Seaside special: The Gus Bus and Holloway's Helicopter

B.E.A utiful - Brighton's finest - or is it?

A-Ha once said that "The Sun always shines on TV". But the Norwegian pop synth legends failed to mention that the sun is far less frequent on our British shores. 
The last week or so has been an exception, with our big yellow friend peaking his giant face out of the clouds to shower the UK in glorious sunshine. Of course, being British, we assume (probably correctly) that this is the only sunshine we will see all year, grab our buckets and spades and head of to the seaside where we indulge in general drinking, smoking and straight south coasting. 
But there may be a better reason to head to the coastal regions this year rather than just eating callipo's and getting fingered under the pier. A couple of the country's coastal sides are getting there fan's excited, but for very different reasons. 
Firstly, 
WELCOME TO BRIGHTON !
Home of Brighton pier, the royal pavilion and of course, the gay. 
Brighton and Hove Albion FC - A team that have put their loyal support through a lot over recent years. After the sale of the Goldstone ground, a subsequent ground share with local (ish) counterparts Gillingham and years of yo-yo-ing between the divisions has left the seasiders fans bewildered and bemused. The fact that they have been playing their football at one of the football league's worst grounds has probably also not helped the cause. However, out of the darkness has emerged the god like figure of the ever likeable Gus Poyet. Ably assisted by another ex premier league heavyweight in Mauricio Taricco and Brighton legend Charlie Oatway (or to give him his full name Anthony Philip David Terry Frank Donald Stanley Gerry Gordon Stephen James Oatway - Don't ask) Brighton have been playing a brand of football not seen since the halcyon days of the early 1980's, when Brighton were a Gordon Smith finish away from Beating Ron Atkinson's Manchester United to the FA cup. 
The tactical nous of Poyet alongside some shrewd signings (mainly former Leeds keeper Casper Ankergren) have seen Brighton run away with League 1 this season, and with the new state of the art 25,000 seater stadium at Falmer ready to greet them into the championship, the future looks brighter than ever for those blue and white striped scamps from the south coast.


Now, join me on the Gus Bus as we travel north to our next seaside destination.....
WELCOME TO BLACKPOOL!
The boys from Bloomfield road have been living a tangerine dream this season. Although the season has arguably seen more down's than up's the Blackpool fans have relished the challenge of even rubbing shoulders with the best teams in the land. The team, manager and fans have all approached their inaugural premier league season in exactly the right manor. Low expectations and high enjoyment! 
This coupled with Ian Holloway's insistence on the team attempting to play decent, attacking football has also meant that the 'Pool have upset the apple cart on more than one occasion. An opening day demolition of Wigan, win's over Newcastle, Tottenham and the famous double over Liverpool have sent the Bloomfield road faithful into a giddy glee!
Ok, the lack of consistency and a clear niaveity will probably result in relegation. But honestly, can any team say that they have had more fun along the way !
Now let's all slap on the factor 50 and go grab an ice cream, last one to the arcade's is a bender!