Drawing The Play-Off Picutre

It's that time of year again when those in The Championship unfortunate to miss out on automatic promotion take part in the stomach-churning, emotional rollercoaster of the Play-Offs in order to claim the last seat at the Premier League table. In 1987 however, the Play-Offs looked very different. There was no prestigious Wembley final and no untold riches on offer. In fact, the Play-Off picture was a very different one to that which you may love or loathe today...

Football during the 1986-87 season wasn't in a pleasant place. Hooliganism ruled the terraces, nobody wanted to go to matches anymore and the general public were falling out of love with the game as a whole, we have to remember we were only a few months removed from the infamous television blackout. 

In an attempt to breathe new life into the dying game, the Football League introduced the Play-Off system to extend interest in the latter stages of the season, initially only for two years but on the proviso that if the punters were interested they would become a regular fixture. 

There was no exhilarating trip to Wembley in the early days, the Play-Offs began life under rather different circumstances to those that we know and love (as long as your team isn't losing in them though!) today. There wasn't even a trophy on offer! 

The three teams who finished immediately below the automatic promotion spots would be joined in the post-season by the team who had narrowly avoided automatic relegation from the division above in a four-team tournament with the two semi-final winners meeting in a final (all matches were played over two legs), similar to the old 'test matches' played a century earlier during the Football League's early days. 

Ipswich Town, Leeds United and Oldham Athletic were all aiming for promotion to the First Division and they were joined by Charlton Athletic who were hoping to preserve their top-flight status. The Addicks had finished just two points clear of relegation with Leicester City being demoted at their expense. 

The Play-Off action got underway in slightly inauspicious circumstances as Leeds hosted Oldham at Elland Road. The visitors had only narrowly missed out on promotion to the top flight, ending their campaign agonizingly just three points adrift of second placed Portsmouth. The Latics' misery looked like it was going to be further compounded on their visit to West Yorkshire when Leeds scored a late winner when Keith Edwards headed home John Sheridan's cross in the 89th minute. 

Keith Edwards celebrates his late winner in the first leg of Leeds' semi-final with Oldham Athletic at Elland Road

For all the drama of the Leeds vs Oldham first leg, the opening encounter between Ipswich and Charlton at Portman Road saw both sides draw a blank. 

Four days after the first legs, the inaugural Play-Off semi-finals drew to a close. Charlton took a huge stride towards maintaining their place in the First Division by booking their place in the final with a 2-1 win over Ipswich at Selhurst Park. A double from Scotsman Jim Melrose two minutes apart was enough for Charlton to advance, Steve McCall notched for Ipswich with five minutes left but his goal was not enough to inspire a fightback. 

Possibly in a sign of things to come, Oldham's return leg against Leeds came to a dramatic head at Boundary Park that required extra time to find a winner. The Latics took the lead in the 18th minute through Gary Williams and when Mike Cecere notched in the 89th minute, it looked like they had booked their place in the final and had a shot at righting the wrong of missing out on automatic promotion. Sadly for Oldham, Leeds had other ideas and Keith Edwards was once again on hand to come up with a late goal and his 90th minute strike was enough to not only take the tie into extra time but also (and rather crucially) hand the visitors the advantage by virtue of a priceless away goal. The score was locked at 2-2 and that was the way it stayed until the end of extra time which was enough to see Leeds into the final. 

And so the first entry into the history books would see Leeds United meet Charlton Athletic in the inaugural Second Division Play-Off final. 

On a damp Saturday afternoon, the first leg took place at Selhurst Park (Charlton were very much in their nomadic phase in 1987) and saw the home side draw first blood. Leeds had goalkeeper Mervyn Day to thank for pulling off a string of impressive saves which prevented The Addicks from opening up an almost unassailable first leg lead. Jim Melrose thought he'd put Charlton in front only to see referee Roger Milford rule his goal out for a foul on the Leeds stopper. Not that it mattered much as the same man headed home with three minutes remaining to finally give the South London side the lead they deserved. 

Jim Melrose gave Charlton the advantage as his late goal gave The Addicks a 1-0 aggregate lead in the 1987 Second Division Play-Off final. 

Two days later at Elland Road, it was Leeds' turn to dominate possession and in front of a crowd of over 30,000 they received their just rewards in the 53rd minute when striker Bob Taylor's shot squirmed goalwards and was made sure of crossing the line by captain Brendon Ormsby to tie the aggregate score at 1-1. 

With nothing to separate the two sides, a replay was needed at Birmingham City's St. Andrews. With a comparatively low crowd of just under 16,000 in attendance, it really was a case of winner takes all. Once again Charlton had the lion's share of possession but couldn't turn their dominance into goals with Garth Crooks and Jim Melrose guilty of missing chances. 

After a goalless 90 minutes, the game exploded into life in the first half of extra time when John Sheridan scored an absolute peach of a free-kick which almost looked like a chip into the top corner of Bob Bolder's net which sent the Leeds supporters into raptures. 

John Sheridan's 16th goal of the season opened the scoring in the final replay held at Birmingham City's St. Andrews'. 

Undeterred, Charlton plugged away in the second half and they duly equalised in the 113th minute through Peter Shirtliff. After Paul Miller's cross caused chaos in the Leeds penalty area and Steve Gritt's shot had bobbled through to Mark Stuart, the substitute provided a clever lay-off for Shirtliff to fire a smart first time shot into the bottom corner of Mervyn Day's goal. Four minutes later, the central defender was at it again when he met Andy Peake's free kick with a fine header which rubber=stamped Charlton's survival. Perhaps even more gallingly for Leeds, Shirtliff had previously played for their Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday. 

Charlton's victorious players celebrate (or is that breathe a sigh of relief) after preserving their First Division status. 

And just like that, a firm fixture on the sporting calendar was born. The 'three plus one' format continued until 1990 when the Play-Offs transformed into the semi-finals and Wembley final extravaganza we all know and love (unless you lose in them) today. 

Charlton and Leeds have both experienced Play-Off football since. The Addicks of course won the classic 1998 Division One final on penalties after a pulsating 4-4 draw with Sunderland (thanks in no small part to 'Super' Clive Mendonca's hat-trick) before repeating the feat in 2019, beating the same opponents 2-1 in the League One final. Leeds on the other hand can be forgiven for not being too fond of the Play-Offs, having lost in three separate finals. In 2006 they were denied a return to the Premier League by a 3-0 thumping by Watford at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium before another defeat two years later at the hands of Doncaster Rovers at the new Wembley in the League One final. More recently, The Whites were beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the 2024 Championship final. 

When the time comes and the (almost) cliche comes out about how the Championship Play-Off final is the supposed 'richest game in football', just take a moment to remember how it all began and how the first final was settled on a rainy night in Birmingham almost 40 years ago. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this piece, what's your favourite memory from the Play-Offs? (not just Championship either) Why not join the conversation on X and let me know yours @DanBarker2802. 

For more about the history of the Football League Play-Offs I thoroughly recommend Richard Foster's brilliant book 'The Agony & The Ecstasy' which takes a very detailed look at the history of the Play-Offs and is available by clicking this link