1. Tell us a bit about yourself; Name, age, how long a fan of your club etc… 

My name is Peter Gillatt I've been maintaining Seasiders.net since 1996 and I'm now 43 and have been watching Blackpool since 1970 gulp that's over 35 years - time flies eh! 

2. What was the first football match you went to and what was the score?

Remember it well my first game was our first home match in the old First Division on a warm sunny Monday evening August 17th 1970 against Liverpool the game ended 0-0 with over a 27,000 attendance. The Blackpool team that night was: Thompson, Armfield, Mowbray, Bentley, James, Hatton, Brown, Craven, Pickering, Suddick, and Hutchison whilst Liverpool had such stars as Clemence, Lawler, Ross, Smith, Lloyd, Hughes, Callaghan, Evans, Graham, McLaughlin, and Thompson in their side.

Blackpool's average attendance in their last season in the top flight was 20,404 beating Burnley 16,169, Ipswich Town 20,389, Nottingham Forest 19,040 and Stoke City 19,982.

3. What is the best and worst match you have attended?

One match from so many seems harsh I've been fortunate to see Blackpool win two nail biting play-off finals at both Wembley and the Millennium stadium plus two LDV Vans Trophy victories but when as existing Anglo-Italian Cup holders we ran riot with a 10-0 victory over  Lanerossi Vicenza at Bloomfield Road on June 10th 1972 to make sure of a final place for the second year in the Anglo-Italian Cup competition whilst notching up the all time record win and the record number of points ever obtained by any club in the Anglo-Italian competition that was some game!

Worst well,  as a game the 1991 Fourth Division Play-off final defeat by Torquay United when Dave Bamber scuffed his shot wide in the last penalty of the penalty kick shoot out was something I never wanted to go through again (although we did the following season!). However without doubt the worst match for me took place on 24th August 1974 a Blackpool youth, Kevin Olsson, was fatally stabbed at the rear of the Spion Kop whilst attending the Second Division ‘derby’ game against Bolton Wanderers (attendance 15,513). Police reinforcements were brought in from all over Lancashire and supporters from both clubs were locked in the ground long after the match ended for questioning - it was Britain’s first soccer death and I was 12 and terrified at the time.

4. Where do you expect to finish this season?

At one stage in mid September after being bottom for around 8 weeks I thought we were on the fast track back to the Second Division. Then we defeated Port Vale 3-0 away on the 25th September and the survival fight was well and truly on. To find ourselves currently 16th in the table is heaven and I hope we can continue this great run and finish half-way in the table which would be a remarkable transformation in the team’s fortunes.

5. Where do you think Doncaster will finish?

When Blackpool were well and truly roasted in over 100 degrees in the opening game of the season at your place many Seasiders had high praise for the Doncaster as the Divisions newcomers and expected you to be much higher up the League than we currently find you - still don't be greedy 11th place is very respectable any thing higher would be a bonus.

6. How did you do last season?

On Boxing Day our 2-1 victory against Tranmere Rovers left us just 3 points of a play-off place. Sadly by the end of the season we had slumped to 14th place with only 6 further wins to our credit for the entire rest of the season and without a manager. However, on Sunday 21st March the club did enjoy their third successful trip to Cardiff with a 2-0 win in the LDV final against Southend United in front of 34,000.

7. Who is the player Doncaster should watch out for when we play you?

The entire defence unit has changed since that 7th August shocker in the furnace at your place and we now have the impressive Peter Clarke the U21 England International signed from Everton alongside Tony Butler recently signed from Bristol City at the heart of our defence. Clarke has simply been a revelation and we still can't believe we managed to land him from the toffees he's single handedly changed our fortunes.

8. Who's the Doncaster player you think you should watch out for?

Michael McIndoe had a fabulous starring display against the Seasiders in our first encounter and he appears to have been a regular in the side and free scoring alongside your main threat up front Gregg Blundell.

9. What's your team like? Strong areas/players, weak areas/players, manager + backroom staff etc….. 

As previously mentioned our defence is much improved and has kept a number of clean sheet lately however we've had problems up front with Scott Taylor moving on to Plymouth and our midfield can be quickly overrun but when Richie Wellens, Keith Southern and Martin Bullock are on form they can prove a handful for any opposition in this League. The Manager still commands respect in his first season in charge and whilst Karl Oyston the chairman attracts the usual criticism for not opening the purse strings Blackpool are perhaps one of the few purely solvent outfits in the lower divisions.

10.  Make a prediction for when Doncaster play you.

A few weeks ago I would have expected you to murder us. Our home form has been nothing short of atrocious and the football on display has seen attendances plummeting at Bloomfield Road. Now the team are playing some exciting football again and Colin Hendry appears to have found a unit capable of securing much needed points to claw us away from the relegation zone. I'd be more than happy if we shared the points against a team such as Doncaster at this stage of the season.

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