... at that time I was working in a bank (Barclays) and was going through the ACIB exams. The exams usually took place in local banks, in rotation. That night, I was sitting the Finance of International Trade part of the exam programme. The three-hour exam started at 6pm. Got home at about 9.15pm. Listened to the end of the game on the radio. Cue smiles and celebrations at the result. No smiles and celebrations a few weeks later when I found out that I'd missed the finest night in Goodison history only to once again fail a professional exam. Was at the Final in Rotterdam, though

That game is why I haven't been back to Goodison since the Crystal Palace comeback game three years ago that meant we'd avoided relegation. I hadn't planned it that way, but afterwards I thought that I'd much prefer that my final game there be a memorable game as opposed to a scruffy 0-0 draw or a defeat against a random mid-table side. So I called it a day with the memory of Goodison being swamped in blue smoke, the pitch barely visible after the crowd invasion and the manager singing and dancing with the fans. And I got to sit after the game in the seat where I had my season ticket in the eighties, without realising at the time that I'd never do that again. It also "squared the circle" somewhat, because my first EFC game without being taken there by grown-ups was a mid-week evening match against Palace