Swindon really bamboozled us, but we still went up – Armstrong
long ball football - which is a little bit unfair, really. But Ardiles came in and introduced his South American flair and it was wonderful football to watch.”
Butwhilethingsweregoing well on the pitch, a storm was brewing behind the scenes.
As the season drew to a close, the club were hit with a vast number of charges from the FA and Football League dating back as far as 1985.
There were 35 cases of illegal payments made to players over a four year period, while former team manager Macari and chairman Brian Hillier werealsobannedfromfootball and heavily fined after betting on Swindon to win an FA Cup tie against Newcastle.
Swindon’s case was supposed to be heard on May 4, before the play-offs, only to be postponed. That came after Hillier, Macari and club secretary Vince Farrar were all charged by police for ‘intent to defraud Inland Revenue by making payments without deducting tax or NI’.
That added complication meant the case couldn’t be heard until early June - meaningtheplay-offfinalwouldtake place before a concrete decision was made.
“PeoplealwayssayIwasthe first black captain to lead out a league club at Wembley,” said Gary Bennett. “I’m not sure whether it’s true or not, but leading Sunderland out was a fantastic honour.”
Sunderland had already beaten Swindon during the regular season and were considered favourites - but the Robins had other ideas. Managed by Argentine Ardiles, Swindon implemented their brand of fluid football - that Sunderland couldn’t cope with. “We didn’t turn up,” adds Bennett. “We never got going. They played three at the back andwecouldn’tdealwiththeir system. We were lucky to be beaten 1-0.
“I think it's the most onesided1-0I'veeverseen,”admits Morgan.
“I think Swindon were the deserved winners at the end of itandthereweregreatcelebrationswhenwegotbacktoWiltshire that night.”
It was club captain Bennett who inadvertently helped to hand the Robins victory, as his deflection saw Alan McLoughlin’s strike beat the otherwise imperious Tony Norman.
“Theycompletelybamboozled us,” says Armstrong. “To be fair to them, they should have won more comfortably. If itwasn’tforTonyNorman,they would have. They deserved to win...butsuddenly,everything changed.”
Before a ball had been kicked at Wembley, Bob Murray knew what was about to transpire. “Very few people knowthis,butbeforethegame at Wembley I was pulled to one side by Bill Fox, the Football League chairman. He said that theywantedSunderlandtowin because they didn’t want to be forced to make the decision.
“I didn’t even share that with the board, but I knew there was a very good chance we were going to be promoted to the first division.”
While Murray kept that knowledge to himself, players -bothofSunderlandandother clubsvyingforpromotion-had their suspicions.
“Everyone knew, or had a feeling, even before a ball was kicked that there were issues with Swindon,” says Bennett.
“We didn’t even know if they’d be allowed to play in the play-offs, and then when they were, there was an investigation going on. I remember Kevin Dillon coming in after we beat Newcastle and congratulating us on promotion, because their chairman had said we were already up,” adds Armstrong.
“He said action was being taken against Swindon and they certainly wouldn’t be goingup,andmightnotevenbein the second division next year.”
“It was strange because we were going up the motorway beaten, and I didn’t feel a thing,”admitsMurray.“Things just moved on very quickly after that.”
Armstrong was on holiday in Ibiza with family when he heard the news. “My girlfriend rang her Mam and she came back and told me - we were promoted.”
It was June 13 - three weeks after the final - when Sunderland finally learned their fate. Swindon had pleaded guilty to the 36 charges put to them by the Football League, and admitted a further twenty infringements related to financial irregularities. The Robins weretobedeniedtheirpromotion - and taking their place in thetopflightwouldbeSunderland.Theverdictwasdelivered at Villa Park where Morgan, along with a host of Swindon players and staff, waited patiently to learn their fate.
“There was a petition with thousands of signatures in the corner of the room where they delivered the verdict,” Morgan said. “I was standing behind the chairman of the Football League as he was delivering the statement, and I read the line before he could even read it out - Swindon would be demoted two divisions.
“Itwasabombshell,andnobodyinfootballhadbeentreatedasharshlyasthat.Thewhole community was devastated.”
*For the final part of the 1990 tales, see tomorrow’s Echo.