By Philip Cornwall

1993
ALL hell breaks loose at White Hart Lane. The purpose of the emergency board meeting called by Alan Sugar is to dismiss Terry Venables from his post as Chief Executive. The board sack football's most loveable wide boy, who saved the club in partnership with Sugar two years earlier when non-footballing debts had threatened to engulf the previous regime. The fans are aghast, as the reasons for the sacking seem to be little more than a personality clash. Sugar is abused by demonstrators, and the High Court overturns the decision pending an appeal by Venables.
There is joy on the other side of North London right at the bitter end of the FA Cup. Following a disappointing 1-1 draw on the Saturday, Arsenal meet Sheffield Wednesday for the third time this season at Wembley this time on a Thursday night in the FA Cup Final Replay. The game is again 1-1 as it enters the last minute of extra time. With penalties seconds away, Andy Linighan heads in a corner to complete the domestic cup double both achieved at the expense of Wednesday. Fever Pitch author Nick Hornby is at an awards night where his Arsenal book is up for the National Non-Fiction Prize; he nips out to catch the final moments, but misses the goal, and by the time he is back in his seat he's lost the prize, too.
Other news: Diego Maradona is to stand trial in Italy over 3kg of cocaine allegedly shipped into Naples when he was playing there in 1991… Juventus win the UEFA Cup, beating Borussia Dortmund 6-1 on aggregate… Scotland win a World Cup qualifier 3-0 in Estonia… and Steve Coppell steps down as Crystal Palace manager after nine years following their relegation.

1988
Chelsea's bid to stay in Division One gets off to a good start. A 2-0 win at Ewood Park is followed by a 4-1 home victory over Blackburn Rovers to set up a play-off final, over two legs, against Middlesbrough, who are hoping to be promoted and have overcome Bradford. Sheffield United, trying to stay in Division Two, lose on aggregate to Bristol City so manager Dave Bassett is relegated twice in one season, as his previous team, Watford, have already fallen from Division One. City will meet Walsall, conquerors of Notts County. Rotherham are down to Division Four after losing to Swansea; they will meet Torquay, who proved too strong for Scunthorpe.
The Rous Cup is contested against a backdrop of public apathy: only 20,000 turn out to watch Scotland draw 0-0 with Colombia at Hampden Park. There is more interest in the England v Scotland game at Wembley, which is won 1-0 by a Peter Beardsley goal. However, much of the after-match attention is on the 200 arrests made, which don't bode well for June's European Championships in West Germany. England will meet the Republic of Ireland there, who beat Poland 3-1 in Dublin in a warm-up match with first half goals from Kevin Sheedy, Tony Cascarino and John Sheridan.
Other news: Terry Venables is rumoured to have bid £1.6m to bring Paul Gascoigne, 21 this month, from Newcastle to Tottenham… Ian Porterfield quits Aberdeen… Malcolm Allison is sacked in Portugal, by Vitoria Setubal, although they finished seventh…and FA Cup winners Wimbledon are charged with bringing the game into disrepute after mooning at the crowd after Alan Cork's testimonial.