The peril of the phone-in

Whenever Radio Norfolk pundit Neil Adams speaks to someone on Canary Call, there must be the thought in the back of his head that it all could go wrong.

Doing a live programme like he does, when the adrenaline is still pumping from the latest Norwich City win, draw or defeat, is fraught with danger.

Any caller can seem calm and collected when they initially ring in and the calls are filtered, but as soon as they get put through to Neil and live on air, there’s no telling what they may say.

They could eff and blind or make all sorts of wild, inaccurate or potentially libellous claims. At the other end of the scale they could be as boring as you like.

Whatever they are going to say, the callers are the only ones who truly know.

But while Neil may be faced with someone he has to cut off at a second’s notice, at least he is spared the fate of everyone seeing him in action at the time.

The arrival of the TV sports phone-in has that added little ‘bonus’ to add on top of not knowing what the caller may say when they get live on air.

I’m sure people must have sworn and made some outrageous accusations on these call-ins, but perhaps that’s not as bad as what happened to the poor folks on MUTV after a recent game.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a lot of time for Manchester United or their former players.

But I did feel for Gary Pallister, Paul Parker and call-in presenter Hayley McQueen when some idiot from Leicester rang their show after the 2-0 Champions League victory over Inter Milan.

It appeared that Simple Simon (we really must call him that) he just called in to comment on the size of Pallister’s, erm, package.

He was soon cut off in his prime and taken off air, but not before causing acute embarrassment and bemusement all round.

Whether it was a stitch-up, a joke, or whether he genuinely was ‘impressed’ by the former centre back, no-one could have known what was coming.

And that’s what makes these shows and the likes of Canary Call gripping.

Give Joe Public the freedom of the airwaves and anything goes, and probably will.

To see the MUTV incident, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgovSQv1SXM&NR=1

• Talking of Neil Adams, there’s no doubt he knows his onions when it comes to football and Norwich City.
  There’s not much the former right winger doesn’t know about the game he graced for so long, and his knowledge on football is as good as anybody I know.
  But when it comes to Saturday night prime-time television – don’t listen to a word he says. 
  In fact, make sure you can set up a nice little bet with him. I did and came out £10 the richer.
  Back in December 2007, Norwich City had a Saturday evening game away at Colchester which I covered for the Evening News.  Neil and I had arrived early and as there were no press facilities at Layer Road, we ended up in the laundry room having a cuppa.
  Eventually talk turned to the evening’s X-Factor final. Neil said that Welsh fella with the white hair would win, I said the Scottish lad, Leon Jackson, would take the honours. He did and I was £5 better off.
  Roll forward to November last year and Neil was at it again. At the Burnley away game he decided to take me on again and predicted that Rachel or Ruth (I can’t remember which) would go further than the little Northern Irish pixie that was Yoghurt (you know the one) in the latest X-Factor competition.
  Again I won another £5 as his horses fell well before the final hurdle.
  Having spent several months trying (and finally succeeding) to get the cash out of him, I’ve learned my lesson and am quitting while way ahead despite his offer of ‘double or quits’ on Dancing on Ice.
  Sorry Neil, but while you are unrivalled on Saturday afternoons, you should leave Saturday nights well alone.