We were playing WHU and Dan was one of the strikers. He was about to score when their goalie Ludo Miklosko grabbed Dan around the head. Red Card and Penalty followed as we won 3-1.

After the game the West Ham team were furious as they claimed Miklosko was grabbing at the ball to which Joe Royle dismissed the suggestion in the strongest possible terms with "I don't see how, the ball is white and Dan's head is black"

Probably now get banned from the site for Racism - and so too will Joe Royle.

As the saying goes, you have to grab the opportunity of a lifetime within the lifetime of the opportunity.

He never seemed to work with Big Dunc, which was problematic. He had the ability to read players like Limpar and Kanchelskis and we looked like a really good footballing side but Royle couldn't reconcile that with the Dogs of War spine he'd put in with a Rideout or Ferguson up top.

I think the long injury absence for Kanchelskis probably didn't help Amo as he was one of the few who could keep up with him and break with him, like at Blackburn towards the end of 95/96.

Cracking player yet like many of that era, was unable to cement himself in a team struggling to convert from a relegation threat to FA Cup holders and challenging for UEFA cup qualifying places in only 12 months.

Absolutely unforgettable - !!

Link

Confirms what many of us already knew; he is a top lad and now a total bluenose.

I believe he now coaches in Finland, but is still a Bluenose, through and through.

As a 17-year-old enjoying the cup run and win, I never thought I'd get to 41 and not see another pot lifted!

Given all the pressures of joining a genuinely dire team, and then a new manager who played a very different style, Amo did OK. The semi-final at Elland Road is still one of my favorite experiences ever. Up to and including Big Nev grabbing a Spurs fan pitch invader by the neck and throwing him towards the touchline in no uncertain terms.

Let's not sugarcoat it. That reputation for racism wasn't massively unfair or ill-deserved. Having to go back to seven appearances from Cliff Marshall in the 70s to prove that we weren't is more damning than supportive.

Just saying..

I think between Amokachi and Kevin Campbell, who arrived a few years after Amo left, perceptions were changed and thankfully you never hear language used like that anymore, even if it was supposedly affectionate.

As for Amokachi the player, I think he never quite delivered on the hopes I had for him. He scored just 13 goals in 48 games in his two seasons here, though he was often sub or subbed. Maybe he would have profited from the modern game or more attacking tactics from the manager.

I'll never forget the stories at the time where it was continually suggested he was much older than he said he was, ie not 21 but approaching 30. That was obviously a load of crap but another example of the attitude to African players back then.

The thing with the pair of them is you can see them both on social media, both big Evertonians by the way as is Yobo, and they look their age. That is 36 for Yakubu and 46 for Amokachi. If they were say 10 years older, then Amokachi would not still look like he could put a pair of boots on and get out there. Yakubu still looks like he is still playing. He's in great shape.

I think the issue with Yakubu is he made his debut in Israel at 15 and then moved to Israel's biggest club (Maccabi Haifa) and scored goals in the Champions League at 16 and 17, think one was against Man Utd. This caused people to question his age when he moved to Portsmouth. If his age was forged, then he was no more than 2 years out.

Jackson was playing in the cup games because Barrett was cup-tied.

I think Royle only signed Barrett as he had been a regular for him at Oldham, and certainly had a better reputation that Jackson, but the sad truth is that both were very limited footballers and Royle himself seemed to concede this when he went on to sign yet another limited right-back in Marc Hottiger.

Still, whilst I can not remember a single good game that Barrett played, Jackson will always have that glorious cup run, in which he played a huge part and will be be remembered fondly as a result.

Very likeable man, legendary FA Cup semi-final but the truth is...Daniel was actually quite poor overall.

Didn't score, didn't hold it up and seemed to struggle staying onside.

My Dad met Gary Lineker around '96 and Gary thought Amo was one of the worst strikers in the League!!

But despite all that, I liked him and have very fond memories of that time period.

And when you think of the injuries we had in 96/97 season then we definitely should have kept him a while longer. For all his faults he was still useful and just so bloody likeable!