Win, lose or draw during his time at Stamford Bridge, the Italian would always produce a smile (and often a comedy quote or two) during his post-match interviews.

He never really mastered the English language but that did not stop him giving it a go.
The 60-year-old was just as amiable when I met him in person during a recent flying visit to London to talk about Chelsea's prospects, and his own plans.

"My English is not bad after all this time?" Ranieri asks at one point, with a trademark grin.

He only left his last job at Inter Milan at the end of March but the Italian does not want to be out of the game for long, and a return to these shores is his preferred destination.

Why England? "I had a great relationship with the fans here," Ranieri said. "Not only the Chelsea fans - when I go around Europe and meet English fans they are always pleased to see me. A lot of people remember me.

"Another reason I would like to continue my career in England is because all the best players are playing here now. I have managed in Italy, Spain and this country, and I think the Premier League is the strongest."

He has had stints at Valencia, Parma, Juventus, Roma and Inter since leaving Chelsea but, in truth, Ranieri never really went away. When his four-year spell with the Blues ended in 2004 Ranieri kept his house in west London. He loves the capital and has come back as often as possible in the last few years.

Where will he go next? Ranieri almost took over at Manchester City in 2007 and was linked with QPR a few months ago but there are no current Premier League vacancies and he will not be drawn on whether he has any suitors, or indeed a specific club in mind himself.

"It is my life to be a coach," he explained. "And of course I would like to come back as soon as possible, but now it is important to take the right job. I would like the right project, a good project."

We can still speculate, though, and the signs are Tottenham may need a new manager soon and there are suggestions that David Moyes might move on from Everton this summer.

Might Ranieri fit the bill as a safe pair of hands to be Harry Redknapp's replacement at White Hart Lane should he take charge of England?

They could certainly do worse. Ranieri was sacked by Inter after a sequence of one win in 10 Serie A games that has left their Champions League qualification in doubt but, before then, they were title contenders thanks to an impressive run which started when he took charge in September.

And, although his reputation in this country is for being the "Tinkerman" because of his willingness to change his tactics and his Chelsea team as often as his socks, he is viewed as a calming influence in Italy after impressive spells at Parma, Juventus and Roma.

Chelsea might also be looking for a new manager in the summer, of course, although Ranieri thinks their interim boss Roberto di Matteo is the right man for that job. In any case, the chances of him returning to Stamford Bridge are a little more far-fetched.

"I don't think about it, but why say no?" he says with another smile when I ask him about whether he fancies renewing his working relationship with Blues owner Roman Abramovich.

Judging from the number of managers the Russian has got through in his nine years in west London (six permanent, two interim and one caretaker), Abramovich's expectations are one of the biggest problems facing any Chelsea manager.

But, as Ranieri knows only too well, there are trigger-happy owners, chairmen and presidents everywhere, and he thinks a patient approach is more likely to pay off.
"In our job, all the managers have to deal with pressure. In England, Italy, Spain, everywhere," he explained. "This job is not an easy job.

"Everybody knows football - when you win you are fantastic. When you lose, you are the worst in the world. But that is our life.

"Look at Manchester City, they are having a good season and Roberto Mancini has done a very good job - but only one team can win the title and, for a lot of their players this is the first time they are fighting for a big title.

"I know this pressure. It is not easy to build. All the people need time, no? Rome wasn't built in a day."

"You have to say it's magnificent," was the verdict of veteran BBC commentator Barry Davies at the time, words which still ring true today.

Many of you have probably guessed I am talking about England's third goal in their 4-1 demolition of the Netherlands in their final group game at Euro 96, and most of you will have already seen it countless times already too. If not, please make sure you watch the clip below, it's definitely worth your while.

Bearing in mind how little has gone right for England recently, it seems extremely appealing to look back at a night when pretty much nothing went wrong. Feel free to sing 'It's coming home' while we do so.

There is a school of thought that this performance against Guus Hiddink's side was over-rated, but it is far more difficult to question the assertion that this result remains England's finest at a major tournament since 1966.

And while it was by no means as straightforward a win as the scoreline suggests, it still triggered euphoria inside the stadium and right across the country, bringing on a feelgood factor which is about as far removed as you can get from the current uncertainty and unease surrounding the national team.

Shearer, who along with Sheringham scored two goals that night, recalls savouring "one of the best atmospheres of any game I've ever played in" as 77,000 fans celebrated goal after England goal.

Davies, who has covered 10 World Cups, seven European Championships, and countless England internationals during a broadcasting career that will also take in the hockey tournament at this summer's Olympics, told me this week that he has "never seen a Wembley crowd so delighted".

That might have been because even when the Dutch scored their late consolation, the home fans could smile because it meant their old foes Scotland would be eliminated.

But if we are going to revisit one of England's finest hour-and-a-halfs, we should at least admit they did not have things all their own way.

With England leading 1-0 through a Shearer penalty earned by Paul Ince's quick feet, the Dutch piled on the pressure in the build-up to the break.

In his match commentary, Davies said England would be "happy to hear an early half-time whistle" and looking back now, he remembers thinking the worst as Dennis Bergkamp, Aron Winter and Clarence Seedorf all threatened.

"There are lots of similarities with our 5-1 victory five years later in Germany," Davies explained. "In that game, Germany were incredibly unlucky not to be in the lead at half-time but suddenly it all went away from them."

That is exactly what happened to the Dutch after the interval too, although let's give credit to Terry Venables and his players here for the way the goals flew in.

"The second half was just extraordinary," says Davies now. "It was as good an 11 minutes as I have ever seen England play.

"Shearer's second really was a quite stunning goal. Paul Gascoigne was instrumental in it and Sheringham was so unselfish. The best things in any ball game where goals are scored come when it is moves like that which create the opening. For me that is always a better goal than if someone just thumps it in from 35 yards.

"Venables just got the best out of that team. He was relaxed in letting people play their own game and built a side around those skills rather than the other way around."

The heady days and nights did not last. We all know how England's adventure ultimately ended that summer - in the semi-finals, and in a penalty shoot-out after a compelling clash with Germany.

But not even a disappointment of that magnitude could shake the feeling that it had been a very special tournament, and maybe a slice of the spirit of Euro 96 can help the current team progress as far in Poland and Ukraine this summer.

We might see some of it on display at Wembley on Wednesday, although it seems unlikely that stand-in manager Stuart Pearce will manage anything from the touchline that will outdo his famous battle cry during the penalty shoot-out win over Spain in the quarter-finals.

Giving some belief back to the fans would be a start, although Shearer knows it will almost be impossible to recreate the kind of the support they received when he was a player rather than a BBC pundit.

"Those were great days, with 80,000 fans behind us in every game of the tournament, backing us all the way," Shearer added. "We thought we could go on and win it, but it wasn't to be.

"Trying to get the same belief and confidence from the supporters now is more difficult. A lot has happened with England in the last 16 years, and in fact a lot has happened with England in the last month.

"I am sure the players will just want to get out on the pitch again and try to put in a performance that will get everybody talking about England for the right reasons again, preferably with another positive result."

Speaking in the bowels of Wembley Stadium in the aftermath of Liverpool's thrilling Carling Cup victory over Cardiff City, Reds boss Kenny Dalglish spelt out how the club's first trophy in six years was important to "an awful lot of people".

And he put it down to "the work of everyone, not just me".

What Dalglish did not elaborate on was exactly what it meant to him personally. For that, we will have to remember his reaction to Anthony Gerrard's missed penalty that settled a topsy-turvy shoot-out at the end of an extraordinary game.

Dalglish was clearly visibly moved as he celebrated his first trophy in English football since he won the 1995 Premier League title with Blackburn.

Kenny Dalglish has Liverpool winning trophies again - but he knows his team must be deadlier in front of goal. Photo: Getty

But when quizzed about his reaction afterwards he typically preferred to play things down - or at least tried to. "I might have been emotional but you need to go to Specsavers," he said. "There wasn't a tear in my eye."

To most observers it appeared otherwise, and you could understand it too.
Already a Liverpool legend after a glittering first spell with the club as player then manager, Dalglish has been back in charge at the club he loves for less than 14 months.

He now has silverware to show for it in his first full season since returning, to add to the six major trophies he collected in his first stint as Anfield boss between 1985 and 1991.

Beating Cardiff also means Dalglish joins Joe Mercer, Bill Nicholson, Don Revie, Sir Alex Ferguson, George Graham and Jose Mourinho as the only managers to have won the full set of English league title, FA Cup and League Cup titles. No mean feat.

But his only acknowledgement of the short time he has taken to put a smile back on the faces of Liverpool fans came when he was praising his players.

One of his summer signings, Stewart Downing, was voted man of the match at Wembley and Dalglish said with a grin: "I think people were spoilt for choice. The most important thing is that we have won the game and we don't need to sit and go through every individual performance. But seven players have come in this season and for them to walk away with a trophy means they can be very proud of their achievement."

So too can Dalglish, although his team remains a work in progress - the 42 shots they had on Cardiff's goal on Sunday summed up a season of frustration and failure to convert chances that has undermined their hopes of a title challenge.

They have too often stuttered rather than strutted their stuff like the Liverpool of old, but Dalglish has still underlined how he sees this cup win as the start of a period of sustained success rather than a one-off triumph.

Is that justified? It certainly worked for Liverpool in 2001, when they followed another hard-earned shoot-out win over a second-tier side in the League Cup final - on that occasion Birmingham City - by winning the FA Cup and Uefa Cup in the same season.

And on top of that treble, it is often forgotten that beating the Blues provided the catalyst for another achievement too - qualification for the Champions League for the first time. Liverpool would only miss out on it once in the next nine seasons but they have not taken part since 2009-10.

In a season that will now be remembered for silverware as well as the Luis Suarez saga - and still holds hope of more glory in the FA Cup - you sense that Dalglish would rather secure a Champions League spot than repeat their Wembley triumph in May.

It will be easier said than done though. Because of the lack of a cutting edge in front of goal, a top-four finish this time around will be a big ask - the Reds are currently seven points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand.

But, if there is more to come, Dalglish knows Liverpool's best hope of managing it is by sharing Sunday's glory, even if he could bask in it on his own if he so wished.

"Although we have won something today, that is not us finished," were Dalglish's most telling words in his post-match press conference. He could easily have been speaking in the singular, but that would undermine the team effort he is trying to promote.

"We don't want to stop here, we want to keep going," he added. "And our best chance we have of doing that is to continue to do what we do best, which is to stick together."

You can follow me throughout the season on Twitter @chrisbevan_bbc

Clarence Seedorf celebrates winning the Champions League in 2007. Photo: Getty

As Seedorf can testify with some experience, playing for a team which progresses deep into the Champions or Europa Leagues means you play twice a week for most of the season, even before international games come into the equation. The financial demands this schedule puts on fans is just as high.

"People don't come to the stadiums for every match because if there is a game every three days it is difficult," he said. "You need to make games more exclusive and make them more special.

"Why does everyone love the Champions League? It's because it's exclusive. Even if you win it, you only play 13 games in that competition in a season.

"The Champions League could become the knockout cup of the European League, which would be the real European competition, whatever you wanted to call it.

"So, like the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia and the Premier League and FA Cup you have the European League and European Cup. There are fewer games, and all the best players in the world are involved. It would be like the NBA of football."

While the thought of reinstating a true knockout competition for European clubs would please traditionalists, picturing the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A without, say, Manchester United, Barcelona and AC Milan (to name but three of many sides) is a lot more difficult. The implications for domestic competitions left without their biggest clubs would be grave.

Ultimately, however, money talks - and club football competitions change because of it. You only have to look at the development and expansion of the European Cup and Champions League over the past two decades to see that.

One of the consequences of those changes has been the imbalance - in terms of finance and prestige - between the now all-powerful Champions League and its poorer relation the Europa League.

And while a prospective European Super League could be years away, if it happens at all, Seedorf feels something can be done now to reverse the decline in status of the Europa League. Again, however, the options boil down to money.

You probably remember that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson irked Uefa chief Michel Platini when he described seeing his side drop into the Europa League this season as "a penalty", but it is clear that what was once known as the Uefa Cup is viewed in pretty much the same way across the continent, not just on these shores.

Has it become less significant in recent years? "Yes, definitely," says Seedorf, who has fond memories of being a ball-boy in Amsterdam when Ajax overcame Torino in the second leg of the 1992 final but says he was not bothered about winning the same competition when Milan last entered it in 2008/09.

"It was already a competition in decline, and not seen as important," Seedorf explained. "I think the fans can tell us that better than anyone.

"If supporters are happy when their team is in the Europa League, then maybe change isn't needed. But it is obvious that if you were to have more important clubs in that competition, it becomes more appealing for everyone.

"It would be nice to get that feeling of 20 years when the Uefa Cup was big and very important back, but it is easier said than done.

"Maybe you could reduce the Champions League to make that happen, and even giving the winner of the Europa League a place in the Champions League would definitely help.

"But Uefa have to decide how they want to cut the cake and spread the money around. The difference in finances between the two is a major issue, and setting the incentive is down to them."

Follow me throughout the season on Twitter @chrisbevan_bbc

Reading part one of this interview here.

When European football resumes this week, it will do so with the prospect of there being no clubs from these shores in the quarter-finals of the continent's most prestigious club competition for the first time since Blackburn's failure in the 1995-96 season, a statistic which is more telling when you remember that we have had entered at least four teams every year since 2002.

After the failure of both Manchester clubs to get beyond the group stage, England's two survivors must put their stuttering domestic form behind them as they face tricky Anglo-Italian tests for a place in the last eight. Arsenal against Seedorf's AC Milan, and Chelsea against Napoli.

For the Rossoneri, the former is also a chance for revenge for their defeat - as holders - by the Gunners at this stage of the Champions League in 2008. They have not been beyond the last 16 since, with their two subsequent campaigns being ended there by Manchester United in 2010 and Tottenham in 2011.

English teams have regularly reached the latter stages of the Champions League in recent seasons.

Seedorf told me that, this time, it will be different. He and his team-mates are confident of progress, and see Wednesday's home leg as pivotal.

The 35-year-old explained: "We need to avoid the same mistakes we made last year against Spurs. A positive result in the first leg is crucial."

United and Tottenham have both triumphed there since but, four years ago, Arsenal were the first English team to win at the San Siro, on a night when Cesc Fabregas bossed the game and scored one of the late goals that sent Arsene Wenger's men through.

Arsenal, who have lost several key personnel since, still face the same accusations of being a one-man team but it is Robin van Persie, an unused substitute in that tie, who is their talisman now.

Do the Gunners rely too heavily on the Dutch striker? Seedorf is a huge fan of his compatriot, but sees Arsenal has having more strings to their bow. "They are a strong all-round side and they always play good football," he added.

"Van Persie is finally exploding and I am very happy for him, but we know what we are going to have to deal with and we are ready. It is going to be a tough game - Arsenal have always changed important players a lot over the last six or seven years and have still managed to perform well. They haven't won trophies but they are still a dangerous team."

Seedorf does not fear the Gunners, though. In fact, he is not afraid of anyone: "I don't like to talk about fear in sport, in general," he said. "I think you need to respect your opponent but if you prepare the way you should so you can perform at your best then it is down to you.

While Arsenal are inconsistent, Chelsea are undoubtedly in transition. Their owner Roman Abramovich can still fulfil his dream of Champions League glory this season, but elimination this early would not exactly help the cause of their young manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Seedorf, however, thinks Villas-Boas deserves time - however his team fare in the last 16. "I have heard more than I have seen about his work, but the trophies speak for themselves," he said.

"For sure he has talent. It's a project they are trying to build for him, so let's give the man some time to do his job. I mean, he did good work with Porto, now let's see what he can achieve with Chelsea."

Manchester City have already found out how dangerous Napoli are, with the Italian side taking four points off them to finish above them in Group A. But Seedorf says Roberto Mancini's men should not be disheartened by their first Champions League experience, and thinks glory is on the horizon.

"They had a very tough group, and they need to continue building," said Seedorf, who revealed City and Chelsea have both shown interest in signing him in the last couple of years.

"Winning the Premier League, if City do it, would be a very good first step to increasing the confidence and attaining the specific mentality of a winning team to approach certain games in the Champions League with a different mental state.

"City, within three years, will be on the podium at the end. I do think they are going in the right direction."

For now, though, there is only one team to beat. As far as Seedorf is concerned, the reigning champions, Barcelona, are still "the best team in the world".

Are Milan equipped to stop Barca from defending their crown? They pushed Pep Guardiola's hard in two pulsating group encounters, losing 3-2 at the San Siro then drawing 2-2 at the Nou Camp, and Seedorf believes they are not unstoppable.

"Those matches gave us lots of confidence," he said. "We are still looking at what we need to do to be at Barca's level at the moment but, especially in the second game, we demonstrated we are very close."

Inter and Napoli are clearly also realistic contenders, but the paradox for Italian football right now is that, in the same year they have more teams in the last 16 of the Champions League than any other nation, they have also fallen behind Germany in Uefa's coefficient rankings, and will lose a CL berth next season.

England are still top of the coefficient, which is decided over the previous five seasons and also reflects Europa League results. One bad year is not a disaster for the Premier League on that front.

So should we be too worried if Arsenal and Chelsea both fail to reach the last eight? Seedorf laughs. "No, absolutely not. If English clubs panic at this then Italian clubs would be dead by now!

"It's a cycle, it's a sport. Sometimes, someone else just performs better than you. English clubs cannot expect to dominate all the time - it would be quite boring, and exactly what we don't want to see in football."

You can read the second part of my interview with Seedorf - about the way he thinks European club competition is set to evolve - next week.

Follow me throughout the season on Twitter @chrisbevan_bbc

Everyone loves a good old-fashioned FA Cup giant-killing - unless, of course, it is your club on the receiving end.

With this in mind, Bolton fans travelled in trepidation to Macclesfield's cramped Moss Rose ground on Saturday for a third-round tie with the League Two side which - to use accepted parlance - had been earmarked as 'a potential banana-skin' for the Premier League outfit, and turned out that way too.

Wanderers survived, and probably should have won - they had enough chances late on.

But Macclesfield's gutsy display more than justified my journey, and everyone else's too, and they deserved the plaudits they will get for their 2-2 draw plus any extra cash that comes their way from the replay at the Reebok Stadium.

The chance of a shock was, I must confess, the reason I was there. It was the same for the army of television cameras, BBC Radio 5 live's main commentary team and most of the other inhabitants of the packed press box and media overflow area too.

Macclesfield celebrate taking the lead against Bolton. Photo: Press Association

On the day, even the conditions appeared to favour the Silkmen, or at least they did if you believe that, if they are bad, they help the lower-ranked team. Days of rain before kick-off had left the pitch soggy, and there was also an arctic blast blowing through this leafy part of Cheshire. It didn't matter that you often get that sort of weather in Bolton - today, it would be a leveller.

There was more. Throw in a vociferous and capacity crowd of just under 6,000 and that FA Cup staple of a wonder goal for Macclesfield, by a hitherto unheralded and exotic-sounding player in French-born Guinea-Bissau international Arnaud Mendy, and you might be wondering how Bolton made it into the hat for the fourth-round draw instead of joining Wigan Athletic on the back page of Sunday's newspapers.

Indeed, when Mendy turned to smash a spectacular dipping 25-yard shot into the top corner of the net to put Macclesfield 2-1 up with 22 minutes left, Bolton boss Owen Coyle admitted he feared the worst.

"At the time you think that this is a typical FA Cup moment," Coyle said afterwards, ironically while taking part in one himself - in the absence of a press room at Moss Rose he was speaking to the media while crammed into a corner of a shabby stand, with a half-naked and freshly-showered Macclesfield player repeatedly and unwittingly opening the door into his back behind him. Wembley this was not.

"But then it was a typical FA Cup game," Coyle added. "You've seen the pitch - it's not a pitch we are used to because we are spoiled at Premier League level, and the wind was swirling about.

"I think we had the better clear-cut chances and should have buried the game but I don't think people will begrudge Macclesfield having another go - I certainly don't . As you all know, in the jobs you do, it gives you a great FA Cup story, and I have no problems with that."

In fact, David Wheater's 77th-minute equaliser for Bolton meant Saturday's real Cup story was elsewhere, although myself and most of the residents of Macclesfield's press box only learned about it later.

Around the same time as Wheater ended the Silkmen's hopes of a fairytale, for now at least, Matt Ritchie scored the winner for Swindon that made Wigan the biggest scalp of the day.

While Macclesfield's draw was not the result their fans or the media wanted, it was still no mean feat.

Swindon, also of League Two, were the only one of 13 lower-league sides to take on a top-flight team and win this weekend and only two others earned draws - MK Dons, unlucky to concede so late against QPR, and Birmingham, who played out a forgettable bore draw with Wolves.

Add up the goals in those ties and the Premier League teams scored 32 while conceding 13. Not much magic for the underdog there. Seismic shocks have been thin on the ground so far in the third round, although upsets have not.

Championship sides proved far more vulnerable, with Crawley Town, Stevenage and Notts County seeing off Bristol City, Doncaster and Reading respectively, while Wrexham earned a repay with Brighton, and Dagenham & Redbridge with Millwall. Well done to all.

A replay is Macclesfield's reward too, and it may not be the end of their hopes either - they gave Bolton a scare at the Reebok in the Carling Cup earlier this season when they led at half-time before losing 2-1.

Silkmen boss Gary Simpson did not throw in the towel when asked about his side's chances of reaching the fourth round for the first time in their 138-year history, but he is realistic enough to know achieving that is now a lot harder.

"We have given them two good games and we have nothing to fear," Simpson said. "But I know that it was this bite of the cherry where we might have caused the upset."

Even with Bolton's poor home form this season, Wanderers fans - and anyone in search of a shock - will probably agree.

Don't get me wrong, realism has not entirely replaced romance at the Racecourse Ground ahead of the Blue Square Bet Premier leaders' third-round trip to Brighton this weekend. There are plenty of people with happy memories of one of the biggest shocks in the competition in the modern era, and Roberts is one of them.

As a lifelong fan who was on the terraces on that freezing day in January 1992 when a Mickey Thomas wonder-goal was followed by Steve Watkin's late winner to send the Gunners crashing out, he would clearly love a win on the south coast to add to the Welsh side's already rich giant-killing tradition.

But, after helping to stabilise the perennially troubled club, he admits his real "dream come true" remains securing a return to the Football League after a four-year absence.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

And their latest cup run is only part of Wrexham's revival on and off the pitch in recent months - after a decade of lurching from one financial crisis to another.

Any repeat of that cup success seemed unlikely as recently as last summer when players and staff went unpaid and the then owner Geoff Moss called off pre-season friendlies because of a lack of cash.

The future of the Dragons, and their home, was again in doubt but Wrexham's Supporters' Trust (WST) and the local community rallied to save their club in August.

Glyndwr University bought the Racecourse to ensure Wrexham can continue playing there, and fans raised a six-figure sum at short notice to enable their team to start the season.

The WST went on to complete its takeover of the club in November and appointed Roberts when it was ratified by the Football Conference last month.

On the pitch, not even the departure of manager Dean Saunders to Doncaster in September has disrupted their progress, with his replacement, player-boss Andy Morrell, overseeing a 14-game unbeaten run in the league, including wins in their last five games.

Roberts is a qualified chartered accountant who was previously a finance director of a multi-million pound private equity group in the north west of England. He told me: "There's a real feel-good factor about the town at the moment.

"Seeing the fans raise over £100,000 in a matter of hours to meet the Conference Bond was quite incredible and we had nearly 6,000 here watching us beat AFC Telford United on New Year's Day, which was fantastic, but we know there is a lot of hard work ahead to get the club back to where we want it to be.

"Life here is never dull but Wrexham is a football town. That's why people responded in the club's hour of need and why so many have fought so hard to keep it alive over the past decade.

"As custodians of the club, we all need to ensure it survives for future generations to come. The challenge of creating a financially sustainable business is paramount."

Wrexham have had to fight to stay at the Racecourse. Picture: Getty Images

They plan to achieve that by making the club an integral part of the local community again, in Wrexham and further afield in North Wales. Becoming a fans-owned club was just the start - a Community Share Scheme is to be launched to raise more funds, and hopefully ensure those financial problems do not resurface.

There may be more uncertain times ahead but, as Roberts says, promotion back into the Football League would be "a massive help on all fronts".

Will the WST succeed in safeguarding Wrexham's future? Roberts is optimistic. He was also confident of beating Arsenal two decades ago too - despite the fact the Gunners were reigning league champions while Wrexham had finished bottom of the entire league the previous season.

"It might seem strange but I just had the feeling we could beat them," Roberts explained.

"We rode our luck at times but Thomas's free-kick was worthy of winning any game and, as for Watkin's winner, I think the ground erupted when it hit the back of the net. The celebrations went on long into the night."

Roberts is not making any similar predictions ahead of Saturday's game, which will give Dragons supporters a chance to thank their Brighton counterparts for their support in a campaign to oust unpopular former owner Alex Hamilton, who wanted to sell the Racecourse to property developers, in 2004.

But he points to his side's win over League One outfit Brentford in the last round as proof that they definitely still have the ability to spring a surprise.

"Brighton are three divisions above us and have just beaten the Championship leaders, so few would predict anything else than a home win," Roberts said.

"However, the beauty of the cup is its unpredictability. We have a proud giant-killing reputation built up over the last 40 years and it would be nice to add Brighton to the list of higher-division scalps.

"We'll be taking around 2,000 fans down to the Amex Stadium and I'm sure that win, lose or draw we'll have a great day out."

You can watch a special feature on Wrexham's 1992 win over Arsenal, featuring Robbie Savage and Mickey Thomas, in Football Focus on Saturday at 1215 GMT.

Follow me on Twitter throughout the season at www.twitter.com/#!/chrisbevan_bbc

"I had too many fights to put into my book," the former Manchester City, Huddersfield, Blackpool and Plymouth centre-back tells me of some of the brutal off-pitch tales which litter his new autobiography. "So I just mentioned the ones which helped shape my career for better or worse."

An unashamed bruiser he may be, but Morrison does not glorify his violent past. In any case, his biggest battles have been psychological, not physical.

In a week during which footballers' mental health has been in the spotlight following Gary Speed's death, Morrison's story, which was published last month, makes poignant reading.

Andy Morrison battled demons during and after his playing career. Photo: Getty Images

As a player, he battled alcoholism and, at his lowest ebb in 1999, which actually coincided with some of his best times on the field with City, he considered taking his own life before vowing instead to ditch the drink.

Morrison was the inspiration behind City's promotion that year from what is now League One - a time when this week's Champions League tie with Bayern Munich would have been unthinkable for his old club and one that seems light years away from their current status as mega-rich Premier League leaders. He has been on quite a journey himself.

"It's said that when you reach the pits of despair you turn within and ask for help," Morrison reflects. "I was on my hands and knees when I looked at the sky and said 'please can you help me, I cannot take any more of this pain'. Thankfully I got the support I needed from Alcoholics Anonymous and for almost 13 years I have not touched a drop."

But that was not the end of his problems. After injury curtailed his career in 2002 at the age of 32, Morrison faced financial ruin, while the chronic depression he has battled since hanging up his boots came because he missed the buzz of matchdays that had been part of his life since he was a young teenager.

"When you retire, there is a part of you where you keep a stiff upper lip," Morrison, now assistant manager at Evo-Stik League Premier Division side Northwich Victoria, explained over coffee in a leafy Cheshire village near his home.

"I was saying 'this is the next stage of my life, I'm going to be positive. I'm going to move on and get my coaching badges' and all that sort of stuff.

"But I wasn't prepared in any way to deal with that huge void in my life. I'd been a footballer from the age of 15 and I couldn't have been more institutionalised if I had been in the army. I loved competing.

"When I finished I went through a period of desolation. I had a desperate period of absolute uselessness for anything. Your confidence is affected and it is a downward spiral from there. I had absolutely nothing to look forward to.

"It's hard for footballers because, in so many aspects of your life, you are so much better off than other people but it is where you are in your head at that time that matters. I remember Stan Collymore being ridiculed for suffering from depression. John Gregory, his manager at Aston Villa, said how could someone earning £20,000 a week have it?

"But when you are suffering from chronic depression you don't go to a hole in the wall, stick your card in, look at your balance and see you have £200,000 in the bank and go 'that's it, I feel brilliant'. It's much deeper than that.

"I think people are coming round to understanding it a bit more and hopefully there is no shame attached to it anymore.

"Thankfully for me, I dealt with my drinking problem and my addictive alcoholism before I retired. God only help me if I hadn't, because I only know for sure that I wouldn't be sat here with you talking because it would have just got darker and worse."

Morrison inspired City's promotion from League One in 1999. Photo: Getty Images

The good news for Morrison, and for those with similar problems, is that there was help out there then, and there still is now.

We do not know the reasons for Speed's death but the debate over mental health in football has been ongoing since Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke took his own life in 2009 and Rushden & Diamonds goalkeeper Dale Roberts killed himself a year later.

And despite the claims of Susannah Strong - author of a booklet on handling depression which the Professional Footballers' Association sent out to ex-players in the wake of Speed's death - that "there is no attention paid whatsoever to the mental health of footballers", the reality is that there has been a support system in place for some time.

Morrison, who was a warrior of a player known for inspiring team-mates and fans alike, feels Strong was right when she spoke of his condition being a taboo subject in football but says he was not left high and dry when he did reveal it and hopes others have the strength to do the same.

"There is a lot of support out there for footballers if they want to ask for it but when you are in such a desperate place it is hard to say 'I'm really struggling with life' and lower all your barriers and let your ego go," he added. "I was the captain of every club I played for and I felt it was out of character to say I was struggling.

"When I did, I spoke to counsellors from Sporting Chance Clinic. They offered great help. I was given anti-depression tablets but there is no quick cure. For me, and I can only speak for me, there were no innate words of wisdom which were going to help me through it. It's a process and you have to be strong. You need all the help you can get.

"Anyone who suffers from it has to be brave enough to first recognise it - because that is the hardest thing - and then be willing to ask for help."

Morrison is in a better place now. Professionally, he is enjoying his job with Northwich and dreaming of coaching in the Premier League. Personally, he savours life with wife Paula and their three children.

He has still not conquered all his demons, however. "There are days when the black dog is at the bottom of the bed when I wake up," Morrison adds. "He says 'good morning, I've been waiting for you'. There is nothing I can do to stop it happening, but now I know what to do when it does."

Follow me on Twitter throughout the season at www.twitter.com/chrisbevanbbc

You could hardly blame him either. Crippled by persistent injuries, his dreams of a top-flight career with Newcastle United had long since disappeared. He was also without a club and outside the professional ranks for the first time after being released by Leyton Orient.

His first attempt at a non-league comeback ended in agony when he broke down doing sprints in the unglamorous surroundings of a Canvey Island beach. After disposing of his boots into the Thames Estuary, Downer, a speedy centre-back, was in so much pain he could not even get in his car to drive home.

Thankfully, life is a lot happier these days.

At 30, the proud father of nine-month-old daughter Cydney is planning a career behind the wheel of a black cab, and he is back in football too. In fact, you can see him in action yourselves on Sunday when he lines up for Sutton United in their televised FA Cup tie with Notts County.

Downer joined Sutton United in the summer of 2010. Photo: www.paulloughlin.co.uk

How he got there is a tale of cruel luck, rude awakenings, desperation and determination. It must be tough to adapt to life outside the full-time game, especially when you have been tipped for the very top but, crucially, Downer stopped feeling sorry for himself a long time ago and decided he needed to grow up instead.

Some of his darkest days came a decade ago when he was still at Orient and dealing with a knee injury that ended up keeping him out for 18 months. The 2000-01 season had seen him enjoy a successful trial with the Magpies and play at the Millennium Stadium with the O's in the League Two play-off final, but he spent the whole of the following campaign on the treatment table.

"I had an amazing time at Newcastle," Downer recalls. "Sir Bobby Robson looked after me and all the players made me feel welcome. Nobby Solano gave me a couple of lifts and said that when I signed we would go for nights out together.

"Sir Bobby said I didn't look out of place but he was concerned about my height because for a centre-half I am quite small at 5ft 11in.

"At the end of the week, he said he wanted to bring me back as a right-back and play a few reserve games and I went home thinking 'that's it, I'm going to go back up there and sign for them'.

"That was in March and, with Orient pushing for the play-offs, it was agreed I would go back at the start of the next season. But by then I needed an operation on my knee."

It was then his problems began. At first Downer was only meant to be out for three months, but he needed more and more surgery and in fact it was almost two years by the time he returned to action. That time took its toll.

"I just got so sick of sitting in the treatment room on my own," Downer says. "I got really down.

"At one stage I didn't go in for treatment for about a month. The Orient physio phoned me up at first and asked me what I was doing and I said I'd had enough - I was lucky because he told me to stay at home and that he would tell people he'd given me the time off.

"I didn't cope with that period very well. I am the type of person that keeps things to myself if something is bothering me and it all just bottled up and kind of exploded.

"I had a big fight with one of my best friends and took it out on my family too but, day to day, I would not let anyone know how frustrated I was watching my team-mates play away at places like Everton and Portsmouth in the FA Cup and seeing my friends from the youth team come through and do well for the first team.

"I wouldn't let them know I was envious."

Initially, things did not get any better for him at Brisbane Road, or anywhere else for that matter. Full fitness eluded him even when his knee had recovered, and a niggling hamstring problem was followed by a catastrophic medial ligament injury as he moved on from Orient to Canvey Island and then Hornchurch by the end of 2004.

"I'd definitely had enough of football then," he adds. "I went back to sitting around doing nothing and back to living with my mum as well, which was a reality check.

"That really was rock bottom because around that time my nan passed away and it was harder for me because I was executor to her will. My head was all over the place and my knee was killing me.

"I realised I just wanted to be back playing football and doing something, not just waste around all day. It was such a low, low time."

Downer played for Orient at the Millennium Stadium in the 2001 League Two play-off final. Photo: Getty

After almost a year out of the game, a disastrous first day on a building site where he was let loose with a pneumatic drill that he had no idea how to use was the unlikely catalyst for Downer to relaunch his playing career.

"I didn't even know how to turn the drill on and I ended up making a right mess," he explains with a laugh.

"I just thought I can't be doing this, I have to get myself back and playing football. It was the only thing I knew, the only thing I loved and the only way I could earn money."

Learning how to nurse his injuries led to decent spells as a full-time footballer with Weymouth, Grays and Rushden in the Blue Square Bet Premier, but with them came more evidence of how fragile a football career can be - all three clubs had severe financial problems which meant Downer often wasn't paid on time, if at all.

Those experiences led him to turn part-time in the summer of 2010 and join Sutton.

"I was tired of being at the mercy of chairmen who might not be running the club properly," he explains. "I didn't get paid for three months at Rushden before they went bust. We were not on Premier League wages and I needed the money to live on.

"Around that time in 2010 I found out my girlfriend and I were expecting our little girl and I wanted to rely on myself. I thought I'd go part-time and learn how to do something else.

"It made sense because I am not sick of football, just of the people who mess you around.

"At the moment I am just starting to do the Knowledge [the test of route knowledge required to become a licensed London taxi cab driver]. My girlfriend wanted me to try to become a teacher but I said, no, I'd be happier just me and my cab going round and working.

"I'm quite happy with my own company as well. With the amount of times I've been sat in treatment rooms on my own, I've got to be haven't I?"

The football side of things is going pretty well too. Sutton won promotion in Downer's first season at the Borough Sports Ground and are currently riding high in the Blue Square South.

Downer's happiest times came in the youth team at Orient where he played alongside Hull striker Aaron McLean - now his daughter's godfather - and West Brom's former England full-back Nicky Shorey. Several other old team-mates from those days attended his surprise 30th birthday party in October.

He is hoping to be celebrating at the weekend too, as Sutton eye a repeat of their famous victory over Coventry City in 1989.

"Sutton is buzzing about the Cup," he says. "Everyone is excited and that's great. It's good for the club and I am quite proud to be a part of it. We are quietly confident too."

The draw for the third round takes place before their tie kicks off, so who would he fancy if his side can see off the Magpies - an emotional return to St James' Park perhaps? No, says Downer, but he does want to revisit part of his past.

"It has to be Orient away because I haven't had the chance to go back yet and I know so many people there," he says.

"I went to watch my first game of football at Brisbane Road, and they have always been my club."

Follow me on Twitter throughout the season at www.twitter.com/chrisbevanbbc

Allow me to refresh your memory if required - he is the Crystal Palace fan who blew a £40m personal fortune in a disastrous eight-month stint as Eagles chairman at the end of the 1990s, ending with the club in administration after being relegated from the Premier League and him being declared bankrupt soon afterwards.

But there is a footnote to Goldberg's tale, one of determination and passion for the game that ruined him. He might just earn a place in FA Cup folklore too, if his Bromley team can overcome Leyton Orient in the first round this weekend.

This is not about the boardroom anymore, because Goldberg is a manager now - and his rebirth is no flash in the pan either. Off and on in three different spells, he has been in charge of the Blue Square Bet South side for more than five years, long enough to show it is definitely in the dugout where his sporting ambitions lie.

Goldberg brought former Palace boss Terry Venables back to Selhurst Park in 1998. Photo: Getty Images

"I am not cut out to be a chairman and I don't want to be handling the business side of football at all," says Goldberg. "I want to be involved tactically setting out my team against another, and working out during the game where my team can gain an advantage.

"There is nothing more inspirational for me than to have that challenge. Every game is like an adrenalin rush which is beyond what most people can really comprehend, and that's what I love."

He is at home at Bromley too. He was player-manager of the club's reserves aged 20 before his business career took off and, when it collapsed, he returned to run their youth team from every level from under-nines to under-19s "as a hobby".

It is obvious how much he enjoys it. He smiles, because he is about to make a financial analogy. "Management doesn't really cost you anything other than your health and, for someone like me, maybe that's what I need."

It is an understatement to say Goldberg's time at Palace was rather more expensive and he admits he learned some harsh lessons to go with some of the highs he experienced in his brief time at Selhurst Park.

His first mistake was failing to secure the freehold of the ground when he bought the club for £23m from Ron Noades, but he kept spending, mainly on lucrative and unrealistic contracts for playing and non-playing staff alike.

Terry Venables was paid £135,000 just for talks about becoming head coach before being handed an annual salary of around £750,000 to take the job, while a full-time doctor and nutritionist cost £100,000-a-year each and an agent was paid £448,000 for bringing across three Argentine trialists, only one of whom eventually signed.

Goldberg is proud of the deal he struck with Juventus which led to the Eagles' academy being affiliated with the Italian giants and also for bringing the first two Chinese players - Sun Jihai and Fan Zhiyi - to the Premier League, but saw his empire fall apart when other investors failed to materialise and his own money ran out.

"I did things that maybe Manchester United did afterwards," Goldberg says. He is laughing but is soon deadly serious.

"Unfortunately my ideas were too big for a club like Palace. I should have been more realistic but my heart was in the club and I wanted to make them great. It was just bigger than I was capable of doing.

"When I took over, I had built up a £200m recruitment business from scratch. I couldn't have been a complete idiot to have done that and to have made £40m of my own money which I was prepared to blow, and I did.

Goldberg says he is more at home in the dugout than the boardroom. Photo: Ed Boyden

"I don't blame anyone else for it, it's my own fault. I just tried to get back up off the canvas and go again."

That is taking rather longer than it did first time around. He has been unable to rebuild his previous wealth, but says he sees that as a positive thing. "I don't look at the negatives," he explains. "What happened meant I was able to give my kids more of my time."

His daughter Lauren Rose, 21, is now a professional singer, while son Bradley, 18, inherited his father's sporting genes. A youth-team player at Charlton, he is on loan at Bromley and could play for the part-timers at the weekend.

Appropriately, seeing as his latest business venture is a recruitment website where contract workers can post their CVs, Goldberg sees the Orient match as a chance to show off his own managerial credentials, which include a promotion and two other first-round appearances, both of which ended in defeat.

"I don't get paid for what I am doing in football at the moment," Goldberg added. "I am doing it to try to get a track record so that one day I might get paid for it.

"I'm only 48 and in football management that is not old. What I'd love to do is secure the new business and my family for future years and be able to become a full-time football manager too."

Goldberg has ambitions for his club as well, predicting that average crowds of around 500 this season could go above 5,000 if he can get Bromley into the Football League. He wants to make his name in football for the right reasons and beating Orient would be a good start.

"I'm not saying we will get into the Football League but we are capable of doing it," Goldberg says. "Time will tell and, if not, we will still have fun trying.

"First things first, though, let's have a go at Brisbane Road on Saturday. I will be proud of the players if we are still in the game at the end and it is not a lost cause."

Follow me on Twitter throughout the season at www.twitter.com/chrisbevanbbc

As you might expect from a club ambassador and a man renowned for his partizan backing of the team he served for a decade, Summerbee is confident Roberto Mancini 's side will shine in their opening Group A game against Napoli and go on to show they belong among the European elite.

"The benchmark is Barcelona," Summerbee told me. "Can we compete? Yes. We were the last English team to win a trophy at the Nou Camp two years ago. I am not saying we are going to win the Champions League, but you never know. We have got a very strong side and lot of teams will be worried about playing us."

City fans have had to wait 43 years for a return to the European Cup. Photo: Getty

I should point out that Barca game was a friendly, though, so it probably just as well Summerbee is not getting too carried away with thoughts of being at the final in Munich next May. After all, that was the mistake City made in 1968.

Back then, Summerbee was an impudent England winger and one of the star men in a team who had just dethroned neighbours Manchester United as League champions, and now wanted their European crown too.

Outspoken assistant boss Malcolm Allison bullishly declared his side would "terrify the cowards of Europe" ahead of the club's first continental campaign, believing most foreign sides were too negative and could be blown away by attacking football.

But the only horror story was City themselves, who crashed out 2-1 on aggregate to Turkish outsiders Fenerbahce at the first hurdle, drawing 0-0 at Maine Road then being turned over in the return.

Summerbee, who won every domestic honour during his decade at City from 1965 to 1975, had a shocker in the first leg, missing an open goal from six yards and being booed by his own fans. Worse was to come in Turkey after an 1,800 mile journey which was the longest any English side had made for a competitive match.

He prepared for it by getting married 24 hours before leaving Manchester, with George Best as his best man. Instead of jetting off on a honeymoon with new wife Tina, he climbed on to a specially-chartered Comet plane with his team-mates instead. "She understood," he smiles. "We are still together now so maybe we got off on the right foot."

Mike Summerbee spent ten years at Maine Road. Photo: Hulton Archive

If it sounds like an adventure, that's because it was. And a journey into the unknown too. Summerbee had played for his country, making his debut at a hostile Hampden Park earlier in the year, but had seen nowhere like the National Stadium in Istanbul. To say it was a culture shock would be an understatement.

"The game didn't kick off until the evening, but they opened the gates in the morning and it was full from 8am," he explained. "We were staying at the Hilton about two or three miles away in the hills but we could hear the fans and see the rockets they were letting off all day.

"It was a lovely place with friendly people but they were fanatical about their football. We quickly realised we were in very volatile situation and to be honest it was frightening.

"When we got to the ground, I remember there was a moat around it which I had never seen before. Then the dressing room windows were smashed and when we came out to play there were armed soldiers waiting for us. One of them pointed at me and said 'I look after you'."

Despite the intimidation, Tony Coleman put City ahead before half-time but Fenerbahce, rank outsiders, replied straight after the interval and scored what was to be the winner 12 minutes from the end. Cue the first pitch invasion of the night, and scores more fireworks set off in the stands.

At the final whistle, soldiers had to clear a path for the players to leave the pitch and more than a 100 fires were lit on the terraces around the ground. As Summerbee puts it: "I dread to think what would have happened if we had won. We probably would never have been seen again".

City are unlikely to get anything like as hostile a reception anywhere they play this time around, despite being drawn in a tough group with Bayern Munich and Villarreal as well as Napoli.

But then much has changed since City's first European trip. Mancini and his scouting team will know all their opponents inside-out but City had never seen Fenerbahce play before the tie and relied on a scouting report from former Everton striker Oscar Hold, who had managed the Turkish side a whole three years previously.

"It was a unique situation for all of us," Summerbee, who felt the lessons they learned helped City win the now defunct European Cup Winners' Cup the following season, stated.

"But this is totally different. We have never played in the Champions League before but Mancini has experienced it as a player and a manager and all of our squad has played in Europe and at international level. We are ready."

Mancini will not be boasting like Allison did either, but there are some things his side do have in common with Summerbee's generation: a growing reputation for attractive football, and also an expectancy of more success.

"Roberto is a very strong-minded person and in his first year at City he was feeling his way a little bit," Summerbee added. "Now you can see what he was trying to build toward, which is playing magnificent attacking football.

"These are very exciting times for us. We just have to play the same way we are playing in the Premier League at the moment - I don't think we will have change that to make an impact in Europe and I am really looking forward to it."

Exciting times indeed. And, however City fare against Napoli, the fact they have to play six group games means their journey is guaranteed to last a lot longer than it did in 1968. It might even have a happier ending too.

Follow me on Twitter throughout the season @chrisbevan_bbc

There may have been a few unfamiliar faces wearing red shirts during Manchester United's thrilling win over Manchester City in the Community Shield, but there was nothing new about the manner Sir Alex Ferguson's men went about their Wembley victory.

Resilience and a never-say-die attitude have become a trademark of Ferguson's teams in his 25 years in charge at Old Trafford and, while we will learn more about the quality of the latest squad he has built over the course of the coming season, his players proved by recovering from two goals down to beat City on Sunday that they have the appetite for the sort of fightback that their manager relishes.

We saw the continuation of another recognisable Ferguson tradition too - his willingness to turn to youth. His team had an average age of 22 by the time Nani ran clear to snatch victory deep into injury time, and for 20 minutes before Dimitar Berbatov's late cameo, 26-year-old Ashley Young was the oldest United player on the pitch.

Sir Alex Ferguson's young stars turned the game in United's favour. Photo - Getty

Cleverley, who turns 22 later this week, and Welbeck, 20, have had limited opportunities at Old Trafford in the past, spending last season out on loan at Wigan and Sunderland, but they showed against City they have what it takes to be part of Ferguson's plans for the future.

Welbeck, who was called up into the England squad this week to face the Netherlands, led the line for 89 minutes on his first senior appearance for United since January 2010.

Cleverley was, with Jones and Evans, one of three half-time substitutes who helped turn the tide, making some assured touches and notably playing a part in the slick passing move that led to Nani's equaliser.

"Both of them started here and then gone out on loan, and to come back to United is another big step," explained United defender Chris Smalling afterwards. "We have seen in other games this pre-season that the manager is prepared to give them a chance and we have seen again against City that they are good enough."

Ferguson said in his post-match media conference that he has "trust and confidence" in all his young players, and clearly that works both ways - his players respond to the faith he puts in them.

"That's why he's one of the best managers there is," Smalling added. "He is not afraid to make changes or put on young players. Then it's just down to us to put on a performance."

Smalling, 21, who filled in at right-back at Wembley to combat City's formidable physical presence, was brought to Old Trafford from Fulham for £7m in 2010 as part of Ferguson's recently implemented 'buy young and/or buy British' transfer policy.

That has continued with Jones, De Gea and Young, who showed with a series of rapid raids down the wing that he already feels at home in a United shirt.

De Gea's debut was less assured, especially when he was beaten by Edin Dzeko's long-range drive for City's goal, but Smalling was impressed by his new team-mate's reaction.
"He will learn from things like that and he made some good saves in the second half. It was good to see he is not going to let things get him down."

This United side has not had a complete overhaul, of course. Yes, Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar are gone but the spine of the side that has won the Premier League for four of the last five seasons remains, and with it that winning mentality that chases more success.

We should not get carried away by the significance of United's win, even if it does appear to strike a psychological blow ahead of the new season. After all, Ferguson himself describes the Shield as merely a "stepping stone" towards the start of the new season.

But the new generation of United talent seems to view trophies in the same way as their predecessors - that they are there to be won.

"Expectations never drop at this club and I don't think the manager would ever let that happen," Smalling stated. "We want to win everything, that's the aim and that's what we are all striving for."

Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira may be nearing the end of his illustrious career but the bad news for Stoke City fans is that he remains a man for the big occasion.

The veteran Frenchman has undisputedly been there, seen it and won it - you cannot argue with his haul of domestic trophies in England and Italy, or his World Cup and European Championship winners' medals with France, so he can speak with authority when he talks about what ending a 35-year trophy drought would mean for City.

It is something that he mentions frequently when he does the rounds in an improvised mixed zone at City's media day ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against the Potters, joining David Silva, Yaya Toure and, eventually, Edin Dzeko to answer questions in a temporary marquee erected on one of their training pitches at their Carrington base.

While Toure and Silva held fort on the top tables, Vieira danced around the journalists on the edge of the tent, giving the whole occasion the air of a particularly surreal wedding. Dzeko played his part in the analogy too, keeping to the tradition of such events by arriving extremely late.

Vieira (second from left) provides a wise old head in the City dressing room - photo: Getty

I followed Vieira as he made his way around the room, sometimes facing the same question in quick succession for the benefit of TV, radio or the written press. What was most telling about his thoughts on the consequences of some long awaited success for his club, was the fact they often came after he had been asked about what winning his fifth FA Cup would mean to him.

It seems that for the 34-year-old, the significance of this weekend is less about the possibility of another personal accolade, and more about the chance to help kick-start a period of success in what could be his final act for the club.

"You cannot compare it to the trophies I have won elsewhere," Vieira explained. "The Cup might not be so important for other teams or be less of an achievement than a league title, but this club has been looking forward to winning something for a long time now, and we all understand how difficult that has been for the fans.

"It is easy to forget that four or five years ago, City were fighting to stay in the Premier League. Now we have qualified for the Champions League and are in the final of the FA Cup, and that is a big step forward. It has been fantastic to be part of something like that, and Saturday is a big chance for us. The first trophy always means a lot because people always remember it.

"I think the people here are building a football club for the future. If we can win the Cup, I think it will be the start of a new era, and some really successful years."

Given he is unlikely to be around to be a part of that potentially bright future, you could understand it if Vieira had wanted to focus on adding to his own achievements. The Cup has offered him a rare chance to shine this season and, whether he starts the game or not on Saturday, the Senegal-born star has already played a big part in getting City to Wembley.

He has only been a bit-part player in the Premier League, making a mere four starts during this entire campaign, but he has started six of City's seven FA Cup ties so far (including two replays), scoring three goals to help his side progress.

There have been other contributions to the cause too. Vieira may no longer have the legs to be the driving midfield force he once was for Arsenal but he makes up for his fading playing powers when he is off the pitch, and has been a huge influence in the dressing room. The volatile character that is Mario Balotelli was joking when he recently referred to Vieira as "my dad" but he is not the only one in City's relatively young squad to see their experienced team-mate as something of a father figure.

So, even if he always intended to use him sparingly, you can understand why Roberto Mancini brought Vieira back to the Premier League 16 months ago after seeing first-hand the influence his winning mentality had in their triumphs together at Inter Milan.

It is that lack of action which might see Vieira leave Eastlands, and indeed England, during the summer.

He is out of contract at the end of the season and, when asked if he would be staying at City, replied: "I hope so, but I don't really know. I am really proud of what I've done in my time at this club and if I am part of it next season I will be happy and excited. If not, I will be grateful and think about what happens next. We will get to a time when I have to make a decision, but it is not the time yet."

There would be a certain symmetry if Vieira were to bid farewell to the Premier League after helping City win the Cup because that was the way he signed off at Arsenal, scoring the decisive spot-kick against Manchester United in the penalty shoot-out that decided the 2005 final.

But history suggests Mancini would be well-advised to try to persuade him to continue. As Gunners fans know only too well, their side has not won a trophy since Vieira's departure, and City want Saturday to be the start of their success story, not the end.

You can follow me at Wembley on Saturday on Twitter @chrisbevan_bbc

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

He is a World Cup winner, famous for 'that' save to deny Pele and rightly recognised as one of the finest goalkeepers the game has ever seen, so Gordon Banks can look back on his playing days with relatively few regrets.

But, when the England legend takes his seat at Wembley for Saturday's FA Cup final, he will be hoping his beloved Stoke City can take care of some unfinished business from more than 40 years ago.

Banks held aloft the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966 but he never got his hands on the FA Cup, despite being within touching distance on several occasions.

He appeared in two finals for Leicester City, losing to Tottenham in 1961 and Manchester United in 1963, but it is being reminded of defeats by Arsenal in two semi-finals with the Potters in 1971 and 1972 that still makes him angry, four decades on.

The Gunners went on to lift the Cup and complete the double in '71 but, when I spoke to him this week, Banks was adamant that Stoke should have progressed instead. They led 2-1 at Hillsborough, deep into injury time, when a contentious corner led to a penalty and a last-gasp Peter Storey equaliser.

Banks remembers the incident vividly and his description of it provides a reminder that controversial refereeing decisions are not just a modern phenomenon.

Banks played 246 games for Stoke during five years at the Victoria Ground. Photo: Getty

"Time was up, and I knew if I could deal with an Arsenal free-kick then the game had to be over," Banks told me. "I came out and got a clean catch, but John Radford hit me in the middle of the back and I couldn't help but drop the ball and it went out for a corner, which of course they scored from. To this day, I do not know why the referee did not blow for the foul. It was criminal.

"Of course it still rankles. It would rankle with any footballer to feel that they have been cheated out of reaching a Cup final, and that's exactly what we felt. Not just me, but all the Stoke players."

Stoke lost the replay, just as they did against the same opposition a year later - again under questionable circumstances when the linesman apparently mistook a touchline programme seller for a defender, allowing Radford to race clear and score the winner despite being a long way offside.

Until this season, those games remained the closest Stoke had come to an FA Cup final, although Banks helped the club win the 1972 League Cup (he had previously played in the Leicester side that beat Stoke in a two-leg final in 1964), the only major silverware in their history, a few months before losing an eye in the car accident which would end his career.

It has taken the Potters until now to re-emerge as trophy contenders, but Banks remained a keen observer throughout their wilderness years. He still lives on the north Staffordshire border, was a regular spectator at their old Victoria Park home and now the Britannia Stadium, and has been Stoke's honorary president since 2000.

His ties to the club goes back almost to the day he signed for them in April 1967, but had an unlikely beginning after the shock of Leicester telling him he could leave Filbert Street.

Banks, who had won the World Cup less than a year before, was 29 and at the peak of his powers. He was still England's number one but the Foxes decided to sell, thinking they could turn a tidy profit and had a ready-made replacement in a teenage understudy by the name of Peter Shilton, who had demanded first-team football.

Nobody came in for Banks initially - something he still does not understand - and he remembers that when the possibility of the move to Stoke materialised, it did not appeal at first. But he quickly fell in love with the area and forged a special relationship with its people, another reason why the 73-year-old is looking forward to Saturday's clash with Manchester City so much.

"I have been to Wembley a number of times but I am thrilled to bits for the fans," Banks explained. "They have been magnificent over the last few years and that is why so pleased for them to be in a Cup final. They will have a great day whatever happens because they are the type of supporters that will make the most of it and will get right behind the team."

They might have a say in where the trophy ends up too.

Like Banks, I was at Wembley for Stoke's emphatic semi-final win over Bolton and my ears are still ringing from the incredible din the Potters fans created. It was not a one-off either because, whenever the club has called for their support since their return to the top flight in 2008, they have not let them down.

"They really were something special for the semi-final," Banks recalled. "Stoke is a city that has not had much to shout about recently, with employment problems and things like that, so this has given the locals a lovely lift and something to cheer about - and it's brilliant that the club always acknowledges that the fans have been part of their success too."

Arsenal are awarded their last-gasp penalty in the 1971 FA Cup semi-final. Photo: Getty

Banks played his own part in the club's Cup run. Stoke boss Tony Pulis invited him into the dressing room just before their quarter-final against West Ham, hoping a World Cup winner and club legend could inspire his squad. It worked, although Banks laughs off the importance of his speech.

"Tony just got me in to say a few words," he revealed. "I just kept it simple and told them what a great day it would be for them if they could get through to play at Wembley for the semi-final, because I knew a lot of them hadn't played there before. I told them to remember that the crowd would get behind them whatever happened, but, if they gave 100%, they would roar their heads off for them."

Stoke's vocal support is universally admired but Tony Pulis and his players have won fewer plaudits for what is seen as a primitive approach to the game.

The criticism that their playing style is over-reliant on set-pieces and Rory Delap's catapult throws is something a regular watcher like Banks insists is unfair and does not reflect their recent progress or use of skilful wide-men like Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington, who remains a doubt for the final with a hamstring injury.

"People think Stoke still play the same as they did when they came into the Premier League three years ago - they don't see us often enough to notice how different we have become," Banks explained. "We have improved a lot this season and we are playing more football, and better football. Credit for that must go to Tony."

Despite Stoke's tactical development or the impressive form that has seem them lose only one of their last nine games, they still go into the Cup final as definite underdogs against big-spending City. Banks, though, remains confident they can spring a surprise.

"I went to see us against Arsenal, who have been one of the top teams in the country for quite a while now, on Sunday and I was absolutely thrilled by the way that we played against them," he said. "We played some great football, didn't allow them to play, created stacks of chances and scored goals. It was just terrific."

A similar performance on Saturday might be enough to secure a long-awaited addition to the club's trophy cabinet, but would a Stoke triumph make up for the heartache of Banks' near-misses in the Cup as a player?

"Definitely," he replies without hesitating. "I have waited a long time for this, and I would love to see it happen. I will be there cheering them on with the rest of our fans, don't worry about that!"

You can follow me on Twitter throughout the season @chrisbevan_bbc

The Giro will be Downing's Grand Tour debut, at the grand old age of 32, and represents a "dream come true" for the amiable Yorkshireman. By the very nature of their sport, professional cyclists are used to slogging away for little or no reward, but Downing's road to the top of his sport has been particularly long and hard.

The current crop of talented young British riders, including the likes of Mark Cavendish and Downing's Sky team-mate Peter Kennaugh, have all come through British Cycling's Olympic Academy programme, something that did not exist when Downing was trying to make his name in the saddle.

Instead, he had to rely on his own personal support network and, crucially, his stubborn deternination to succeed. The latter has been apparent since he won his first race at the Clairville Velodrome in Middlesbrough at the age of seven.

Everything else has fallen by the wayside, from a promising football career - he was on the books of Rotherham United, his hometown team, until he was 16 - to his apprenticeship as a joiner with Kiveton Park Steelworks when he left school.

Downing enjoyed a successful season with Team Sky in 2010. Photo: Getty

"It was a four-year apprenticeship but I left after about 18 months," Downing explained. "I was 17 and riding as a semi-pro. I used to race on Thursday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons, things like that. At first, my boss was really supportive but after a year or so he told me my cycling was getting in the way.

"He always used to ask me to do overtime when he knew I was training, and in the end I just quit. My dad, who was a bike rider, always wanted me to turn professional and he was really supportive about my decision. I was already riding in a team with Chris Walker, the 1991 Milk Race winner, and he was the one who convinced me I was good enough to be a pro. It went onwards and upwards from there."

Perhaps 'sideways' would be a better way of describing Downing's early career trajectory. Despite proving himself as one of the leading riders in domestic races and on the lower level Continental Tour, he constantly hit dead-ends in his attempts to crack the ProTour - the top-level professional scene in continental Europe.

Downing thought he had made it when he signed for the ill-fated Linda McCartney Racing team at the age of 19, but the outfit collapsed before he had even raced for them. His next big move, to I-Team Nova in 2003, also ended with his paymasters running out of money, and Downing briefly called it quits - returning to club cycling before turning his attention to the track.

His hiatus from the road did not last for long, however, and he marked his return style in 2005, winning the British road race title. Still, his big break was a long way off.

Another false start followed, with a French team which collapsed when their sponsor pulled out, but he persevered, and moved to Belgium for the 2006 season where he lived in a house with eight other riders - a far cry from the luxurious world he inhabits as part of Team Sky on their hi-tech team coach.

The only constant in those turbulent years were Downing's results, and he continued to impress when he joined the CandiTV-Marshalls Pasta team in 2008. He finished second in the Tour of Ireland in 2008, and went one better in 2009, with his victory helping him earn his big chance with Team Sky. It's fair to say the step-up has made a huge difference to his life.

Downing clinched overall victory in the 2009 Tour of Ireland

I spoke to Downing a few weeks ago in the plush surroundings of Adidas's London showroom, at the launch of the new Team Sky and Team GB kit. He describes the Sky set-up as "a well-oiled machine" and compares his Pinarello Dogma bike to a top-of-the-range sportscar, but the biggest change has come away from his bike.

"I've been doing this for a living for 10 years now. Some years I would class myself as a pro and others an amateur," said Downing. "Obviously, sometimes it has been quite difficult - I would have good results but at the end of the season still not know who I would be racing for the following year.

"It is tough having to train and train over the winter when you don't know where you are going to end up. I have had some funding in the past - from the Dave Rayner Fund and also the Lottery back in 1998 - but normally during the winter I've had to find work and just do odd-jobs to get by. I've done all sorts.

"There were certain years where I had to come back to England after racing in Europe because teams had folded, and the stability has not been there in my life. So to sign for Sky, which is obviously such a big team, was a great achievement.

"It made the last decade really worth it and I think it has changed me as a person as well. I'm pretty relaxed now and I can get on with my bike riding without having to worry about the other things, and that sort of security is nice."

Not that Downing has rested on his laurels. He admits to being nervous at the start of last season but went on to enjoy some notable victories, including at the Tour de Wallonie.

Probably his only disappointment was failing to make the squad for any of the Grand Tours - the Giro, Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France. He knew he had to show he was more than just a sprinter to earn his place, and did exactly that.

"There were days last year where I did so much work for people and they were respectful for that. Then when the chances came for myself I went and took them, winning a stage of the Criterium International and think it proved to a lot of people at Sky that I could do a lot of jobs - either win races for other people by helping out and fetching bottles, but also on my day win for myself and Team Sky. I surprised a few people, and hopefully I can keep surprising them."

This year's Giro would be a good place to start. Does Downing harbour any ambitions of a stage win before the race finishes in Milan on 27 May? Of course he does.

"It's all a bit weird," he explained. "Last year some of the things I'd dreamt about came true, so who knows what will happen this time. Thomas Lofkvist is our team leader and our main guy for the General Classification so some days I will be helping him, but there are still a few days where, if I can get in a nice breakaway, I can have a go for a stage win. But I definitely won't be going there just to ride round in the grupetto - I don't do that in any race."