1980/81 League Cup: Watford v Southampton

Watford face Southampton this weekend in the Premier League. The meeting will have to be something special to match the drama of the 1980/81 League Cup second round between the two clubs.

We often hear how a two-goal advantage is a dangerous lead in football. Atalanta and Spartak Moscow may agree with this particular theory, their recent reversals against English opposition in Europe adding credence to this. So what leads are safe?

As an Arsenal fan I have sadly seen that a four-goal lead can be no guarantee of victory. The 4-4 draw against Newcastle in 2011 was an embarrassing episode, something that should be brushed under the carpet, never to be mentioned again. 

Arsenal's capitulation was a remarkable achievement. Admittedly they had been reduced to ten men, yet with 22 minutes remaining, their four-goal lead was still intact. History has shown us that this example is the exception rather than the norm, but in September 1980 there was another club putting their supporters through this painful experience.

League Cup: Liverpool win four in a row

Liverpool and the League Cup had endured a troubled relationship as the 1980/81 competition kicked off. After entering the inaugural staging in 1960/61, the club decided to sit out the next six editions, and despite the growth of the Merseyside giant, success in the League Cup proved difficult to come by.

A controversial defeat against Nottingham Forest in the 1978 final replay was the closest the club had come to winning the competition, with Brian Clough's team once again dashing hopes in the 1979/80 semi-final. But you wait ages for one League Cup to come along....

1985/86: Leicester City v Manchester United

Football in England may have been in a bad place - a European ban, television blackout, and talks of a Super League - yet for Manchester United fans the start of the 1985/86 season was a heavenly experience. Ten straight wins in the league saw Ron Atkinson's team open up a nine-point lead over Liverpool, as talk turned to the club ending their title drought stretching back to 1967.

One more win would equal Tottenham's record of eleven consecutive wins at the start of their 1960/61 double season, but even though the 1-1 draw at Luton thwarted this attempt, the team bounced back to win three of their next four matches - drawing with Liverpool in the other - as their lead extended to ten points after fifteen matches.

1986: Mike Tyson v Trevor Berbick

To a lot of boxing writers, pundits, and fans, Mike Tyson was a breath of fresh air in the heavyweight division as he moved menacingly towards a shot at the WBC world title. To most opponents in 1985 and 1986 he was like a terrifying hurricane enveloping them and unleashing pain. 

November 22, 1986 would see another chapter written in the Tyson story. Coming into his fight with WBC champion Trevor Berbick, Tyson had won 27 fights, 25 inside the distance, with 15 wins coming inside the first round. The hype and sense of expectation surrounding Tyson was reaching fever pitch.

1986: The rise of Mike Tyson continues

After the first 15 fights of Mike Tyson's professional heavyweight career in 1985, there was more to come as 1986 progressed. A further 12 fights would follow as Tyson edged his way up the world rankings, moving towards a shot at the WBC belt in November.

Naturally there would be sterner tests the closer Tyson got to his title showdown with Trevor Berbick. Twice Iron Mike would go the distance, but as the likes of Reggie Gross, William Hosea, and Marvis Frazier could vouch for, there were still occasions that Tyson would demonstrate the destruction his fists possessed.

1985: Mike Tyson

The rise of Mike Tyson through the heavyweight boxing ranks from his professional debut in March 1985 to his Judgment Day meeting with Trevor Berbick in November 1986 was an exciting time for the sport. As opponents came and went - often rapidly - the hype surrounding the 19-year-old from New York started to snowball.

Timing is everything. The days of an undisputed heavyweight champion had long gone, and with belts up for grabs in the WBC, WBA and IBF divisions, the need to unify the titles led to the three organisations and the HBO television channel creating a tournament to deliver a sole claimant to the title of best heavyweight in the world.

1989: Poland v England

It is often stated that the line between success and failure is thin. On October 11, 1989, English football fans would witness a prime sporting example of this. The national football team may have qualified for the 1990 World Cup after a 0-0 draw in Chorzow, Poland. But it could have all been oh so different. As the clock ticked towards the 90-minute mark and Rysard Tarasiewicz pulled back his right foot, that line between success and failure was wafer thin.

England manager Bobby Robson really didn't need one final scare. After the disastrous showing at Euro 88, the pressure placed on Robson's shoulders may even have left Titan Atlas needing a rest. "A contributing factor was that the circulation war between the Sun and the Daily Mirror was turning medieval," Robson wrote in Farewell, But Not Goodbye. "The office of England manager was one of their battlegrounds."