Varney for England

Do Blackpool really stand any chance of surviving the drop in the richest and arguably the best League in World football?

If the newly promoted club are to keep themselves above the relegation zone come May then they will have to score goals and that would mean some fairly unlikely Premier League players hitting the back of the net. Marlon Harewood, an average striker who has spent the past few years either on Aston Villa's bench or on loan in the Championship looks to be their most likely source of goals.

Alongside Harewood, the Premier League debutants have today clinched the signing of Derby County forward Luke Varney on a season long loan. With out trying to sound to harsh, this is a player that the fans of very few Championship clubs would get even slightly excited about turning out for their team. The fact that Varney was being linked just last week to a move to former club, Crewe, in League Two suggests that Varney is likely to make very little impact against world class defenders and Titus Bramble.

To compliment the duo of Harewood and Varney, Holloway also has Gary Taylor-Fletcher who three years ago was playing in League One with Huddersfield and Brett Ormerod whose only previous spell in the Premier League with Southampton brought about just 17 goals in three and a bit seasons.

Used to be a Terrier, now a brightly coloured fruit

Their opening weekend success over Lancashire rivals Wigan seemed to suggest that they could surprise a few people this season, although 4-0 seems to be the par score when playing Roberto Martinez's side at the moment. Then the tangerines were struck with a stark dose of Premier League realism at the Emirates when the pace of Theo Walcott tore their defence to pieces in a 6-0 loss. The acid test for Ian Holloway's men will be how they react to that thumping at home to Fulham on Saturday. A defeat to the Londoners and all the momentum gained from the victory over Wigan will disappear, but if they grab a positive result then the Arsenal loss will simply be seen as a blip.

The statistics don't look too positive for Blackpool and the signings that Ian Holloway has been able to make during the summer highlight how unprepared the club is financially for life in the Premier League, yet with three points from two opening away games, perhaps the Seaside club can produce a magnificent surprise and stay in the League beyond this season, it seems so unlikely it may just be worth a bet.

Hmm, I wonder what the odds are on Harewood and Varney being England internationals this time next year?

Just how bad are Wigan?

Wigan completed possibly the worst opening week to a new Premier League season as they were trounced 6-0 by Chelsea at the DW Stadium, a result only slightly less embarrassing than their walloping by Blackpool last weekend.

Off the back of another terrible defeat Athletic unsurprisingly sit rock bottom of the League with a goal difference of -10, not even the worst team in Premier League history, the Derby County side of 2007/8 can lay claim to such an abysmal start.

Chris Kirkland concedes yet another goal

In Roberto Martinez's first season as Wigan boss last year the Lancashire side suffered the occasional huge defeat, most notably the 9-1 embarrassment at White Hart Lane and a final day 8-0 loss to Chelsea. These were seen by most people as blips in an otherwise mundane season and generally it was considered that Wigan were playing an attractive style of football and improving under Martinez's tutelage. However, with ten goals put past Chris Kirkland in the first hundred and eighty minutes of the season Wigan's fans must be seriously concerned about their teams prospects over the coming 36 fixtures.

Perhaps the problem lies in the hands of the manager, Martinez who is only in his third full season as a manager, having gained just one years experience before moving to the DW with Swansea. Is the Spaniards lack of managerial experience and the even thinner finances available at his disposable starting to prove catastrophic for the predominantly Rugby League centred town?

Even though the season is in its embryonic stages it is already looking like this could be the year when Dave Whelan's dream could take it's first backward steps with relegation from the holy grail of the Premier League. Wigan's normally Mr reliable, Kirkland was responsible for two of the four goals against Blackpool and doesn't look like the one time future England No.1 any more and arguably Athletic's most talented player, Chalres N'Zogbia looks certain to leave within days, the future does not look bright. The fact that selling Titus Bramble to Sunderland in the summer is looking like a regrettable decision already sums up the problems that Wigan Athletic seem to have this season.