The ever-spiralling circus that is Blackpool FC have parted company with manager Gary Bowyer after just one game of the 2018/19 season.
The Seasiders kicked off their League One campaign with a perfectly adequate goalless draw against newly-promoted Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to keep Bowyer in situ.
The club regretfully confirmed the departure in a statement issued via their official website on Monday afternoon, also adding that Terry McPhillips, Bowyer’s assistant, will step into the breach for the time being.
In his two seasons at Bloomfield Road, Bowyer fought against the general behind-the-scenes maelstrom to first achieve promotion up and out of League Two before securing a comfortable 12th-place finish (on a minuscule budget) the following year – all while Blackpool’s ownership continued to dig their claws in, destabilise and stoke hostilities between themselves and the fans, as per.
Quite why Bowyer chose this juncture to jump ship remains unclear but let’s face it, he’s almost certainly better off out of it.
A talented coach at Football League level, it’s unlikely he’ll be out of work for long.