Critchley back at Blackpool

Blackpool have this afternoon announced the re-appointment of their 2020/21 League One promotion winning manager Neil Critchley. 

Critchley has re-joined The Seasiders on a four-year deal which will intend to see him remain at Bloomfield Road until the end of the 2026/27 campaign. 

@Getty / Dave Howarth - CameraSport

The 44 year-old began his first-team managerial career with The Tangerines back in 2020 and managed to gain promotion with the club via the third-tier playoffs. He then kept managed to guide them to safety with relative ease in the middle of the Championship table.

However, in the summer of 2022, he surprisingly left the club to join Aston Villa as a member of Steven Gerrard’s backroom staff at Villa Park. Following Gerrard’s sacking in October, Critchley also departed but soon found work, replacing Mick Beale as manager of Queens Park Rangers.

At the time, QPR were looking to fight for the top six and the playoff places but The Hoops drifted down the table and only just managed to survive under Gareth Ainsworth after Critchley was sacked with a couple of months of the season to go.

Blackpool attempted to replace Critchley with Michael Appleton initially but the former Portsmouth boss was also sacked last season, replaced by Mick McCarthy, who couldn’t halt the slide and also departed, leaving Stephen Dobbie to oversee their relegation from the second-tier.

The Lancastrians will believe they can be among the major favourites to return at the first time of asking and will begin the season expecting to challenge for automatic promotion, with Critchley also keen to restore his reputation.