Oyston’s resignation – reaction

Friday, 20/08/2010

by Dave White, Shoot's resident Tangerine.

Rarely is life at Blackpool simple. Following our fantastic win last weekend, the club and its supporters are now trying to get their collective heads around Karl Oyston’s decision to step down as Chairman.

It’s been reported in the media locally and nationally for about a fortnight or so that he was considering offering to resign but this was generally taken with a pinch of salt. 

Now his vacating of the post has been confirmed, albeit he will remain as Chief Executive at the club until a replacement has been found and I am sure the Oyston family will remain as the club’s owners.

Although a divisive figure during his tenure, Oyston seems to have chosen a time to go when even some of his harshest critics are warming to him for his stance against the financial craziness inherent to the Premier League. 

His arguments regarding the wages of players and how payments to agents are made make perfect sense to the man in the street, but unfortunately, as he himself admits, he is something of a lone voice in the world of football.

Over the last decade Oyston has drawn much criticism from the club’s fans for appearing to lack ambition to drive the club forward, yet with him at the helm we have progressed from Division 3 (as it was at the time) to the Premier League and have seen a complete stadium rebuild.

One particular aspect of the rebuild that rankles with fans is the South Stand – finally opened in March, eight years after the redevelopment of the North and West Stands, start dates for building work came and went as Oyston promised only ’50 to 100’ fans were missing out on seeing Blackpool when Bloomfield Road was sold out.

In taking 30,000 to the League 1 play-off final and considerably more for the Championship version, the true untapped potential of support in the town was revealed.

Another criticism of Oyston and the club in general is the lack of marketing in and around Blackpool and the club’s communication with potential and established supporters. This must be addressed with the appointment of a new figurehead.

Hopefully Karl has made a decision which he believes is the best for both himself and for the club, and all Blackpool fans trust that these events do not destabilise the club or have a negative effect on the wonderful work being performed by Ian Holloway.

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