Blackpool backroom staff
We hold the names of 27 people on Blackpool's staff for 2025/26, beyond the players. Ian Evatt manages the first team, with Stephen Crainey as assistant manager. Blackpool's is the 15th longest staff list of the 24 League One clubs we hold.
Coaching staff
The manager, the assistants and the coaches at every level of the club, 7 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Evatt | Manager | First team | 43 | England |  |
| Matthew Blinkhorn | Manager | Under-18s | 40 | England | - |
| Stephen Crainey | Assistant manager | First team | 44 | Scotland |  |
| Stephen Dobbie | Coach | First team | 42 | Scotland |  |
| Steve Thompson | Coach | First team | 60 | England |  |
| Lewis Hensey | Coach | Under-18s | 32 | Wales |  |
| Steve Banks | Goalkeeping coach | First team | 53 | England |  |
Medical and sports science
Doctors, physios and sports scientists, 8 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liam McGarry | Head physio | Club-wide | 43 | England |  |
| Aimée Knight | Physio | First team | 31 | - | - |
| James Counsell | Physio | First team | 28 | England | |
| Tom Say | Physio | First team | 27 | England |  |
| Adam Brown | Physio | Under-18s | 28 | England | - |
| Bethany Pilkington | Physio | Under-18s | 28 | - |  |
| Sam Napier | Head of sports science | Club-wide | 28 | England | - |
| Christopher Whalley | Sports scientist | First team | 30 | England |  |
Scouting and analysis
Scouts, recruitment analysts and performance analysts, 7 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dean Hughes | Chief scout | Club-wide | 31 | England |  |
| John Dillon | Scout | Club-wide | 36 | England |  |
| Jonathan Gibson | Scout | Club-wide | 38 | England |  |
| Callum Crookes | Recruitment analyst | Club-wide | 34 | England | |
| Charlie Green | Recruitment analyst | Club-wide | 26 | England | |
| Adam Walton | Head performance analyst | Club-wide | 28 | England | |
| Oliver Holt | Performance analyst | First team | 31 | England | - |
Football management
The people who run the football side, from the sporting director to the academy, 2 people
| NAME | ROLE | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ciaran Donnelly | Head of youth development | 41 | England | |
| Neal Eardley | Loan manager | 36 | Wales | - |
Owners and directors
Who owns Blackpool and sits on its board
| NAME | ROLE | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Sadler | Owner | 56 | England | - |
| Julian Winter | Managing director | 59 | England |  |
| David Downes | Director | 45 | England | |
Backroom staff at every League One club
The names we hold at each club in the division, 2025/26
Blackpool's list is the 15th longest of the 24, against a median of 30 across the division. Leicester City names the most, 67. Burton Albion names the fewest, 19.
Blackpool against the League One, department by department
Names held in each department, beside the average and the most at any one club
| DEPARTMENT | BLACKPOOL | AVERAGE | MOST | AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching | 7 | 10 | 14 |  |
| Medical and sports science | 8 | 7 | 21 |  |
| Scouting and analysis | 7 | 7 | 24 | |
| Football management | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owners and directors | 3 | 5 | 14 |  |
Backrooms the size of Blackpool's, in every league
Blackpool's 27 names make the joint 389th longest staff list of the 815 clubs we hold one for
| # | CLUB | LEAGUE | STAFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 370 |  | Ekstraklasa | 28 |
| 370 |  | Women's Super League | 28 |
| 370 |  | Belgian Pro League | 28 |
| 370 | RAAL La Louvière | Belgian Pro League | 28 |
| 370 |  | La Liga | 28 |
| 370 | SK Beveren | Belgian Challenger Pro League | 28 |
| 370 | SK Sigma Olomouc | Czech First League | 28 |
| 370 |  | - | 28 |
| 370 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | J1 League | 28 |
| 370 |  | - | 28 |
| 389 | | League One | 27 |
| 389 |  | Brasileirão Série A | 27 |
| 389 | Chengdu Rongcheng | Chinese Super League | 27 |
| 389 |  | Super Liga | 27 |
| 389 |  | - | 27 |
| 389 | | League Two | 27 |
| 389 |  | - | 27 |
| 389 |  | Eredivisie | 27 |
| 389 | Fredrikstad FK | Eliteserien | 27 |
| 389 |  | Süper Lig | 27 |
| 389 |  | Brasileirão Série A | 27 |
Where Blackpool's staff come from
3 nationalities across the 25 staff whose nationality we hold
England supplies 21 of the 25, 84%. The median age is 36. The oldest is Steve Thompson, coach, at 60, and the youngest Charlie Green, recruitment analyst, at 26. 20 members of staff came from another club, most often Sheffield Wednesday (4).
Where Blackpool's former staff work now
On Blackpool's staff in an earlier season and at another club in 2025/26, 18 people
| NAME | ROLE NOW | NOW AT |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Bowyer | Manager |  |
| Gary Brabin | Assistant manager |  |
| Neil Critchley | Assistant manager |  |
| Iain Brunskill | Coach |  |
| Richie Kyle | Coach | |
| Terry Connor | Coach |  |
| Danny Ventre | Set-piece coach |  |
| Dave Timmins | Goalkeeping coach |  |
| Harry McNeilly | Physio | |
| Stuart Irwin | Physio |  |
| Andy Hodgen | Head of sports science | |
| Adam Forrest | Sports scientist |  |
| Ross Jones | Sports scientist |  |
| Terry McPhillips | Chief scout | |
| Dave Bowman | Scout |  |
| Harvey Stockford | Recruitment analyst |  |
| Colin Calderwood | Technical director |  |
| Dominic Price | Technical director | |
Frequently asked questions
Who is Blackpool's manager?
Ian Evatt is the Blackpool first-team manager, aged 43. Stephen Crainey is the assistant manager.
Who is the goalkeeping coach at Blackpool?
Steve Banks coaches the Blackpool first-team goalkeepers.
Who is Blackpool's head physio?
Liam McGarry is head physio at Blackpool.
Who is Blackpool's chief scout?
Dean Hughes is chief scout at Blackpool.
How many backroom staff do Blackpool have?
We hold the names of 27 people on Blackpool's staff for 2025/26: 7 in coaching, 8 in medical and sports science, 7 in scouting and analysis, 2 in football management and 3 owners and directors. That is the 15th longest list of the 24 League One clubs we hold, against a median of 30. Across every league we hold, that list is the joint 389th longest of 815.
Where to next
For what Blackpool pays its squad, see Blackpool player wages. What each of these jobs pays across football is on backroom staff wages. Every club in the division is on League One wages.