Deal Town's former manager Tommy Sampson recalls the worst decision he ever made as their Wembley dream nearly turned into a nightmare.

It's 20 years this week since The Hoops beat Chippenham Town to win the FA Vase - the only Kent side to do it.

Not everything went to plan that day, however, and Sampson remembers some of the obstacles they had to overcome before they could celebrate under the Twin Towers.

In part one of Wembley Remembered, the former manager says he still watches the winning goal every day and talks of how he put together a winning team. He starts part two with a word on his skipper and the philosophy which he picked up from a book.

“Terry obeyed every command and was the best player that I ever signed”

Deal’s captain was Terry Martin, the Franco Baresi of the team.

Sampson had read Helenio Herrera’s book about his time managing Inter Milan and the ‘catenaccio’ way of playing - translated as the lockdown.

“It became my philosophy,” Sampson said.

“Defend your lead, defend it well and clear your lines, ensure there are no gaps. If you score, don’t be too expansive.

“Terry obeyed every command and was the best player that I ever signed.

“He might not have been the most skilful but he could read the game brilliantly. My preference was 5-3-2 with two wing-backs with incredible stamina. Martin would drop in as a sweeper and deal with any problems that we encountered at the back.

“I remember when we signed him the Faversham chairman called him a mercenary. Terry never did things for money and he was so upset. I didn’t want players playing for money. He was such a wonderful, nice guy, he had a good job, he worked for the government, he didn’t need the money.”

‘That result has got Wembley written all over it.’

Deal’s first game in the 1999/2000 FA Vase competition was away to Eastleigh.

They almost fell at the first hurdle but the fightback gave Sampson belief that this was going to be their season.

“We were 3-1 down but we ended up winning 4-3,” he recalled.

“I had gone in at half-time and I was punching the medical table, I told them there was no way I was prepared to go out of the Vase at this stage.

“I remember Marc Seager admitting he wasn’t feeling well and I was like, ‘why didn’t you tell me before?’ He said he wanted to play. We were 3-1 down, we nearly went out.

“I took a couple off and we turned it around. I remember doing an interview after the game and I said then, ‘that result has got Wembley written all over it’.”

Deal went through the season sweeping all before them.

They won the Kent League title, and the Kent Senior Trophy. They reached the final of the Kent League Cup but pulled out of the final due to fixture congestion.

A two-legged victory over Newcastle Town in the FA Vase put them into the final, where they would meet Chippenham Town.

Over half of the 20,000 crowd were supporting the Hoops.

“I asked where Bobby Moore sat. He was my hero”

Inside the dressing room before kick-off, Sampson couldn’t escape the history of Wembley. This was the last final to be played at the stadium before it was to be demolished.

Sampson said: “The place had so much history. Kevin Keegan had resigned as England manager in the toilet.

“There were people there to attend for us, they were like butlers, one of them had started not long after the World Cup final.

“I asked him where Bobby Moore sat. He was my hero.

“The attendant pointed to the number six peg, and said ‘under there’ so I made sure I sat in that seat for a few seconds. To think he had been sat in the same seat.

“When I named my team at Wembley we didn’t have any stars.

“They were experienced Kent League players and people would say about Steve Lovell, that I must have been paying him £200-£300 but it was nothing like that, it was £60 or £70, he just wanted to play football.

“He knew Wembley was a priority and I built the season around it. I had 21 players, I was leaving six or seven out a week, every player I had could play more than one position.”

“The worst decision that I had made in my whole career”

Sampson’s nerves were calmed early on, thanks to a young helper, but the game started badly, really badly.

Deal’s mascot was the chairman’s daughter, Laura.

Sampson said: ”She came down the tunnel and I remember the announcer saying ‘here come the teams’. Roy handed her to me and we held hands. That kept me from being nervous.

“Then, after just 10 minutes of the game starting, our defender David Monteith tore a cruciate ligament. He had caught his studs in the turf and was in a lot of pain.

“I remember them taking him off and he walked behind me, to the changing rooms behind the bench. He was crying and his wife rushed down to see him. Dave was crying, I was crying, then my assistant came and pulled my collar and said, ‘we have a decision to make’.

“I put a centre-half on for a wing-back. I just did it, my mind was scrambled. I ended up with five centre-backs on the pitch and it was a mistake that could have cost us, we could have been two goals down.

“It was the worst decision that I had made in my whole career.

“I eventually shuffled it around. Paul Roberts was the player I had put on but I couldn’t take him off. Robbo was a good player, he would win his headers and wouldn’t mess around, but we were poor with our organisation.

“He said I still owed him £5 for the Wembley goal”

Deal survived and a forgettable spectacle edged towards full-time before Roly Graham’s 87th-minute goal broke the deadlock.

Our report that day described the moment.

“A good run down the right by Marshall ended with him sending in an excellent cross which Graham met with a crisp volley into the net. It was a goal which would have graced any final at the famous stadium.”

Sampson said: “The Carlsberg sign was infront of us but we jumped over that, Roly had gone behind the goal and ran a long way to come over, everyone jumped on, the subs, myself. Roly was at the top of the pyramid.”

For a manager that studied the catenaccio way of playing, 1-0 was a perfect result.

The manager was paying midfielder Graham £5 a goal. He was one of the group who had come from Herne Bay. The agreement had cost him close to £500 over the years.

Graham emigrated to Australia but never forgot that gentleman’s agreement.

Sampson recalled: “He came over for a week and we played golf. He said I still owed him £5 for Wembley! I told him to **** off."

He did go home with the money, however, framed and signed, with a message ‘for Roly’s goal from Wembley.’

The third and final part of Wembley Remembered will be published tomorrow, as Tommy talks about a stroke that almost led to suicide and an illness that left him close to death.

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