But what people forget is that there's always the chance that Usain Bolt can trip over his laces and fall flat on his face.

In short, there's no such thing as a surefire bet.

Perhaps the clamour to back Wolves to win was because of the club's mammoth halfway lead in the Championship.

Then again, maybe it's their history. They are officially the 10th most successful club in English football – winners of the FA Cup on four occasions, League champions three times, Charity Shield winners four times and twice victorious in the League Cup.

Back in the 1970s, when Pool were slumping out of the top two tiers for what would turn out to be nigh on three painful decades, Wolves were taking on Juventus in the UEFA Cup.

But forget all that, for a team like Blackpool – which works so hard to maximis its talents – will give even the best side the division has to offer a battle.

That's what happened last night and what a contest we were treated to as 2009 closed with a bang.

All the ingredients were there from the start – big crowd, night match, Christmas time, live TV, league leaders, a new manager in the Blackpool dugout.

Right from the start, with the home support chanting and cheering as only they can, it was a cracker.

Pool had the better of the opening 45 minutes but went in 1-1.

The second half belonged to Wolves but it ended 2-2. No complaints from either team – a draw was the fair result.

And how Blackpool, and in particular their new management team of Tony Parkes and Steve Thompson, can savour the result.

Like Joe Calzaghe, they now have a very nice-looking undefeated record – against Sheffield Wednesday, where Pool rarely win, and against Mick McCarthy's all-conquering side.

Karl Oyston is on holiday in Portugal but he watched the match on TV, and he will surely be edging closer to giving the duo the job as gaffers until the end of the season.

And so he should. Sure it's tempting to race out and appoint a big-name manager, and perhaps that would be a good thing.

But Parkes and Thompson have been very loyal to the club over the last two to three years.

They helped oversee promotion and they were at Simon Grayson's side as the team retained its Championship status.

When the team went through a four-game losing streak not too long ago and the alarm bells started to tinkle, what happened?

Grayson called his two lieutenants in for a three-hour brain-storming session.

The trio came up with the idea of bringing in Liam Dickinson and Kyel Reid, and the bad run promptly ended.

The bottom line is this: Parkes and Thompson deserve a chance and they know the score. If they get results they'll get the job, if they don't they won't.

They have started well and they need to keep it going but there is no reason why they won't.

They have the backing of the players and that is all that matters.
The job is theirs to lose.

Last night illustrated exactly why their case for the role is getting stronger by the day.

From start to finish, aside perhaps from a lull at the start of the second period, Pool more than matched Wolves and thoroughly deserved the draw they salvaged when Rob Edwards – it just had to be him against his old club, didn't it? – toe-poked the ball home from about six inches to make it all square in the dying minutes.

Earlier Parkes, with Thompson's help, had caused a bit of a stir with a team selection that saw Ian Harte come from nowhere to replace Joe Martin at left-back.

The last time the 31-year-old played any football was the final three minutes of Sunderland's Premier League game with Newcastle on April 20.

Yet he was thrown in here against a swift and direct Wolves team.

He did OK, and looked very classy at times, but there were occasions when he was severely tested by the pace of Matt Jarvis, a winger who was the best player on the pitch all night.

Put it this way, Martin – who has done well lately – could be forgiven for feeling a bit miffed on the subs' bench.

But no matter, for the team didn't exactly miss him during a first half which they bossed, despite the fact they were a goal down after just four minutes.

Edwards was adjudged to have hauled back Chris Iwelumo as the big striker tried to turn in the area.

It was slightly harsh but Edwards had his hands up and can't really complain.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake duly banged in his 16th goal of the season from the spot.

After 10 minutes the Seasiders were level. Shaun Barker did his Rory Delap impression; Ian Evatt nodded on; and an unmarked, and very grateful, Gary Taylor-Fletcher volleyed in low and hard.

Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey – notable for wearing a luminous top so bright it could very possibly be seen from space – didn't have a chance.

Pool had the best moments after that. Hennessey pushed Alan Gow's low, curling effort around the post.

There was a half-decent penalty shout when Richard Steerman clumsily barged over Kyel Reid and Dickinson headed wide.

Jarvis, running at Harte at pace, almost scored just before the break but in general the mood was good at the interval and hopes high of a shock win.

But Pool didn't get going for a long while after the break and Wolves, who had used all three subs by the 68th minute and were looking lively, got on top.

Jarvis should have scored when he raced clear after a mistake by Ian Evatt. Rachubka saved well but the winger should have broken the net.

However, Jarvis made up for it on 70 minutes, when he was played through by Ebanks-Blake and confidently clipped a shot from 18 yards past the onrushing Rachubka. Good finish.

At that point the outlook seemed bleak but Martin replaced Harte, while Burgess came on for a tiring Dickinson and suddenly Pool got a second wind.

On 84 minutes, the breakthrough – Reid's inswinging free-kick from the left was headed over the keeper by Evatt and Edwards was on hand to make sure the ball crossed the line, ramming it in from close range.

It was a little tense in the four minutes of stoppage time but there were no real scares and Pool comfortably claimed a draw.

Applause all round at the whistle and Parkes, perhaps showing his age, celebrated in lovely style.

Not for him the bounding on to the pitch, kissing his players and applauding the crowd. Instead, in what could have been a scene from the 1950s, he trotted down the tunnel, pausing only to doff his cap at the fans near the dugout.

The players like him and the fans – judging by the way they chanted "Tony Parkes' Tangerine Army" for lengthy periods – also like him.

If Karl Oyston likes him too – and the signs are that he does – then Blackpool have already found Simon Grayson's successor.

A 59-year-old from Blackburn is on the verge of becoming the Seasiders' next boss.