The fascinating thing about sport is that it is so often the finest of lines between success or failure. Just look at Fulham in the Europa League final and Leicester in the English Championship play-offs, beaten on penalties by Cardiff City. My heart goes out to both teams and their fans. Blackpool will travel to Wembley to face Cardiff in the final, giving them a chance to play in the Premier League next season. They will have "hope in their hearts" as the famous anthem goes.
This is the club of Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortenson, Alan Ball and Tony Green. I've still got my sticker album from the last time they played in the top flight back in the 1970s and now they are one game away from the biggest league of all. You thought Burnley or Hull reaching the top flight were fairy tales? Well Blackpool going up would be just as staggering. The last time I was at the club's home ground, three years ago, they only had two stands.
When the then-manager Simon Grayson got them promoted to the Championship, we told him to resign straight away because they were going straight back down. Now the legend that is Ian Holloway has them dreaming of facing the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. To see him celebrate the goals going in during the 4-3 play-off semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, was to witness the pure joy of football.
The payback for all his hard work. For his sackings at QPR and Plymouth. For somehow putting Blackpool, this little club with a big history, on the brink of the big time. Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, has won all the plaudits as manager of the year and his team have become the favourite of neutrals. Well Holloway trumps all that and I'll be hoping Blackpool can do it against Cardiff.
You've got to say that up until the last few months, the job of being Tiger Woods's swing coach would rank as one of the world's top jobs. Something of a shock then when Hank Haney decided to quit, even though he's been riding the gravy train for the last seven years. Obviously Hank's a lot closer to the situation than I am, but you'd have to be pretty short-sighted not to realise Tiger is having a shocking time at the moment. Maybe Hank thought it was time to get out while the going is good. I'm sure Tiger will not be short of offers to step into the breech. Rather like suggesting it is time for Sir Alex Ferguson to retire from Manchester United, it is a far too dangerous game to be writing off Woods just yet.
If I were his next swing coach, I would tell him one thing - stop trying to belt the driver! It is as if his ball has the picture of his biggest enemy printed on the club. Every other club he swings beautifully, but when it comes to the driver, he wants to bash the living daylights out of it, sinking his hips and scattering spectators and trees in equal manner. It is the swing of a troubled and frustrated man, so ease up Tiger my friend and just swing smoothly. My application is in the post.
I have got to tip my hat to the Premier League champions Chelsea and their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, whom I met here in Dubai last year. Ancelotti cut an impressive figure wearing an immaculate black club suit on the sidelines. Even though it was a friendly match, he screamed at Andrea Pirlo when he gave the ball away and the playmaker looked rightly sheepish. Afterwards, he held court for the press, and even though he was smiling, you were left in no doubt he was the man in charge. It is clear the Chelsea lads have been a little stung about claims the team was too old . Blood Chelsea's crop of young players and we may well be looking at the champions of the next few years.
sports@thenational.ae