May can be a blissful time of year. As the football season hits the business end, spring begins to flirt with summer, and holiday plans are fine tuned. However, just as league champions are crowned, relegations are confirmed. For every open-top bus parade, there is a sacking and solemn slip out the back door. For football folk of all roles and responsibilities, May is a defining month.
Blackpool were Championship play-off winners in 2010, but are now contesting the League Two final // PA Images
Fast-forward to the mid-eighties, and football was a game in severe decline. There existed a significant swell of public opinion that England's national game was entirely irksome. Blighted by increasing hooliganism, outdated infrastructure, and declining spectator numbers, football was at its lowest ebb.
Blackburn Rovers won the play-offs in 1992. Three years later they were Premier League champions // PA Images
If the Football League were quietly hoping for some spectacle, their prayers were answered. Each of the three divisional play-offs immediately showcased a bewitching ability to marry high octane excitement on the pitch with intriguing subplots and drama off it.In a throwback to the test matches of almost a century before, the format included teams from two divisions. Therefore, the Division Two play-offs of 1986-87 were contested between 19th place in Division One – Charlton Athletic – and third, fourth, and fifth in Division Two – Oldham Athletic, Leeds United and Ipswich Town respectively.Leeds had suffered quite a fall from grace. Having appeared in three European finals throughout the seventies, and been crowned top-flight champions in 1974, the new-fangled play-offs represented a chance of returning to the top flight.In the semi-finals, Oldham provided stern opposition. It took last minute goals in both legs to prod Leeds through to the final via away goals. A meeting with Charlton was their reward.With two 1-0 home victories, the two-legged final couldn't yield a winner, so a replay was needed. Inevitably, this was also a tense affair. Eventually, Leeds' John Sheridan broke the deadlock nine minutes into extra-time. With Leeds trying to shut up shop, and their fans discreetly dreaming of a top-flight return after six years' absence, cue the first of many unlikely play-offs heroes.READ MORE: Looking Back on Football's Greatest Points Deductions
A young Garth Crooks during the inaugural play-off final // PA Images
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Steve Bruce knows the play-offs like the back of his hand, which he is pictured here smelling // PA Images
With Leicester in the ascendency, the pendulum swung once more, and after a contentious penalty decision Paul Bodin stepped up and smashed Swindon into the Premier League. Leicester thus suffered consecutive play-off final defeats to late penalties. Just days later, Hoddle would be confirmed as Chelsea manager, and John Gorman oversaw Swindon's difficult and solitary season in the top flight.Regrettably, the modern Championship play-offs – those that promise financial windfalls of over £100million – have somewhat stifled all that free-flowing football. In its place, a tentative and panic-stricken game of slow chess evolves. Though perfectly understandable, it is perhaps one of the only gripes to be levelled at the play-offs – which is harsh, as it's basically all Richard Scudamore's fault.1999's Division Two play-off could arguably be heralded as the making of modern Manchester City. A year after falling to their lowest ebb (relegation to what is now known as League One), City scrambled for a reprieve.After finishing in third place, and squeezing through a semi-final against Wigan, pre-riches City went into the final minute of the final 2-0 down against Gillingham. Kevin Horlock's last-gasp goal made it 2-1, yet appeared little more than a consolation. Appearances, though, can be deceiving. Into the fifth minute of injury time, Paul Dickov registered the latest goal scored at old Wembley.
Northampton tasted Division Three play-off glory in 1997 // PA Images
The basic attraction of knock-out cup football is that there are winners and losers, joy and despair. It is the very essence of sporting competition. The play-offs conjure up such emotion because they have such extremes at stake. Their Wembley date is more than a showpiece final.Winning the Champions League is considered the pinnacle of club football success. Yet even triumph to the backdrop of UEFA's special corporate partners has it's ceiling. Point being: other than the trophy, the bragging rights, and a bonus or two, there is no more.The play-offs tick all the above boxes, though admittedly at something of a different standard, but they also propel the winning team to different heights for the next campaign. Equally, losing in the play-offs after a marathon season, knowing that you'll be back where you started after being so close to the promised land, feels like a body blow and a relegation of sorts.It is, therefore, not an entirely unrelated coincidence that the significance of the FA Cup began to diminish as the play-offs came to prominence. Admittedly, many other factors are involved. However, for many teams in the lower three tiers of English football, a serious run for the play-offs is far more beneficial than a modest run in the FA Cup. In the world's oldest cup competition, the fielding of weakened teams isn't something confined to the biggest clubs.So much rides on a play-off final that scenes of wild desperation, end-to-end football, and some wonderfully ridiculous scorelines are inevitable. The competition encapsulates cup football in its purest form, and should be celebrated for it.In the Football League play-offs, as in life, the only certainty is that the adventure will end. Exactly when, how, or indeed how it will all feel, remain untold, but a conclusion will come. Though at times it's easier said than done, it's best to try and enjoy the ride.@glennbills for @TheFootballPinkREAD MORE: Robert Prosinecki and the Improbable Portsmouth Years