Nearly fifteen years ago, Blackpool rocked up to the DW Stadium to face Wigan for their first Premier League appearance. Against all odds, with a team consisting largely of the players that beat Cardiff at Wembley in the Play-Off final, supplemented with youngsters and free transfers, the Seasiders thrashed the Tics 4-0, a result that saw the club at the summit of the English football pyramid, if just for a day. The eleven that lined up for the Seasiders that day have since gone on to enjoy diverse and unique careers – these are their stories.
MATT GILKS –
Gilks originally signed for Blackpool as a makeweight in a deal that saw the “Irish Messi”, Wes Hoolahan, head in the opposite direction to Carrow Road. He had to be patient in waiting for his chance with the Seasiders, even heading out on loan to Shrewsbury at one point but found his place in the team during the 2009/10 season as Blackpool won promotion to the promised land. The Scotsman would go on to make twelve Premier League appearances in the first half of the season until a broken kneecap ruled him out of action until April, by which time the Seasiders Premier League status was already in peril.
Following relegation Gilks signed a new two-year-deal and would return to Wembley with the club the following season, as hopes of an instant return to the top-flight were quashed by a cruel defeat to West Ham. Two years later, in 2014, he left the Fylde coast for Lancashire rivals Burnley on a free transfer, serving as a back-up keeper, before heading across the border to Scotland to join Rangers. Game time at Ibrox was hard to come by, and in January Gilks found himself back at the DW Stadium, this time in the home dugout. Spells at several lower league clubs, including Scunthorpe, Lincoln and Fleetwood would follow his time at Wigan, before linking up with former teammate Ian Evatt at Bolton as a player-coach. Gilks retired in 2022 but remained with the Trotters as a coach until the departure of Evatt in January. A month later he would join fellow League One side Barnsley as a goalkeeping coach but left his role at the end of the season following the end of his contract.
STEPHEN CRAINEY –
Crainey joined the Seasiders from Leeds in 2007 and cemented his place in the team almost immediately. A key figure in the 2009/10 promotion squad, the Scotsman played a full 90 minutes at Wembley. He would be a practical ever present in Pool’s Premier League squad until an ankle injury in January ruled him out. Upon his return he played every single minute of the final ten games as Blackpool were unable to stave off relegation. Like Gilks, he would sign a new deal with the club in the Championship and once again started at Wembley against West Ham. A season later he would also depart, heading to the DW Stadium on a one-year-deal. After making 20 league appearances for the Tics he joined Blackpool’s Fylde Coast neighbours Fleetwood Town, as the Cods prepared for their first ever season in the third tier. After a year and a half at Highbury, Crainey made the short move to AFC Fylde, signing a short-term deal until the end of the season, at the end of which he would call time on his career. The former left back would immediately get back into the game, re-joining Fleetwood as a youth team coach. Following the departure of Simon Grayson he would take charge of the first team, initially on a caretaker basis, before taking the job until the end of the season, keeping the club in League One on the final day. He rejoined Wigan as a coach in 2022, starting with the youth team before becoming a first team coach under Shaun Maloney. Twelve months later in 2024, he would also join Evatt at Bolton, serving as assistant manager until leaving in January, following Evatt’s departure.
IAN EVATT –
The first on the list to have forged a proper managerial career since retirement, Evatt was a stalwart during the Tangerine’s top-flight season. He made an appearance in every game, scoring one goal against the team he would go on to manage, Bolton Wanderers. He followed Crainey out of the Bloomfield Road door in 2013, returning to former club Chesterfield, where he would go on to spend five more years. At the Spireites he would make his first foray into management, taking caretaker control of the club for three matches as the club tumbled into non-league. A month later he was appointed as manager of National League Barrow, with whom he made his final appearance as a player, playing the final six minutes in a friendly against Blackpool. In just his second season at Holker Park the Bluebirds were promoted to the Football League, although Evatt would depart to join Bolton Wanderers.
Behind closed doors Evatt led the Trotters to a 3rd placed finish in League Two, taking them back to the third tier at the first attempt. In their first season back Evatt took the club to 9th place. The following season he would win his first silverware with the club, as they thrashed Plymouth 4-0 at Wembley to lift the EFL trophy. The same season saw them qualify for the play-offs, although the season would end in defeat following a semi-final defeat to Barnsley. Evatt would take the club a step further a season later, though again the season would end in disappointment, as Oxford beat them in the final at Wembley. The 2024/25 season would prove to be Evatt’s last with Bolton. Following poor results and mounting fan pressure, he would leave the club in January 2025 by mutual consent, taking with him his plethora of former teammates.
ALEX BAPTISTE –
Evatt’s centre-back partner in the play-off final, Baptiste had joined the club following their promotion to the championship. In the opening day win at Wigan he would round off the scoring, adding a fourth in the 75th minute to send the Seasiders faithful into pandemonium. He would also depart Bloomfield Road in 2013, joining Championship rivals Bolton, the first of many homes for the defender. A loan move to Blackburn Rovers would follow, before he departed permanently for Middlesbrough in 2015. A double leg fracture in a pre-season friendly meant ‘Baps’ never really got a chance at the Riverside, spending much of his time on loan. His first spell saw him link up with League One Sheffield United, before joining Blackpool’s arch-rivals Preston North End on a season long loan the year after. Spells at Luton and Doncaster would follow, before rejoining Bolton in 2020 under Ian Evatt. After two years back at the Toughsheet Baptiste would depart for Ireland based Waterford, rejecting an offer to stay on at Bolton as a player-coach. Since retiring in 2022, Baptiste has worked as an agent.
CRAIG CATHCART –
Cathcart was one of five players to sign for the Seasiders just three days before the season opener at Wigan, joining permanently from Manchester United. He was thrust straight in as Blackpool beat Wigan and played rather regularly during the season, scoring his first goal for the club against former employers United. Following relegation, he could only watch on from the bench as Blackpool lost the 2012 play-off final. In 2014 Cathcart was one of 17 players released by Blackpool, returning to former club Watford on a two-year-deal. In his first season back at Watford Cathcart would play a role as the Hornets were promoted to the Premier League. The Northern Irish international would become a fan favourite at Vicarage Road and played a large part in helping Watford return to the top-flight following relegation in 2020. He left the club after nine seasons in 2023, narrowly missing out on a testimonial, joining Belgian club Kortrijk for a year. However, just a couple months later he announced his retirement, claiming he had lost enthusiasm for the game.
DAVID VAUGHAN –
Part of the Seasider’s iconic midfield trio alongside Charlie Adam and Keith Southern, Vaughan played an integral role in Blackpool’s promotion season, as well as the season in the top-flight. One of only two members of this eleven to remain in the Premier League immediately after Blackpool’s relegation, Vaughan left the club in the summer of 2011 to join Sunderland, having been unable to agree terms to remain at Bloomfield Road. He spent three years at the Stadium of Light, most notably scoring a stunner in a 3-0 Tyne-Wear derby victory. After a few seasons of being in and out of the team, adding a further 49 Premier League games to his name, Vaughan moved on loan to Nottingham Forest in 2013, before signing on a free once his contract had expired at Sunderland. Injuries restricted Vaughan’s involvement at the City Ground during his first few seasons, but the Wales international soon implemented himself as an important member of the Forest squad. His final season in professional football was spent across the Trent with neighbours Notts County, with whom he signed for on a free transfer. Vaughan spent one season at Meadow Lane, playing 22 times as the club were relegated into non-league for the first time in their history. After his spell with the Magpies Vaughan retired after a successful career that saw him win 42 international caps. By 2020 he was back in football with the club where it had all started, Crewe Alexandra, coaching in the club’s academy. Vaughan came out of retirement in 2021 to spend a season with semi-professional Nantwich Town, following which he returned to coaching with Crewe, where he now works with the U-23s.
CHARLIE ADAM –
The talisman of the team, and the man who led the squad out for the first Premier League game, Charlie Adam would go down as one of the most iconic players in Blackpool’s history. Adam netted twelve goals from midfield that season, including a free kick on the final day at Old Trafford as Pool valiantly fought for 90 minutes against the champions. Like Vaughan, he would depart at the end of the season, joining Liverpool, a move which not many begrudged. Adam’s time at Anfield coincided with a tough season for Liverpool, although he would win the League Cup with the club, a penalty miss in the shootout vs Cardiff luckily not proving decisive. A season later he would join Stoke, with whom he would spend the next seven years. A notable highlight of his time at the Britannia was an audacious goal against Chelsea, lobbing Thibaut Courtois from around 65 yards. Adam soon became an established senior pro at Stoke but was helpless as they were relegated to the Championship in 2018, making just 14 league appearances.
He stayed with the Potters for another season, before leaving at the end of his contract in 2019. Adam flirted with the idea of a return to the Seasiders, even going as far to meet with owner Simon Sadler, but turned the opportunity down in favour of staying in the Championship with Reading. A return to Bloomfield Road followed in the FA Cup as Adam returned to the Bloomfield Road pitch for the first time since his departure in 2011, albeit in the hoops of the Royals. After his spell at the Madejski Adam returned to his hometown club Dundee, taking them to the top-tier of Scottish football in his first season. His retirement followed a season later, after which he joined Burnley as a loan manager. After a few years he made the move across Lancashire to take up his first managerial role at Fleetwood Town, with the task of keeping them in League One. Adam failed and the Cod’s ten year stay in League One was over. After an indifferent start to the following season Adam would leave his role, with the club sitting in 18th place in League Two. Since then, Adam has been working at Everton as a set-piece coach under fellow Scotsman David Moyes.
MARLON HAREWOOD –
Another of the Seasider’s summer signings, Harewood possessed arguably the most Premier League pedigree in the squad. The former West Ham and Villa man showed early signs of promise, even netting twice in as the Tangerines romped home against Wigan. Five goals in fifteen matches furthered hopes that Harewood could help the Seasiders in their bid for Premier League survival. However, injury problems combined with the form of Tangerine favourite DJ Campbell saw Harewood lose his place in the team and the striker opted to head on loan to Championship side Barnsley for the rest of the season. Upon the end of the season and his release from Blackpool, Harewood spent six months in China with Guangzhou, before rejoining the club where he began his career, Nottingham Forest, for the remainder of the season. After playing just six games, unable to find the back of the net in any of them, Harewood was once again on the move, this time to another former club in Barnsley. Another year at Oakwell followed, before two final seasons in the EFL with Bristol City and Hartlepool respectively. Aged 35, with his contract at Hartlepool up, Harewood dropped into the National League North to play for Nuneaton, where he would spend another season before calling it a day on his career. Since retirement Harewood has qualified as a coach but since swapped the world of football for the world of business. Originally focusing on detailing cars, Harewood is now the owner of MH 10 Global, a luxury concierge service.
BRETT OREMEROD –
Having returned to Bloomfield Road on a free from PNE for what seemed to be a swansong at the club he began his professional career. Not many would have expected that a year and a half later the veteran striker would score the goal that put Blackpool in the Premier League. A goal against Tottenham in a 3-1 win at Bloomfield Road saw the 34-year-old become the first player to score in all four of English footballs top tiers for a single club. Ormerod started the following season with the Seasiders but found game time limited. He would spend a month on loan at Rochdale in January before departing Bloomfield Road at the end of his contract in July. Two years at National League side Wrexham would follow, where he would lift the FA Trophy at Wembley, before returning to Lancashire for a couple of seasons with Padiham and Bamber Bridge respectively. Following retirement the Seasider’s favourite has enjoyed a number of varied careers. Alongside the occasional commentary for BBC Radio Lancashire, Ormerod also took a venture into management, being named caretaker manager of AFC Fylde in 2019 alongside former seasider John Hills. Out of the game, Lancashire residents waiting for a parcel had the possibility of it being handed to them by a Wembley goal scorer, as Ormerod took on a local round for a well-known delivery company. Most recently, however, Ormerod became the latest former Pool player to join Evatt at Bolton, taking up a role as assistant kitman at the Toughsheet.
GARY TAYLOR-FLETCHER –
Another of the clubs Wembley goal scorers, Taylor-Fletcher also had the honour of becoming the clubs first ever Premier League goal scorer, netting after just sixteen minutes at the DW. He would go on to score five more that season, including a goal against Liverpool in a famous 2-1 home win for the Seasiders. He left the club in 2013 to join Leicester City and scored three goals as the Foxes won the Championship in his first season at the club. The striker would make one further Premier League appearance before being omitted from the club’s 25-man squad, instead heading out on loan.
At first he headed to Hillsborough, playing four league games for Sheffield Wednesday, before reuniting with Ian Holloway at Millwall for the remainder of the season. Spells at Tranmere and Accrington followed before Taylor-Fletcher headed to Wales, becoming caretaker player-manager of Bangor City. He left the club following a second-place finish to join Llandudno for a brief spell, playing just two games before returning to Bangor as the club’s permanent manager. After a few years in New York coaching, Taylor-Fletcher returned to the UK to take up a role as joint manager of Nantwich Town but left less than a year into the job. His last job was manager of AFC Crewe, having stepped down in May after two league titles with the club.
ELLIOT GRANDIN –
The last player on this list to retire, Grandin was one of three Frenchmen the Seasiders signed days before the season started. He played 24 times in the Premier League for the club but featured sparingly in the following Championship season due to injury. He joined Nice on loan for the remainder of 2012, but the French club opted not to sign the winger on a permanent. A season later in 2013 he would rejoin Holloway at his new club Crystal Palace but would have his contract cancelled following Holloways sacking, having not made an appearance in the Premier League for the club. He returned to Blackpool following this but once again found opportunities limited. Grandin’s career would then take a journeyman turn, playing for clubs in Romania, Cyprus and France. Most notably he would link up for one last dance with Holloway at Grimsby, playing five times before the season was curtailed by the pandemic. He returned to France with Cannet Rocheville before calling time on his career in 2023. Grandin has since completed his coaching badges and works as a football consultant.
