ON THIS DAY

The mystery surrounding why Crystal Palace striker Chris Armstrong was missing from an FA Cup tie two days previously was solved when it was announced on this day in 1995 that he had become the first Premier Division player to fail a drugs test. The test made on 23rd January 1995 had tested positive for cannabis. There was a great debate as to whether punishment or help should be the main response but he attended a brief rehap programme before scoring a goal on his return to football on March 14th. His goals didn't help prevent Palace from suffering relegation from the Premier League and in the summer he moved from Palace to Tottenham for £4,500,000 which at the time was Spurs' record transfer fee paid and Palace's record fee received.

Bristol Rovers manager Bobby Gould fined himself £200 for the comments he made to the referee in the defeat at Bradford City the previous month. Not surprisingly that method of discipline hasn't caught on!