89: Brett Ormerod, Blackpool, Topps Match Attax Trading Card Game, Barclays Premier League 2010/11 Collector Binder

This week Mat Jolin-Beech heads to the seaside to take a look at a cult hero with an enviable record. Whenever a club is promoted there are always the naysayers predicting that certain players will struggle in the league above but this post’s subject made a mockery of such pessimism across the pyramid. No wonder Tangerines’ fans sang his name. Over to Mat.

Strikers are an odd bunch. The heroes for the fans on the terrace, the difference makers, the poster boys, the ones who get all the glory. Within this bunch there are those who make history. The most Premier League goals – Alan Shearer. Most professional goals – Cristiano Ronaldo. Most World Cup goals – Miroslav Klose

But then you get those who have, how shall I say, slightly more niche records. There is a select group of players who have scored in England’s top four divisions. This elite group includes Billy Sharp, Steve Claridge, Steve Finnan, and Robert Earnshaw. Taking this record up another notch is one Brett Ormerod. He is the first player to score in all four top divisions in England for Blackpool.


Ormerod’s route to this honour was not an easy or straightforward one. His first stint at Bloomfield Road, began on 21st March 1997 when he moved from Accrington Stanley following two years as a semi-pro for £50,000. He made his debut as an 82nd-minute substitute on 29th March 1997 in a 0–0 draw with Chesterfield, with his first league goal, and the beginning of this record, coming the following season in a 1–1 draw with Carlisle United on 26th December that same year. His first stint lasted four years but was marred by a broken leg, tibia and fibula, in October 1999, and that season saw Blackpool relegated to the fourth tier. Two tiers completed. Then he moved away and tasted from the chalice that is the Premier League with a move to Southampton in late 2001. Two loan moves came before a move to Preston North End in 2006. After a couple of years, he was on the move, on loan again, to Nottingham Forest and Oldham Athletic. Added to this one of the best chants ever. “We’ve got Brett Ormerod!” – only for the retort to be “You’ve got Brett Ormerod!”

In 2009, the prodigal son returned to Blackpool, then in the Championship (the old Division One, and the old-old Division Two – aka the second tier of English football). His first goal back was in a 2-0 win over Norwich City, and helped secure Blackpool’s future in the Championship. Three of four divisions completed.

The next season led to the promised land, and big Brett led the way. Under the guidance of Ian Holloway, Ormerod scored the winning goal in the 2010 Football League Championship Play-Off Final against Cardiff City on 22nd May. Enter that magical season for Blackpool in the Premier League. Goals and entertainment, plus Holloway’s crazy interviews to Match of the Day. Wonderful. TV gold. 

The icing on that cake, although one that ended up in relegation, came in February. On 22nd February 2011, Ormerod scored Blackpool’s third goal in the 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Four out of four and football completed.

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