Golden goals: Peter Shirtliff (1987)

It is hard to think of the Football League without the play-off system in place. The drama provided by the end of season fixtures is a perfect conclusion to the league season - for neutrals at least - with the race to reach the play-offs just as exciting. Gaining promotion via this method is the sweetest thing; losing, the bitterest pill.

The first season of the play-offs was a mere appetiser for the feast that has followed since. There would be no Wembley showpiece final - this was introduced in 1990 - yet this did not take anything away from the entertainment, suspense and intrigue surrounding the new end of season events. Change can sometimes be good; the 1986/87 play-offs proved this point emphatically.

Football and the Super League

As news of Project Big Picture broke recently, EFL chairman Rick Parry tried to calm down the understandable fears that the so-called Big Six - don't get me started on that - are basically trying to increase their power in the game. "They care about the pyramid. This will come out, the truth will come out, their passion for the pyramid will come out." Stop laughing at the back.

Timing is everything. At a time when a lot of EFL clubs are desperately trying to make ends meet, the promise of money from this proposal will undoubtedly be backed by many. It's almost as if those behind the scheme are taking advantage of a global pandemic to try and place their greedy hands on the steering wheel of the sport.

1987/88 play-offs: Chelsea v Middlesbrough

It hasn’t always been a case of winning titles and triumphing in Europe for Chelsea. There was a time when the club were playing in a rundown stadium, with property developers lurking, and just staying in the top flight was a challenge in its own right. The 1987/88 season was a prime example of the down side of supporting the West London club. And people say Chelsea have no history.

Lawrie McMenemy at Sunderland

Jimmy Tarbuck joked that the Titanic and Lawrie McMenemy had one thing in common - both should never have left Southampton. After a turbulent time at Sunderland, McMenemy probably agreed.

It looked like a marriage made in heaven. A sleeping giant in the North East of England, combined with a manager who had achieved great things at his previous club. In July 1985, a Messiah rode into Sunderland promising to bring the good times back, to restore some pride to an area that definitely needed a boost.

1986/87: Football League Play-offs

When it was announced in April 1986 that a new promotion play-off system was to be introduced in the English league structure, many saw this as a positive move for football. Stuart Jones, writing in The Times ahead of the 1986/87 season, said of the play-offs that "The welcome change in the antiquated system will clearly introduce added tension and excitement at the season's end", the main advantage to the new approach being that teams which previously had nothing to play for would now have an opportunity to gain a play-off place and earn promotion via this back door route.