Which were the two best ever goals scored at Wembley? A recent BBC opinion poll suggested they were (i) Gazza's wonder strike against Scotland during Euro 1996 and (ii) Geoff Hurst's "They think it's all over.it is now", fourth goal for England against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup Final. Typical of the Beeb to get it wrong!

The two best ever goals scored at Wembley came in the same match, the 1991 Leyland Daf Cup final between Blues and Tranmere and were scored by the same man, the legendary John Gayle.

The first was a thunderous 30-yard strike, which followed a "Brazilianesque" build up and put Blues two-up in the first half (Gayle's own favourite of the two by the way) and the second was a miraculous 84th minute overhead volley, from an Ian Clarkson free kick, which sealed Blues' first ever Wembley triumph, after Tranmere had clawed their way back to 2-2.

Anyone of the 50,000 Blues fans who were lucky enough to witness this historical achievement would have no trouble acclaiming Gayle's goals as the best ever at Wembley. However, apparently (and not before time) there is now support for that opinion from the most credible of sources, none other than the great Sir Bobby Charlton no less!

"I was doing my garden the other day," Gayle explains, "when my neighbour told me he'd seen me on TV.

He said, "John, you won't believe this, but Bobby Charlton had this show on and he said to the guy who was interviewing him that the best two goals he'd ever seen were John Gayle's at Wembley in 1991!"

As one of the 50,000 Bluenoses at Wembley that day, biting my nails to the quick, watching Tranmere score one goal, then another, looking dominant and seemingly set for the inevitable victory, the sheer joy that flowed through me when Gayle scored his late winner was multiplied ten fold because it was so unlike Blues to win anything, let alone in such a glorious manner.

However, had I had the chance to talk to Gayle before the match kicked off, he would have convinced me that Blues' victory was a foregone conclusion.

"Even when it was 2-2, I knew we were going to win. I just knew it. I'm sure the fans thought "here we go again", like déjà vu," he says.

"My gran had just died, about three weeks before the game, and I was gutted, because I wanted her to come and see me.

"But I still think to this day that my gran helped lift me up for that third goal and gave me the strength to score, because I was knackered!"

Arguably, had it not been for the Leyland Daf Cup competition, Gayle's Blues career might have been even shorter than the 55 first team appearances he made and would certainly have been a lot less sweet.

Gayle had joined Blues for £175,000 in November 1990 from First Division Wimbledon.

Given the perilous state of the club's finances, as Blues came to terms with life in the old Third Division, this represented a substantial outlay by the Board, especially for a man who had left the Dons under a cloud, following a couple of well-publicised fights with his Plough Lane team-mates.

Gayle's inconsistent form early on meant that the fans were decidedly luke-warm about their new striking acquisition.

"I had a hard time," remembers Gayle of his early months at St. Andrew's.

"I'd come for big money and needed time to settle down, but at the time the club was in crisis and standing still and the fans picked on a me a bit because, at the end of the day, they'd just had bad times after bad. I don't blame them.

"With the club spending £175,000 they wanted to see something. I just needed time to find myself and for the fans to trust me. But it seemed the harder I worked, the worse it got."

The turn around came in the New Year of 1991, when Gayle was dropped to the bench for two games.

"I gave me a chance to charge my batteries up and I came back for an away game at Mansfield. I remember it well.

"It was cold and snowing and we played with an orange ball. I put on three pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves and four tops," he jokes, "and scored my first two goals! I went from strength to strength after that."

In talking to John Gayle, you become aware that he is very philosophical and laid back about life in general.

As he says: "Things happen for a reason."

Gayle lives the adage that "life's too short" for regrets, which is just as well when you hear him recount the amazing - and little known - tale of how he missed out on becoming a Villa Park millionaire.

"Straight after the Wembley game, I was offered the chance to sign for the Villa!

"I went into a Wembley Board room with Lou Macari, Chic Bates, Ron Atkinson and the Kumars.

"Ron Atkinson was the Villa boss at the time and was commentating on the game for TV.

"He had done a deal to sign me for £900,000! I went away for a few days to think about it and was then also contacted by Dave Bassett, who wanted me to join Sheffield United.

"I went to my cousin's caravan in Weymouth with my family to chill, but while I was down there I stupidly went running and did my Achilles and that was the end of that!"

Don't condemn John Gayle as a traitor however. He wasn't looking for a move, but £900,000 represented salvation to Blues at that time.

Anyway, despite the fact that his injury ruined his chances of joining first Division Villa, he had decided not to accept Ron Atkinson's offer.

"I had a talk with the Kumars and Lou Macari and said I didn't want to go to the Villa because I couldn't "cross the border".

"It would never have been the same. To have done something with Blues at Wembley and then sign for the Villa was something I couldn't do."

John thinks he probably would have signed for Sheffield United, "but," as he recalls ruefully, "the injury put me out of the game for 18 months."

When Gayle left Blues in September 1993, he became one of the most widely travelled footballers.

He had spells at Walsall, Coventry, Burnley, Stoke, Gillingham, Northampton, Scunthorpe, Shrewsbury and Torquay, before ending his playing days at local non-league outfit Moor Green. Of course, Gayle took all of these moves in his stride.

"If I'd have joined Sheffield United or Villa, I wouldn't be the person I am today", he explains with typical optimism.

"I've played for so many clubs, I've learned the hard way and seen different sides of the country and it's made me the person I am.

"All of my clubs looked after me, I've been to Wembley four times and I was able to bring them some success and some money, so it works both ways."

Gayle gave up playing football competitively six months ago and has now found a whole new calling, as a football coach. He travels every year to the USA to coach students at Cleveland University, but his greatest joy is his new vocation, coaching young people in Birmingham who are at risk of becoming involved in drugs and substance misuse.

For someone who took life in his stride so completely and counted his blessings daily, it's of no surprise that Gayle is revelling in the opportunity to pass on his love of the game and philosophy of life to a new generation of underprivileged Brummie kids, just like he was.

"I've been there," he explains, "being brought up as a kid in Balsall Heath it was about survival and I want to pass those skills on.

"If I speak to 20 kids and only three of them take on board what I'm saying, I'm as rich as a millionaire".

Gayle also remains closely associated with the Blues. He's recently started coaching the Under 15's and he remains a Bluenose, who comes to St. Andrew's as often as possible to cheer on the team. Not surprisingly, Gayle is a big fan of Steve Bruce.

"I played against him a couple of times, when I was at Stoke and at Wimbledon. Bruce is a winner.

"He's black and white - if you mess him around he'll get rid of you, but if you do your best for him, he'll show you the same respect.

"He's one of these young managers who's seen it all and done it all and he's still just himself. That's why I like him."

Gayle has one final philosophical offering for Blues fans.

"Just keep right on to the end of the road. Blues fans have been through hell and hell and hell and hell and now it's our turn."

The stairway to heaven that we're rapidly climbing now had its first step crafted on a day in May 1991, when a giant of a man, in all respects, lifted by the spirit of his grandmother and a conviction that "some things are meant to be", scored the greatest goals ever seen at Wembley. If you don't believe me, just ask Bobby Charlton!

By Andy Bulman.