Simon Grayson has been confirmed as the new first team manager of Blackpool has been revealed, less than 24 hours after the previous boss Terry McPhillips stepped down from his role.
Grayson who has been without a club since he was dismissed at Bradford City in May 2018, managing just 14 matches for them.
He is a former Blackpool manager, having managed them between 2005 and 2008. He came in as caretaker manager in November 2005, they ended that season 19th in the League One table, then then following year went on to claim a 3rd place finish then promotion from the third tier via the playoffs as well as reach the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.
They then finished 19th and 16th in the Championship, though halfway through the 08/09 season, Grayson resigned. Fan favourite Ian Holloway was appointed the season after that and as we know took them up to the Premier League at his first attempt.
Grayson has also managed Sunderland, Preston, Huddersfield and Leeds.
His other managerial honours has seen him win the 2015 League One final with Preston, win the 2012 League One playoff final with Huddersfield, promotion from the third tier of English football with Leeds in 2010 and of course the also mentioned one with Blackpool in 2007.
Blackpool FC Owner Simon Sadler said: “It was important to act swiftly and appoint a new manager who can hit the ground running. Simon’s achievements at this level and above speak for themselves. He has a proven track record of getting teams promoted from this division and had great success at this club previously, building a team full of winners and leaders who set the platform for the years that followed.
“As I stated on Monday, the goal is to get this club back in the Championship within the next few years, and Simon is the man to help us achieve that.”
Manager Simon Grayson added: “When Terry made the decision on Tuesday that he wanted to leave, the club contacted me to see whether I would be interested in coming back. After speaking to Simon, Michael and Ben, I thought it was an exciting project to come back to Blackpool and try and take the club forward, especially with the brand new optimism under the new owner.
“It’s now a new era and it’s important that we get this football club, with its fantastic history and tradition, back to some good, positive days again.”
After learning that Simon Grayson was going to be appointed the new Blackpool manager, fans took to give their reaction – find out what they had to say on the next page.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login