THE FOOTBALL GUIDE

Sport is a funny old drug. You keep coming back despite the knocks, knowing that one day, just one day, you’ll get that Cup final victory - you might be 50 by the time it happens, but you’ll be there, enjoying it more for the fact that you’ve been through 49 semi-final defeats and 490 heart-breaking moments. Here are my Top 5 so far…

5. Liverpool beat Everton in 1989: There was 1986, which was bad, but 1989 hurt more because we really should have beaten Liverpool that day. Ian Rush, who else, was the man who scored the goals that beat us, after Stuart McCall had provided all Evertonians with a moment to savour for the rest of our lives - that last minute equaliser compounded the heart-break by letting us feel that we really could have won this Cup Final. At 1-0, it would have hurt, but knowing that we were in the ascendancy, that made it worse. And from 1989 onwards, Everton got worse - and they’re only just recovering now. That was heartbreaking.

4. The Aussies come back in Adelaide: Oh dear God - how did this happen? Waking up and switching on the radio to hear what should have been the conclusion of a fantastic win in Adelaide, and we’ve thrown it all away. Collingwood and Pietersen had scored tons of runs, we had the Aussies on the deck, and what happens? We go and lose the game. Only England can do this, and it’s so much worse when you hear about it on a scratchy old radio at 6 in the morning. Awful, just awful.

3. Jimmy White throws it all away in 1994: The previous year, Jimmy White had led by 14-8 over Stephen Hendry, and managed to throw it away horribly. This time, with the scores tied at 17-17, he had a chance to seal it and blundered badly. Hendry got up and polished him off professionally, but watching Jimmy White sit there watching Stephen Hendry was heart-breaking. The Whirlwind would never win the world title, and never will - and 1994 was the final nail in that coffin.

2. Watching the demise of Michael Vaughan: Perhaps my favourite cricketer of the last decade, Michael Vaughan might be characterised as a somewhat arrogant chap, but nonetheless one of the finest cricketing minds and one of the finest batsmen England has ever produced. His run of form in Australia a couple of tours back was amazing. However, the protracted demise of Michael Vaughan started before this summer, culminating in one of the most disappointing series he’s ever played in. The eventual, tearful resignation was hard to watch for Vaughan fans, but inevitable after the run of poor scores. It was a long, drawn-out summer - wet, miserable, and punctuated only by the rather bright exclamation mark that is Kevin Pietersen.

1. 1990 and 1996 - it happened again. England, oh England. Why can you not take penalties? There are years (such as 1998) when you just think - ah for the love of God, let’s not bother - but in 1990 and 1996, both times against the Germans (who never ever ever miss), when you think that you might just have a chance. And in both matches we should have had them in extra time. If only Waddle’s shot were an inch lower. If only Gazza were an inch quicker. If only… If only we knew how to take penalties. So heartbreaking that I couldn’t speak for hours.

So there they are, my top 5 heartbreaking moments in Sport - but I’m sure you have yours - let me know!