Ask the Gaffer football trivia
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More Gaffer questions and answers:
Sunday 20 April
Richard from North Shields: Who is the highest paid player in world football? My mate reckons Casillas but surely it's Beckham. Your verdict please.
The Gaffer says: Impossible to say Richard, as basic wages are topped up with images rights issues, sponsorship deals and the like. For example, Beckham currently has a $5.5m base salary (fairly small in the grand scheme of things), but that could rise to a staggering $250m over five years with endorsements and profit sharing. For what's it's worth, here's a completely unofficial list I dug up from one of my sources of the top 20 basic salaries. Figures are in euros. 1 Kaka (AC Milan 9m), 2 Ronaldinho (Barcelona, 8.5m), 3 Frank Lampard (Chelsea 8.1m), 4 John Terry (Chelsea 8.1m), 5 Fernando Torres (Liverpool 7.9m), 6 Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea 7.8m), 7 Michael Ballack (Chelsea 7.8m), 8 Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd 7.6m), 9 Thierry Henry (Barcelona 7.6m), 10 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool 7.6m), 11 Didier Drogba (Chelsea 7.3m), 12 Wayne Rooney (Man Utd 7.3m), 13 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid 7.2m), 14 Michael Owen (Newcastle 6.7m), 15 Sol Campbell (Portsmouth 6.6m), 16 Raul (Real Madrid 6.4m), 17 Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid 6.4m), 18 Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd 6m), 19 Darren Bent (Spurs 5.9m), 20 Carlos Tevez (Man Utd 5.8m).
Lee: Could you tell me all the Leeds managers after Don Revie, including caretakers?
The Gaffer says: Including caretakers: Brian Clough, Jimmy Armfield, Jock Stein, Jimmy Adamson, David Merrington, Allan Clarke, Eddie Gray, Peter Gumby, Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Howard Wilkinson, George Graham, David O'Leary, Terry Venables, Peter Reid, Eddie Gray, Kevin Blackwell, John Carver, David Geddis, Dennis Wise, Gwyn Williams and Gary McAllister.
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Saturday 19 April
Nick, Torquay: What is the legend Gabriel Batistuta up to now? And how many goals did he get for club and country? And games playd? Cheers.
The Gaffer says: Batistuta quit the game in 2005 and is now enjoying the good life in Perth, Australia, playing a fair bit of golf. He earlier completed his coaching badges in Argentina but isn't directly involved in football at present. But there are reports of his wanting to coach the Socceroos at some stage. As for his career stats, he scored 249 goals in 441 league games, netting an impressive 56 in 78 matches for Argentina.
Sol: Hey Gaff, wondering what's the biggest win in English history?
The Gaffer says: Preston North End 26 Hyde 0 in the first round of the FA Cup in October 1887.
Nick in Cornwall (efc): Hi Gaff. How many players have been capped by England in full internationals?
The Gaffer says: A grand total of 1,153, between 1872 and 2008.
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Friday 18 April
El Munkey: Gaff, can you list me the bottom-placed teams in the Prem and their points total for every season we've had a 38-game season? Also what do you think of Ian Wright as a pundit?
The Gaffer says: Here are the top-flight flops: 2006-07 Watford, 28 points; 2005-06 Sunderland, 15; 2004-05 Southampton, 32; 2003-04 Wolves, 33; 2002-03 Sunderland, 19; 2001-02 Leicester, 28; 2000-01 Bradford, 26; 1999-2000 Watford, 24; 1998-99 Nottingham Forest, 30; 1997-98 Crystal Palace, 33; 1996-97 Forest, 34; 1995-96 Bolton, 29. As for Ian Wright, good bloke but not too incisive or enlightening as a pundit. Stan Collymore on BBC Radio Five Live is much better. Best sports broadcaster of the week? Roddy Forsyth for his brilliant BBC radio commentary on Celtic v Rangers. And he was well supported by Pat Nevin.
Dave: Did Paul Ince miss a penalty in France 98 against Argentina?
The Gaffer says: Yes he did. Ince was the second England player to take part in the shoot-out after Alan Shearer had scored from the spot. Ince missed and Argentina went on to win 4-3 after David Batty's penalty was saved.
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Thursday 17 April
The Gaffer says: The latest Old Firm goal that I can recall is also the saddest. It came at Ibrox on 2 January 1971 when Colin Stein equalised for Rangers late in stoppage time after Jimmy Johnstone had put Celtic ahead in the 89th minute. Shortly after the equaliser, barriers on Stairway 13 gave way, causing a pile-up of spectators. Initial reports indicated that departing fans had turned back once they heard about Stein's goal and collided with fans leaving the ground. However, the official inquiry into the disaster indicated that all the spectators were going in the same direction at the time of the collapse. Sixty-six fans died and more than 200 were injured.
Simon, Wolves: Hi Gaff. Is it true that Frank Lampard and Jamie Redknapp are cousins?
The Gaffer: Yes they are. In fact Frank Lampard Jnr has several famous footballing relatives: his father, Frank Snr, played for West Ham (and England). His uncle is Pompey boss Harry Redknapp, father of Jamie.
Teddy Bear: Will Carlos Cuellar miss the next Old Firm game due to his sending off for a deliberate handball on Wednesday? Cheers mate.
The Gaffer: Yes Teddy, Cuellar is banned for the Old Firm game on 27 April. Rangers will miss him - he's been one of their best players this season. I know of at least three Premier League clubs which have been tracking him closely.
Joeycbcfc: Where is Olivier Tebily these days?
The Gaffer: Birmingham City paid up the remainder of his contract in mid-January, when he became a free agent after nearly six years at the club. He's currently training with Toronto FC with a view to a permanent move to Canada.
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Wednesday 16 April
Sol: When was the last time Preston beat Man Utd?
The Gaffer: Amazingly these sides haven't faced each other since 1972, and North End haven't beaten their local(ish) rivals since 1959, when they won 4-0 at Deepdale.
Dean Staffs: When was the last time a team other than Celtic or Rangers won the SPL?
The Gaffer: Aberdeen in the 1984-85 season.
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Tuesday 15 April
God23: Before the Prem, who holds the record for the most individual goal scorers in a match? I think Liverpool had 8 differant scorers when beating Palace 9-0.
The Gaffer: The record is nine, held by Liverpool following their 11-0 destruction of Stromsgodset in 1984. There were indeed eight different goalscorers for the Reds in that unforgettable 9-0 hammering of Palace five years later.
Pie eater, Sunderland: Who is the heaviest player to have played the game? My mate reckons Jan Molby, another one reckons Jim Stannard, but I say 'Fatty' Foulkes.
The Gaffer: Yes, good old Bradford keeper William "Fatty" Foulkes, weighing in at 25 stone, wins that award comfortably.
Tezza, Liverpool: Which team has won the most League Cups? My mate says Villa, but I'm sure it's Liverpool.
The Gaffer: You're right, Tezza. Liverpool have won seven and Villa five.
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Monday 14 April
God23: Was Gary Pallister the first player to play for England while playing outside the top flight?
The Gaffer: There were many players to do this before Pallister, when the gap between top flight and the other divisions wasn't as huge as it is now. These include: Steve Bull (Wolves), Mick Channon (Southampton), Peter Taylor (who played for England when Palace were in the old Division Three) and Trevor Brooking (West Ham).
Tom: The Uefa league ranking system - what are the current rankings?
The Gaffer: The Uefa league coefficient is determined by the results of the clubs of the leagues over the past five seasons. In the preliminary rounds of both the Champions League and Uefa Cup the awarded points are halved, while bonus points are allocated for reaching the various stages of the Champions League and Uefa cup, plus a further bonus for the number of points scored in a season. The Premier League is not top, but second. The current top 20 are: 1 Spain, 2 England, 3 Italy, 4 France, 5 Germany, 6 Portugal, 7 Romania, 8 Netherlands, 9 Russia, 10 Scotland, 11 Ukraine, 12 Belgium, 13 Czech Republic, 14 Turkey, 15 Greece, 16 Bulgaria, 17 Switzerland, 18 Norway, 19 Israel, 20 Serbia.
Dan: What was the first televised football match ever?
The Gaffer: The first live, fully televised match was Arsenal v Everton in 1936.
