Blackpool V Cardiff City: Saturday, 22nd May – Championship Play-Off Final

Blackpool V Cardiff City

Saturday, 22nd May – 15:00 (GMT) 

Wembley, England

The Championship is a funny old league, with the competitiveness of the divisions making it one of the hardest to predict. However, in recent seasons a shock candidate for promotion emerges as if from nowhere, a team that at the start of the campaign weren’t expected to do an awful but purely make up the numbers in arguably the most unpredictable league in Europe. In 2006 we had Watford, 2008 it was Hull City while 2009 seen Burnley break into the top six. This season, 2009-2010, Blackpool, one of the favourites to go down at the start of the campaign, have produced one of the biggest shocks the Championship has ever seen simply by reaching the lottery of the play-off’s, but their efforts will be in vein, probably not even remember, should they not win the final itself on Saturday.

You know what the strange thing is… the underdog has a terrible knack of prevailing. Watford, Hull City and Burnley all won their play-off final, can little Blackpool do the same? We’re sure Cardiff City, a team which has never even made the final of a Championship play-off before but has always been thereabouts, will have something to say in Saturday’s eagerly anticipated encounter. A game which has been valued in the region of around £50,000,000 to the winner. Cardiff, who are in fact Welsh, have had their money problems for a while now and could certainly do with that cash injection, but will they fall foul to the underdog curse like many gone before them?

Blackpool

Blackpool have been the fairytale team, the club most of the nation, especially in England, will be rooting for on Saturday in the biggest game of the clubs history. The South-Coast side were one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season, never given a chance by some, but the Tangerines have surprised us all and a lot of the credit has to go to the manager, one of the funniest yet talented managers in the country, Iain Holloway. He’s transformed a club which were tittering with relegation into a serious promotion player, all within one seasons. It’s an incredible achievement, one no-one thought was possible, but like we said above,Holloway’s efforts, as well as the players, will be in vein were they to fall at the last hurdle.

The Seasiders, with an average attendance of around 8,000, have been allocated 37,000 tickets for Wembley’s showcase, and the club expects an atmospheric afternoon from their party of Tangerine followers in London. They have every reason to be shouting and raving after the season they’ve had thus far, defying all the odds to snatch the last play-off spot on the final day of the season. It may be a small club in stature but it’s a club with plenty of heart and character, both of which were epitomised in their stunning 4-3 victory at The City Ground on Tuesday night when they ended Nottingham Forest’s run of 19 games unbeaten at home to make the final, winning 6-4 on aggregate.

 It was another surprise win for Holloway’s men but one they merited, as Blackpool were outstanding from the outset, especially in the second half where they stormed through the Forest defence to score three second half goals. Holloway has kept his promise of playing no-holds-barred football, the free-flowing attacking football which has gotten Blackpool this far. In fact, considering the amount of pressure the players were under, it was an utterly breathtaking display and some would argue that Blackpool, with that emphatic aggregate win, are now the favourites to grab the Golden Ticket and make their first ever appearance in the Premier League next season.

The good news, not just that Blackpool have made the final of the play-off’s, is that Leicester City went out on Wednesday night leaving DJ Campbell free to feature for the Tangerines against Cardiff City. Campbell is on loan from Leicester City, and while he won’t exactly be over the moon that his parent club is no longer in contention for the Premiership, he will be eager nonetheless to play his part in Saturday’s final. After all, it was his second half hat-trick which sent Blackpool fans into raptures and into the play-off final. The danger man, however, will be Charlie Adams. Bought for £500,000 in the summer, Adams has proven the buy of the season, scoring 16 goals in the Championship this season. The Scot is more than just goals though, he’s so often the architect of Blackpool’s key chances, the accurate set-piece taker and the composed penalty-taker. Campbell stole the limelight in the semi’s, but without Adams this season, Blackpool wouldn’t have made the play-off’s.

Cardiff City

To see Cardiff in the final of the Championship play-off isn’t really much of a surprise, as they’re a team of genuine quality. However, the debate is whether or not Caridff City, should they beat Blackpool in the final on Saturday, should even be allowed to participate in the English Premier League because of their Welsh roots. The club, though, will care less about those petty squabbles, although they will have to come to terms with the fact that the majority of the English public will be cheering on Blackpool and not the BlueBirds.

The expectation levels at Cardiff FC have been high for a while now, even more so after the development of their new Cardiff City Stadium. They’ve had a team capable of reaching the Premiership for some time, while they now have the facilities as well, but every season the fans trot on home empty handed and short changed. Not this year though, as Cardiff’s nerve-jangling victory over Leicester City on Wednesday night ensured fans would at least be given hope. It took a gut-wrenching penalty shoot-out before Cardiff sealed their berth into the final, while before the lottery of the spot-kicks Cardiff had to claw their way back from 3-1 down to 3-2. It wasn’t pretty, nor was it plain sailing for the BlueBirds, but they are there and that’s what counts.

Wednesday’s clash with Leicester City really should have been comfortable for Cardiff, as their 1-0 win in the away leg put them well and truly in the driving seat. However, as is the norm with Cardiff in recent years, they made life difficult for themselves and, after taking a 1-0 lead through Michael Chopra, were down 3-1 just after the break. Fortunately, Peter Whittingham, the clubs top goalscorer foe the season with 22 goals, popped up with a goal from the spot to level the aggregate scoring. We’ve already mentioned their nail-biting win on penalties, but it was a match in which manager Dave Jones will take an equal amount of positive and negatives from. The fact they conceded three sloppy goals will have alarm bells ringing in his head, although they can easily be erased, but the fightback from the lads, the way in which they finished the game strongly, will have pleased Jones, as he will know an early setback on Saturday isn’t the be all and end all.

We think it’s fair to say that Cardiff City have the better team and the better squad, with the likes of Peter Whittingham and Michael Chopra always a threat in front of goal. The latter has been prolific at this level, although his 16 league goals is less than many anticipated at the start of the season. Peter Whittingham, however, has been ruthless from set-pieces, scoring from a free-kick and the spot against Leicester City in both legs taking his tally for the season to 22. If either of the two get a whiff at goal, chances are they’ll take it. Their defence, though, is where they had problems against Leicester in the semi’s and Dave Jones will need to rectify the back four before Saturday’s clash with Dark Horses Blackpool.

Match Verdict: Blackpool to WIN – 3.25 BlueSquare

We’re finding it difficult to look past Blackpool, who have continuously surprised everyone in just about every game they play in. We weren’t entirely optimistic they would make it through their tough semi-final with Nottingham Forest but they did so with flying colours, in a more impressive manner than Cardiff. The Tangerines, under the bubbly influence of Iain Holloway, have thrived off the underdog status and have risen to the challenge. They’ll be under immense pressure on Saturday though, more than any of these players have ever felt in their life’s, and that’s our only real concern with Blackpool, as they can score plenty of goals and are more than capable of outscoring an inconsistent Cardiff City.

On their day, Cardiff can be a handful, but they are too inconsistent and a nuisance to any punter. With Michael Chopra however they have a proven goalscorer, a player ready-made for the big occasion, and if they can somehow provide the Englishman with regular service, they will be in with a shout. Equally, Whittingham will need his set-plays to be spot on, and free-kicks in and around the penalty need to be despatched.

It’s Blackpool for us, for the simple fact they’ve given 110% in every game this season, rarely letting the high standards drop. As Iain Holloway said after their semi-final victory, the Blackpool players have a boat load of spirit and if they keep their coll on Saturday, the Premier League could beckon.

Match Odds

Blackpool – 3.25 BlueSquare

Draw – 3.40 SkyBet 

Cardiff City – 2.30 Bet365

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Charlie Adams FGS – 8.00 Bet365