Blackpool Chairman Quits 1 Game into EPL Season

No, it's the Chairman, Karl Oyston, not the team manager Ian Holloway, just to be clear. Blackpool is a scrappy team and has done well to bring in the type of players it wants, and the type who all play for each other. Honestly, this is a rarity in many professional sports teams, and a tip of the hat to outgoing Chair Oyston on his sticking to his morals although this does not extend to his father (majority shareholder Owen Oyston) who has been in trouble in relatively recent years for other things which we do not condone.

Oyston will stay on until a suitable replacement is found for him. Last year, Blackpool managed to spend only £40,000 in agent fees (just 1/10th of what the remaining current teams in the EPL spent on average).

“I’m not sure I have the right approach to be in this division. The more I speak to other people at other clubs, the more I realize I am a lone voice. There was some support for things I did and said in the Championship but there doesn’t seem to be any in this division. Everyone else seems to subscribe to the way that business seems to be conducted and it is a way I find unacceptable. We are the ones who are the employers. We are the ones offering the terms and the contracts. It is up to us how we go about things. I don’t think any deal should be about the agent.” -Yahoo Sports

Last year, Hull spent heavily in player transfers and it was revealed late in the season that many players would have to restructure contracts or be sold. Granted, the EPL's "Parachute" rule which grants money to relegated teams for 1-2 years will help, Hull still faces player issues.

Blackpool isn't without financial issues itself. Just last month, it was reported that they had failed to pay their players bonuses for promotion. Since then, those bonuses have been paid out though.

With the obvious fact that Blackpool isn't awash in money, it should become apparent to both players/agents that Blackpool won't be paying silly (Man City) money, but whether the agents are unwilling to set a precedent is undetermined.

Photo: The Independent