Blue Army column by Steve Pumfrey: Plenty of cheer for Leicester City fans at Blackpool

In 1937 – the last time Leicester City had won at Bloomfield Road before Saturday – Blackpool was in its heyday with around seven million visitors a year flocking to the seaside town.

It was a Mecca (not the bingo hall) for workers and their families from the Lancashire mill towns, just as Skegness became a regular destination for Leicestershire folk.

By the mid-1950s, visitor numbers had risen to a staggering 17 million a year but, with the arrival of the cheap package tour abroad, Blackpool suffered more than most before a recent mini-renaissance brought on by a credit crunch forced Brits to stay at home and brought a lot of new-build investment in the town.

Bloomfield Road is also steering a course into the modern age, although the Blue Army are just going to have to wait a little longer to see it.

There were rumours before the weekend's Championship clash that City's 1,600 travelling fans were going to be housed undercover in the new North Stand.

The number of concrete mixers, power cables and laid-down trowels confirmed what the club had been saying: that the stand was "not quite ready".

So City fans were again outside on the uncovered terraces, some preparing for the experience with a trip to the mist-shrouded Tower while others headed for the No.1 Working Men's Club right next to the ground.

Fortunately, the below-freezing temperatures of City's last visit two seasons ago were absent, and the fans were also mighty grateful that the rain stayed away.

The other plus was the action on the pitch and the sights around it. A lot of the fans seemed to be on reunion weekends, greeting each other with warm embraces while snaffling a few chips.

There was a Roy "Chubby" Brown lookalike, complete with the pilot goggles, and Leicester Mercury 'Fan's View' contributor Paul Frith walked to the beach to lie down on his City flag and take in the sea air. The seaside makes big kids of us all!

Although the City fans were exposed to the elements, they were also close enough to the action to hear Wayne Brown barking out instructions as well as giving a bit of good-natured stick to Blackpool's Barry Bannan, who is on loan from Aston Villa and who was a real menace before suffering a suspected broken toe.

Bannan looks a precocious talent at just 20, the trouble is he looks about 15, and there were shouts of "Does your mother know you're here?" as well as "Best wishes on your exam results."

The Blue Army will also have to quickly come up with a terrace chant for Dany N'Guessan, particularly after he marked his return to the starting line-up with a smartly-taken 15th-minute goal.

It is one thing that he is not been a regular, but what can fans do with the name N'Guessan?

With City ahead at the break, the fans rushed off for a pie and the second-half action served up was just as tasty. Two teams committed to attack and chances at both ends.

Lloyd Dyer's arrival off the bench saw him get on the end of a Matty Fryatt cross to double City's advantage which prompted, of all things, the letting-off of a flare.

It was sight more common with a European night in Turkey and some of the away fans were genuinely stunned as police and stewards rushed to the scene.

"Blackpool v Leicester and there's a flare. How weird is that?" was one fan's reaction.

If the flare was meant to be a signal that City's work was done, the person responsible probably needs to check the recent history books.

A City win is rarely completed without a customary wobble and, when Stephen Dobbie reduced the deficit with a minute of normal time to go, there were a lot of anxious faces on the away terraces.

When the fourth official indicated an additional five minutes of play, some of the City fans were barely able to watch.

There was a hushed silence as Charlie Adam fell in the box after a tussle with N'Guessan and cries of dismay as the home side's penalty claims were turned away by referee Andy Haines.

That was a scenario the City fans had experienced themselves seven days earlier against Newcastle. Now the boot was on the other foot. This time there was relief all around.

The final whistle sounded and the celebrations continued long after Nigel Pearson and his players made their way to the dressing room following their customary salutes.