sentences:  Astley made his debut for Blackpool, then under the managership of Joe Smith, two-thirds of the way through the 1938–39 campaign, in a 1–1 draw with Sunderland at Bloomfield Road on 25 January 1939.He went on to make a further sixteen League appearances before the season's end, scoring six goals.In 1939–40, he appeared in the three League games that occurred prior to the competition being abandoned as a result of the outbreak of World War II.