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Sunday August 23
Rory: Which current Premier League player has played for the most current Premier League clubs?
The Gaffer says: David James (Portsmouth, Man City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, West Ham) and Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal, Bolton, Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea).
Barry, Manchester: All right gaff, can you tell me who has scored the most hat-tricks for one club?
The Gaffer says: It is Dixie Dean, who scored 37 hat-tricks in his career. I'm not entirely sure how many of those were at Everton, but certainly more than 30.
Deano, Hartlepool: Hey up Gaff, who has played the longest in minutes for England?
The Gaffer says: It is Peter Shilton with 10,725, but for outfield players, the top four are: 1) Bobby Moore with 9780 minutes. 2) Billy Wright 9480, 3) Bobby Charlton 9439, 4) David Beckham 8088.
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Saturday August 22
Josh, Coventry: What is the smallest country in terms of population to have provided a Premier League player?
The Gaffer says: Bermuda (estimated population 65,000) with Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne. Ruel Fox played twice for Montserrat (estimated population just 5,900) but he was born in Ipswich and actually played for the England 'B' team.
SchizeBluebird: What has been the quickest sending off in a game?
The Gaffer says: David Pratt is thought to hold the world record after being sent off after only three seconds for Chippenham Town against Bashley in a Southern Premier Division match last season. Pratt lunged at Bashley midfielder Chris Knowles straight from the kick-off and received his marching orders from referee Justin Amey. Bologna's Giuseppe Lorenzo held the previous record for the quickest red card, at 10 seconds.
Bones: Orite Gaff, great site by the way but can you tell me which side has had the most managers in the Premier League?
The Gaffer says: Newcastle edge it with 14 (including caretaker managers): Kevin Keegan, Terry McDermott (c), Kenny Dalglish, Ruud Gullit, Steve Clarke (c), Sir Bobby Robson, John Carver (c), Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder, Nigel Pearson (c), Sam Allardyce, Chris Hughton (c), Joe Kinnear, Alan Shearer. Chelsea and Spurs are next with 13.
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Friday August 21
Jonathan, Belfast: Alright Gaffer, could you tell me why Panathinaikos have a Shamrock on their badge?
The Gaffer says: The crest and colours were first used by the club in 1919 when player Michalis Papazoglou proposed that the club adopt the colour green with a shamrock as an emblem, as used by his Chalcedon-based former club of Chalkidona.
Smb: What is the largest crowd for a Championship game?
The Gaffer says: A few of you have asked me this one. The record attendance for a second tier match in England is 70,302 for Tottenham v Southampton in February 1950. However, since 1992/93 when 'Division Two' became 'Division One' (and later the Championship), I'm sure Geordies will be pleased to know that last night's 43,904 against Sheffield Wednesday DID set a new record, beating the previous highest which was held by Sunderland (41,214 v Stoke in April 1998).
Lee: Who is the only team not to lose a game in the Champions League campaign but fail to win the competition?
The Gaffer says: There are two. In 2002/03, AEK Athens won both legs of their third qualifying round clash against Hapoel Nicosia, then amazingly drew ALL SIX of their group matches against Real Madrid, Roma and Genk (and are still the only team to have done this). They finished third in the group and dropped into the Uefa Cup, where they lost in the fourth round to Malaga. In 1992-93, Rangers won four out of four in the two, two-legged affairs which preceded the group stage in which they won two and drew four. Only the top team in the two groups went through to the final so second-placed Rangers missed out.
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Thursday August 20
Mark: Which player has scored against Celtic three times in three different games in the Champions League?
The Gaffer says: There are actually two players. Brazilian forward Brandao scored for Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2004-05 group stages and then in both games against Celtic in the 2007/08 season. The other player is Celtic's Gary Caldwell who scored own goals against Arsenal earlier this week, Aalborg last season and Benfica in the 2006-07 season.
Jonathan: Hi Gaffer, great column as always. I was just wondering, which international player (for any country) has the highest amount of caps but doesn't hold the record caps for that country?
The Gaffer says: Sami Al-Jaber who won 163 caps for Saudi Arabia. His former team-mate Mohamed Al-Deayea, the world record holder for most international appearances, played 181 times for his country.
Murray: Hi Gaffer, who was the last Newcastle player to score a hat-trick before Shola Ameobi's treble against Reading?
The Gaffer says: Michael Owen in a 4-2 win at West Ham during their Premier League clash on 17 December 2005.
Dave: Which international player scored 10 goals in his native country, then signed for a top Premier League club, only scored once after his arrival and was sold to a European club where he failed to score. He scored for his country during this spell, was then purchased by a different Premier League team, scoring only once again. He was subsequently sold to a third English club and failed to score. He was considered one of the greatest players of all time.
The Gaffer says: The mystery man is goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.
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Wednesday August 19
Joe: Which player has been relegated the most times in football history?
The Gaffer says: I would have to say lower-league stalwat Simeon Hodson. He was relegated with Notts County (First to Second in 1983-84), and then twice at Lincoln (Third to Fourth in 1985-86 and Fourth to Conference a season later). He then went down with West Brom (Second to Third 1990-91) and then with Mansfield (Third to Fourth in 1992-93). To cap it off, Hodson was relegated from the Conference with Altrincham (1999-2000) making it a total of SIX relegations. It was almost seven but he left Newport County (1987-88) two months before they dropped to the Conference. He has therefore been relegated from the top five levels of the English football league system with five different clubs.
Paul: How many teams have won the Second Division then the First Division in successive seasons and who are they?
The Gaffer says: I assume you mean the top two divisions in England and not the equivalent to the Championship and League One. If so, four teams have done it: Liverpool (1905, 06), Everton (1931, 32), Tottenham (1950, 51), Ipswich (1961, 62).
Matt, Birmingham: Hi Gaffer, firstly, I am a massive fan, and so are the rest of my office - so much respect goes out to you! I was wondering If the great Milan squad of present holds the record for the team with the most number of international caps to their name? Ronaldinho, Dida, Pirlo, Zambrotta et al must all have 80+ (and I guess if/when Beckham returns they will be even better off!) Can anyone better that?
The Gaffer says: The Milan squad total 936 caps. If Beckham joins on loan then you can add another 113 but that would still fall below Manchester United's impressive 1066. The full squads with the number of caps are below:
Dida (91), Kakha Kaladze (65), Oguchi Onyewu (45), Alexandre Pato (8), Gennaro Gattuso (69), Filippo Inzaghi (57), Clarence Seedorf (87), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (24), Christian Abbiati (4), Alessandro Nesta (78), Gianluca Zambrotta (88), Mathieu Flamini (3), Marek Jankulovski (68), Giuseppe Favalli (8), Andrea Pirlo (60), Marco Borriello (3), Massimo Ambrosini (35), Daniele Bonera (16), Flavio Roma (3), Thiago Silva (2), Massimo Oddo (34), Ronaldinho (87), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (1).
Edwin van der Sar (130), Gary Neville (85), Patrice Evra (20), Owen Hargreaves (42), Rio Ferdinand (74), Wes Brown (21), Michal Owen (89), Anderson (8), Dimitar Berbatov (68), Wayne Rooney (52), Ryan Giggs (64), Ben Foster (2), Park Ji-Sung (80), Zoran Tosic (15), Nemanja Vidic (40), Michael Carrick (17), Nani (26), Paul Scholes (66), John O'Shea (55), Jonny Evans (16), Darren Fletcher (43), Antonio Valencia (38), Darren Gibson (5), Tomasz Kuszczak (6), Ritchie De Laet (2), Corry Evans (1), Mame Biram Diouf (1).
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Tuesday August 18
Dave: Awrite Gaffer, can you name the players who are the only player from their country to score in the SPL? I can think of Daniel Cousin from Gabon, but that's about it.
The Gaffer says: I've come up with 23: Madjid Bougherra, Rangers (Algeria); Jose Quitongo, St Mirren (Angola); Laurent D'Jaffo, Aberdeen (Benin); Sasa Papic, Rangers (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Stiliyan Petrov, Celtic (Bulgaria) - thanks John; Fan Zhiyi, Dundee (China) - thanks Martin; Michel Ngonge, Kilmarnock (Congo DR); Dado Prso, Rangers (Croatia); Daniel Cousin, Rangers (Gabon); Ferenc Horvath, Livingston (Hungary); Ricardo Fuller, Hearts (Jamaica); Pavels Mihadjuks, Inverness CT (Latvia); Amadou Konte, Hibernian (Mali); Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan, Rangers (Martinique); Dyron Daal, Aberdeen (Netherland Antills) - thanks Adam; Chris Killen, Hibernian, Celtic (New Zealand); Marius Niculae, Inverness CT (Romania); Andrei Kanchelskis, Rangers (Russia)- thanks Adam; Ramon Vega, Celtic (Switzerland) - thanks Martin; Hamed Namouchi, Rangers (Tunisia); Tugay Kerimoglu, Rangers (Turkey); David Obua, Hearts (Uganda); Carlos Marcora, Dundee United (Uruguay).
Leanne: Which footballer was once brought on in an international as a replacement for his dad?
The Gaffer says: Eidur Gudjohnsen who replaced his father Arnor, a fellow striker, during Iceland's game against Estonia in 1996.
DJ: Sup, Gaff. Which English teams won the Cup Winners' Cup?
The Gaffer says: Chelsea (twice), Arsenal, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, West Ham.
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Monday August 17
Adam, Leeds: Was wondering, before Arsenal's 6-1 demolition of Everton on Saturday when was the last time they won so comfortably in the league?
The Gaffer says: The Gunners enjoyed a few 4-0 romps last season, but their last five-goal winning margin in the Premier League was against hapless Derby in September 2007, thrashing them 5-0 at The Emirates, including an Adebayor hat-trick.
Tiddz Bristol Blue: Just been looking at the non-league results and can't work out why Gloucester are in Blue Square North and Worcester are in Blue Square South. Is my map wrong or has Gloucester moved?
The Gaffer says: It's all due to the complicated structure of the non-league pyramid. Three of the four teams relegated from the Blue Square Premier (Woking, Weymouth and Lewes) were southern, while the Isthmian League champions and play-off winners (Dover and Staines) were both placed in the Blue Square South. This led to there being too many southern teams at that level so as Gloucester were the 'most northern' of the southern teams, they were the unlucky club chosen to plop into the Blue Square North instead. They face expensive trips to the likes of Blyth Spartans and Workington Reds this season, and it's safe to say they are not happy about it! Meanwhile, Worcester moved from the Blue Square North to the South division last year and once placed in a league, they must stay there for at least three seasons. However, an FA spokesperson confirmed that there will be a complete review of the current league boundaries next year. Hope that makes sense!
Leigh, Essex: What is the most common surname of the players who have ever worn an England shirt?
The Gaffer says: Smith predictably leads the way with 20 (though possibly 19 as one is a dodgy derivation of Schmidt in 1938), followed by Brown (9), Johnson (8) and Allen (6).
Irish Bhoy, Glasgow: When was the last time Liverpool lost their opening league game of the season?
The Gaffer says: The first day of the 2003-04 season, when Chelsea won 2-1 at Anfield (Owen 79 pen; Veron 25, Hasselbaink 87).
Recent trivia answers from The Gaffer:
10/08/09 - 16/08/09: Club with the worst League Cup record; highest priced uncapped Englishman; Roy Keane conundrum. Trivia answers
03/08/09 - 09/08/09: Played for Man Utd and Barcelona; most headed goals in the Premier League; FA Cup leading goalscorer. Trivia answers
27/07/09 - 02/08/09: European teams to win the treble or quadruple; Frenchmen to play for Newcastle. Trivia answers
20/07/09 - 26/07/09: Most-capped Premier League manager; Europe's record goalscorers; the Brylcream Boy revealed. Trivia answers
13/07/09 - 19/07/09: Brothers in the Prem; most saves in a shootout; Fifa and European player award winners. Trivia answers
06/07/09 - 12/07/09: Longest penalty shootouts; first substitute and perfect Premier League hat-tricks. Trivia answers
Check out much more trivia in the Ask The Gaffer archives >>>
