Football in 1990. Paul Gascoigne became a national treasure after crying, Gary Lineker had scored four goals at the World Cup as the pair took England to the last four.

Weeks after their Italia 90 heroics, the pair lined up against Hartlepool United in a second-round Rumbelows Cup tie for Tottenham Hotspur.

The League Cup today counts for little, certainly in the early stages. Sheffield Wednesday made ten changes in winning at Newcastle in midweek, Ipswich made 11 in defeat to Manchester United, likewise Bournemouth in winning at Pools in the last round.

How different it was 25 years ago.

“The respect Tottenham and Terry Venables showed us is something I will always remember – for him to play Lineker, Mabbutt and Gazza and the rest of their first-team was something else,’’ recalled former Pools striker Joe Allon.

“They had even tried to change the date of the game because their goalkeeper was supposed to be away on international duty!’’

Gascoigne and Lineker sat out the second leg at the Victoria Ground, rested by Terry Venables. Lineker didn’t travel when he was in line to open up Pools’ new changing rooms. Being benched didn’t stop Gazza spending the second-half warming up with dozens of excited youngsters on the sidelines for an impromptu coaching and fitness session.

A bright, funny and infectious character, the Gazza of 1990 was a national treasure. He was also a football icon, scoring four times against Pools in the first-leg.

“In the game at White Hart Lane, Gazza was irresistible. He was the best player in the world at the time in my opinion – he was the star of the World Cup,’’ reflected Allon.

“I think the games against Spurs gave us belief, as a club and as players, that we could do something ourselves. We had a good team, with some very good players and we competed with them for a long period in the game.

“We had Robbie Mc Kinnon, Brian Honour, Paul Dalton, Paul Baker – all cracking players – and we were equal with Spurs in the game.

“Then in the second-leg, it was all about a young lad called Don Hutchison – he was brilliant at the Vic and then Cyril and Garry Gibson came up with the idea to put a video together of his ability and shortly afterwards he was off to Liverpool.’’

Gascoigne and Allon were team-mates at St James Park, part of Newcastle’s FA Youth Cup winning side of 1985.

Allon went onto make ten appearances in the first-team, scoring twice, before moving to Swansea and then Pools.

“Gazza gave me his shirt, which I treasure – it’s probably worth a few quid too!’’ said Allon. “We had played together since we were nine-year-old, played for Newcastle and then went our separate ways.

“I think going to White Hart Lane and facing him and his team-mates drove me on to success and 35 goals later I was off to Chelsea.

“But we always remembered the dark times too – it wasn’t long before promotion that we were losing 6-0 at Aldershot, 7-1 at York and the like. We went from there to promotion and I actually won the North-East Footballer of the Year award that season – if Bob Moncur had said that when he signed me for Hartlepool I’d have been asking what drugs he was on!

“But it wasn’t just about my goals, that team was something special and will go down as one of the best in Hartlepool’s history.’’

Gazza may have scored four in North London, but Lineker – two penalties in the World Cup quarter-final with Cameroon, one in the semi-final shoot-out with West Germany – had a spot kick saved by Pools keeper Brian Cox in front of almost 2,000 travelling fans.

“The game itself, we had a great chance to make it 1-1, but Bakes had a shot saved – maybe if we had scored it would have still been 4-1 or 5-1 because they could have stepped up a gear’’ recalled Allon.

“Gazza was unplayable and we chased him all night – but that gave us all confidence and belief from playing against top-class footballers.

“A lot of our team ended up moving on for good money, myself included, and Hartlepool under Garry Gibson was always going to be a selling club, but we had some real talent in that squad.’’

Pools were managed by Cyril Knowles, one of Spurs’ all-time greats. Going back to White Hart Lane was a special moment for the former left-back, who died a little under a year later, aged 47, from a brain tumour.

“That team was brought together by Cyril – God rest his soul,’’ said Allon. “He was given a deserved ovation at White Hart Lane, going back to the club where he was such a hero as a player.

“He was adored there and it showed on the night with the reaction he received.’’

While Knowles was lapping up the adulation of the crowd, as his tune “Nice One Cyril” echoed around the ground, one Pools’ hero wasn’t in the best of moods.

Brian Honour’s long-standing knee problems were affecting the winger, and while he missed the previous league game at Carlisle, he was one of two substitutes for the glamour tie.

“I was like a spoiled brat,’’ he admitted. “I’d been injured and was on the bench – Cyril put me on for about 20 seconds, the referee blew for full-time as soon as I got on.’’

His mood, however, along with the rest of the squad soon lightened. As the squad returned to Waltham Abbey, their team hotel, Gascoigne was waiting for their arrival.

“I wasn’t in the best of moods, we went back to the hotel – we were there two nights, which was rare for us – and there’s a bar on the left side. Gazza had 17 pints of lager lined up on the bar for us and was shouting us all over!’’ laughed Honour. “Joe had arranged it as they were mates.

“We had a meal, and then started drinking after Cyril went to bed, we were up until about four in the morning with Gazza and none of us spent a penny all night, it was pint after pint.’’

Honour may not have been overjoyed as his team-mates chased Gazza around the pitch, but the whole experience is one he will never forget.

“Two months before Lineker and Gazza were the stars of the World Cup and to play against Hartlepool was frightening,’’ he mused.

“We were at a big First Division stadium for the first and only time in my career. The game was a Tuesday, got checked into the hotel and went there for a ground tour with Cyril – he was a hero there.

“In the trophy room he was telling us all ‘see that lads, I won that’ – we were like kids at Disneyland. It really was awe-inspiring.

“In the build-up it was all about Cyril. We beat Chesterfield to get there, I scored in the first leg away and we were losing in the second leg and he put me on at half-time.

“We got through and he was delighted – he was saying we would get Tottenham! When we did he knew what we were in for after he played there for so long.’’