:00 GMT	Eastham 45' Bunney 50' Mendez-Laing 60'	Report	Boyce  88'	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 3,274

Fleetwood Town v Blackpool

23 April 2016 44	Fleetwood Town	0–0	Blackpool	Fleetwood
15:00 GMT	White  24'	Report	Pond  64'	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 5,123

Blackpool v Wigan Athletic

30 April 2016 45	Blackpool	0–4	Wigan Athletic	Blackpool
12:30 GMT		Report	McCann 60' Wildschut 70', 72' Grigg 85'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 9,226

Peterborough United v Blackpool

8 May 2016 46	Peterborough United	5–1	Blackpool	Peterborough
12:30 GMT	Maddison 48' (pen.) Taylor 74', 84', 86' Coulthirst 76'	Report	Blyth 16'	Stadium: ABAX Stadium Attendance: 6,005

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
20	Shrewsbury Town	46	13	11	22	58	79	−21	50
21	Doncaster Rovers (R)	46	11	13	22	48	64	−16	46	Relegation to EFL League Two
22	Blackpool (R)	46	12	10	24	40	63	−23	46
23	Colchester United (R)	46	9	13	24	57	99	−42	40
24	Crewe Alexandra (R)	46	7	13	26	46	83	−37	34

Updated to match(es) played on 1 July 2016. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(R) Relegated

FA Cup

Barnet v Blackpool

7 November 2015 First round	Barnet	2–0	Blackpool	Barnet
15:00	Champion 36' Gash 41'	Report		Stadium: The Hive Stadium Attendance: 1,869 Referee: Kevin Johnson

League Cup

Northampton Town v Blackpool

11 August 2015 (2015-08-11) First round	Northampton Town	3–0	Blackpool	Northampton
19:45 BST	Hackett 20' Calvert-Lewin 24' Hoskins 29'	Report		Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 2,549 Referee: James Adcock

Football League Trophy

Port Vale v Blackpool

6 October 2015 (2015-10-06) Second round	Port Vale	1–2	Blackpool	Burslem
19:45 BST	Grant 52' (pen.)	Summary	Rivers 44' Robertson 56'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,720

Wigan Athletic v Blackpool

10 November 2015 Northern QF	Wigan Athletic	4–0	Blackpool	Wigan
19:15	Hiwula 20' 78' (pen.) Murray 63' Wildschut 71'	Report		Stadium: DW Stadium Attendance: 5,224

Lancashire Senior Cup

Blackpool v Morecambe

8 September 2015 (2015-09-08) First round	Blackpool	4–2	Morecambe	Blackpool
14:00 BST	Paterson Dunne Thomas Oliver	Report	Mullin 2' Ellison	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Referee: James Mainwaring

Blackpool v Manchester United

24 February 2016 Quarter Final	Blackpool	0–1	Manchester United	Blackpool
14:00 BST		Report	McTominay 71'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Number	Name	League One	FA Cup	League Cup	FL Trophy	Total
1	FW		9	Mark Cullen	9	0	0	0	9
2	FW		10	Jack Redshaw	7	0	0	0	7
3	MF		8	Brad Potts	6	0	0	0	6
4	FW		17	Danny Philliskirk	5	0	0	0	5
	DF		15	Tom Aldred	5	0	0	0	5