As a Utd fan it touches the two opposite ends of the spectrum. I always say about 1999 that the absentees runied the match. I’m a firm believer that unless a player gets a straight red in the semi he should play i.e. 2 yellows should be wiped. The reason I say this is because Utd were missing both Keane and Scholes that night. The engine room of what was the best team in Europe that year….if not on the night. To be fair to Bayern they were missing Elber and Lizarazu for the same reason.

Why do UEFA choose to spoil the showcase game of the season with this silly rule? Hard on Bayern in the end but as a Utd fan I was delighted…obviously!

I remember 1979 like it was yesterday. I was all hyped for the game and with Arsenal 2-0 up and seemingly cruising to victory I was a forlorn figure. 2-0 would have been easier to take, in truth.

When McQueen scored I just shrugged and said “too late”. However, a minute later when McIllroy scored I went uncontrollably berserk (scared the sh*t out of my mum!).

I was still swinging from the lights when the winner went in. Now I’ve played a lot of football and, like most, taken a couple of rockets in the gonads on a cold Sunday morning but the feeling when Sunderland scored went way beyond that.

I wailed uncontrollably and was shaking so much my mother was going to call the doctor!

Lawrie Mcmenemy, the then Southamptn manager, summed it up to a tee when he said: “it was like a condemed man being granted a pardon and walking out of the courthouse…straight under a bus.”

Spot on Lawrie!

Thanks for that great trip down memory Alex!

Ps I’m Irish….and fed-up!!