Obviously this is a day I will never forget!

Its my birthday today! Thanks for all the cards and presents btw!!!

I also share this day with a certain Vinnie Jones. In 1988, my then Wimbledon supporting girlfriend used to tease me about having a birthday on the same day as him. The following year, it was worth getting dumped by her (ironically on January 5th!) and signing-him en-route to promotion.

However, I was telling "our lass" as we drove up past the WRC (White Rose Centre) yesterday of my 20th birthday celebrations, spent in the Old Peacock cursing the weather and Ray Lewis from Great Bookham!

We had travelled up early on the West Midland's Supporters Club branch coach, Go Whittle, on Sunday January 5th for our FA Cup 3rd round tie with the Manchester United at ER. When we reached the island where the WRC would later stand, the dreaded news broke through on the coach radio that the game had been called off by Mr Lewis.

We carried on to the stadium, parked-up so the driver could have his break and luckily the Peacock was open to I could celebrate my big-day with a couple of pints before turning back and leaving West Yorkshire.

We had played them in the league a week earlier, a tense game where that Fat Mr Blobby Neil Webb chose to have his one solitary moment of brilliance in a Scum shirt and score a half-volley from a corner. However when Pallister took out McAllister, Big Mel stepped up and converted the penalty for a deserved point.

That was meant to be the first of three-matches in a fortnight, but Ray Lewis's fussiness put paid to that.

Just 72 hours later, we made the return trip up the M1/M62 for the League Cup clash. I hate to say it, we were outclassed that night 3-1 with Giggs and Kanchelski's torturing us on the flanks.

When the FA Cup tie did take place, on January 15th 1992, it was a much more close-run thing and we were sunk by a Mark Hughes header on the counter-attack. Lee Chapman broke his wrist and Howard Wilkinson signed a certain Eric Cantona to replace him.

Is it really 17 years ago since this all happened? The rest as they say is history!

Photo: Action Images via Reuters