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Blackpool hit EPL jackpot
Blackpool clinched a lucrative place in the Premier League with a dramatic 3-2 win over Cardiff in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday.
Blackpool clinched a lucrative place in the Premier League with a dramatic 3-2 win over Cardiff in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday.
Ian Holloway's unfashionable side fought back from behind twice before taking a decisive lead through Brett Ormerod at the end of a sensational first half.
Michael Chopra had given Cardiff a dream start but Charlie Adam equalised soon after and, although Joe Ledley restored Cardiff's advantage, the Seasiders equalised again through Gary Taylor-Fletcher before veteran striker Ormerod bagged the winner.
Ormerod's goal is worth an estimated 90 million pounds (130 million dollars) to Blackpool as a result of the increased revenue streams on offer in the Premier League and the massively improved parachute payments awarded to teams relegated from the top-flight.
The club from a Lancashire seaside town, more famous as a holiday resort than a centre of football excellence, have spent the last 30 years sustained only by distant memories of the Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen-inspired 1953 FA Cup final win.
But, bankrolled by Latvian millionaire Valeri Belokon, they have been able to climb from League One to earn a place alongside clubs like Chelsea and Man United in just four years.
