In light of the launch of the new football gaming phenomenon that is ‘Goaldash’ I decided to look at the six best football comebacks of all time.

1. Tottenham Hotspur 3-5 Manchester United, Premier League 2001

In a match that lived up to the term a game of two halves with Tottenham leading 3-0 at the half time. Manchester United demonstrated their champions quality by coming out in the second half with Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham netting as United completed an brilliant five-goal comeback to leave Spurs completely shell-shocked.

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2.Angola 4-4 Mali, Africa Cup of Nations 2010.

With only 12 minutes remaining of host country Angola’s opening match of the 2010 African Nations Cup match they looked to be cruising to an opening 4-0 victory. Then Mali got one back and then another with 3 minutes to go, surely just consolidations? However on the 93rd minute it was 4-3 and then amazingly on the 94th minute Mali equalised to complete a simply extraordinary comeback. The student who bet his full loan on Angola at 4-0 must have been in complete disbelief at the final score which cost him a reported £4,400!

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3.Liverpool V AC Milan, Champions League Final 2005

Milan went into the half time break on course to the Champions League trophy, 3-0 up after a brace for Crespo and a goal from Maldini. However three goals in an incredible six minutes from Gerrard, Smicer and Alonso put the Reds level and we all know what happened in the penalty shootout as Benitez’s side claimed their first European victory in 21 years and 5th title in total.

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4.Tottenham 3-4 Manchester City, FA Cup 2004

In one of the best FA Cup comebacks of all time away Manchester City were 3-0 down to Tottenham at White Hart Lane at half time. When Joey Barton was sent off just before the break, the game looked dead and buried. However a deflected shot from Sylvain Distin gave them a glimmer of hope, but goals from Paul Bosvelt and Shaun Wright-Phillips put City back on track, whilst a last gasp header from Jon Macken gave an amazing 10-man comeback victory!

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5.Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal, Premier League 2010

Arsenal sprinted into a 4-0 lead were coasting to an important victory in their Premier League title challenge. However Diaby was sent off and Newcastle won two pens and produced a stunning comeback with Tiote striking late on to secure a memorable point.

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6. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich, Champions League Final 1999

Bayern Munich too the lead after six minutes and managed to hold on all the way into stoppage time before an incredible two goal comeback from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunner Solskjaer on 90+1’ and 90+3’ saw Sir Alex’s men take the title home to England. The video below shows a different perspective of those unbelievable last few minutes.

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So what is Goaldash all about then?

‘Goaldash’ is a fabulous concept which fuses the Lottery format with pre-chosen football fixtures. Whereas you may use birthdays or your own favourite numbers to pick your six numbers, with ‘Goaldash’ you need to use your foresight of the Beautiful Game to select the six teams that are likely to score the quickest in the pre-selected 24 fixtures.

It only costs £1 a pop to enter and you have the chance to win a million pounds, every given week.

All you have to do is scour the 48 teams and pick out the 6 teams that are likely to score the quickest on the Saturday afternoon. The matches are chosen from the Premier League, the Football League, as well as the Scottish divisions therefore you will have plenty to work out and strategise before you make your selections.

Playing the Lottery has just got fun, especially as your odds are a damn sight greater.

Fancy your chances? Fancy winning £1million pounds? Why not give it a go!

Arsene Wenger has hit out at his team and believes their lack of confidence, coordination and communication is costing the football club dear and could cost them of their chances this season unless the problem is addressed. The Frenchman has also vowed to keep faith with his coaching staff, despite the recent defensive frailties.

Elsewhere in the papers Javier Hernandez avoids lay-off; Villas-Boas fears for Torres, while Gareth Bale believes that Adebayor can fire Tottenham back into the Champions League.

Wenger to keep faith with coaching staff despite frailty – Guardian

Modric deserves a pay rise, says Redknapp – Guardian

Hernández avoids lay-off –Daily Telegraph

City launch multimillion battle to stop next Giggs signing for United – Independent

Villas-Boas fears for Torres after shocking miss – Independent

Spurs plotting to sign Swiss keeper Jakupovic as Gomes considers leaving – Daily Mail

Louis Saha refused to play in reserves – Sun

Bale backs Adebayor to fire Spurs into Champions League – Mirror

Villas-Boas lines up £20m January bid for Everton youngster Barkley – Daily Mail

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Sinclair: I quit Blues to get fair chance – Sun

Ben Arfa is worth the hassle, says Pardew ahead of crock’s comeback – Daily Mail

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Writing for a Liverpool fan site, there is a fine line between what fans would describe as constructive and destructive criticism. As a person who writes blogs on my favourite club, especially when the write two a day to ensure good site numbers, I could be accused of over analysing situations or being seen as writing blogs that are “knee-jerk reaction” to previous matches.

For this reason it is not always easy to look at matches, with performances and results with the right perspective. We are 5 games into the season with Liverpool on seven points with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses and already people are getting restless about the direction the club is heading in under Dalglish.

After a summer of big spending with high profile arrivals and departures many fans expect instant results, and those not at all happy with our summer purchases have been quick to vent their anger at the manager. There maybe a lot of people out there who know more about football than me, but I can’t see how we are anywhere the crisis point some people are making out after 5 league games. Attacking the manager in such a way is unhelpful to the team, and is reactionary in the extreme. We must remember it is an entirely new team; one which Kenny Dalglish is still finding about, as his tactical mistakes on Sunday are testament to.

In the same instance though, I will never been someone who shows blind faith in a manager, either personally or in his methods. When things started to go wrong during Rafa Benitez ’s last campaign as manager, I highlighted the problems I felt Rafa hadn’t addressed and fans, who supported Rafa through thick and thin, defended him as they have the right to do. The same goes with Kenny Dalglish, a legend as both player and manager, he also can’t be immune from criticism, and I will call it as I see it if I believe he makes a mistake.

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For me this is constructive criticism of an individual I both admire as a manager and a person. To those who want to attack Dalglish so vehemently early on the season because they feel they know better, I have no time for you unless you have something constructive to say.

Equally though, those who say it is knee-jerk or ill-informed to criticise Kenny and we should go and support another team, this is an opinion site after all. We welcome opinions from all points of view, and as we are free to say what we like, I think any manager, no matter how legendary, can be assessed by what he does right and wrong.

Article courtesy of David Tully from Live4Liverpool

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If you’re anything like me, you’re talking about football 24/7. You wake up thinking about football and go to sleep thinking about football. It consumes your life and when it isn’t there you feel like there’s a massive hole in your day.

So, you love football and you love talking about football. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just talk about footy? You can do that here on Football FanCast and Facebook is a great place to talk to your mates, but if you find it annoying when eveything else on social networks gets in the way then Bantr is for you.

Bantr is a social network by football fans for football fans. A place for you and your team where you can check into games, show the manager where he is going wrong and banter live with rivals. In short, it’s a football fan’s dream, it’s for the real football fan.

Instead of logging onto Twitter and seeing what Joey Barton is preaching about this week or what Rio Ferdinand had for lunch, you can talk with fellow fans about the beautiful game. If you think someone had a stinker, you can have your say, or sing from the hilltops when your team is on fire.

Take a look at the video below and see what you think…

http://player.vimeo.com/video/27307714?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

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Bantr from Matt Harvey on Vimeo.

Get involved in Bantr now.

It’s been something of a strained week for Sir Alex Ferguson. The Manchester United manager has had to deal with one of his worst days as the Red Devils gaffer, the 6-1 thrashing in the Manchester derby, and he won’t have enjoyed the last few days as a result.

There’s no doubt that the famous Fergie hairdryer would have been in action last Sunday at Old Trafford, but Sir Alex would have been encouraged by their performance against Aldershot, albeit a lower league team, in the Carling Cup as they won 3-0.

Here is Sir Alex Ferguson before the match at the Recreation Ground having his photo taken. Can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?

Leave your suggestions below…

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Win a copy of This is the One!

Written over the course of two eventful, diverse and controversial seasons, This Is the One offers a unique portrait of Sir Alex Ferguson from a privileged position behind the scenes.

Told from the perspective of The Guardian’s dedicated Manchester football correspondent, Daniel Taylor, who has been there from day one, the book examines every side of Ferguson, mixing the flint-faced authoritarian caricature, the infamous hairdryer treatment and the softer, humane side of an immensely likeable man.

Entertaining, revelatory, sometimes shocking but always affectionate, this is an honest biography of a manager who infuriates as much as he inspires, but whose heart is as big as the Man Utd trophy room.

For the FootballFanCast.com Caption Competition Terms and Conditions click here

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Check out our Caption Competition Gallery for some inspiration and to see the winners so far.

Last week’s winner: Bill – click here to see all entries

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You can also enter the Caption Competition via Qustodian SportsThe FREE football app that pays YOU to watch ads!

What do we want from players? And what traits do they need to be held in the highest esteem? Flair, pace, strength? Intelligence? We always note which players are more intelligent than others. Lampard has good GCSEs and an IQ good enough for Mensa. Arsene Wenger has a degree in electrical engineering and economics and recently Johan Djourou’s interview with The Independent highlighted him as one of the sharper knives in football’s draw. But why do we care? Intelligence seems to have little relevance to a footballer’s worth. As long as they’ve got a ‘football brain’ that’s all we really care about, isn’t it?

Obviously as long as a player is on form and aiding your team’s success you’re not going to care if he knows what the capital of England is but in a world where fans are increasingly disenfranchised with overpaid footballers the idea that our hard earned money is at least going to men who could form some sort of opinion on political affairs in this country would be reassuring. With so many footballers displaying levels of narcissism not seen since Joseph Smith Jnr claimed he’d spoken to god you’d be forgiven for wanting to see some humility and intelligence grace our sport. For too long have men who’s intellect barely qualified them as sentient beings been paid five times the average yearly wage in this country every week. As talented as they may be it makes them harder to respect.

Perhaps we don’t necessarily think less of good footballers for being less intelligent but our yearnings for the intellectualisation of the game definitely sees us put those we consider to be intelligent on a pedestal. Just look at Thierry Henry or Clarence Seedorf. Or even Clark Carlisle: how much more do you respect the Burnley defender after seeing on Question Time hold his own against the likes of Alastair Campbell last year. The rise of organisations like Zonal Marking demonstrate the desire of football fans to see deeper in to the sport they love, to gain a better understanding, an understanding that footballers with base intellect just can’t provide us with in interviews. Perhaps the problem is that we only notice the poor quality of the interviews that we have to absorb when a genuinely bright footballer comes along.

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Djourou’s comments about the fragility of players’ mentality and the humanisation of seemingly untouchable stars not only rang true in the aftermath of Gary Speed’s death but also provided a welcome change to the normal “we’ll give it 110%” chat that we are forced to swallow down week after week as though we couldn’t conduct both sides of the interviews ourselves. Footballers might not need to be intelligent to play footballer, but fans do need to read about and listen to intelligent footballers if we are not to be dumbed down like so we are by so many other forms of common culture.

Nobody’s calling for intellectual snobbery, some footballers can’t help being less intelligent, but the desire for footballers who can be respected on every level is definitely something worth seeing. Obviously footballers are never going to be bought and sold based on their IQ but the football as a sport has a problem with its reputation. Those who know and love football appreciate that it is a complex cultural phenomenon uniting communities, spreading wealth to the disadvantaged and providing pleasure for millions of people around the world. For those who don’t understand football it is the sport of idiots: full of overpaid cretins writhing around on the floor as a consequence of non existent fouls, squandering their money, setting a bad example to the youth and consistently embroiling themselves in scandals of all shapes and sizes. So, does intelligence in football matter? Yes it matters. It matters to football’s reputation, it matters to those who love it and want to understand it better and it matters if we want to get the best out of all the positive aspects of football. It’s not just footballers that are the problem either. Owners and managers need to be more responsible, the press perhaps needs to be less invasive and in light of Gary Speed’s sad death the requisite level of manners from chanting fans should perhaps be set higher than it already is. Football has the power to enrich our lives, and more people would realise it if we as a community all recognise that standards set for every other area of life apply in football too.

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Agree on disagree? Join the debate on Twitter @H_Mackay

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David Moyes has praised Leon Osman’s recent form, after the winger scored the only goal in Everton’s 1-0 win over Swansea on Wednesday night.

Osman headed home Royston Drenthe’s corner on the hour mark to down the Welsh side, and Moyes was pleased with the victory.

“He is playing well at the moment Leon Osman, wherever we play him,” Moyes told Sky Sports.

“He is beginning to get back to a bit of form, he wasn’t quite there at the earlier part of the season but at the moment he is playing really well.

“Swansea are a good team, they have done really well and they pass the ball as well as anybody. They have not conceded that many goals this season and we haven’t scored that many so we knew it was going to be tough.

“Overall, except for the chance in the second half I thought we controlled most of the game. I thought we were in control with what we were doing, we limited them to a few chances and made a few ourselves.

“It was a tight game but I thought we deserved the victory, we played well enough, made enough chances to score and I was pleased with the players’ performance,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Roman Pavlyuchenko came off the bench to score the winner as Tottenham saw off a spirited Sunderland side to move up to third in the Premier League.

Despite spending much of the season consigned to twiddling his thumbs on the substitutes bench the Russian proved he hasn’t lost his sharpness in front of goal cooly slotting the ball past Kieron Westwood secure all three points for the home side. It was an afternoon of frustration for Spurs who were constantly thwarted by the Black Cats as they threatened to leave White Hart Lane with a well earned point. The effect Martin O’Neill has had on the Weasiders was there for all to see in North London as they looked to win for the second consecutive week after beating Blackburn at the death last Sunday to move away from the drop zone. However they missed the chance to put more distance between themselves and the bottom three as Harry Redknapp’s side snatched a deserved victory to keep themselves on the fringes of the the title race.

With Jermaine Defoe and Gareth Bale sidelined with injury the home side were shorn of two of their key attacking players that took the fizz out of their usual vibrance in the final third. Aaron Lennon also limped off midway through the first half leaving the creative duties to Rafael Van Der Vaart and Luka Modric who both showed flashes of their brilliance in the centre. The former should have opened the scoring but could only deflect Benoit Assou Ekotto’s cross wide before Sandro scuffed a shot wide after being played in by the Dutchman. Sunderland gradually grew in confidence and were unlucky not to take the lead with Kieron Richardson and Sebastian Larsson testing Brad Friedel from range.

David Vaughan was also denied by the 40-year-old keeper producing another top save to deny the Welsh midfielder as he single handedly kept Spurs in the game. It proved to be vital as the hosts found themselves back on top once again as they took the lead just after the hour mark with Pavlyuchenko doing brilliantly to fire across Westwood and into the corner after being found by Van Der Vaarts brilliant superb pass. That lead should have been doubled soon after only for Modric to lay down his claim for miss of the season blasting over an empty net from 12-yards after Emmanuel Adebayor’s shot was pushed into his path by Westwood. Sunderland faded in the latter stages with substitute Nicklas Bendtner having a late chance that he blazed well wide after a neat one-two with Stephane Sessegnon.

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Patrice Evra has been backed by former Manchester United player Viv Anderson to play against Liverpool this Saturday, who feels that any abuse from the Anfield crowd will not affect the veteran defender.

Evra was the subject of racist abuse from Reds’ striker Luis Suarez the last time the Premier League giants met, and rumours dictated that the France international would not feature on Merseyside in the FA Cup clash.

However, with Evra looking increasingly likely to play against Kenny Dalglish’s men, Anderson feels that the left-back will take the occasion in his stride.

”Patrice should definitely play, 100 per cent,” England’s first black international told The Telegraph.

”There will be a backlash, but he did nothing wrong, so why should he not play?

”He is experienced enough and old enough to deal with it. It won’t be the first time he’s been verbally attacked. If you cannot deal with it then you are never going to make a career for yourself.

”Patrice is at Manchester United playing in the Premier League and is a French international.

”He has proved he is able to stand up to all the outside pressures that have been heaped on him as he’s built his career.

”It is not right you have to put up with racial abuse, but I am sure it has happened to him in the past. I don’t think playing at Anfield after what has gone on will bother him.

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”There will always be something else around the corner, and if you keep worrying about something then you will fold and disappear,” he finished.

By Gareth McKnight

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Somewhere, right at this very moment, there is a Newcastle fan staring intently at the Premier League table. A broad smile sweeps across their face as they notice the Magpies nestled comfortably in fifth place, just a point behind Chelsea and nine ahead of rivals Sunderland.

Even the most optimistic member of the Toon Army couldn’t have foreseen the inspired rise up the table after last seasons mid-table finish. Their uprising was ironically set in motion by the sale of the highly popular Andy Carroll, as Alan Pardew’s retention football coupled with his shrewd signings has gradually transformed St James’ Park back into a revered fortress.

The club appears to have emerged unscathed from a difficult period in their history. Their loyal army of supporters have stood by them despite their descent into the Championship and now that certain expectations have been achieved, do they dare dream of more famous nights in Europe?

Only time will tell if Newcastle will be able to cement their place in the European qualification spots come May. What’s more intriguing however is whether they can establish themselves as one of the current crop of ‘big clubs’. Not big in terms of stature but rather their ability to consistently compete at the top of the table. Tottenham and Manchester City have burrowed their way into the coveted ‘top 4’, why can’t Newcastle do the same?

Under Pardew’s leadership Newcastle have seen their direct style of play renovated by a philosophy that focuses on patient build up and maintaining possession. At the heart of this, core midfield players such as Yohan Cabaye and Danny Guthrie have been influential in aiding this transition. The change in mentality will mean fewer goal gluts but it’s proving to stem the flow of goals conceded at the other end of the pitch. This new approach seeks to adopt the mantra of many top European sides like Valencia and AC Milan, with whom Newcastle will soon hope to emulate.

The fortunes of the football club, for this season at least, will revolve around the prolonged good form of striker Demba Ba. The ‘smiling assassin’, as he’s known on Tyneside has announced he is happy at the club despite continued reports of a move away and has spoken of his joy playing alongside Senegalese compatriot Papiss Cisse.

With the transfer window now firmly shut until the summer, the major concern regarding Ba will perhaps surround his troubled injury past. Tony Pulis notoriously cancelled Ba’s impending transfer to Stoke after describing his knee as a “ticking time bomb”. The player himself admitted, “The knee isn’t 100%,” after his transfer to West Ham but has insisted “It’s fine. I can play football; I know how to manage it.” (Guardian)

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At present the fans seem content with Mike Ashley’s ruling at Newcastle. After making a number of questionable decisions throughout his reign, he should be praised for ensuring a swift return to the top flight. Ashley strikes me as an incisive businessman despite his desired portrayel as a supporter and the £35m sale of Andy Carroll has proved to be an inspired decision. In order for Newcastle to progress however, it is vital that they maintain their nucleus of new household names. The likes of Tim Krul and Cheick Tiote have attracted envious glances from rival managers and it’ll be an intriguing test of Ashley’s resolve as to whether they remain at the club beyond this season.

Aside from the inevitable flurry of incoming bids, it’s crucial that Ashley continues his investment in the rapidly evolving transfer market. It’s fair to point out that Newcastle do not currently possess a prominent ‘star’ player who is renowned on the world stage. Whilst this maybe an ingredient to their current success, with the team benefiting their much publicised team spirit, it’s important that a club like Newcastle can attract players of the highest calibre. Could Newcastle realistically attract the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and Rafeal Van Der Vaart, as Spurs have done?

We’ve seen many surprising teams surpass expectations and clinch a European spot in recent years, but very few have been able to sustain their dominance.  Everton are a club currently wilting under a lack of investment with the club’s transfer policy resembling a top nightclub, one goes in only when another heads out.

Fulham have failed to recover from their defeat in the 2010 Europa League final and the subsequent departure of Roy Hodgson whilst Villa have also seen themselves spiral down the league after a combination of both suspended investment and the exit of a very astute manager.

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The mark of a great side is their capability to replace their existing stars with a new breed of players from the academy. Unfortunately, despite Ashley’s investment at youth level, very few players look likely of making the grade. Nile Ranger heads the list of local produce but his career has become so embroiled in controversy that it looks like he’ll leave the club under a Ravel Morrison shaped cloud.

Pardew remains unfazed by speculation linking him with the vacant England job and appears entirely focused on the job in hand. Much like Arsene Wenger, he seems capable of installing an exciting style of football in amongst a relatively average squad. Whereas Arsenal fans are slowly turning on their manager, I’m sure Newcastle fans would love to emulate the uniterrupted European qualification the Gunners have enjoyed over the past decade.

Agree or disagree. Send me your verdicts on Twitter @theunusedsub

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