Hull City, everyone's 2nd favourite team, who hadn't won a league game since December 6 before this evening's game against Fulham, and had slid deep into the relegation mire, are celebrating tonight, after it was announced that Prodigal Son, Dean Windass, is to make an early return from his loan spell at Oldham Athletic.
The news was relayed to the players at Craven Cottage with just three minutes to go, and the team rallied, eventually breaking through Fulham's stubborn resistance, with Manucho scoring his first goal in English football to earn the Tigers a deserved 1-0 win.
Hull boss Phil Brown, who has been the subject of fans' wrath this week, has now recalled veteran Windass, 45, from an unsuccessful loan spell at Boundary Park. 'Deano', as the legend is known, scored Hull's goal in the Championship decider against Bristol City at Wembley last May to earn the Tigers a 1-0 victory, and their first-ever experience of the top flight.
He was upset at being left out of the starting line-ups by Latics' boss John Sheridan for two of Oldham's 'crunch games', the tasty encounters against Millwall and Leeds, and suffered the further embarrassment of having to wear a 'gay pink kit' for the last two minutes of the Leeds game on Tuesday.
Windass wrote on his personal online blog:
"The med me look like a right pufter, dint the? I towld 'em I wuz off back to Ull."
Tonight, the Lord Mayor of Hull, Elaine Garland, was organising a civic reception for the star, as well as a tour through the city in a open-topped bus, and a 'welcome home fish and chip supper', known to be Deano's favourite breakfast, dinner and tea.
