Dean Emerson has admitted that although he missed the cup final through injury he was pleased to have been part of Coventry City's 1987 FA Cup run which led to them winning the FA Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Emerson, who was injured from a nightmare of a challenge by Gary Megson in a league run during that run, was named in the sixteen man squad and told the Coventry Observer's Steve Carpenter as part of his excellent series on the 1987 FA Cup Final: "I suppose it was a little disappointing to get injured because it would have been nice to play but that's football and I was still very much part of the roller coaster ride that season,.
"I was selected as part of the squad a few days before and I think that's because John Sillett felt I deserved not to miss out on the whole occasion.
"I'd played in the earlier rounds and I was just pleased to be part of it all and it was a fantastic weekend for the players.
"We had a great team spirit within the squad, not just in the cup, but also in the league and I just got caught up in the whole thing.
"Me and Paul (Culpin) were sat a few rows back from the dugout watching the action because back then there wasn't as much space in the dugout as there is now.
"Looking back on it now 25 years on I don't think we realised at the time just how big of a moment that was for the club, especially when you see what's happening now.
"One moment I will never forget was driving towards Wembley that Saturday morning on the players' coach and seeing the amount of Coventry fans.
"There was something about the occasion that you could sense it was going to be our day and I really thought we were going to win it before a ball had even been kicked.
"And who could forget the scenes when we got back into the city on the open top bus. "I don't know where all those people came from!"
For more on this, please click on http://www.coventryobserver.co.uk/2012/05/04/sport-Cup-final-joy-was-shared-by-the-nearly-men-38532.html