Blackpool had a glorious first half of the 20th century but the rot set in from the seventies to the point where the former FA Cup winners finished 21st in Division Four in 1982.
However, the good times have returned to Blackpool and the Tangerines are set to re-establish themselves at Championship level but it remains to be seen whether they can recreate the glory years of the fifties. With Blackpool players such as Sir Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen and Jimmy Armfield donning the tangerine shirt it is no wonder Blackpool were so successful. In fact, Armfield made an incredible 627 appearances for the club during his 17-year stint at Bloomfield Road. They lifted the FA Cup in 1953 and were finalists in 1948 and 1951. 1956 also saw them achieve their highest ever finish when they were runners-up to Manchester United in the top flight.
Players such as Alan Ball also wore the Blackpool shirt with pride during his career but the Seasiders fell on hard times during the seventies after lifting the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1971. They were relegated to the third tier for the first time in their history in 1978 and bounced between the bottom two divisions until Simon Grayson created Blackpool news finally leading them back to the Championship in 2007 on the back of ten consecutive victories, which is a club record.
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