First Division Play-off Final, Wembley Stadium, London, 25 May 1998

This piece was written by Declan Warrington for Issue 49

Perhaps the greatest game ever played at the old Wembley Stadium unfolded in intense heat late in the spring of 1998. Charlton, after recording nine successive clean sheets, were pursuing an unlikely promotion to the Premier League less than six years after they had been homeless.

Sunderland – desperate to deliver, for the first time, Premier League football to the recently opened Stadium of Light – were their opponents and, led by the proven quality of Niall Quinn and Lee Clark and the undoubted promise of Kevin Phillips and Michael Gray, were largely expected to deny them.

That Charlton had returned to the Valley in 1992 had contributed so much to their transformation into contenders for promotion. They had invested a club-record fee in Clive Mendonca – a supporter of none other than Sunderland and school friend of Gray – and been rewarded by his 25 goals leading them to fourth place and Wembley, and yet the fact that Saša Ilić, making his 17th professional appearance after arriving as a trialist from non-league football, was their goalkeeper was a demonstration of their relative financial constraints.

Their manager Alan Curbishley, a popular former Charlton player who had first been joint-manager with Steve Gritt when the club played its home fixtures at Upton Park, was also a long-term colleague and friend of Peter Reid. Reid, whose faith in the previously little-known Phillips had led to the recruitment of one of Sunderland’s finest ever players, had 12 months earlier overseen their relegation from the Premier League with a total of 40 points in their last ever season at Roker Park. A solitary point had also just kept them from second place, and automatic promotion.

Clive Mendonca I’m a Sunderland lad. I was born in London, but moved to Sunderland when I was two, and was brought up in Sunderland. Went to school in Sunderland, played for Sunderland Boys, Durham County, had been a Sunderland fan all me life. Every team I’ve played for, the first result I looked for is Sunderland. Me mates are Sunderland. Everything I know is Sunderland. Imagine being brought up like that, and you had to play against your team at Wembley in the final of the play-offs. It’s horrible, really. Honestly. It is.

Really, I’d wanted to sign for Sunderland. I come down to Charlton, spoke to [Alan] Curbishley; was really happy with what he’d said. I’d heard Sunderland wanted to sign us, so I said to Curbs, “I think Sunderland want to sign us; if it doesn’t happen, I’ll sign with you.” Didn’t happen. “I’ve got to look after myself; they really want us, I’m going to Charlton.” At the time I was the record signing [for Charlton] – £700,000.

Alan Curbishley When he came into the building, it was the first time we’d signed anyone for [significant] money, and it made a big difference in the dressing room. He made a big difference to the way we played.

Mark Kinsella We knew we had a goalscorer on our hands, but [Nottingham] Forest, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Ipswich – there was a lot of clubs vying for promotion. Everyone had that ambition, but we never thought that until maybe Christmas, when you’re still in the hunt, and Easter, and you’re still in the hunt – then you have a chance. We just went under the radar a lot that season, until we went on a run, and started to creep into the top six. People then started to take notice, and then it was a matter of where you finished up and who you played in the play-offs.

Saša Ilić I’d asked Charlton for a trial. I was playing for a non-league club, St Leonards Stamcroft, in East Sussex, and I was studying PE and sports science at Brighton University. One of the players was friendly with one of Charlton’s directors, Mike Stevens, and he put me in contact, and Mike organised for me to go for a trial.

They kept asking me to come back. After two or three months they started paying for my travel expenses – I’d been sleeping in Putney at my sister’s place on the couch, which was about a metre too short. It took me about two hours to get to training.

I started playing for the reserve team. It wasn’t until Bournemouth offered me a contract – that was what instigated Charlton to offer me a contract until the end of the season. It wasn’t much, but they were offering me something to keep me and to keep training with them. I was over the moon; I was fulfilling my childhood dreams just by being at Charlton, let alone playing for the first team. I didn’t expect, in a million years, to be playing at Wembley.

Niall Quinn We had a very bad start to the season, and we found our feet, and so trying to peg back [second-placed] Middlesbrough was my abiding memory. I think it might have been their second- last game. They went a goal down and it did put us into the automatic [promotion] position. Alan Brazil was doing the commentary late on in the game. Boro got a goal. It knocked us back into the play-offs, and I went behind the couch and kicked the couch and put my head on the couch. And Alan Brazil went, “The Sunderland players watching this – I bet they jumped behind the couch.” I couldn’t believe what he said. “Jesus Christ. Is there a camera on me or something?” That’s a memory that I have of that run in.

CM [Play-off semi-final opponents] Ipswich were a good team. We went to their place but I was struggling with me back. I missed the second leg, and I’ve never, ever been so nervous watching a game of football. We beat them 1-0 – Newts [Shaun Newton] scored a worldie – and I just knew we was playing Sunderland [in the final]. I just absolutely knew it.

Danny Mills It was never a red card [Mills was sent off in the away leg at Ipswich, which Charlton also won 1-0, after a second booking]. I went to block a ball; Mauricio Taricco, blatant dive; jumped; screamed. After the game there was an incident in the players’ lounge between him and [the on-loan] Neil Heaney, and Taricco ended up with his nose put across his face and had to wear a mask in the second game.

You’re sat in the crowd [during the home leg] thinking, “Just get over the line, to the final.” The manager had said, “You’ll miss this but you’ll be back in the final to play.”

NQ When you end up in the play-off spot, you look at your first task and that was Sheffield United. Ipswich were a bit of a bogey team for us. But we kind of feared Charlton because we had had tough games against them [0-0 and 1-1 draws that season].

DM We had a really long break of 12 days, and all that time to wait until Wembley. I had my 21st birthday then as well – I went for an evening meal in a pub somewhere in Kent and had a lemonade. The game was far more important.

Kevin Ball We were very fortunate to have a fantastic manager in the gaffer, Peter Reid, but also a great coach in Bobby Saxton, and we would have been so trusting in what they wanted us to do.

They gave us time off, and I think that was the most important thing. So that by the time it came to the final, we weren’t drained. You give a footballer time off it’s like he’s won the lottery. He knew how long to give us – what to do so that by the time we got to the final we were all ready and raring.

MK The week leading up to [the final], because Wembley’s a very big pitch, Les [Reed, then on Curbishley’s coaching staff] got the groundsmen to put out the Wembley pitch at the training ground, and we trained on it to get used to a bigger pitch than the Valley. We were training normally, trying not to get injured, but it was difficult because we trained like we played. We put it in that week leading up to it; headed off to a hotel the day before.

CM That gave you an inkling. Some grounds you’d go to and [they’re] really tight. Wembley, honestly, it’s like an ocean. That’s the way I felt. It’s huge. I was shocked. When we were training all the lads were, “Jesus Christ – this is massive – the way we play it should suit us.”

I was getting treatment all the time, and luckily I was alright. Curbs always says, “You trained like a Trojan,” and I was proper fit. I used to do extra training every day, just on me own, just to get sharp as I could. I was really concerned, because every time I breathed I could feel it.

AC Les come to me a week before the final, saying, “I’ve decided that whatever happens, I’m going to go [to the FA],” which was a bit of a blow, but I understood his decision.

I had a big selection decision, because John Robinson had been injured, and Paul Mortimer had been injured, and I had Neil Heaney on loan. I made a decision a couple of days before. Paul Mortimer couldn’t even get on the bench; Robbo did. I had a couple of angry players, but they soon calmed down and realised it was a big decision and I had to make it. With that one out of the way everyone knew the team that week, and we prepared for the final.

Robbo didn’t take it very well – he didn’t take many things very well. When there was a player who wasn’t 100% right, or had been out for some time, I always thought it was better for him to come on than actually go off. If I’d started Robbo he wouldn’t have lasted, especially with the extra-time, and I thought bringing him on would have a better effect than bringing him off.

Les knew the hotels to go to as well, so we went to a hotel in Marlow, which was lovely, and we practised our penalties like everybody does. It’s not real at the training ground, is it? It ain’t got the atmosphere and pressure and everything else. We’d done as much as we could.

We got in the play-offs a couple of years before that, and got beat by Palace; we wasn’t ready then. But we was ready for the Sunderland game.

NQ I recall going home from training and the radio would be on and the whole of Sunderland are ringing in, talking. “We’re On Our Way” – that was the song that they used to sing – and the expectation was building up and it was, “Jesus, we better win this”. After a bad start in the new stadium, they really believed in us. By the time Wembley come around that belief had turned into almost, “We’re a Premier League club now; we have our stadium; we just need to win this match and we’ll be back in the big time.” “This is a defining moment for the club.”

There was no social media and the use of mobile phones wasn’t as extravagant as it is now. But you could feel it and you could sense it. We were relegated the year before so a lot of drama had gone on.

I don’t think Peter had to do a whole lot. We were on a good run. I can just remember us going down there full of confidence. That we were destined to win this game.

Peter Reid We had our training sessions at the Stadium of Light, and we practised penalties at the end of every training session. But it’s at the end of a long, hard season. I always thought we were a little bit better [than Charlton].

It wasn’t intense. I was trying to make it as enjoyable as I could because both teams knew each other, so we knew the strengths and weaknesses of them and they knew the same as us. We had a few lads who were carrying knocks as well, so we had to be careful.

KB Subconsciously I must have been thinking about it that much – I dreamed about missing the penalty at Wembley. Because you know how the impact of winning that game is so vast, financially. I think I was over-playing it all in my mind.

I practiced this little routine that Alan Ball taught us when I was at Portsmouth as a kid, and I’d done it to the degree where I was comfortable – I even tweaked me groin doing it. That’s how often I practised it. But I didn’t want to be not mentally and physically prepared if it came to taking a penalty, because I knew I’d take one.

SI One thing’s practising [penalties]. Another’s when it actually happens.

MK We went into it without conceding a goal for nine games.

SI Your mindset is, “There’s no way I’m going to concede a goal.” You need a lot of luck, but when things are going well and you’re thinking positively things will happen. I was cocooned. When you’re in the team, playing well and having a fantastic time at training, it just seems like it’s just a game.

Even though we were the underdogs, we still walked into it thinking, “We’ve got a great chance of winning this and keeping a clean sheet.” Little did I know.

CM Going into the final I’m thinking they’re a good team – [Kevin] Phillips was unbelievable. Quinny that season. “This is going to be a tough game – it’ll be 1-0 either way,” cos of the way we were defending. Little did I know.

DM We were trying to work out how Sunderland would play; we had a fairly settled side. We went and got the worst suits on the planet – they were shocking. The hardest thing about it all was the clamour for tickets. I had two busloads coming down from Norwich. I couldn’t sleep the night before – I was tossing and turning.

CM I used to room with Kins. Kins tells a good story [laughs]. He says, “When I got up I thought Clive was going to have a ’mare – his mind’s all over, he’s not with it,” because I needed that many tickets. My sisters and that come down. Our lass’s [his wife Tracy’s] family, all me mates – I’ve got that many mates who are Sunderland fans. So it was a bit of a distraction, cos I needed as many as I could to keep everybody sweet.

I was quite good, mentally. It’s just part of it – I needed a lot of tickets. Sorted it all out. Done. Get on with it. That’s the way I looked at it. It never, ever took one bit of focus off the match. Nowt did.

MK I was rooming with Clive, a Sunderland supporter who had a lot of family coming down. He was trying to get them tickets, which hadn’t arrived, and on the morning of the match he had people ringing him up asking him for tickets – for an hour and a half, two hours that morning he was probably more worried about the tickets than the game. Once he goes on the pitch he’s a different animal altogether, as he proved six or seven hours later.

AC He wanted so many tickets. He was flying around, and I had to say to him, “Hold on…”. Cos that’s it. You can’t be going to the hotel, and you’re running around trying to get tickets for people. But he was okay with that.

There was a wedding at the hotel, so it was a little bit lively. Mark Bright videoed a lot of stuff; during the morning; videoed a bit of the wedding, and he kept a video diary of it, which he’s given to a few of the lads.

KB I think if you’re not nervous, that means you’re probably not in the zone. Having a bit of nerves is actually quite beneficial. Would I have been shitting myself? I think everybody would before a game like that.

I played at Wembley in the ’92 [FA] Cup final [when Sunderland had lost to Liverpool], and I was too conscious of winning that I didn’t really enjoy the occasion. So I thought, “I’m just going to enjoy it as well as play well; I want to enjoy walking out at Wembley; I want to enjoy the changing room; I want to enjoy the build-up; I want to enjoy seeing the family in the stand; I want to enjoy playing out on the pitch. I don’t want it to go by without having any memories of it.” Bobby and the gaffer were excellent at keeping everybody just at the right level of anxiety, shall we say.

PR We did it right. You’ve got to do it right. [We stayed in a hotel the night before] – I didn’t like staying away two nights before. You get a bit blasé. I was a night-before man.

CM On the coach to Wembley I never seen one Charlton fan. That’s the god’s honest truth. It was absolutely packed of Sunderland fans, and I mean packed. Sunderland had totally took over – I think because we was in London they must have come later. I thought, “Jesus Christ.” I knew they could pack 50,000 into Wembley, nae bother, but the lads were like, “Eh? Where’s the Charlton fans?” [laughs]. We were about an hour and a half before kick-off. The Sunderland fans would have been there from 9am that morning, and it felt like an away game.

AC We got to the ground first, and I remember sitting in the dressing rooms looking around, and then we heard Sunderland arrive, because their fans were outside cheering, and waiting for them. So we heard them turn up.

KB I can remember going to Wembley Way and all the red and white, which was fantastic. It was awesome.

AC When the boys went out to warm up, I stood in the tunnel with [Peter] Reidy, talking, cos there was nowhere for us to go. Normally, if we was at the Valley or the Stadium of Light, the manager would have an office, but we had nowhere to go, so we stood in the tunnel watching the warm-ups. The players were coming in and we was just talking to each other.

PR I was very comfortable with him. We were speaking about times gone by; playing against each other; playing in the under-21s. I think I got him pissed on Blue Nun when we played at Brighton, and we were talking about that. [Being] young men. We weren’t educated about wine like modern-day players are, so we went on about that and playing against each other during our [playing] careers.

AC It was funny, cos in the actual dressing room, you was given someone from Wembley to look after you, getting you ice and water. He was in the dressing room as we was giving team talks.

We was the underdogs I s’pose. [But] we were confident cos we hadn’t let any goals in, and it was a settled side, and we all knew exactly where we was at. The day of the game – there’s a couple of photos; every time I see them I have to have a laugh, because I told the players, when they came out, not to wave to their family – they was the most miserablest bunch in the world. If you see the photograph, there’s a couple of Sunderland boys waving. I basically said, “I don’t want no one waving to their family and looking around; let’s focus on the game; I know it’s a big occasion, but let’s focus,” and every time I come back to the Valley and see that photo, I have to have a little laugh. You have a look at Kinsella’s face. Miserable.

NQ Coming into the final itself, we felt better than Charlton. We saw them in their white suits. They all had white suits with flowers on the lapel [they were actually a pale grey]. I think we turned up in our tracksuits. And we were the north-east tough guys who were going to take the soft southerners in their white suits. When you’re out walking the pitch and you see them walking the pitch, that’s the kind of thing that goes through your mind.

MK We fancied it. The two games we had in the league [against Sunderland] were [draws] – there was not a lot between the two teams. We matched each other up – meself and [Keith] Jonesy against Kevin Ball and Lee Clark. Clive Mendonca and Brighty against Quinn and Phillips. Les could give you the ins and outs of every individual – that was his forte.

PR The only thing I was a little bit sceptical about was, as a back four, we were a young back four [Darren Holloway, Darren Williams, Jody Craddock, Michael Gray]. I was wondering whether nerves would get to them on the day.

NQ Having made our way into into the dressing room, having walked the pitch, I think there was a moment that hit us all and any Sunderland player will remember – when Peter Reid named the team, and the subs, and there was no Dickie [Richard] Ord. Our centre back.

He didn’t pick Ordy, and Ordy was a major figure in the dressing room. He was a local lad. This was going to be the crowning achievement of his career with Sunderland, and it rocked us. We weren’t saying, “Peter’s done the wrong thing.” It was more, “Jesus, Ordy, can’t believe he hasn’t picked him.” There were tears [from Ord] before the game. Of course, Peter would always pick the team to win and managers don’t stop to bring emotion into the decision but us as players reacted. I can remember all of us taking turns spending time trying to console Ordy, and looking back that was a funny place to bring yourself just before you’re meant to be at your best and the most important game the club had had in a long, long time.

KB They would have made that decision because they thought it was the right one.

PR I always tried to simplify things. We knew Mendonca was a threat – “Be wary of him” – but, “Simplify things and play to your strengths”. I was always positive on me team talks. “Go out and play; make sure you enjoy it; not many people have a chance to play at Wembley Stadium”.

I love Wembley, but the old Wembley had a magic about it, in my opinion. “Go out and enjoy it, but the most important thing about enjoying a game is you’ve gotta win it.” I did [believe we’d win].

CM When we were in the tunnel, Sunderland and us, me old teacher – cos Mickey Gray went to my school – big Mr Watson, he was about 6’7”. He was just over the moon. “Look, Clive, Mickey, come here. I’ve gotta get a picture of you two Castle View lads at Wembley – this is unbelievable.” He took a picture, and that was it – that was the only distraction I got. But I can understand what he was doing, cos he was so proud of us.

The atmosphere – I’ve never heard nowt like it. It was deafening, and I’m just thinking, “This is what it’s all about, really.” I remember that day was absolutely roasting – I’m sure it was 100 degrees on the pitch. It was absolutely red hot.

KB As I’m walking out the tunnel I wait for the mascot. The mascot was the brother of one of my son Luke’s mates. Cole. I thought that was a fantastic omen. I think walking out, behind the manager, is probably the best feeling as a captain you’ll get in your life.

When you go out to the whole stadium like that, there are times when you have to take a deep breath, and just look around, and just savour the occasion, because it might be the last time you ever do it. I’d have stood, looked around; looked for the family. You just enjoy walking around on the pitch. Then you also think, “Fuck me, it’s really hot.”

The shirts we wore on the day – they’re one of the loveliest shirts we ever had, but my god, they were heavy. Especially once we started running around. It’s the heaviest shirt in history. It’s borderline ridiculous.

NQ You could hear our fans, ahead of the Charlton fans. Our fans were more vociferous. It was an electric atmosphere.

The jersey we wore is often brought up, even among the players when we meet up. It was mustard but what was worse was it was the heaviest jersey. Occasionally, one turns up and I get to sign it, and you go, “Oh my god, how did we play in this?” And then of course, it was the hottest day, and you’re in the cauldron of Wembley.

I’d had a cruciate injury – six games into that year I thought I was finished. I was lucky. I had papers from the PFA to quit in the September of that year. And here I was at Wembley, so I was on a bit of a positive drive. It was like I was getting extra time in my career.

DM I remember walking out on the pitch before the game, thinking it was blazing hot. I didn’t take it in; I don’t really have any recollection [of it]. I don’t remember the changing rooms; anything before the game; anything of the game, apart from what I’ve seen on TV. Which is inexperience; naivety; excitement; nerves. All of my memories are TV or photographic memories.

CM When we walked out at Wembley, half was Charlton and half was Sunderland [there was a crowd of 77,739], but getting off the coach it was full of Sunderland. It was such a buzz to be in front of that crowd. “This is what it’s about – this is when you’ve got to perform.” “If I can get a chance I’ll score.”

AC There was not really a lot of talking; it was all done, before we got to the game. The most amazing thing was the stadium – it was completely red and white, cos both teams wore them colours.

CM It was tight. There wasn’t many chances [during the first half] at all, really. Millsy’s took a throw-in, Brighty’s in front of the defender – he’s gone for the one-two, so he’s flicked it on, it’s great from Brighty – and he’s left the defender, but [Craddock] the defender’s right up me backside, and I’m sure he’s looking as if to say, “I’m in two minds here – is he going for the one-two?” and what I’ve done, I’ve just pivoted and turned him a treat. It was like time stood still.

I’m in front of the keeper [Lionel Pérez], one-on-one, 16 yards out, and if you watch it, I give him the eyes an absolute treat. I sorted my feet out, looked to the right, and smashed it to the left with the inside of me foot, and the keeper’s just fell down as if to say, “You’ve just done us a treat”. He knew he had nae chance. I got good pace on the ball, and it just flew in. When I scored, the feeling was unbelievable. Brighty played a hell of a part in that. Goal. One-nil up.

AC Millsy’s throw-in, and Brighty’s flicked it on, and he’s dummied to shoot and just turned… if it a Manchester City player done it [today] we’d all be going bonkers. It was a fantastic bit of skill.

PR I think Brighty might have blocked the keeper, Perez, for their goal. But them things happen in football.

AC I’ve watched the game back in its entirety, and we gave Sunderland a few more opportunities than I thought. If they watch it back again, they’d go, “How comes we was losing 1-0?”, cos they created quite a few chances. I just thought that we always had, in Clive, someone who could give us a goal. I know they had Quinn and Phillips, but we had Clive, and also I had that workmanlike [midfield] – Newton, Kinsella, Keithy Jones – that held us in good stead.

PR We could have scored goals in that first half, and didn’t stick ’em away, and when you’ve got the likes of Quinn and Phillips, and Clark and [Nicky] Summerbee, on the pitch, I was confident about getting goals, so that wasn’t a concern to me.

I remember thinking it’s open – too open. They were getting chances; we were getting chances. I took young [Darren] Holloway, the right-back, off and put Chris Makin in, cos I just thought, “We need a bit more experience in there.” I was [also] conscious of the lads carrying knocks, I must admit that.

AC At half-time, we was winning 1-0, and I thought we had Sunderland where we wanted them, because they were a very offensive side, and we were quick on the counter-attack. If they commit bodies forward, like I knew they would, we could hit ’em on the break. But after 15 minutes we were 2-1 down, so that didn’t go too well.

MK We end up going in 1-0 up at half- time. [Curbishley] then said, “The next 15 minutes are vital, just keep it tight and we might end up winning.” We were 2-1 down after 15 minutes. After that was a matter of digging ourselves out of a hole.

CM I knew how good Phillips and Quinny were if you give them the service – two quality players. Phillips was their top scorer – he’d been outstanding. As a striker, I’m just thinking, “I hope our defence is as solid as it’s been – give them nowt.” Obviously it didn’t work out like that. Before you knew it, we were 2-1 down.

SI We felt extremely confident [at half- time]. I didn’t think we were going to concede a goal at all. Once they started pouring in it was a mental shock, more than anything else.

NQ In the back of my mind, there was, “You’re better than this – forget about the crowd.” We were a bit tense. We hadn’t done ourselves justice, and, “You’re better than them.” Half-time can be a great thing for a team who need a break and need to re-galvanise and go forward. We composed ourselves; got back together.

We then went 2-1 ahead [Quinn headed in from a corner, before Phillips lobbed Ilić]. The fireworks come out in the second half. Compared to the way the game’s played today, it was kamikaze stuff.

KB I’d have had a degree of, “Fucking brilliant” in me head. And then I would have gone back to, “Do your job.” I can’t help it. That’s just the way I was. Nothing changed.

SI It was depressing. It’s a dent in your armour. “We’re not invincible.” Then we conceded another goal. “Oh my God, what’s happening here?” [But] I didn’t think we were going to lose, even though there were doubts when we kept conceding goals.

PR Goals have a huge impact on games. I always thought we’d get goals, and when you look at Brighty; Mendonca; you look at Quinn and Phillips; I always knew there’d be goals in the game. There was goals going in left, right and centre during the second half.

NQ Once we got our nose in the lead all the confidence started to come out and we were playing football and thought, “We’re gonna finish this game off.” “Get the third – finish it off.” We pressed; we certainly didn’t have any thought of, “We’re 2-1 up, let’s everybody sit back.” I think we only knew one way to play that day. From that moment on, we were off on a tangent and there was no coming back. We were the ones looking to go 3-1 up when Clive scored again.

CM All I’m thinking is, “I need to get the ball – if I can get a chance I’ll score.” I was confident that season, and that’s exactly what happened. Me second goal, I pulled off the defender [Williams], wide on the left – Keith Jones has played a ball over the top, and it’s gone over the centre- half’s head, and with my studs I’ve took the ball down, and it’s still bouncing around and I’m in on goal, and I’ve smacked it across the keeper and it’s gone in.

It was a hard goal, because you’ve gotta get across the defender – luckily he didn’t bring us down, cos he could have been off if he brought us down – hit it with me studs, it’s bounced up a little bit, I’ve waited a few strides, and I’ve just hit it and it’s gone across the keeper and went in. So that’s two each. This was relief, cos we’re getting beat. When I’m through I’m thinking, “I’ve got to score.” Bang. That was one of the best parts of me game. If I got chances I usually scored.

SI Luckily we had ‘Super’ Clive Mendonca to get us out of trouble.

NQ I can remember they didn’t seem to have to work as hard to get their goals as we did. Everyone’s a bit frustrated so we kind of went, “Okay, let’s go again.” We set off again. But having said that, Clive didn’t need much – he made them goals out of nothing, really. He showed great individualism for those goals. He had to do stuff to turn an ordinary situation into a chance and ultimately into a goal.

AC I knew Sunderland were very offensive, and may have nicked another one. We never let any in, did we? It was just mad. We were playing against [Allan] Johnston on the left; Summerbee on the right; them two up front; there was goals in that team. I did think, as you do, at some stage, we were out of it, and then suddenly you’re back in it, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Both sets of fans. I don’t think they could quite believe what was going on, because normally finals are a bit of an anti-climax and a bit flat, but that wasn’t flat. That wasn’t flat.

We made a couple of substitutions. [Steve] Browny came on for Millsy; Steve Jones come on for Brighty, and Robbo come on for Neil Heaney. So they actually made a difference when they came on – no disrespect to the players who came off – they sort of turned the atmosphere for us.

PR I don’t think you ever [think, “We’ll see this out,”] as a coach or a manager. Especially the nature of that particular game. It was just too open, and you couldn’t relax. I’ll always remember, on the sidelines, speaking to me assistant Bobby Saxton and thinking, “This could go either way, this – this is too open,” and he was of a similar ilk.

DM I got done for the [Niall] Quinn goal at the back post [putting Sunderland 3-2 up]. It still grates on me.

NQ I used to do that quite regularly – move in as I was gonna challenge to head the ball and then come back at the last second, hoping that you’ve moved him a yard or two too close to the ball and it goes over their head and I scored a few goals like that in my career. I’d be lying to you if I said I aimed exactly in the near post. I didn’t – it was hit it as hard as you can and see where it goes and it flew into the corner and the near post.

That put us 3-2 up and felt like, “That’s it – that’s the rightful place, let’s go and see it out now.”

KB I would have been thinking, “It’s not long to go”. We’d have all been wanting to get over the finishing line. For such a momentous occasion, to win at Wembley, to get the club promotion, will no doubt give you the jitters in a game. Fuck me, your arse would be twitching and you’ll just be thinking, “I want to get over the line.” You would have been excited – you would have been thinking about it – but you’d have still been concentrating on your job.

CM Exactly the same emotion. “I need another chance. I’ve scored two goals. Doesn’t mean nowt.” I knew we were gonna win when [Richard] Rufus scored. Never scored in his life. Great header. Great header. He’s about 10ft tall. He was class. He used to kill me every day in training, but I wasn’t bothered about that. He was the nicest lad in the world, but he trained as he played on the Saturday. I used to get kicked to shit. On me kid’s life, when he scored, I thought, “We’re not losing.” He was good in the air, Roofs, but he never, ever scored – when he scored, I thought, “It’s our day.”

SI Richard Rufus scoring. It’s like it was meant to happen.

AC What happened there, like you see a lot, Sunderland sort of sat back and thought, “We won’t try and contain, and we won’t be too offensive,” but as soon as I saw the ‘keeper coming you think, “If he don’t get this…” and then Rufus – it was his first goal – Rufus scores, and you think, “Blimey, perhaps our name’s on it,” a little bit.

MK We had good characters and knew we were a good team, and when you have someone like Clive who thrives off those half-chances you always felt you had a chance, and then Richard ends up getting his first goal for the club… There’s no better time.

NQ A corner kick – I’ll remember it as long as I live. As the ball comes across, it’s not for me to go and head – it was over my head. But had Lionel shouted that he was coming I would have automatically dropped back on the line. He didn’t get the punch and he claimed that he was fouled. My problem with Lionel was with not calling. No problem that he missed the ball – that he didn’t get there. But had he called I would have slipped back on the line and I’d have cleared it off the line, because it wasn’t a big power header. It was a loop header into an empty net.

Richard Rufus’s header is the one thing that I still say should have been avoided. I’m not giving out that Lionel came. I’m giving out that he didn’t shout that he was coming.

It was awful to see this loopy header going in and all of us looking over our shoulders to see it drift in. I was deflated then, definitely – I couldn’t believe it’d happened. I’ll always recall that.

KB I can remember watching Lionel come for the corner. I can still picture him coming for it, me going, “What the fuck are you doing?” in me head, and Lionel missing it. I can remember that vividly, as it came over, watching Lionel come for it and me thinking, “You’ve got no fucking chance there, mate.”

I think, not the occasion – when it came to that he knew that if he got that corner we’d won the game. Could you blame Lionel? Absolutely fucking not. Lionel was a bright lad. He was very flamboyant; very brash at times; used to get on me tits at training. But, you couldn’t knock him, because he would always come out fighting. Me as a captain, I would never ever criticise him for that, because he knew that if he caught that ball we’d won, and he tried to win the game for us.

[Laughs] I think when the goal went in, I thought, “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” It’s like someone kicking you right in the nuts. But if you lose your head, you lose your game. The psyche of the players, to know that we could still win a game of football, is more important. We still thought we would win.

PR The keeper got caught in no man’s land. That was disappointing, because you don’t like conceding them goals

You’re devastated that you can’t hold on to it but it was the nature of the game. You’ve got to try and show your character. We showed our character, and they showed theirs. It was that type of game – that’s why it was so good.

NQ “Oh, my God – this is crazy.” But you still think you’re the better team, and that you’re going to make it right, and that we might be able to win this before the 90th minute. We didn’t just sit back and play out for extra time. We were trying to get the winner.

AC [At the end of normal time I said] “If we get an opportunity to counter-attack, then go for it.” The only two people who couldn’t was Keithy Jones and Kinsella. Everybody else could go. Mark Bowen could go on. [Fellow full-back] Browny. We had that two holding midfield players, if you like, in Kins and Jonesy, that everyone’s got now. It gave us that defensive little bit. But we just thought we could hurt Sunderland on the break.

PR [My instructions were] very, very similar. “Keep on playing.” The fatigue – it was a hot day. I remember saying, “Listen, as much as you can, keep the football, because with the tension in the game, you’re expending energy – don’t give the ball away cheaply.”

NQ It was a bit chaotic and he’s gone, “Do your jobs; keep going; don’t give anything away. This will come for us – we’ll make more chances than them.”

KB We wouldn’t have wanted it to go to penalties. It can be a lottery then, can’t it? I always felt we could score – we could win the game. Sacko [Bobby Saxton] and the rest of the staff were all awesome at feeding you the right information. [Reid also] would probably have sworn and said the F-word about 10 times like he always did.

CM The way things worked out, we’ve gone 4-3 down, in extra-time. It was Summerbee. Good goal, in to feet, Quinny round the box, he’s laid it off and Summerbee’s come and in and smashed it in. I’m just thinking again, “Please god just give us a chance – I just need a chance.” Like a proper striker does.

NQ It was Nicky Summerbee put us ahead – shot from the 18-yard line. It almost felt like, “That’s justice – we’re there now.”

KB We’d have been thinking, “We’ve done it again – this is ours.” Absolutely.

PR You never do that [think it’s over]. You couldn’t relax at all.

AC The way the game was and the atmosphere – it didn’t go flat. I’ve been to Wembley on a few occasions when it looks like the result is the result and the whole place has gone flat, but that never went flat. Never had a chance to go flat. So I never thought we were out of it.

CM Typical Browny, done a hell of a tackle in midfield; nowadays he’d probably get booked for it or sent off – steamed in, won the ball fair and square, like a proper tackle. The ball’s got played wide to [Steve] Jonesy, Jonesy’s skinned his man down the line and smashed it across, and it was behind us, really. So I’ve just put me foot out, me touch was unbelievable – nine times out of ten when the ball’s smashed at you like that it flies off you, but luckily me touch was perfect and I’ve just pivoted and smashed it in, and then I just thought, “Game on again.” Four each.

As I’m running away and put me fingers up I looked at our lass, I’ve ran towards her at the halfway line and thought, “I’ve just scored a hat-trick – I can’t believe this.” I never thought of Geoff Hurst [the previous player to score a hat-trick in a final at Wembley], if I’m honest. At first it was just relief, cos we’re back in it. “There’s time left – I can get four here. We’re going to win this.” She had a tenner on us for first goal, as well, at 5/1. I’ve always been a gambler – if I knew I was 5/1 I’d have had a lot more [laughs].

MK Once he goes on the pitch he’s a different animal altogether, as he proved with a hat-trick. He was just awesome. Anything in the box that fell to him… his third [that day] was the best I’ve seen, and he scored some great goals for Charlton. That goal – his touch. I don’t know how he kept it with his first touch to get a second off to score. It was fecking unbelievable.

AC Just, fantastic. I mean, all the goals.

SI I couldn’t wait for the game to finish. We were all knackered. Emotionally, physically. I could only be the hero, rather than the villain, so most of the pressure’s on the players, rather than me.

CM [When the final whistle blew for penalties I thought,] “Jesus Christ. I just hope we win it.” I fancied us to win it. Saša had been brilliant the last half- the-season. Just ‘cause of his size and presence, compared to Pérez, I thought, “Sunderland might miss some here,” and I’m thinking, “He’s going to save one.”

KB Nobody wants it to go to penalties. I don’t care what anybody says.

SI If anything it was a bit of a relief. There’s no stress [on me] now. If I save it, it’s great, if I don’t, tough luck. Move on.

MK When the penalties came I wasn’t putting me hand up. I’d missed penalties for Colchester – I’d never scored – so I wasn’t putting me hand up to take one. It was Curbs who came over to me and said, “You’re captain; you’re taking one.”

AC We had the five. The five was already picked, and you go out… We knew before the game, and lucky enough, it was only Browny who didn’t start. We had to go on the pitch and give the five to the referee, Eddie Wolstenholme. Then, we had to leave them. Me and Reidy had to go, and they was all in the centre circle.

PR When you go to penalties you’ve gotta reassess who’s taking them penalties. That’s a time where there’s a lot of pressure and a lot of tension and nerves, and you’re trying to get players to take penalties.

Phillips had to come off, and Clark, who would have been penalty takers, which was a big blow. But you can’t legislate for that. The players had had a long, hard season, and niggles get to you. You know who your penalty takers are going to be, but because of certain reasons you can’t pick them

We had a few young lads who stepped up to the mark, to be fair. There was one or two who didn’t fancy it, if I’m honest, but that’s the nature of the game.

KB Phillips and Clark were two of our penalty takers. So now all of a sudden, the gaffer’s short of penalty takers. So when he went, “Who wants to take one?” I straightaway went, “Yeah, I’ll take one.” I had full confidence I’d score cos I’d already prepared for it. “I’ll take the third.” Someone could have missed one before me or after me – I just wanted to be right bang in the middle. That was the only bit of psyche I needed.

I just wanted to get me penalty taken. You just want to get it over. I remember Reidy turning round and saying, “We need two more penalty takers.” I remember asking Alex Rae – he was one of the best midfield partners I had – how he felt, truthfully for a bit of confidence, cos he was quite a confident chap, and I’m sure he said, “I’m shitting myself.” Which was quite surprising, but probably helped me, because I was shitting myself. We all were. Nicky Summerbee said he’s going to fucking smash it. Chrissy Makin had this daft grin, which he always had – I can still picture it now. It was weird. Johnno just had a grin. It’s nervous laughter. It probably did help.

I think I went to Quinny, “Oi, you’re gonna have to fucking take one,” and he said, “Aye, alright.” Quinny used to have a lovely way of telling you to fuck off without actually saying it. Then I went to Michael, the same thing about him taking one.

NQ When you’re not in the five taking a penalty – as a throwaway line, Reidy kind of went, “If we need a sixth, big man…”. This was after maybe the first person has walked up to take their penalty. “Yep, I’ll go sixth, no problem,” – but you don’t think it’s gonna happen. Maybe it was good that I didn’t think it was gonna happen as I might have spent three or four minutes psyching myself out.

CM I used to practise penalties all the time. I was confident anytime I had a penalty. I’ll tell you one thing – you’ve got to have some balls to take a penalty, and that’s the truth. I’ll never forget Rufus and [Steve] Jonesy walking off. “I’m not taking a penalty.” They were absolutely shitting themselves. You’ve got to have some bottle to take a penalty – especially in a situation like that, because it was a great game, extra-time, it goes to penalties, and the last thing you want is to be the lad who misses. You could be the best player in the world, but all you’d be known for is missing that penalty. Which is awful, and it’s unfair.

[Exhales] I’ve never, ever heard noise like it [walking up for the first penalty]. The Sunderland fans – the boos were just unearthly. “You can say what you want – I’m scoring this.” I just smacked it in the top corner. I knew I’d score. I’d put me life on it.

SI All my teammates were saying, as I was walking towards the goal, “Saša, it’s up to you now.” Bloody hell. No pressure.

Every penalty was executed really, really well, from both sides. With the first penalty, I was very confident. As they kept on creeping in, “What the hell? What can I do now?” I didn’t see myself saving a penalty after the third or fourth shot. It was very difficult to understand what to do.

KB It was my turn to take a penalty. Walked from the halfway line, got the ball, picked it up, set meself up, as Alan Ball taught us, took the penalty, and scored. And I remember vividly thinking, when I scored, “Thank fuck for that.” You have a real physical moment then where the pressure drops a little bit. I was so delighted I scored, the other thing I thought was, “I hope to fuck it don’t go to sudden death and I don’t have to take another one.”

It was only me in the stadium [when I was walking up]. No one else. Just me. I shut everybody out. I didn’t even look at Saša Ilić. Then came back into the stadium again.

SI There was one penalty, from Chris Makin, I got my hand to it – I actually thought I’d saved it, and then when I looked back it crept over the line. Much to my disappointment.

CM The penalties was so hard watching.

MK It’s the most nervous walk I’ve done in football, with so much on it. It was nerve-wracking, and it was relief [when it went in]. But we just had that confidence – you won’t see better penalties. When you look back on it, the keepers didn’t have chances with most of them.

NQ When it kind of happened and went to five-all, “Jesus, I’m on here – I gotta go and do this.” It was a long walk; it was pretty important because I had to score to keep the game alive. It’s a pressurised situation. It’s not like the first where things can happen – if there’s a miss you’ve still got a chance. You had to score.

It was my first ever penalty in professional football. I half-saw Saša Ilić dive early as I was walking up to it, and I kind of stroked it in the other corner. And I remember thinking, “That was easy.” And it was only really as I was walking back to my teammates, having scored – then I went, “Jesus, I’m glad I didn’t miss that.” I saw the players.

I don’t know if I was still in game mode, but once I’d taken it I knew that was me done. A flush came through my whole body. “Jesus. Can you imagine if I’d missed that?” Thankfully I didn’t have any negative thoughts.

KB When he took his, how the fuck it went over the line, I don’t know, cos it was the most mundane penalty you’ve ever seen in your life. But he scored.

AC I didn’t know until a few years back how Shaun Newton become a penalty taker. The referee’s turned round, gone, “Come on, who’s next?”, and it was Rufus, Stevie Jones, Eddie Youds, and Newts, and Richard Rufus apparently pushed Newts out of the circle. If you see it, Newts jogs all the way to the penalty spot to take the penalty. He wasn’t on anyone’s lips, let me tell you.

Yeah [it did concern me watching Newton], a little bit. Just because he run up there. Someone went, “Who’s next for you?”, and I went, “I don’t know,” and it ended up being Newts. People see the video of when Michael Gray comes up… we were shouting out to Reidy, and Reidy was shouting out to us, going “Jesus!” No one could quite believe how it was going.

PR We’re both experienced in football – we’ve been through it all – [but] this was certainly unique for me and Alan. It was just the respect we had for both benches. Huge respect between the two teams, and certainly the two managers and the coaching staff.

KB Then Silly Bollocks steps up…

SI I was out of options at the time. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. As Michael Gray was executing the shot, when he actually executed the shot, I knew immediately before touching the ball that I would save it, cos I guessed the right way. Luckily for me I chose to dive to my left.

MK Saša [Ilić] happened to go the right way for us. I think I was with [Keith] Jonesy, standing away, and it was five or six seconds later when we realised we were in the Premier League, and then we started heading over to where everyone was running, but it was a surreal moment and didn’t sink in for five or six seconds.

AC When Michael Gray come up, [my assistant manager] Keith Peacock said to me, “Blimey, it’s a lefty – it’s the first lefty – don’t watch it,” and that’s why I didn’t watch it. When I didn’t hear the roar, I knew that it’d been saved.

PR When we were practising penalties at the end of training sessions he was very, very good at whipping them in. Smashing them in. He had a confidence about him which I liked – it was part of his personality, and I’ll always remember saying to him, “It’s different when there’s 100,000 [watching] and it’s a crucial one.” And then, as he’s walking up, I’m thinking, “I wish you hadn’t have said that now.” But there you go. That’s footie. I was proved right.

NQ It wasn’t a true Mickey Gray strike of the ball. The first reaction is, “Go to Mickey.” Him being a Sunderland lad.

The mood in the stadium – the Charlton fans, delighted, jumping around. And I’d say as a measure to our dressing room, I think to a man, everybody went to Gray. I think that summed it up. Their penalties were excellent, by the way. Just, textbook. Ours weren’t. If you look back, a couple were, “Thank God that went in.” Which is interesting.

We were disappointed but I think all of us thought, “Jesus, it could have been ten times worse – we could have been Mickey Gray.”

KB At the moment in time when I spoke to Michael about taking one, it wouldn’t have crossed my mind it was his hometown team. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind the pressure he was under. The reason I’d have said to Michael, “You’ve gotta take one,” is because I’d have had 100% confidence that Michael would have scored.

When he went up, I didn’t even cross me mind that he might miss. However, when I watched the penalty back – he’s tried to give Saša the eyes, he got cross-eyed himself, and bollocksed it up. It wasn’t a Michael Gray penalty. It looked like the one and only time nerves got the better of Michael, because I’ve never seen it before. Michael is a cool guy. And he obviously wanted to be cool on the day, but fucked it up. But that to me – that was just one of those things.

CM At the time you’re thinking, “I just want to win,” but afterwards and as time goes on I felt so sorry for Mickey Gray. He’s one of our lads. It’s massive. Our Claire, me sister, said to our lass, “He’s going to miss this, cos he’s a Sunderland lad,” and that’s exactly what happened – and she hasn’t got a clue about football. Not a clue. I think I’m the only player who doesn’t run to Saša, ‘cause I’m that wrecked. Me calves was just in bits. I couldn’t move. I wanted to celebrate as much as I could but I was exhausted. Everybody jumped on Saša and I was sat on the halfway line – I wasn’t going anywhere.

SI It was like winning the lottery. It was a euphoric, unbelievable feeling that I don’t think I can ever experience ever again.

MK Michael was obviously distraught – it’s hard to take that – but the emotions we had to get into the Premier League, we were over the moon.

KB In that moment in time, when he missed that, it was more making sure he was alright. That people were all okay. You’d be gobsmacked that we had a lull of [only] about five minutes – we’re all morose on the pitch, because it’s hit home.

NQ I can remember the rallying cry afterwards that we are going to stick together and nobody is going to look for a transfer. “We’re going to all stick together, go away, come back, we’re gonna win this thing next year.” The realisation was that we were the better team.

It was, more or less, “Okay, are we going to fizzle away now as a team who nearly got to the Premier League or are we going to put it right? None of us look for moves. None of us look for moves. Tell our agents to fuck off. We are coming back, and we’re going to start this thing out. Is everybody in?” Everybody went, “I’m in,” and that was it.

PR Mickey Gray was brilliant when the penalties were practised before the day, but on the day, obviously, nerves get to yer. I think it got to him in the end, by the way he took the penalty, because when we were practising he went up there and whipped them in with pace.

I was confident of beating Charlton. “Look at the league table – see where you finished and how many points ahead. Go out and prove it.” Unfortunately on the day, we didn’t do enough.

AC We had to win it. We had to win it. If we hadn’t have won, the team would have been broken up. I know that, because there was people sniffing around players. Funnily enough, I always thought Sunderland could recover. I’m not sure we would have.

Just, everything. The whole season. The importance of the game for us. Rufus, Kinsella and Mendonca, I’m sure people would have come sniffing around them. It was more, “Blimey, we’ve arrived”. That was the big feeling. Soon after that, “What are we going to do now?” Because it’s such a big jump.

CM I knew I had to do me job and obviously I wanted to score – I never thought for a second I’d score a hat-trick at Wembley – but I had a little point to prove as well, cos Sunderland didn’t sign us. I had proper mixed feelings. I wanted to do really well, but… the way it worked out was unbelievable, really. [My Charlton teammates] all knew I was a Sunderland fan. Naebody said anything. But I had to do me job – that’s the way I looked at it. Simple as that.

It was class going up Wembley and picking up the trophy – that was brilliant. I got man of the match and a big magnum of champagne.

When I come off [the pitch] I was getting death threats off Sunderland fans, cos they knew I was from Sunderland, but I looked at them and laughed at them. It didn’t bother us in the least. Brighty said, “I’ve played at Wembley so many times and never scored – you played here once and got a hat-trick.”

SI I could have run a marathon – that’s how I felt. I was walking up those steps; it was an unbelievable experience. [But] once we got in the changing rooms we were all bloody quiet. Drained, and mentally exhausted.

PR I played with Curbs in the under-21s as kids, and played against him as our careers unfolded. As a person and football person I’ve got the highest regard for him. If someone’s going to do you in a game like that… We go back a long way and still keep in contact now.

At the end of the game I went into their dressing room and congratulated them, which is the way you should do it. It’s better winning, but if you’ve gotta lose, you’ve gotta lose with a bit of grace.

AC The great thing was, Reidy come in our dressing room afterwards and congratulated everybody, and wished us all the best. Which was a fantastic gesture. When they got promoted [a year later] we sent them drinks and everything else. We looked intently, to see how they’d go. Whenever I meet Peter we don’t mention it too much. Whenever I meet Michael Gray we do. I think the disappointment of losing probably spurred them on.

PR I congratulated them and just said, “Brilliant for your football club – all the best next year in the Premiership, you deserve it.”

KB Two or three minutes in the changing room, and Bobby Saxton turned around and went, “Ah well, Mickey, it was a shit penalty anyhow,” and that was it, and we all started laughing.

Everybody was upset, because we had been beat, but our mentality was totally different. “There’s fuck all we can do about it – we’ll just win the league next season.” I remember Niall having such a positive attitude straight after the game.

I went on the pitch afterwards with my son, Luke, me daughter Tasha; with Quinny’s kids, to have a kickabout. As we went down there, to go on the pitch, a groundsman went, “No, no, you’re not going on there.” “You having a fucking laugh, mate? We just run around on it for 120 minutes, and pens, and you’re telling me, I can’t take my kids on to have a kickabout with a balloon?” He went, “Oh, alright then.” So we went down and had a kickabout with the kids.

DM [I remember] walking down Wembley Way with Mark Kinsella, with the trophy, to where there was a reception. It was bonkers. I was almost too young to soak it in – I don’t remember any of the celebrations.

That’s why, later on in life, when I played for England and in the Carling Cup final [for Middlesbrough in 2004], I said to myself, “I’m going to take this in; enjoy the moment.” For two or three minutes at the end of the games, I went and sat on the advertising hoardings and had a look round. “Take this in; savour it. It doesn’t happen very often.”

AC Cos I knew Reidy so well, the camaraderie – and Bryan “Pop” Robson [a Sunderland coach at the time]; I’d played with him at West Ham – we did a thing. The chairman of Charlton [Richard Murray], his company owned a big TV studio just off of Wembley Way, and because of the lack of size at Wembley and the lounges we was given afterwards, we actually gave all our tickets to Sunderland so they could have double, and we all went to the studio, which was over the Wembley Way.

We got there [to Wembley] first, and Sunderland came behind us and blocked us in, so we couldn’t leave until Sunderland left, but we knew they was all in the lounge, so we just walked to the studio. I remember walking along with Mark Kinsella, and he had the trophy, and we were just walking along, and Sunderland fans were coming up to us and clapping us, and asking to have their photo done.

I then saw my wife and two kids, who was up on one of the balconies – and they come down, and I got a photo of me, the missus and the two kids with the cup, and Mark Kinsella standing behind us, cos he was in charge, waiting for the cup. It was an unbelievable thing. The Sunderland fans was clapping us as we were going along, and wishing us all the best. It was incredible.

After we’d been to the reception, we got on the bus, just coming to Wembley tube station, and Steve Jones said, “Can we come off the bus and get a couple of beers?” “Yeah, if you want.” So a couple of ’em got off, went into an off-licence opposite the tube station, and came out with a case of beers and whatever. When we got to the hotel, hardly any of ’em was drunk, cos everyone was so… “Blimey, what a day.” They might have opened a can, had a couple of sips of it, never finished it or gone for another one, so they never got drunk, really. That’s how the reception was. It wasn’t massive elation. It was, “Blimey.” I was getting people phoning me. Trevor Francis phoned me from Spain. “I couldn’t believe the game.”

CM We were in a hotel at Heathrow that night; I put the champagne behind the bar, didn’t have a drink of it, and was in bed by 10.30pm. I was absolutely wrecked [laughs]. Most of the lads were like that, cos it’s exhausting, what we’d been through. Without a doubt [it was the greatest day of my career]. It doesn’t get better than that, does it?

AC I don’t think he really did celebrate it… scoring a hat-trick at Wembley. I don’t think he did really celebrate it the way he might have done.

PR A Sunderland lad, ironically. We afforded him too much space from our point of view. It was young Williams and young Craddock. It was a bit of a young back four with Darren Holloway. He was certainly lively, and he was terrific.

SI Even jumping on the coach going to the hotel celebrating we weren’t that ecstatic – we were completely depleted. I was in bed by 10.30pm, 11pm that evening. We were all exhausted.

AC I think [that was my best feeling in management]. For us to get to Wembley and to do it that way and to get into the Premier League after all what we’d been through… there was a lot of people, that evening, who had a tear in their eye, because at one stage the club was gone. We had no ground, and we looked as if we were going to just, …disappear.

No one knew [Les Reed was leaving]. I didn’t want the players to know until after the game. So that put a bit of a dampener on it for people. But you couldn’t have left in a better way.

CM It was an absolute pleasure to play in a game like that. I didn’t play in many games like that. Any fan watching it – Sunderland fan, Charlton fan – they must have gone through so many emotions. It must have been frightening. You’re on tenterhooks all the time. That’s the type of football you want to watch. Who goes to Wembley and it’s four-each after extra-time? That’s some game.

NQ We stopped in Peterborough for a drink on the way home. We went by coach. The players’ coach and there was a wives-and-families coach, and Alex Rae asked whether the club would let us mix the two buses so we could go home with our wives. Peter Reid wasn’t there, so it was Bobby Saxton he wanted to ask. I was sitting on the same table as Sacko. Bobby Saxton just stood up and went, “This bus is sacred, son – no women on this bus.” The women had started to get on at this stage. He kicked them off the bus [laughs].

KB He went, “No, we need to be together.” And he was right. It was of paramount importance that we had that time together to digest what had happened.

PR I think they had a team meeting, after the game. We stopped off at the pub, and had a few drinks, and I think Quinny, and Bally, and people like that got the lads together, and their attitude was absolutely amazing. And to be fair, they helped me along.

NQ Some weeks before Wembley, Mickey had been in a nightclub in Sunderland and there was a bit of bother and they wrote a letter saying that he was obnoxious. “When he said, as you don’t do in Sunderland, ‘Do you know who I am?’ it really annoyed our staff. All of your people have been great, but we just wanted to make you aware of this.” Bobby Saxton posted the letter on the notice board in the dressing room, and we’d great craic taking the piss out of Mickey.

On the bus on the way home when it’s all quiet and Mickey’s kind of half-sobbing in the corner, Sacko – who’s just a brilliant man – out of nowhere went, “Eh, Mickey?” Everyone looked around and he went, “I know one thing – they’ll fucking know who you are in that nightclub next time you go in.” [laughs] And that was it. Like, we were laughing, you know? An hour earlier we were inconsolable and then we are laughing – and that was the start, I think, of Mickey coming back. And you just carry it on, and eventually he’s giving the stick back and you know you’ve got him back then.

KB Sacko’s wit was fucking brilliant. He was so dry. Like the bit after the game – that snapped us out of any doldrums that we could have had after the game. Saying that on the way home, we’d have battered Mickey all the more. To take the piss out of a teammate the way we did Michael – there has to be a massive degree of trust. We all admired Michael, unbelievably – unbelievably. We would have took the piss out of him, and we would have enjoyed as well, cos Michael would have took the piss out of us. So we would have enjoyed thinking, “It’s your fucking turn today.”

The gaffer came to me, “Do you want to still stop, bearing in mind everything?”

“Yeah, we’ve got to stop. The time we got relegated we never stopped and we never got it out of our system as players and friends. So we need to.” We stopped off for a few drinks for the kids and the wives, which was brilliant. They all got on the bus. And Lionel was sat down the front of the bus with a fag on the step – you could smoke on a bus [then]. I knew Lionel smoked. But I didn’t really understand at the time how much it had affected Lionel. So I went down to the front of the bus and sat on the steps with him and had a fag – and I didn’t even smoke. But he needed my support then.

I didn’t really know Lionel as a person. But I knew at that moment in time, we needed to rally around Lionel as well, not just Michael.

NQ We had a good drink. The disappointment was gone. We drank with the board – we didn’t even really know the board – but we drank pints, and there was family with us; there was kids, and we got home at six, seven in the morning.

I can remember I got to bed and I was woken up at eight o’clock by a phone call from Paul Stewart. He was with Sunderland up until about a year earlier. In order to help the move to the new stadium the club went public, and the players were allowed to buy shares at a preferential rate. And what happened, Stewie rang me up and I answered and he went, “I’m absolutely gutted.” And I went, “Thanks, Stewie,” and he went, “No, not for you, you twat – for my shares,” and he put the phone down [laughs].

CM I come home that summer, me local pub for a drink, everybody was sound cos they knew us and what type of lad I am. Everybody was pleased for us, really. I wish I could have done it against any other team in the league. It’s just fate, how it worked out. It wasn’t easy. Some people never accept it, but I was just doing my job the best I could. If I’d have done it for Sunderland against Charlton that’s just the way it is.

PR I was a Liverpudlian who was at Everton and there’s loads of Evertonians who played for Liverpool, so it’s just the nature, when you’re a professional. You get on with it. The kid’s just doing his job, isn’t he? And he did it ever so well.

KB For Clive to have scored a hat-trick in that game, against his hometown club, is the epitome of a true professional footballer. It would have been tough for him – absolutely tough. I have nothing but respect for him after that. I didn’t really know Clive, but to do that must have been tremendously hard. But he was awesome. He thoroughly deserved to get his hat-trick.

You have to give credit to Clive Mendonca, because the goals he scored on the day were absolutely fucking magnificent. It’s not his fault he was Sunderland but ended up playing them for Charlton in the play-off final. He would have gone so far down in my estimations if he hadn’t bothered his arse. Proper footballers play every game to win no matter who it’s against, and he done that. Fair play to him. Nothing but respect.

NQ It was his game. That’ll always stand to him. And yet a Sunderland boy – you couldn’t make it up in many ways. Jody and Darren were good quick, lean footballing centre-halves – more modern centre-halves – but on the day I think Ordy would have let him know a little bit more… And that’s not a criticism of Darren or Jody. They were really good footballers who were good pinch tacklers and a really good option to us. It’s very easy now, all these years later, to say, “Geez, if Ordy played…” I know one thing – Mendonca might have got the first goal, and there’s a chance he might have got the second, but he wouldn’t have got the third, had Ordy been playing.

AC It was life-changing. To be involved, and win a playoff, is one thing, but to win a game like that is certainly another. Anyone that talks about it, or sees it for the first time – I don’t think you’re ever going to see another final like it. It was just a one-off.

SI Yes [it was the greatest day of my career]. It’s put me in the history books for Charlton – part of Charlton’s history. I can’t really ask for more than that. I was there at the right time; right place. The gods directed me in that direction. It was meant to happen.

PR Course it is [one of my worst feelings in management]. That and when we went down the previous year. So, me personally, had a tough couple of years at the end of both seasons. But then, you know, it’d be boring if you won everything.

AC [I think about it] every time I see Reidy, because we’ve known each other since the under-21s, and playing against each other; the same age group. Every time I see anything to do with Sunderland, to be honest, and obviously whenever I see clips – there’s been some on Sky recently, play-off finals, and so I wait for our one to come up and watch a bit more of it.

PR I was absolutely devastated. We’d come down from the Premier League with 40 points the year before, which is a lot of points, with a young side, and then we’d gone again and then fell down [at] the final hurdle.

What sticks in the mind for myself and other people is how dramatic it was. Excitement; tension and nerves. You can’t beat that.

I was in football for a long time. Played in a lot of games; managed a lot of games. A playoff final going to four- apiece and getting done on penalties, at 7-6 – the most pleasing thing for me was the reaction of the players and the club after that. Even though it was a bitter disappointment. I wouldn’t say consolation, because I don’t like getting beat, but I was proud of the way the team went about it, even though we did get beat.

NQ I’m still proud I played in that game. And I’m proud of the day – and how the whole day panned out isn’t ideal, but I was part of a very special day. It was Clive Mendonca’s day, if it was any individual’s day, but I think all of us took part in a game it’s a pleasure now to see. “Your game is back on Sky again.” There’s people saying it’s one of the greatest games ever played at Wembley. But it was hard to take at the time.

KB “What a fucking great game that was.” It’s supposedly one of the top 10 games at Wembley ever.

CM [I don’t think about it] that much, really, cos it was a long time ago. I saw it on the telly the other day, unbelievably, and it did bring back a lot of memories [for the first time in years]. It was a great day.

[Later that summer] I was in Ayia Napa [in Cyprus]. I went to the toilet, opened the door, who’s facing us? Mickey Gray. Unbelievable. He says, “The last person I want to see is you.” [Laughs]. I had a few drinks and that with him – he was with all the Sunderland lads, and we had a good craic cos he went to my school.

“Mickey, these things happen, mate. You’ve just got to get on with it.” He went away from Sunderland for a few weeks, cos his head was all over the place, which is understandable. I always say, “At least he had the bottle to take a penalty,” because many of them Sunderland players didn’t. They walked off – I bet you. I always admire him for that. Our lads, Robbo, Newts – the sixth and seventh penalty. It’s them you’ve gotta admire cos they didn’t want a penalty but they’ve took it. Mickey Gray was a fantastic player for Sunderland – he played for England, playing for Sunderland. He shouldn’t be remembered for that – no way.

PR I had a couple of days with Michael [before pre-season], where we had a few drinks, and we chatted about it. “Get on with it.” No one wants to miss a penalty – it just happens to some people, doesn’t it? Ask [Chris] Waddle; ask [Stuart] Pearce; ask Gareth Southgate. All outstanding players. It happens.

If you look at his performances the following season – that’s part of his character. He bounced back. I’ve got to give every credit to the whole squad of players, but Michael in particular because he missed it – or the goalkeeper saved it – it wasn’t a great penalty, but he showed remarkable character to bounce back again and get on with his career. He had a fantastic career; managed to play for England, and played for some absolutely outstanding clubs.

NQ You know that blonde bleach, which you can see from 100 yards away? Instead of hiding and ducking into the background, Mickey bleached his head completely, and I knew then he was fine. He was taking it full-on, and we knew then the best way to deal with that was to take the piss.

KB We still said, “Michael, we still know it’s fucking you that missed it. No dying your hair can make it any different.”

PR From day one, when we come in [for pre-season], there was a terrific attitude about them. I think one of my strengths was motivation, but I’ve got to say, the players did it themselves. All credit to them. They had a determination to keep up there – it’s all credit to them.

The players were magnificent. The players’ enthusiasm and determination, the first day of pre-season training, I thought, “Wow, I don’t have to get these lads up at all.”

KB I maintain it’s probably one of the best things that ever happened to Sunderland Football Club, because the people that were there at the time were winners, and that’s why we then went on and had such a fantastic [1998-99] season [winning the First Division title with a then-record 105 points]. That mentality we all had.

It was a very difficult occasion. We all lost a massive bonus due to Mickey missing a penalty, the twat. But I honestly would do it all again if it meant having the success we did the following season and the seasons after that, because it was the most awesome time to be involved at the club. Especially as captain as well – it was brilliant.

NQ I remember speaking to [former Charlton manager] Lennie Lawrence about this. In some ways, that extra year in the Championship made us stronger. Looking back, the game made us stronger.

PR All them years ago, there’s still a bit of chemistry between Sunderland as a club and Charlton, and the fans. I think they resonate with each other.

I’ve got to say, I thought we had enough to do it. But it was just one of them great games.

Declan Warrington is a sports journalist for The Sunday Times, Boxing News, and Talksport. He spent four years covering English and European football for the Press Association, and continues to contribute to The Coaches’ Voice and FourFourTwo.