In 2018, after the Oyston family was found, in a High Court judgement, to have operated an "illegitimate stripping" of the club, paying out £26.77 million to companies they owned, Owen relieved Karl of his role and gave it to his daughter, Natalie.

The two factions remained disunited, however, and on 26 July 1887, at a meeting in the Stanley Arms public house, the members resolved to wind up St John's and form a new club to represent the whole town.

Blackpool's home at that point in time was Raikes Hall (also known as the Royal Palace Gardens), which was part of a large entertainment complex that included a theatre and a boating lake, amongst other attractions.

Bedford repeated the feat the following season, this time under the watchful eye of new manager Frank Buckley, who replaced Bill Norman after his four years of service.

Buckley guided Blackpool to top-10 finishes in his final two seasons as manager – with Billy Tremelling's 30 goals in the latter helping considerably – before he left to take the helm at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

For the first and only time in the club's history, four Blackpool players (Johnston, Matthews, Mortensen and debutant Ernie Taylor) represented England in the infamous 6–3 defeat by Hungary at Wembley on 25 November 1953.

It was a feat that could not be matched or bettered over the following two seasons, with fourth and seventh-placed finishes, and Smith left Blackpool as the club's most successful and longest-serving manager.

They won 3–1, but once the premature celebrations had ended, they discovered that their nearest rivals, Queens Park Rangers, had scored a last-minute winner at Aston Villa.

Their promotion had been sealed after the penultimate game of the season, a 3–0 victory at rivals Preston North End, courtesy of a Fred Pickering hat-trick.

On 17 April 1986, the board of directors put the club on the market after councillors rejected plans to sell Bloomfield Road for a supermarket site in a £35 million redevelopment scheme.

The following season the club received its then record outgoing transfer fee; £1.75million from Southampton for Brett Ormerod, eclipsing the £600,000 QPR paid for Trevor Sinclair eight years earlier.

Colin Hendry became the new manager, but was replaced by Simon Grayson in November 2005 after an unsuccessful stint which left Blackpool languishing just above the relegation zone of League One (third tier).

[21] On 31 July it was announced that club president Valērijs Belokoņs was setting up a new transfer fund, into which he was adding a "considerable amount" to invest in new players identified by Holloway.

[22] Four days later Blackpool broke their transfer record by signing Charlie Adam from Scottish champions Rangers for £500,000,[23] topping the £275,000 paid to Millwall for Chris Malkin in 1996.

Both matches ended in draws, with Swansea's Lee Trundle having a late goal disallowed for handball, which meant Blackpool secured the remaining play-off place.

[31] On 24 May, a promotion parade was held along Blackpool's promenade for the club's personnel, who travelled on an open-top double-decker bus from Gynn Square down the Golden Mile to the Waterloo Headland.

Blackpool dropped back into the relegation zone after conceding a late equaliser to draw at Tottenham, switching places with Wolves; they were level on points with Wigan and three ahead of bottom club West Ham United.

[46][47] A portion of these funds was used to bring former Scotland, Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham captain Barry Ferguson to Bloomfield Road, where he once again assumed the armband.

[48] On 9 May 2012, Blackpool secured their place in the Championship play-off final in their second consecutive season in the division after beating Birmingham City 3–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

[50] On 3 November 2012, Ian Holloway decided to leave Blackpool after accepting an offer from fellow Championship club Crystal Palace to be their manager.

[60] On 2 May 2015, the final match of the Championship season against Huddersfield Town was abandoned in the 48th minute following an on-pitch protest by hundreds of Blackpool supporters regarding the actions and management style of the directors and owners.

On 13 February 2019, the football club was put into receivership by the High Court, which forced Owen Oyston to pay ex-director Valērijs Belokoņs some of the £25m he was owed.

[80] At the end of the following campaign, Blackpool were promoted back to the second tier of English football, after a six-year absence, after winning the 2021 EFL League One play-off final.

[85] Veteran Mick McCarthy was appointed to oversee the rest of the season,[86] but an Easter Monday defeat at home to fellow strugglers Cardiff City ended his spell in charge.

[92] Blackpool first began wearing tangerine for the 1923–24 season, after a recommendation from referee Albert Hargreaves, who officiated an international match between the Netherlands and Belgium and was impressed by the Dutchmen's colours.

[98] On 28 August 2010 Blackpool played Fulham in their first-ever home Premier League game, in front of a crowd of 15,529, the largest attendance for over 30 years at Bloomfield Road.

After the game Fulham manager Mark Hughes also praised the home support saying that the atmosphere in the stadium would really help the team in their debut season in the Premier League.

But at the end of the 2023-24 season, it was announced that the team would withdraw from the Central Division, with the club opting for loan-based development for younger players coming through the ranks.

[128] An initial plan was to use the facilities of Fylde Rugby Club, but training is still held at the two-pitch Squires Gate, however, and no development has come to fruition.

[131] The new training facility, combined with replacing Bloomfield Road's temporary East Stand with a permanent structure, is estimated to cost between £30 and £40 million.