Daily Mail: Fans left bewildered by 'anti-climactic' Soccer AM finale

Story from Daily Mail:

Soccer AM's final episode aired today after the show was cancelled earlier this season by Sky bosses amid a big shake-up at the organisation.

But fans of the show have been left bewildered over what is being described as an 'anticlimactic' finale.

Some were left scratching their heads over why no former presenters, including Max Rushden, Helen Chamberlain and Tim Lovejoy were not welcomed back, with one even suggesting that 'Sky had scored an own goal'.

It comes as the iconic football show will come to an end after nearly 30-years of broadcasting.

The last episode was, as you'd expect, fairly chaotic as the show's current hosts John 'Fenners' Fendley and Jimmy Bullard waved good bye to the programme, and were accompanied by several big names.

Stormzy, Jack Whitehall and Stephen Graham were all guests, while 'Mr Soccer AM' himself, Tubes, interviewed Premier League title-winning captain Ilkay Gundogan, after the German midfielder had presented him with a cake to commemorate his time on the programme.

Fendley joked that the show had blown their remaining budget on the illustrious guests for the finale, while also saying '28 years of madness comes to an end.'

Iconic segments were played, with the show paying tribute to Tubes, reminiscing on his 'one question and one question only' interviews, while replays of Jimmy Bullard's stunning shot into the 'top bins' were shown.

The group also moved out to the John Arne Riise Arena Arena for one final time, with Stormzy netting a penalty to win Cheltenham fans £400.

The show was slightly marred as Fenners' mic started to lose power before the end of the programme, with several expletives also being heard from some of the guests throughout the show.

But, some have taken to social media to criticise the final episode, claiming that Sky had missed a trick.

One user wrote: 'Bit of an anticlimax that last Soccer AM, you'd think they'd have got the likes of Helen and Lovejoy on and made a deal of it. Instead, same bland sketches and those divvy twins.'

Another wrote: 'Sky Sports scored an own goal today.'

Others also took to Twitter to say goodbye to the show, including former Liverpool defender turned Sky Sports pundit, Jamie Carragher, who wrote on Twitter: 'Goodbye to Soccer AM. Loved watching it and appearing on it.'

Underneath his Tweet, Carragher posted a video of his crunching slide tackle on Bullard in the John Arne Riise Arena Arena.

Many joined in with tributes to the show, with one writing: 'An emotional show for the final goodbye to Soccer AM. Extremely sad to see it end, it’s been a massive part of Saturday mornings in my life since I can remember. Thank you to everyone associated with the show for making it so special for all this time. Will be sorely missed.'

It comes as former co-host Rushden criticised Sky for 'missing the trick' not inviting any of the ex-presenters back for the show's final appearance.

After presenting the show for some time, Rushden is now the host of the The Guardian's Football Weekly podcast.

Chamberlain, another iconic host on the show, has since moved away from working in television and has embarked in a country-filled life with farming and metal detecting.

Meanwhile, Lovejoy, who was with the show from between 1996 to 2007, now hosts Channel 4's Sunday Brunch alongside chef Simon Rimmer.