Waddle walking in his wonderland under shadows of the Twin Towers

The three seasons between 1990 and ’93 are universally regarded by a passionate fanbase as the finest in the modern history of Sheffield Wednesday.

From the humble surrounds of the second tier to a Division One title challenge, via a first piece of silverware in over half-a-century and five visits to Wembley, the Owls established themselves as one of the most highly-regarded clubs in English football.

Four of those visits to the old Twin Towers came in the space of 40 days in the Spring of 1993 as Wednesday won a memorable FA Cup semi-final with heated rivals Sheffield United before losing two Cup finals over three matches to Arsenal.

When Owls fans recall that golden era, when they look back on the great names of the squad like Nigel Pearson and John Sheridan, David Hirst and Carlton Palmer, one player stands out above all.

Chris Waddle was not far removed from the peak of his powers when he arrived in S6 in the summer of 1992 for £1m.

Only 12 months earlier, as Wednesday were winning promotion and the League Cup, Waddle was playing in a European Cup final with Marseille.

En route to a defeat on penalties to a negative Red Star Belgrade, Waddle put in the kind of performance that led Nick Hornby, in his genre-energising sports book Fever Pitch, to describe Waddle as “the man who in 1991 ambled through the AC Milan back four whenever he chose”.

Back home, memories of a penalty kick that was still careering out of the Stadio Della Alpi in Turin in the World Cup semi-final of 1990, were still the first that came to mind of the affable Geordie.

However, in his first season back in English football, Waddle reminded everyone of his natural talent and unwavering work-rate with such a high standard of consistent performances that he was named the Football Writers’ Association’s player of the year.

Such a stage as Wembley was the perfect setting for Waddle to underpin his status. Some big names wilt in the spotlight, but Waddle rose to the occasion.

Two minutes into the biggest derby in the city’s history on April 3, 1993, and before some fans had even taken their seats in the antiquated Wembley Stadium, Waddle lashed a free-kick from 30 yards with his trusty left foot that bent one way and then the other to leave Alan Kelly with no chance.

Sheffield United’s Republic of Ireland international Kelly may have gone on to prove an immoveable object for the next 100-plus minutes before Mark Bright headed the winning goal, but Waddle had left an indelible mark in the annals of Sheffield football.

The omnipresent Waddle even gave the ball away which led to Alan Cork’s equaliser, but chased back to try to clear the ball off the line.

“That was an absolutely amazing day,” recalls Waddle. “It was the semi that nobody wanted to lose.

“We played really well that day. On a normal day, we would have had it wrapped up in 90 minutes but Alan Kelly was inspired. If he hadn’t played as well as he did it would have been five or six.

“Even the Sheffield United fans I speak to now have to concede that.

“People will say it could never happen again, and you know you can’t say never again in football, but it was so unique.

“It was such a great day for both sides, then, unfortunately, we came a cropper against Arsenal.”

That they did is the only frustration for many Wednesday fans.

Fifteen days on from the semi-final, the Owls lost the League Cup final to George Graham’s Arsenal, with Steve Morrow scoring a second-half winner after Paul Merson had cancelled out John Harkes’s opener for Wednesday.

Then on May 15, 20 years ago today, Wednesday and the Gunners drew 1-1 in the FA Cup final after Ian Wright had given the Londoners the lead and Hirst volleyed a close-range leveller just after the hour.

Waddle scored the equaliser in the replay on the following Thursday, driving home from just inside the area, after another opener from Wright. But then Andy Lineghan rose to meet a corner in the 119th minute to shatter Wednesday’s dreams.

“I thought we deserved one of the Cup finals, definitely the replay,” says Waddle.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game against Arsenal. That run to the final really took its toll on the team in the league as we finished seventh.

“But it was a great team and a great time for the club.

“That was the last time Wednesday were a force. It didn’t matter who we played; Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, they all feared us.

“It was a great team to be involved in. We had David Hirst, Mark Bright and Paul Warhurst, who’d surprised everybody by moving up from centre-half to centre forward.

“Everybody got on really well, there was a great camararderie in the dressing room, it was always buzzing.

“That’s a big part of football, a changing room all pulling in the same direction. The whole package was there, the whole club was on a high.”

But it did not last, the Owls slipping into a decline from which they have never fully recovered.

Had Lineghan’s header not plunged a dagger into the heart of Wednesdayites and the Owls had won the FA Cup 20 years ago, would the club’s fortunes have continued to flourish, or were the problems that followed caused by something else?

For Waddle, there is no debate.

“Whether we won or lost that Cup final in ’93, the club generated a lot of money, and it wasn’t the outcome of the game that was decisive,” he says. “The problem was that the squad was dismantled too quickly.

“We went from a team of current and ex-internationals with the likes of John Harkes, Roland Nilsson and myself etcetera, to just one or two internationals.

“It happened too quickly. Maybe they looked at the squad that got to two Cup finals and thought they were too old and needed fresher legs. But the players they bought from the likes of West Brom and Coventry, just weren’t the same calibre.

“When you change a team, you do it gradually, like Sir Alex Ferguson did for all those years, making one change at a time.

“Wednesday did it too quickly and they never had a settled side again and they never really had that harmony.”

Two decades on they find themselves off the footballing radar, nowhere near capable of luring the world-class talent of such as Waddle, and yo-yoing between English football’s second and third tiers.

Waddle, a Sheffield resident, is a regular supporter at Hillsborough, dividing his time between watching his old club and working as a co-commentator for ESPN.

But not a day goes by when he is not asked to recall that free-kick, that semi-final or that golden era for Wednesday – and he is only too happy to oblige.