DONKEYS for GOALPOSTS !

For the last forty years it would have been fair to suggest that the donkeys who ply their worthy trade on Blackpool beach carrying children to and fro would have had a better chance winning the Grand National than the Tangerines ever again competing in the Premiership.

But for two magical hours last Saturday evening, 14th August 2010, Ian Holloway's extraordinary rag tag selection of lower league veterans, cast offs and loan players sat proudly in first place. Blackpool's remarkable 4-0 away mauling of Wigan Athletic saw them go clear on goal difference, only for champions Chelsea to later overtake with a savage mauling of other new boys West Bromwich Albion.

If only for a short time, from the deepest depths to the highest echelon of English football Blackpool FC'˜s journey was complete.

On the town'˜s North pier their sit's a booth where for the price of a couple of beers Gypsy Sarah Petulengro will reveal your fortune, but surely even her mystical powers could not have foreseen this extraordinary football renaissance by the sea. They say the best miracles are the ones yet to occur.

But this?

The man at the helm of of this insane miracle has himself experienced enlightenment. An eighteen month spell out of work after being sacked at Leicester saw Ian Holloway change entirely his football philosophy from archetypal long ball to an infinitely more refined 4-3-3 pass and move style.

Holloway's enforced absence from management saw his '˜colourful'˜ always entertaining views on the game and life in general employed by BBC Radio 5 live . There he watched teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool up close and realised there was an alternative way to approach the 'beautiful game'.

When finally handed by Blackpool a foot back in Holloway's team lit up the championship with their fast attacking football . One that brought instant results and which resulted in a never to be forgotten 3-2 victory over Cardiff at Wembley in the Play-off final. This after originally being ranked as favourite to be relegated?

And so for the first time since 1971 Blackpool find themselves back in modern football's version of a financial Valhalla. A pot of gold at the end of a Premiership rainbow. Untold riches await but sadly the price is likely to be a mighty toll of defeats with an avalanche of goals conceded to match.

The defined wide held public belief that Ian Holloway is more joker/clown, '˜quick with a quip'˜, than football man is one that Holloway appears determined to bury. Inside it is clear there burns a raging passion to prove himself alongside the Ferguson's, Ancelotti's and Wengers. The footballing elite.

For those of a certain age (me!) the enduring image of Blackpool FC is Mickey Walsh's stunning 1975 goal of the season that featured endlessly on Match of the Day's opening credits. The time has arrived for new heroes to illuminate Bloomfield Road. Charlie Adams take a bow, let the rollercoaster begin. It has been far too long for the Tangerines.

Welcome back!

The donkeys on Blackpool beach. Good old Daisy, Skipper, Lightning and Star, their dreams of the Grand National may well have been thwarted but the magic of the Golden Mile means that supporters adorning the colours of Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs will be arriving in town any day soon. Gypsy Petulengro may not have seen them coming but the old adage remains.

The best miracle is the one that has yet to occur.

John ludden
Cfieldsoffire@aol.com