Ahead of Plymouth Argyle's appearance in the Sky Bet League Two Play-off final on Easter Monday, we will now look back at the Pilgrims' side that defeated Darlington 1-0 on May 25th 1996 in their only other previous Wembley outing.
Steve Cherry:
Argyle's Play-off final appearance proved to be the final appearance of the second of Cherry's two spells with the Pilgrims, which was his third Play-off success under Neil Warnock having enjoyed two promotion successes under him at Notts County. Spells at a variety of clubs, ranging from Rotherham United to Oldham Athletic to Belper Town followed before he became goalkeeping coach at Lincoln City and Macclesfield Town.
Mark Patterson:
Former Derby County defender Patterson was the only player in the Argyle line-up to have been signed by Warnock's predecessor Peter Shilton. It was Patterson's cross that set up Ronnie Mauge for the Pilgrims' decisive goal. He moved to Gillingham in 1997 and became a youth coach for the Gills after he retired.
Chris Curran:
The Pilgrims' Wembley triumph was the second time that Curran had triumphed under the Twin Towers, as he had helped Torquay United win promotion from Division Four in 1991 against Blackpool. Curran would go onto join the select band of players to have appeared for all three Devon sides when he signed for Exeter City in 1997.
Mick Heathcote:
Argyle's captain for the day, Mick Heathcote remained with the Pilgrims until 2001 when he was released by Paul Sturrock and became the last of the Wembley side to leave Home Park. He subsequently re-joined Shrewsbury Town for a second spell before drifting into non-league football.
Richard Logan:
One of several players who had played under Warnock at his previous club Huddersfield Town, Logan left Argyle for Scunthorpe United in 1998 and later played for Lincoln City and Gainsborough Trinity. He is now a builder in his native Barnsley.
Paul Williams:
Left-back Paul Williams joined the Pilgrims for £50,000 from Coventry City and made the Third Division PFA team of the year, along with Mick Heathcote. He was another player who left the Pilgrims in 1998 when he signed for Gillingham before being reunited with Neil Warnock at Bury, where he finished his professional career.
Martin Barlow:
After making his debut in 1989, Martin Barlow remained with the Pilgrims until 2001, completing 12 years at Home Park. During this time, he was the joint-winner of the club's Player of the Year award with Carlo Corazzin in 1998 and was rewarded with a testimonial against Fulham in 1999, before he crossed the Devon Expressway to sign for Exeter City. He still lives and works in Plymouth and regularly turns out for the Argyle Legends team.
Ronnie Mauge:
To date the only player to score for Plymouth Argyle at Wembley with his 65th minute header- although that could have changed by full time on Monday - Ronnie Mauge remained with the Pilgrims for a further three years when he was released in 1999. He then joined Bristol Rovers, where he finished his career in 2002 through injury before dropping into non-league football.
Chris Leadbitter:
Having already won two promotions with Cambridge United under John Beck, Man of the Match Chris Leadbitter made it a promotion hat-trick with the Pilgrims, who he would have two spells with during his career. He would leave Home Park in 1997 when, following a brief spell with Dorchester Town, Leadbitter joined Torquay United and would appear for the Gulls in the 1998 Wembley appearance against Colchester United. He was brought back to Argyle by Kevin Hodges in 1999 and remained with the Pilgrims for two more years before retiring through injury.
Adrian Littlejohn:
Signed from Sheffield United in September 1995 for a fee of £200,000, Adrian Littlejohn finished the 1995-96 season as the Pilgrims' top scorer in the with 17 goals. He would go on to play under Neil Warnock again for further three different clubs (Oldham Athletic, Bury and Sheffield United) before eventually ending his career in non-league football with Leek Town and Retford United.
Mickey Evans:
The Pilgrims' Wembley success was the first of three promotions that Plymouth-born Mickey Evans would win with Argyle. He would leave the Pilgrims for Premiership side Southampton for a fee of £650,000 midway through the 1996-97 season, and won the Premier League Player of the Month award for April 1997. He was later capped by the Republic of Ireland and appeared for West Bromwich Albion and Bristol Rovers before Paul Sturrock brought him back to Home Park in March 2001 for a fee of £30,000. 'Trigger' as he was affectionately known was a regular for the Pilgrims as they won the Division Three title in the 2001-02 season and the Division Two title in the 2003-04 campaign, and he also helped to re-establish Argyle in the Championship until he was released in 2006. A brief spell with Torquay United followed before he finally hung up his boots to concentrate on his building company, which he runs in partnership with former Pilgrims' director Phill Gill.
Neil Warnock:
Argyle's Play-off success was the fourth such triumph of Neil Warnock's career which, together with his previous successes with Notts County (twice) and Huddersfield Town is a record. He also jointly holds the record for the number of promotion wins (seven) with Dave Bassett and Graham Taylor.
After leaving the Pilgrims, following an acrimonious fall-out with Chairman Dan McCauley during the 1996-97 season - which saw him sacked, Warnock went onto manage Oldham Athletic, Bury and his boyhood club Sheffield United - who he led to promotion to the Premier League in the 2005-06 season. He then took charge of Crystal Palace (twice), QPR - who he won the Championship title with in the 2010-11 campaign - Leeds United and Rotherham United. He led the latter to Championship safety earlier this season, and his passion for management remains as strong as ever.
