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Ian Holloway will lead his Blackpool out
on the Wembley pitch today. The play-off final between his Blackpool and
Cardiff will give the winner a place in next
seasons Premier League.
Blackpool has shown this season that a club from the lower tiers can
manage to get into the top, with detirmination, cunning transfer deals
and with a manager that has done everything besides promotion in this
division.
Holloway has been in charge of QPR, Plymouth, Leicester and Blackpol in
the Championship. Holloway experienced both relegation and promtion
while at QPR.
A few years later he made a great job at Plymouth Argyle, and Leicester
made him their new manager after Gary Megson left them in 2007. A
terrible half year with the foxes made Holloway the first manager in
Leicester history to be in charge of a relegation to the third tier.
Leicester owner Milan Mandaric lost faith in Holloway and he was fired a
few weeks after the 07-08 season ended. A new chance in management came
when Blackpool decided to appoint Holloway in front of the start of the
09-10 seaosn.
Simon Grayson, who left Blackpool for Leeds, had build a solid ship and
Holloway made a couple of key signings that has enhanced the quality and
made it was it is today.
Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell have both joined the club this season. Adam
came in from Rangers in the summer and Campbell joined on loan from
Leicester in January.
Campbell spent a number of months at Blackpool also last season and
after struggling at Leicester, things have clicked well at Bloomfield
Road. Adam was also on loan at Blackpool last season.
The way Holloway has brought the club forward is a bit of a fairytail
and also a new and it keeps the dream alive. Clubs from the lower tiers
without "all the money in the World" can if they do things right manage
to go far in football.
The fact that clubs like Leeds and Newcastle can go down and struggle,
makes it also possible to see that money isn't everything. You need to
be clever at what you do and to the right moves.
In the last three seasons clubs like Hull, Burnley and now either
Blackpool or Cardiff all have shown that you can reach the Premier
League if you manage to build a solid team and believe that things can
progress.
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