On This Day (26 March 1988) Drama And Chaos At Bootham Crescent As Smith Makes Unhappy Return

Sunderland manager Denis Smith and the club chairman argue with fans (left foreground, backs to the camera). A broken goal post can be seen in the background. Sunderland lost the match 2-1.

(Photo by PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images After admitting his months-long pursuit of John Byrne was unlikely to come off before the transfer deadline, Denis Smith moved onto plan B. While a fee had been agreed with QPR and personal terms agreed with the player, Byrne’s ‘golden handshake’ to leave Loftus Road couldn’t be resolved, and Smith moved on in the transfer market. And reinforcements were needed as Sunderland’s Third Division campaign looked to be coming off the rails a little.

The lads had fallen to second place in the table, and with Walsall just three points behind, any further slips could see the team fall out of the automatic spots, albeit with a couple of games in hand. Earlier in the week, talks had taken place to bring 24-year-old Nick Pickering back to the club, but after meeting Smith at Roker Park the former Sunderland favourite turned down the move – paving the way for the arrival of 22-year-old Welsh international Colin Pascoe from Swansea. Pascoe’s signing came very much out of the blue – hot on the heels of the loan arrival of Celtic’s Dougie Maguire, who’d greatly impressed in the reserves and was in line to start the fixture 38 years ago today at York City’s Bootham Crescent.

Colin knows I was after a First Division player, but I have worked hard over a period of time to sign him. He knows I couldn’t afford both as I have to find more cash if I decide to sign Doug Maguire on a permanent basis. I now know what sort of cash Celtic want and I expect to sort something out next week.