Blackpool FC...the boys have done it!!

Not to tempt fate I have purposely  delayed writing anything further about the Mighty Seasiders until the outcome of the play-off final was known. After a deliriously happy weekend visiting Wembley to support Ollie and the boys I can now put pen to paper. I still have to pinch myself when I think about us playing in the Premiership next season. Who cares about the World Cup preparations when you've got the Mighty Seasiders turning the football world on its head. This is what football is all about. It's what modern dreams are made off. It's about a club, manager and a squad of players who have shown that success is not all down to how much money you have (although a massive advantage), it's about a desire to succeed and prove all the doubters wrong through a combination of hard work and great team spirit. The wind of change started to sweep through the club when Simon Grayson took us up to the Championship, with Tony Parkes managing to keep us there and with Ian Holloway's vision and ideas of how the team should play making the dream of playing Premiership football possible. Let's not forget Steve Thompson's contribution too, he has been the constant throughout the whole time. The tangerine colour is unique and witnessing Wembley and its surroundings bathed in its hue was breathtaking, but what was more breathtaking was the manner in which the Seasiders came from behind twice and once in the lead managing to stay in control right to the end. Credit must go to both teams for producing end to end attacking football, which is both exciting and entertaining. I tried to keep my expectations under control before the game, so that if the worst happened I would console myself with the knowledge that this season has been the best I've seen for years. That went all out the window when the final whistle went and all the pent-up emotion kicked-in, a mixture of tears, cheers and hugs. I hope Ollie will see the challenge of the premiership through with us because we've proved the experts wrong in the past, so let's do it again. Ian Holloway is a LEGEND.

The Mighty Seasiders.....

What a result, the boys have booked their trip to Wembley in spectacular fashion by beating Nottingham Forest at the City Ground 4-3. DJ Campbell scored three goals with Stephen Dobbie getting the other. The Pool have won 6-4 on aggregate. It's a pity both Blackpool and Forest couldn't  get promoted because they are both good attacking sides. Ian Holloway deserves all the credit for the way he has transformed the squad players into a team of self-believers. I cannot wait for the final on May 22nd, this is history in the making. COME ON AND SUPPORT THE BOYS IN TANGERINE.

Who won the General Election?

Well it appears that no single party managed to convince the electorate that they were the party to lead the country for the next five years. Although the Tories won more seats than the other two main parties, they fell short of the 326 seats needed for an overall majority to govern. Labour did far better than most of us suspected, but lagged behind the Tories. The Lib Dems had the most disappointing turn-out with just 56 seats, this despite a promising start by Nick Clegg in the live Prime Ministerial debate. Not since 1974 has there been a hung parliament. So now we see all three parties ditching their tribal allegiances for a period of compromise in order to get a working pact between themselves. For the last few days the Tories have been locked into coalition talks with the Lib Dems. In the meantime Lord Mandelson and David Millibrand have had secret talks with the Lib Dems too. To add to all this subtifuge  Gordon Brown has announced within the last couple of hours that he will resign as Labour party leader and therefore will no longer be Prime Minister when the coalition agreement has been reached. This is something that would meet one of the conditions the Lib Dems would want before agreeing to any form power sharing. So, Nick Clegg seems to have a hold on what happens next. Events seem to be changing by the minute, with the Tories finally agreeing that they will hold a referendum on Alternative Voting (AV) a form of Proportional Representation(RP) if the Lib Dems do agree to join them, whereas Labour has gone further by agreeing fully to RP. So despite losing seats rather than gaining them, which looked likely before the election the Lib Dems are now in a position to realise their long held dream of replacing the present "first past the post" system with at least some form of RP. In answer to the question of "Who won the General Election" it's obvious no one did. No doubt there will be a re-run later in the year, possibly in October. Let's hope the polling stations are geared up for it better than this time. Although I have little sympathy for anyone who complains about being turned away at 10pm and not being allowed to register their vote because they were too late. The stations are open from 7am until 10pm and if people cannot get there between these times then TOUGH. It is clearly your responsibility to get there in plenty of time and no one else.