Selection poser for Grayson in Seasiders' opener

1:10pm Thursday 7th August 2008

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Blackpool kick off the new Championship season on Saturday at home to Bristol City, after a summer of change at Bloomfield Road which has everyone wondering what the next nine months hold in store.

Eleven players were released at the end of last season and Wolves defender Rob Edwards was set to sign this week for a club transfer record equalling £275,000, taking the number of new arrivals to twelve.

Simon Grayson has left it to the last week before kick-off to bring in direct replacements for Wes Hoolahan and Kaspars Gorkss - and spend the money from their sales. Edwards is a direct replacement for Gorkss, and the arrival of Welsh midfield player David Vaughan for £200,000 from Real Sociedad is a clear attempt to overcome the loss of Hoolahan’s midfield creativity.

Things are set to change off the pitch as well, with the new South Stand development currently in the planning stage and due to emerge as the season progresses.

A spokesman for the appointed construction company gave an interview for the club’s website this week: "We are at the design stage, which is roughly an eight-week period. You probably won't see any work or any digging until the end of this month.”

"Then we will move on with the piling and the steel work, but you won't actually see a structure move up from the ground until about November, which is when the steel frame will go in."

"We are looking at May. We are trying to beat that but May is a realistic date. We would like to get some people in the seats in the last home match or two but we can't guarantee that. But certainly we will have finished it by May."

The other key change at the club sees the match day ticket prices rise dramatically. An adult who turns up on Saturday without a pre-bought ticket can expect to pay £28. By purchasing before match day, tickets can be bought for £27, or the price can be reduced to £23 by obtaining a £20 membership card.

The bookmakers and pundits are less than confident about the Seasiders’ chances of avoiding relegation this time round.

They are basing that assessment on last season’s performance and the transfers of Hoolahan and Gorkss mainly, but the manager will be keen to prove them all wrong.

Grayson has shown he can improve players and organise and motivate them into an effective unit, and his work starts again with a fresh load of players - who all have a point to prove for different reasons.

The key questions hinge around central defence, where Rob Edwards needs to prove a good replacement for Gorkss; the impact of Hammill and Vaughan in midfield; and finding a striker pairing that works well together and delivers the goods.

As for Saturday, only Grayson will know what kind of starting line-up is likely to emerge from the tunnel. He has brought in the experienced Mo Camara from Derby on a month’s loan to cover for the injured Stephen Crainey and Joe Martin at left back. Ian Evatt is likely to partner either Marlon Broomes or Rob Edwards in central defence, and the right back berth will go to either Shaun Barker or John Halls. Halls has featured there in the pre-season games as a trialist, but will only play if Grayson decides to offer him a contract.

Keith Southern and Adam Hammill seem certain to start in midfield, with the other two places up for grabs. Vaughan will only start if Grayson feels he is ready.

Up front Grayson will probably choose McPhee and partner him with either Ben Burgess or Gary Taylor-Fletcher, who scored twice against Blackburn Rovers in a behind-closed-doors friendly this week which the Seasiders won 4-2. Steve Kabba and Daniel Nardiello are both injured and unlikely to recover sufficiently in time for Saturday.

Over the next few weeks we will see if the manager has bought wisely. It will take time for the new players to settle in and for the teamwork to come together, but the squad certainly looks like it has more strength in depth this time round. And players like Hammill, Vaughan, Kabba and Nardiello have the potential to provide exciting times for the supporters.

The Seasiders travel to Macclesfield on Tuesday for the first round of the Carling Cup,