Blackpool goalkeeper forced to wear signed shirt after club runs out of kit

Blackpool goalkeeper Joe Lewis was forced to play in a signed shirt last week after the club ran out of kit.

The Championship outfit – already assured of relegation to League One – hosted Reading last Tuesday, but found themselves short of goalkeeper jerseys.

Writing in his weekly column for Spanish website am14, Blackpool midfielder Andrea Orlandi commented that he noticed shortly before the game that Lewis had inadvertently donned a shirt he had earlier autographed to be presented to a sponsor.

Blackpool do not currently employ a kitman and Lewis failed in his attempts to find an unsigned top, before capping off a bad day by being forced off injured in the 73rd minute of the 1-1 draw.

“When Joe tried to get another one he was told there were none left,” wrote Orlandi. “It was funny because he tried to put a plaster over the writing to cover it, and it looked even more funny.

“However, things like that – details without apparent importance – make a difference in a club.

“A small thing? Probably, but still not normal for a Championship club.”