Ian Cusack explains how Newcastle fans feel about the on that got away

If, last August, someone had informed me that the season ahead would finish with Manchester United winning the double, that Sunderland would be First Division champions and that Newcastle would blow a 12-point lead in the Premiership then the only option available would have been to imbibe copious quantities of Hemlock. Yet a month on from the end of the season, my equilibrium has been restored and I’m eagerly anticipating the Charity Shield. I know this is no consolation really, but it is the first chance any of us has had to see Newcastle at Wembley since our plucky defeat by Tranmere Rovers, then in Division 4, at the 1988 Mercantile Credit bonanza. I didn’t think you’d remember it.

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Joyce Woolridge offers a view of the 1996 Championship race from an Old Trafford perspective

In 1994 there was a general expectation that the Premiership would go to Old Trafford. This year Manchester United fans with any sense have been asking themselves how on earth the team has ended up with one major trophy, let alone two.

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The 1995-96 season was the first time that Welsh Clubs playing in England were excluded from the Welsh Cup, resulting in the final being an all-League of Wales affair. Thomas Crockett explains why the occasion didn't get the publicity it deserved

Many supporters felt that the absence of the holy trinity (Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham) devalued the Welsh Cup, one of the world’s oldest football tournaments. Pre-match prognoses in the press were pessimistic, Wales on Sunday dishing the dirt by predicting the FA of Wales would lose £30,000 by holding the final at the National Stadium in front of a low crowd – a self-fulfilling prophesy if ever there was one.

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Everyone's got an opinion about how England should play in Euro '96. Not wanting to feel left out, we've chipped in too

A dilemma for all English managers but particularly for Terry Venables, as he’s the only one at work over the next few weeks. Should they heed the advice of those who believe that England can only succeed by playing to their strengths – running and gung ho spirit and lots of headers – or should they be encouraging their teams to play a more patient passing game, with defenders carrying the ball from one area to the other, and then back again if the mood takes them?

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Why footballers are targeted by the media

Can you remember what you were doing on 28th May? If not, it’s no surprise because that must have been one of the most boring days in world history. How else to explain the fact that a report about the damage to an aeroplane carrying the England team back from their Far East tour should have made the second item on News at Ten that evening?

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