Blackpool's Promotion to the Premier League: Curse in Disguise for Ian Holloway?

Blackpool's thrilling 3-2 win over Cardiff City in the Championship Playoff is now two days behind us. They won a captivating game that had both teams pouring forward at the expense of backline fortitude. Since their promotion to the Premier League, the media have been praising Blackpool's style of attacking football, and reliving Ian Holloway's hilarious sound bites.

Blackpool's manager, who has never been coy about speaking his mind, brought up an interesting point in the wake of their emphatic playoff win—that Blackpool's promotion could be a curse in disguise for himself.

In a postmatch interview, Holloway drew comparisons between himself and Billy Davies. Davies got Derby County in the Premier League a couple of seasons ago, only to leave the club after 14 PL games due to a lack of performance. They earned six points before his departure in November 2007, in route to relegation and the lowest points total ever in Premier League history.

Ian Holloway has indeed created a problem for himself, but it is borne out of a tremendous achievement. 

Blackpool are the smallest club ever to gain promotion to the Premier League. There were a number of football pundits who tipped the side to be relegated to League One at the start of the 2009-2010 campaign.

The fact that Blackpool made it into the playoffs at all is an achievement in itself. Promotion is undoubtedly a dream come true for the fans (their stadium seats a mere 12,555). 

Bookies currently offer 3:1 odds that Blackpool will go straight back down to the Championship. They have a difficult campaign ahead. 

Blackpool have a brilliant manager in Ian Holloway and a number of very capable players (Charlie Adam is especially noteworthy). They have already made an unlikely journey. It will be interesting to see how they fare against England's best next season.