Fantastic day. Got home and settled into a box of beer while re watching the bbc coverage. If anyone has seen it, it was touching to see Adkins holding back the tears while being interviewed, and then going on to cut the interview short so he could go an celebrate! Well deserved!! He definitely didn't want to be there to talk about it and rightfully so! If anyone hasn't seen the live coverage, try to watch the final 20 minutes. Brings tears to your eyes. And it is also hilarious to see an assistant referee sh£t himself and sprint across the pitch before the whistle is even blown! Eeeeeei eeeei eeeeieeieei oh!
Great scenes - Adkins has done an amazing job - I liked him when he was at Scunny, and told a couple of Saints fans I know that he was alright when he went to St Mary's - never thought he would get you to the PL in less than 2 seasons though. Congratulations on going up - you deserve it ps - still can't believe we (Bristol City) did the double over you - strange game sometimes!!
Never seen Nigel lost for words...he just wanted to be part of the celebrations. Probably showed that whatever he said in public, he was as nervous as the rest of us coming into this game. We could all sense a slide into third..the relief was palpable.
I didn't notice that first time- but that is brilliant!!! He doesn't even wait for the final whistle so I am guessing the ref must have give him a wink. On another note the referee only played 1min20secs of the 2 minutes!!!
Poor old Nigel, he was desperate to get away from Dan Walker, and towards his players, and it was just his good manners that was stopping himself from telling Dan where he could put his microphone. Eventually, he thought he'd given enough half attention to the BBC and mumbled his apologies to disappear. Top man. What made me laugh out loud was Dan Walker gathering Adam, Billy and Deano together, with Chappers diving in to ruin things. Deano was getting so excited that he let an expletive slip, and finally, Walker introduced Adam, off camera, the whistle blew and Adam was off. Gone..! And finally, Saints get a good result on live telly. We've been mixed on the Beeb this season. In the first match of the season, against Leeds we were brilliant, and it took the last match to get another result. Let's hope that little hoodoo is over.
What made me laugh out loud was Dan Walker gathering Adam, Billy and Deano together, with Chappers diving in to ruin things. Deano was getting so excited that he let an expletive slip, and finally, Walker introduced Adam, off camera, the whistle blew and Adam was off. Gone..! ____________________________________________ I watched that last night, Deano was a tad excited wasn't he, but as you rightly pointed out, Adam running off was the classic moment, he's just a fan playing football, classic!
MLT was asked if Lallana would stay with us and he said he's happy and loved by the fans. If he didn't leave when Saints were relegated to League 1, why would he leave after promotion to the PL. Spot on.
But not live terrestrial TV. Every Saints match was on the TV this season and the last. It's the LIVE bit that seems to count.
He was told by the referee that he was going to blow the FT whistle in a few seconds. It's standard procedure when a pitch invasion is inevitable. Gives the assistant the head start needed to reach the tunnel.
I think the Football League coverage last night was very good (which will be on i player Monday). There are some poignant interviews with Sharp, Davis and Lambert as they came in down the tunnel after the whistle. They are short but show the players with their shields down and portrays their human nature well.
Don't wait for Monday, it's there now. There will be extra stuff on Late Kick Off on Monday night though, no doubt. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01h7j7b/The_Football_League_Show_2011_2012_28_04_2012/
To be fair, the referee himself hardly waited. I'm sure he already running as he was going through the action of bringing the whistle to his lips. Was very amusing at the time.
Have to say, I thought Mark Clemmit was a little foot-in-mouth with Billy Sharp. For those who haven't seen it, Sharp walks down a corridor towards Clemmit looking elated and emotional, and Clemmit eventually says Well Billy, you've had a tough year, mate. To which Billy appears to slightly crumple, says Cheers mate and walks away. I know he didn't mean it, but I bet Clemmit would like to be able to re-phrase his question, because you could see it hit Sharp like a hammer. I don't know, these sports journalists, trying to get a reaction. His little chat with Rickie was great though.
I love Rickie's little sheepish 'I know' after Clem told him he'd be playing Liverpool next season and Tadanari trying grasp 'We Are Going Up' What a day.
Yes, I thought that too - Sharp closed up immediately at that comment, but the interviews also showed an unchoreographed side which we rarely see.
