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Most stories deal with seasons of teams that invariably end up with manager buying in a load of young Scandinavians/whichever have high upside and low and behold they become good.
I've had a lot of memorable games in CM or FM as it is now, I'll never forget beating Milan 20-19 on penalties to get a third successive European Cup with a Leeds team in CM 94 iirc or whatever the release was called then.
More recently it may have been CM 3 or 01/02 which saw a Kidderminister team that had been robbed of automatic promotion on the last day of the season proceed to absolutely batter Derby in the play-off final only to find themselves 1-0 down in the 92 minute before my captain cracked home a rebound from a corner to make it 1-1 and then go onto win 2-1 in extra time.
But I've never had anything like this:
For the entirety of the 89975 crowd at Wembley the League One Playoff Final between Crystal Palace and Ipswich will just go down as the greatest game they ever saw.
Both teams entered the match with so-so form, Palace had been 'The Entertainers' of the league, amassing 99 goals in 46 games but shipping a load too and creaks in the centre of the defence had often been exploited.
However, their attacking pace, namely wingers Peter Whittingham and Mendoca and a forward line where manager Nic Wirtz had five decent strikers to choose from saw them ease to third place in the league following a ding-dong battle with Stoke City for second place.
Just a couple of weeks earlier Ipswich had notched a comfortable 2-0 victory at Selhurst Park on the way to fourth place in the league following a late spurt and they were certainly the form team as they easily disposed of Bradford City in the play-off semi-finals 3-1 on aggregate, Palace knocked off Norwich City 3-2, but the result was never in doubt following a 1-1 away leg and having built up a two goal home advantage, they eased up to allow the Canaries something to sing about in injury time.
So the scene was set for the men of Suffolk to march northwards and a little to the left and Eagles stalwarts to make the short journey to Wembley for the play-off final.
Both teams set about the field with a grim determination, but not too grim, for with strong-arm referee Amy Rayner in charge, two bookings in the opening couple of minutes showed that Wirtz's pre-game speech may have been too fiery.
However, Rayner's efforts to stamp his/her? (no one dared ask) control on proceedings did not diminish either side's attacking endeavours and Jamie Slabber poked Ipswich ahead to send the Tractors roaring after only five minutes.
Back came Palace and a great move down the right netted an almost instant reply from Cameron Jerome, a man lucky to have his place in the side but who would prove to be an inspired pick.
Jerome netted from close range to equalise and then finished off a superb team move on the quarter hour mark to make it 2-1 to Palace, with something of an action replay involving Norwegian international defender Kjartan Breivik, Mendonca, Sean 'Magnum' Higgins and Jerome.
The match ebbed and flowed for the rest of the half with neither side really taking it by the scruff of the neck, Slabber missed a couple of great chances to equalise and a header flashed just wide of the Palace post, but on the stroke of the break Jerome missed two chances when just one-on-one with the keeper to net a first half hat-trick, to send boss Wirtz into the break with something of a conundrum on his hands.
Ref Rayner had spent the first half attempting to get as many Palace players into his book as possible, despite screams from the sidelines to duck out of anything that resembled a 50:50 So with 5 players in the book Wirtz extolled caution and to keep playing the pretty, attacking football that had got his team to the brink of the English Championship.
On the other side of the fence, boss Steve McMahon was tearing his hair, well what was left of it, out at the profligacy of Jamie Slabber in front of goal. Despite opening the scoring, the inconsistency that had blighted his career came back and McMahon secretly wondered had his striker frozen on the big occasion?
Rayner called the teams out and the second-half began in much the same as the first had ended, both sides squandering chances to swing the tie decidedly in their favour. Palace keeper Dave Wilkinson, back in the side only because Andy Davies received a late call up to the England U-19 squad finally showed his mettle by keeping out a rasping Stephen Crainey free-kick.
However, Rayner it was again that decided to flow of the game as he felt that there weren't quite as many Ipswich players in his notebook and decided to even the score up a little, Wirtz smiling to himself that the trick that Frank Rijkaard had taught him had come in handy at such an important time.
With some of their teammates sitting on the disciplinary tightrope, Ipswich looked a beaten side and Palace's chances increased. Higgins and Mendonca went close, but the former hit his finish uncharacteristically wide from just 12 yards out.
However, back the game swung with 20 minutes to go as star Angolan right winger Mendonca was injured in an innocuous looking tackle and had to be replaced by Danny Rose. The young winger was a more than able replacement, indeed a set-piece wizard, but Mendonca was the man that made Palace tick.
As the Palace players protested that there may have been more to the tackle that stopped Mendonca in his tracks than there first appeared, Rayner struck a clinical blow to the Londoners' chances.
A hopeful punt from the left wing saw Wilkinson come out to claim the cross, towering over Slabber in the process. Exactly what Rayner saw we perhaps will never know but he appeared to surprise even the most partizan yokel by pointing at the spot.
A distraught keeper was clearly not mentally prepared for such an eventuality and Gavin McCann slotted home a cool penalty to level the scores at 2-2 with 76 minutes gone.
The goal disheartened the Palace players and faithful and as they struggled to mentally re-establish themselves they allowed their opponents to weave pretty one-twos through their non-existent midfield and Scott Vernon had far too much room in the box to fire home three minutes later as Ipswich completed an amazing turn around.
With time winding down and not too many options open to him, Wirtz looked at his subs bench and was thankful that he'd boldly decided to forego any defensive cover and threw on Ghanaian brick house striker Kwame Quansoh and Swede Tobias Eriksson to give him more attacking options in the centre of the park.
It was a decision born out of desperation but two headers, one that flashed wide and one well saved showed that although the tactics worked, the end product was not there.
You think it would stop there? Oh no read any dear reader......
Playing a rather lopsided 3-5-2 formation Wirtz was hoping for divine inspiration as the 90 minutes ended and time added on began, for once the prayers of the more religious members of the team were answered by an amazingly large slice of fortune. A free kick deep in their half saw Quansoh and Jerome combine on the edge of the box, the striker opted not to attempt for his third goal but laid the ball back to Eriksson. Cursing that the ball was on his weaker right side, the 26-year-old took a deep breath, shut his eyes and hoofed the ball as hard as he could.
The crack of the shot reverberated around the stadium, although Eriksson thought he rather scuffed the attempt, however, McCann sliding in to block the attempt only succeeded in getting a toe-end of his boot to the ball and he could only look behind him to see the abject horror on Lewis Price's face as he knelt down to field a seemingly easy effort on goal, mentally preparing to waste some time and then celebrate, only to see it diverted to his left. In vain he turned to run after it but his full length plunge was too late as the ball crept over the line to give Palace an unlikely equaliser.
If both sets of fans thought that 3-3 after 90 minutes was enough of an emotional rollercoaster, they were oblivious to the fact that that was just the start of things.
A truism of football is that you're never more vulnerable after you've just scored a goal and the euphoria of equalising so late meant that Wirtz's full-time team talk pretty much went straight in one ear and out the other as Ipswich stormed back within a minute of the restart to claim a 4-3 lead, a long ball from the right sliced through the porous central defence and substitute Scott Barron was on hand to slot home.
Things went from bad to worse just a minute later as captain Aki Riihilahti was adjudged to have brought down Ipswich's flying winger and Rayner opted to show the Finn his second yellow card, it seemed a fair decision, what Wirtz hadn't planned on was Whittingham, perhaps embarrassed he didn't track back or desperate to show allegiance sought to speak his mind with Rayner. 4-3 down with 10 men became 4-3 down with 9 men as Rayner proved it wasn't just tackles he didn't particularly like, he was also quite happy to flash yellow for backchat.
The subsequent furor gave Wirtz time to plan and deciding on something of a '**** it' approach he decided to go all out for the equaliser. The numerical advantage gave Ipswich a couple of chances that fizzed wide and they would be made to pay as their own defensive frailties were exposed.
A half-cleared free-kick was picked up by Rose and for the third time in the game a cross from the right eluded the statuesque Suffolk defence and this time Jerome made no mistake with a clinical volley from six-yards out to notch his hat-trick. 4-4!
Five minutes to go before half-time in extra-time, perhaps it's time to play conservatively, not so Ipswich as a terrible back-pass by Rhys Weston let in Jerome for a chance for his fourth goal of the game just sixty seconds after completing his hat-trick but on his third one v one attempt with the keeper, the striker managed to maintain his complete lack of success and the chance was gone.
The second period of extra-time was an understandably tense affair, Ipswich had the first chance, at the other end Eriksson was unable to repeat his earlier heroics and penalties loomed.
Just as Wirtz started to think of his five men his infant plans were torn up by the injury to left-back Billy Jones, the one position that Palace lacked any decent replacements. As they had already used all 3 substitutes they were effectively down to 8 men. As Jones was stretchered off with damaged ligaments, stand in captain Joe Keenan bucked up the troops with a Churchillian speech ending with 'Run yourself into the ground or I'll bash you into it'.
Palace's 8 men held out for the remaining five minutes and the pulsating fixture would be decided upon by penalties.
Shorn of two regular takers - both Mendonca and Jones were deadly from 12 yards, Wirtz simply opted to go with Rose, his only remaining penalty expert and four forwards, relying on their finishing skills to perhaps compensate for their lack of ability with penalties (in pure gaming terms we're talking about one player, Rose, with a penalty taking rank of over 15, the other 4 all had ratings of 3).
Ipswich on the other hand were very confident, having practised for this eventuality, although perhaps not the actual occasion and having managed a 4-4 draw against effectively 8 men, perhaps the psychological advantage was with the London side.
And so it proved when Crainey stepped up only to place his shot yards past the left hand post, the defender making the mistake of going across his body, advantage Palace. Rose, tender in years, but with nerves of steel stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way and give Palace a 1-0 lead but with non-penalty takers to come it was the slenderest of slender margins.
Back came Ipswich as McCann shrugged off the disappointment of giving away a last minute equaliser to calmly score his second penalty of the game, Jerome and Higgins opted for the straight down the middle approach, following their manager's 'just get it on target' mantra to the letter. Vernon went the same route as McCann and with 3 penalties apiece it was 3-2 to Palace.
O'Connor strode up to the spot perhaps a little too cockily, a little bit of keepy-up to drown out the jeers cascading around Wembley, five, six, seven strides back, until he was out of the 18 yard box, then a jaunty jog to the ball and a crack of the instep but what he made up for in power he lost in direction through the run up and he looked on in shock as his effort followed that of team-mate Crainey's.
Wirtz looked at his list, Eriksson looked nervous, if he scored Palace were in the Championship, if he missed Ipswich had to score and even if they did, Palace had a last chance to win it before sudden death penalties.
90000 people can be quite intimidating, especially when you leave the protective womb of your team-mates, all standing around hugging one another, espousing collective responsibility. Eriksson put a brave face on it but the little glances back at his team-mates, one, two, three, perhaps already envisioning being ran down by the screaming hordes of his peers as he scored the decisive spot-kick, who knows?
In the end his effort was decidedly tame, despite the large run-up and as Price guessed the right way he made a comfortable save, the ball being at just the right height and in attempting to emulate his opponents, Eriksson had just handed them a lifeline.
Williamson too was a bag of nerves, he'd played poorly, he knew it, he'd had the number one jersey at the beginning of the season but one too many bad displays, two soft goals and he'd lost the gloves to a teenager and with it his manager's confidence. Perhaps he was on his way out in the summer, especially if the club weren't promoted. Perhaps he'd find another club, perhaps he'd be a hero but having conceded a penalty the big keeper knew he owed his team one. He'd made a couple of good saves during the game and didn't have much chance with the goals but any defence that leaks four goals is not about to make its last line a star.
He faced Kevin Knight, the big central defender had had a good game but he was angry, four volunteers immediately went up for the responsibility of taking a penalty but there was a decided lack of interest in being the fifth. A couple of team-mates turned their back, feigning ignorance, another took his boots off and sat down, looking at his feet, it was Knight that eventually said he'd take the kick.
Knowing he wasn't going to hit either corner of the net without risking missing, Knight decided as he walked upto the penalty area that he'd rely on hitting the target and hoping Williamson would move. It wasn't a good plan but it was the best he had.
A couple of steps back, nothing too clever, just get it on target, Knight repeated the instructions to himself, put the ball down and stepped back. A couple of steps. The run up went fine, he planted his foot well but just as he came to strike it his standing foot gave slightly, with nothing else to do Knight had to follow through with his shot but only succeeded in getting under the ball, Williamson had decided he'd wait to see which way the ball was going and hope it wasn't in a corner. As the ball arced upwards he looked surprised, this was going to be easy was the first thing that flashed through his mind.
Williamson stuck his arms out and upwards and felt relieved to feel the ball cannon off them, checking to see it didn't go behind him, he allowed the ball one bounce, a yard to his right before hoofing it skywards and sprinting for the opposite end of the ground, where the Palace supporters had taken a second or two to register exactly what had happened before erupting in a cacophony of noise as Wirtz sank to his knees, this is what you live for.
Quite simply the most amazing game I've seen.
League One Play-off Final
Crystal Palace 4 Ipswich 4 AET
Crystal Palace win 3-2 on penalties
Goals:
Jamie Slabber 5
Cameron Jerome 8
Cameron Jerome 15
Gavin McCann (Pen 76)
Scott Vernon 79
Tobias Eriksson 90 + 2
Scott Baron 91
Cameron Jerome 100
The Greatest Game Ever 
Linear Mode
