Sporting Director Badlan sacked by Blackpool after four months
Badlan was previously Head of Recruitment at Coventry City
Written by Training Ground Guru — April 4, 2023
SPORTING DIRECTOR Chris Badlan has been sacked by Championship side Blackpool after four months.
The 39-year-old joined the club at the end of November, replacing Head of Football Operations John Stephenson.
His role was to “manage the sporting and performance departments at the club, including the support staff around the first team, Development Squad and Academy” and he was overseeing the club’s search for a new manager.
Today the club released a two-line statement revealing that Badlan had “left the club with immediate effect”, adding that there would be “no further comment”.
Badlan had joined Blackpool from Coventry City, where he had been Head of Recruitment since May 2018. Stuart Benthom - who had been a Recruitment Analyst for Coventry - also made the move to the North West to become Blackpool’s Chief Scout. He has remained at the club.
At the time of Badlan’s appointment, Blackpool owner Simon Sadler said: “We ran a comprehensive process to ensure we identified the very best candidates,. The quality of applicant was very high and for me, this reflects how the club has progressed across the three pillars of coaching, recruitment and Academy.
“As a Board, it quickly became apparent that Chris was the right person to take us forward and to bring the football departments together.”
