At £700 a table, it certainly wasn't a cheap night, although the bar staff did their best to prevent you spending money as the service was slow to say the least! That aside, it was an excellent evening of entertainment, with BBC's Rob Phillips hosting the evening and welcoming Peter Ridsdale, Dave Jones and many of the players to the stage for interviews during the meal. There was also a special presentation to Jimmy Goodfellow and his wife in acknowledgement of his 25 years or so of service to the Club. Throughout the evening big screens showed footage of City's FA Cup achievements, both old and new, and of course there was the obligatory raffle and auction of City memorabilia, which must have raised several thousand pounds.
Once the formalities were over with, the party really got under way, with James Fox playing a full set of covers. Songs ranged from Maggie May to Chelsea Dagger, all of which were expertly performed by James and his band, although Darren Purse's dancing was at best questionable! Midway through the set, James called Steve Thompson up onto the stage and he was quickly followed by most of the Cardiff City squad. Thommo stole the show with his rendition of Bob Marley's Redemption Song, which was then followed by the players own Cup Final composition, which went down a storm (see youtube video below).
The evening ended of course with sing-along versions of Bluebirds Flying High (see youtube video below) and Hey Jude - James Fox being joined on stage by Peter Ridsdale and Steve Borley, who both did their best 'Dance like your grandad' impressions, but nevertheless looked as if they were having a thoroughly good time.
It was a great evening and it was refreshing to see the players really getting involved, with most staying for the whole evening. It certainly gave the fans the impressions that are squad is as one, and if they have this sort of belief on the pitch come 17th May, Pompey could well be in for a big surprise.
