'The greatest achievement of my career': Charlie Adam speaks to The Gazette on 10th anniversary of Blackpool's promotion to the Premier League
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Today marks the 10th anniversary of the greatest achievement of Blackpool’s recent history, the 3-2 win against Cardiff City in the Championship play-off final.
It marked a remarkable rise for the Seasiders, who had been written off and tipped to go down under Ian Holloway’s tutelage.
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Hide Ad“I can’t believe it’s gone so quick, a lot has happened during those 10 years - not just for me, but also the club,” Adam told The Gazette.
“Time passes by but those days will never be forgotten, because it was a special day for a group of players that were thrown together and had a point to prove at the start of the season.
“We were written off, we were favourites to go down, but we just gelled straight away.”
Adam usually rises to the occasion on the biggest stage and this game was no different, the Scot curling in a sublime, trademark free-kick into the top corner.
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Hide Ad“That’s what I will probably always be remembered for, that goal and that moment,” he added.
“These are the moments that define your career and I think being able to do it on that stage was brilliant.
“That goal and that game will never be forgotten or taken away, it was a special moment which I felt propelled me to the next stage of my career.
“It’s right at the top, it’s the greatest achievement I’ve had in my career.
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Hide Ad“We were underdogs, we were nearly relegated the season before, the new manager came in and he had this amazing plan and got a group of players together that believed in what he wanted to do.
“That’s the key, when you’ve got players that are on side and are excited then you can achieve great things and we did that.
“It was definitely the biggest achievement of my career - walking up those steps and lifting that trophy was incredible.”
The players involved had hoped to mark the anniversary with either a celebratory dinner or a charity match, but those plans were dashed when the nation was sent into lockdown.
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Hide AdDespite not being able to get together as a group, Adam revealed the players remain in touch and plan to watch a re-run of the game.
“We have a WhatsApp group with the lads and we talk. It’s great to chat about those great times,” the 34-year-old said.
“We talked about getting together again but it’s just a shame we can’t celebrate right now, it would have been nice if we’d been able to watch it back as one.
“I’ll definitely be watching it with a beer or two. I’m looking forward to it because it was a great time, a great moment - not just in my own personal career, but also the clubs.”