Blackpool Football Club

• Nickname:The Seasiders or Tangerines
• Founded:1887
• Manager:Paul Ince

• Ground:Bloomfield Road
• Capacity:11000

Grayson wields the axe

08 May 2008 - 11:57:16

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Blackpool manager Simon Grayson has decided to make wholesale changes to his squad this summer, allowing 11 players to leave Bloomfield Road.

Skipper Michael Jackson heads the list and is joined by Keigan Parker, John Hills, Paul Tierney, Phil Doughty, Andy Welsh, Marcus Bean, Lewis Edge, Michael Flynn, Matt Lawlor and Phil Marsh.

Grayson told the club's official website: "It's a very difficult stage of the season. I think every manager doesn't enjoy doing this with first-team players and youth team players.

"We've obviously had to release some established first-team players along the way.

"It's never easy as I've said, but the decisions are made to try and make sure we bring in possibly better players and try and keep progressing as a football club.

"We've decided that because we're in the Championship, we're going to try and get a better quality of player.

"That's not disrespectful to the players that we've released, if we'd gone down, then those players would probably still be here."