Glory at last, and I had the best seat

This is without doubt the biggest moment in Accrington stanley’s history. We’ve never properly been promoted before. At the end of 1957-58, when the old Third Divisions North and south became Divisions Three and Four, Accy ended up in Division Three but there’s been nothing like this. Throughout my years of watching them — always from behind the goal — we would be doing well if we got 1,200 into the ground but over the past few weeks we’ve had more than 3,000. The other day against Exeter City, those of us who arrived early were told to budge up to make room for 200 more. The stewards were told in no uncertain terms that we were staying put behind the goal — we’d been there since 1pm! The key to the club is the sense of community instilled by chairman Andy holt. it is just a tenner to get in, a fiver for concessions, and kids are free. Recently, they gave away free Accrington stanley shirts to all the Year 3s in the district. There is a buzz about the town. They have just named the Division Two team of the year, and we had three men in it: centre half Mark hughes (not that one), midfielder sean McConville and striker Billy Kee, who scored twice last night. When the club train, they have to go looking for Billy — he’s not keen on training. i believe promotion will be worth about £800,000 to us — not bad for the league club with the smallest resources in the country. Andy will spend it wisely, and i gather he even wants to reduce the capacity of the Wham stadium to make it a more intimate match-day experience for the supporters. We’re all very excited. i just feel fortunate i’ve had the best seat in the house.