From scorebox to boardroom

FOOTBALL: BLACKPOOL and Manchester City may be separated by only 50 miles of tarmac, but the financial gap between the two is distinctly long-haul.

The Tangerines, still buzzing from the play-off final victory over Cardiff City which takes them into the Premier League for the first time, boast Charlie Adam as their record signing at £500,000 — a cool 65 times less than the cash amount City shelled out on Robinho.

But when it comes to the people who perform the legwork on such deals, the two clubs are very much evenly matched.

The new secretary at Eastlands, Rebecca Firth, is from Royton, while Blackpool counterpart Matt Williams hails from Shaw.

And when the pair meet in the top flight, they will be renewing an old acquaintance.

“Every game is massive in the Premier League, but I am looking forward to the City game,” said Williams, who has barely stopped working since Blackpool’s thrilling 3-2 win at Wembley on Saturday.

“The club got a massive bouquet of flowers from Garry Cook (Manchester City’s chief executive) which was a great gesture.

“And I am looking forward to going over there as an equal to Becky, who used to score for Heyside while I was scoring for Shaw.”

The Saddleworth and District Cricket League is a world away from the Premier League, though, and the hard work is set to continue for Williams as Blackpool make the improvements necessary for their new status.

“If I am honest, what we have achieved only started to sink in on Tuesday morning when I sat down with Richard Scudamore (Premier League chief executive) and Mike Foster (Premier League general secretary) to discuss the requirements,” said Williams.

“There are going to be some massive changes. One of which is building a stand to replace the “Gene Kelly” stand — so-called because it can leave fans singing in the rain — and then there are the media facilities we will need.

“We have to have space for 50 journalists and 20 radio commentary positions, plus there are 14 camera positions needed around the pitch, which is doubled if you are broadcast in 3D.

“There is a huge list of things to do.”

The popularity of Premier League football has also inspired a huge rush on season tickets for a club who were second-bottom of the table in average Championship attendances last term.

“Every man and his dog wants one and though our capacity next season will probably be around 16,000, we could probably fill that twice over with just our own fans,” Williams added.

“The town is on a high and has a spring in its step.”