Saturday 6 January 1906

In the 6-0 defeat at Chelsea on 6 January 1906 it was said of Thomas Bate"If Bate would get rid of the idea that he is the best outside left in the country, he might be of some service"!  In addition the view was "At present, however, he is not entitled to a place in the second team. He is speedy but his speed avails him nothing, for he does not centre the ball accurately one in 50 times;  and though he is moderately clever, is proves his own undoing, for he generally gets the ball taken from him in an endeavour to show off.  If he would centre the ball at the first opportunity, he would be of some use, but in his present style of play he is hopeless." Blackpool were at the time having problems filling the outside left position and he, Lavery, Reilly and Darlington were considered "not outside lefts and neither are they inside players of the calibre that Blackpool want".  The same critic also felt "Blackpool are in the unfortunate position of having no left wing player of more than moderate ability"! He was recalled two further times to the League side and played in a 3-0 defeat by Bradford City on 3 November and in a 0-0 draw with Clapton Orient on 26 January 1907.

Saturday 6 January 1934

Peter Doherty was selected at centre forward in the return game against Bradford City on 6 January 1934 and although he was said to be "a player with a big heart, aggressive, little disturbed by the punishment a centre forward has to accept" he was thought "not a centre forward".  Indeed, he stated that he preferred not to play in the position.  Even so, Blackpool won 3-2 and he scored one of the goals.

Saturday 6 January 2007

Kaspar Gorkss made his Blackpool debut at left back as a second half substitute in the third round FA Cup tie against Aldershot Town on 6 January 2007. Blackpool won 4-2. Manager Simon Grayson commented, "I thought he did well. He did everything we expected of him. He does prefer to play centre half but I felt it was the right opportunity for him to get on. He was ready to step in and he did ever sow ell. It maybe wasn't ideal preparation for him because I wanted to give him a game in the reserves first but we were right down to the bare bones. He took his opportunity well. I am sure he is really pleased and I'm sure Mr Belekon is pleased too." Team-mate Andy Morrell said, "He's a good lad is Gorkssy. He kept things tight and did well against their winger, who was a handful all afternoon." The player himself said when asked if he enjoyed the applause of the fans, "Of course, of course. You don't get these big crowds in Latvia, so I was very happy to get so much nice support from the fans. I was actually looking forward to playing in the second team at Oldham on Wednesday afternoon. You need to get some games in your legs because practice is one thing but games are totally different. It was a big surprise for me when I came on but it was a nice surprise. Yes, I almost scored in my own net but I was in control for sure! I know the FA Cup has a big tradition here and is probably the second most important trophy after winning the league, so it's very important for the team." And asked how he found his first taste of English football he commented, "It was much faster than I'm used to. The fighting spirit on the pitch was amazing – they fight for everything. Aldershot are two divisions below us but you could not say which team was in which division at times. The main thing is that I have now played one game and I hope there are many more to come."

BLACKPOOL ON THIS DAY

Blackpool Football Club On This Day chronicles, in diary form, the major events in the Seasiders long and colourful history.

Full of fascinating daily facts and trivia about Blackpool FC's glorious history and colourful tradition that has been compiled and researched by a passionate Seasider fan Peter Gillatt an online fans site editor since 1996.

"This book is, therefore, an ideal opportunity for both me and all Blackpool Supporters to recall events in the clubs history." "Jimmy Armfield OBE, CBE"

Blackpool - On This Day is available now at £6.99 from Amazon and also from Waterstone's, HMV, WHSmiths, signed copies are only available from the Stripe Publishing bookshop on eBay.