With the City Council saying that Southampton Football Club have not responded to their offer of staging an open top bus tour victory parade around the City it looks like Saints promotion wont be honoured.
Saints dont look likely to take up the City Councils offer of an open top bus parade, originally the Council planned to stage it on Sunday but with the season faltering a little plans were put on hold, which was perhaps a blessing in disguise given the awful weather on Sunday which would have subdued the celebrations somewhat, now unless the club recant then its not going to happen with the momentum lost.
There are those though that feel that an open top bus tour should be reserved for winning top trophies like the Premiership, FA Cup Carling Cup etc and not just merely gaining promotion, in 1978 the club didnt feel it necessary to have an open top parade to celebrate it and it seems that the current regime feel the same way.
The Club have announced that they will have a celebration in a giant marquee on the pitch on Sunday and this will perhaps scupper the last hopes of supporters of an open top parade, some fans have expresse disapointment at the Club for only allowing a lucky 50 season ticket holders drawn at random into the event, but it should be pointed out that although the Club's PR dept have made great store describing this as a Promotion Extravaganza, it is in fact really an event from the Club thanking its employees for the hard work they have put in this season, there is nothing wrong with that, the players take the plaudits but to enable them to play a lot of work goes on behind the scenes and its right that these people are thanked with an evening like this, however by bigging it up on the club website in such a way, it has rubbed up some fans the wrong way, especially those who wanted the club do do something very public and now feel excluded, I would say dont be, its not an event of the type you would like.
I hope that Saints do have an open top parade, only not this year, perhaps next year when it would be nice to not only celebrate a good season back in the premier, but by also winning one of the cups, then a open top bus parade would be fitting.