Next Blackpool Manager Odds

Blackpool are on the lookout for a new manager following the departure of Mick McCarthy in the aftermath of the Tangerines' 3-1 loss to Cardiff City on Good Friday.

The former Republic of Ireland manager left the Tangerines in a poor place, culminating in their relegation back to the third-tier of English football. McCarthy’s record at the Bloomfield Road club stands at two wins and three draws in 14 matches, seeing him leave with a 14% win percentage.

Stephen Dobbie oversaw the job of caretaker manager at Bloomfield Road and managed to win three of his seven matches in charge, doing so by 1-0 scorelines against the likes of Wigan Athletic, Birmingham City and Norwich City.

Current Interim Manager Stephen Dobbie comes in at 5/4 to get the job on a full-time basis.

The 40-year-old only quit playing last season, having spent one year at AFC Fylde and had four loan spells at Blackpool throughout his playing career.

It would be a big rise in managerial credentials for Dobbie if he was to get the job at the end of the season, having only returned back to the club back in July last year as a Senior Professional Development Phase coach, however, since stepping up as caretaker manager, Blackpool have picked up three wins in seven games, while looking competitive in each match.

Former Tangerines manager, Gary Bowyer has been rumoured for a return to Bloomfield Road.

The 51-year-old managed Blackpool between June 2016 and August 2018, overseeing 115 matches in charge, winning 42 and drawing 40, equating to a 36.5% win percentage. During this spell with the Seasiders, Bowyer managed to lead them to promotion from League Two via the play-offs in 2016/17.

At present, Bowyer is the manager of Dundee and has just managed to win the Scottish Championship, doing so by five points ahead of Ayr United and Queen's Park. During his time at Dens Park, the ex-Blackburn and Bradford coach has won 26 and drawn 14 of his 48 matches in charge.

Could a former Preston North End favourite, Graham Alexander, make the move to Blackpool?

Alexander was most recently manager at Motherwell who he left last July, having seen his side be knocked out of Europa Conference League qualifying by Sligo Rovers. During his time at Fir Park, the 51-year-old had overseen 27 wins and 14 draws in 69 matches, a win percentage of 39.1%.

Alexander has a good CV despite of this, having guided the likes of Fleetwood Town to promotion from League Two in 2013/14, as well winning the National League play-offs with Salford City in 2018/19.

In between the latter-mentioned spells at Fleetwood and Salford, Alexander also managed Scunthorpe to the play-offs in 2015/16 and was harshly sacked by the Irons, with his side in fifth place entering the closing stages of the 2017/18 season, a decision that Scunthorpe have never really recovered from.

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has emerged as a potential candidate for the job at Bloomfield Road.

The 40-year-old has previously managed in the north-west of England, with Fleetwood Town between June 2018 and January 2021, leading the Cod Army to the League One play-off semi-finals for the first time in their history during the 2019/20 season, where they were beaten by Wycombe Wanderers.

Following his time at Highbury, Barton joined Bristol Rovers towards the end of the 2020/21 season, just one month after leaving Fleetwood, and was unable to save the Pirates from relegation to League Two. However, he did oversee their promotion back to League One at the first time of asking in the 2021/22 campaign.

Barrow AFC manager Pete Wild has also entered the conversation, having impressed with the Bluebirds during the 2022/23 campaign.

Prior to his arrival at Holker Street, Barrow had finished 21st and 22nd in League Two, with many having the club as favourites to be relegated in the current campaign, however, the Bluebirds have typically defied the odds and sit in ninth place, a good platform to build on in the future.

Before joining Barrow, Wild had been the manager at Halifax Town in the National League for three years, between July 2019 and May 2022, winning 65 and drawing 28 of his 139 matches in charge, equating to a 47% win percentage, finishing fourth in his final season at The Shay.

Wild also had a decent spell at Oldham Athletic between March 2019 and May 2019, winning four and drawing two of his nine games in charge, a decent record for any Oldham manager post-Joe Royle.

Having shown his capabilities in the lower leagues, it would certainly be interesting to see Wild test his managerial skills at a higher level with Blackpool.

Leam Richardson is a manager that many clubs are looking at, having provided Wigan Athletic with stability during some tough times at the football club.

The 43-year-old had done a good job at Wigan, having saved the club from relegation in League One 2020/21 following financial troubles, before getting the Latics promoted to the Championship last season as they won the league title.

But, following a run of six losses in seven games this season, which saw Wigan sit in the Championship’s relegation zone, Richardson was sacked to the disappointment of many Wigan fans - notably, results on the pitch haven’t improved since his departure.

Richardson ended his time at Wigan with 49 wins and 30 draws from 117 matches across all competitions, equating to a 42% win rate.

Former Blackpool manager Neil Critchley is the joint favourite for the vacancy at Bloomfield Road.

Critchley had had a poor time of things this season, having been sacked by QPR following one win in 12 matches. The 44-year-old had initially been dismissed as part of Steven Gerrard’s coaching team at Aston Villa following the former Liverpool midfielder’s sacking prior to Unai Emery’s appointment.

The ex-Liverpool coach had a successful time as Blackpool manager in his two years at Bloomfield Road, as he guided the Seasiders to promotion from League One via the play-offs in the 2020/21 season, before overseeing a 16th place finish in the Championship in 2021/22.

Current Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens is in the frame for the job at Bloomfield Road, having earned promotion to League One with the O’s this season.

The 43-year-old has overseen 63 matches in charge of the Brisbane Road club, winning 34, equating to a 54% win percentage, culminating in his side winning England’s fourth-tier title.

On top of this, Wellens has a history with the Tangerines’, playing for the club between 2000 and 2005, winning the old Third Division play-offs in 2001, as well as two Football League Trophy finals with them in 2001/02 and 2003/04.

Recently sacked Oxford United boss Karl Robinson is in the frame to become Blackpool’s next manager.

Robinson is perhaps best known for his six-year spell as MK Dons manager between 2010 and 2016 where he earned them promotion to the Championship back in the 2014/15 season via a second-place finish.

Following his time at MK, the 41-year-old Liverpudlian took charge of Charlton Athletic between November 2016 and March 2018, but, departed from The Valley by mutual consent after winning just 27 of his 74 matches in charge.

Robinson was in charge of Oxford between March 2018 and February 2023, managing The U’s 274 times, winning 110 of these matches.

Manchester City EDS manager Brian Barry-Murphy is also in the running to permanently replace McCarthy at Bloomfield Road.

The 44-year-old started his managerial career with Rochdale between March 2019 and June 2021, overseeing 109 matches at Spotland, winning 34 and drawing 28, equating to a 31.2% win percentage.

Barry-Murphy’s time at Rochdale saw them get relegated to League Two during the 2020/23 season, with the Irishman resigning in order to join City’s Elite Development Team as manager. At present, Blackpool have two of City’s EDS players on loan in Lewis Fiorini and Morgan Rogers.

Tangerines legend Ian Evatt has inevitably been linked with the job at his old club, having had an impressive managerial career to date.

Evatt famously managed to end Barrow AFC’s 48-year Football League drought by winning the National League with the Bluebirds in the 2019/20 season. This was an impressive feat in what was his second season in charge, having seen the club nearly be relegated to the National League North prior to his arrival.

On top of this, Evatt made a progressive career move by joining Bolton Wanderers, where he managed to win promotion from League Two in his first season in charge (2020/21), before consolidating their position in League One the following year.

So far this season, Bolton are in contention to be promoted from League One, having finished in fifth-place on 81 points from 46 matches, seeing the Trotters reach the play-off semi-finals.

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