Blackpool may be looking at Leicester City with huge jealousy after promotion: View | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca’s first season in senior English football management has been a resounding success. With the Italian at the helm, Leicester City navigated the Championship’s choppy waters and returned to the top-flight at the first time of asking.

Yet the 44-year-old’s maiden EFL voyage could have been hugely different had his linked move to Blackpool materialised. Last summer, Maresca - then Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager - was the subject of speculation suggesting that the coach might swap City for the Seaside.

However, there was to be no tangerine dream for Maresca, who opted to join Leicester in June. His decision has ultimately proved to be the right one. In launching the Foxes' triumphant title bid, he has justified his lead position this season and has laid the groundwork for more progress on the club’s return to the Premier League.

By comparison, Neil Critchley’s second stint at Blackpool has been passable, but not quite as positive. His return to Bloomfield Road last May appeared to be a statement of real intent as the Seasiders looked to bounce back from their Championship relegation the season before.

Although the club were narrowly edged out of the play-offs on the final day, fans on the Fylde Coast would have hoped for more consistency across the League One campaign. With the season over, Blackpool supporters may be left wondering what might have been had the club pushed the boat out and brought Maresca in.

Blackpool would have been more of a challenge for Maresca

On paper, anything less than an instant return to the Premier League would have constituted a disappointing season for Maresca and his Leicester team.

The Foxes retained a sizeable portion of their Premier League playing squad and were effective in the summer transfer window, bringing in exciting attackers Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi among other talented players.

With the disparity in spending power between the top two divisions growing ever greater, this season it has been little surprise to see that all three teams relegated from the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign have been competing at the top of the Championship.

At times, Leicester have simply been too good and, although the Foxes' form temporarily slumped during February and parts of March, Maresca has always had experienced, high-quality options to turn to in the tougher stages.

Had Maresca filled the Blackpool vacancy last May, he would have faced a greater challenge embedding his dynamic high-possession play-style with a group of, on the whole, less technically gifted players.

While seeing a team play with inverted fullbacks in League One might have raised some eyebrows, it would have been interesting to see how Maresca’s approach would be altered to the league and the personnel he would have at his disposal.

That said, following their relegation from the Championship, Blackpool would have been well-placed to play with an impetus for retaining the ball, as the side still possess more quality than most of the other teams in the division.

Maresca might have been more reliant on his Manchester City network in the division below. Callum Doyle joined the Foxes from City last summer on loan and has featured throughout the club’s title-winning campaign.

Theoretically, a larger number of emerging players from Manchester City’s youth set-up would have been ready to ply their trade at League One level but may have struggled to break into this Leicester side.

Had Maresca made the move to Bloomfield Road, an influx of young, talented City players could have followed.

Critchley may be less expansive, but he is the right man for the Blackpool job

When Neil Critchley swapped his Blackpool project to become Steven Gerrard's assistant at Aston Villa in 2022, the club were plunged into uncertainty.

For just his first full season in charge of the Seasiders, during the 2020/21 campaign, Critchley had struck instant success and led the team to promotion via the League One play-offs.

Yet at the end of the club's first season back in the Championship, he would abandon the Blackpool plan in search of greener pastures.

However, after disappointing spells as an assistant at Villa and back in first-team management at QPR, Critchley returned to Bloomfield Road looking to earn promotion with Blackpool again.

Although his defensive-minded approach may be less appealing to the eye than Maresca’s style, his experience achieving success in League One is worth its weight in gold.

Under the 45-year-old, Blackpool have been resolute in defence throughout the campaign. The Seasiders have had the fifth most effective back-line this season; Critchley’s naturally defensive-minded approach has stood his team in good stead to compete at the right end of the division.

His side operates in a versatile 3-5-2 formation in which wing-backs offer defensive support in transition as well as a wide attacking threat. Blackpool have a solid base to build on.

Following his brief interlude, Critchley has returned home and the club, once again, have a clear identity and an effective play-style. So, while Blackpool may look at Leicester with jealousy after seeing a potential manager achieve elsewhere. They appear to be in good hands and will be hoping to kick on and enjoy a successful season next time around, with the view of eventually doing what Leicester's runners-up, Ipswich Town, have done in making that double jump back to the big time.