Ask the Gaffer football trivia
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More Gaffer questions and answers:
Sunday 18 May
Borussia Dortmund: Hi, tell me the teams that got relegated and promoted in Germany.
The Gaffer says: Nuremberg, Hansa Rostock and MSV Duisburg were relegated from the First Bundesliga, while Borussia Monchengladbach, Koln and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were promoted to it.
JP: Where did Cardiff buy Loovens from?
The Gaffer says: After a promising year-long loan spell from Feyenoord during the 2005-06 season, Cardiff signed the young defender after months of negotiations for a reported £250,000.
Paul: Hi Gaffer, from teams in England and Scotland can you tell me who has the longest pitch? The shortest, the narrowest and the widest? Thanks.
The Gaffer says: I can give you figures for England. The longest pitches are Carlisle and Leeds (117m), the widest is Leyton Orient (80m), the shortest is Bristol Rovers (101m) and the narrowest is Crewe (66m). Figures for Scotland are in the Sky Sports Football Yearbook (formerly Rothmans) but the wife's moaning at me to cut the grass so I haven't got a spare four hours to look through it and note down every club's pitch measurements.
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Saturday 17 May
Simon: Hi, Gaffer. Have any players other than attacking ones ever won the European/World player awards? Thanks.
The Gaffer says: Franz Beckenbauer, Lev Yashin, Matthias Sammer and Fabio Cannavaro have won the European Footballer of the Year. Fabio Cannavaro has also won World Footballer of the Year.
Catdog: Alright Gaff. I know it doesn't matter much but was just wondering how many times a team has won the European Cup/Champions League at the first attempt (i.e. having never reaching the final before)?
The Gaffer says: Plenty. Real 1956, Benfica 1961, Inter 1964, Celtic 1967, Man Utd 1968, Feyenoord 1970, Bayern 1974, Liverpool 1977, Forest 1979, Villa 1982, Steaua 1986, Porto 1987, PSV 1988, Red Star 1991, Dortmund 1997.
D, Belfast: Did A.C. Milan's Ronaldo play for Brazil at the 1994 World Cup and did he get sent off?
The Gaffer says: He was in the squad but didn't play. The only Brazilian to be sent off in that tournament was Leonardo against USA in the second round.
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Friday 16 May
Borussia Dortmund: Can you tell me the head-to-head of England v Germany?
The Gaffer: They have met 10 times with both winning four games and two finishing as draws. England have scored 21 goals though compared to Germany's 14.
The Tone: Who was the last player to be transferred direct from Man Utd to Liverpool and vice versa?
The Gaffer: Since the Second World War the only direct transfer between the two clubs came in 1964 when Liverpool paid the Manchester United £25,000 for Phil Chisnall.
Thursday 15 May
Ed, Spurs: How much money have Chelsea spent on right-backs since Roman Abramovich took over?
The Gaffer says: Glen Johnson (£6m), Paulo Ferreira (£13.2m), Juliano Belletti (undisclosed although reportedly £3.7m) and now Jose Bosingwa (£16.2m). That totals £39.1m although you can add on an extra £7m if you are including Geremi as a right-back.
Mark: Can you tell me a bit about those two Brazilian twins Manchester United signed and what has happened to them?
The Gaffer says: Rafael and Fabio Silva signed for Manchester United in February 2007 from Fluminense. However, both players will remain at Fluminense until they turn 18 this summer due to the FIFA restricted international transfer for U18 players. Rafael is a right wing-back and Fabio a left wing-back and it is believed a Cristiano Ronaldo phone call helped seal the deal.
Jda, Huddersfield: Who is the dominating team in Australia and have they got any players I might recognise the names of?
The Gaffer says: There are a few teams rivalling at the top but I'll pick out Melbourne Victory who have the largest average crowd of any A-League club. They are the only club to complete the Premiership-Championship double, having won both during the 2006-07 season. Their captain is Kevin Muscat while other players you may recognise include Danny Allsopp, Grant Bebner, Joe Keenan, Steve Mautone and Nicky Ward who have all played in England.
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Wednesday 14 May
Jmj, Dundee: Hi Gaff. Can you give me the details on Derby County's European Cup match against Real Madrid and who was the Rams boss at the time?
The Gaffer says: Derby met Real Madrid for a place in the European Cup quarter-finals in 1975. The Rams beat the Spanish giants 4-1 at the Baseball Ground with Charlie George scoring a hat-trick during the first leg. However, Derby lost the return leg 5-1 AET to crash out 6-5 on aggregate. Dave Mackay was manager at the time.
Chris: Where will this year's Super Cup be played at?
The Gaffer says: The Stade Louis II stadium in Monaco where it is held each year.
Nick, Cornwall (efc): Hi again Gaff. The most famous player in our history is Dixie Dean so can you please give me his stats and the accolades he won? Thanks oh wise one.
The Gaffer says: Notts County - nine games, three goals. Everton - 447 games, 395 goals. Tranmere - 33 games, 27 goals. England - 16 caps, 18 goals. I can't find the exact stats for his time at Sligo Rovers and Hurst F.C. Dean won two League Championships, one Second Division Championship, two FA Charity Shield's, one FA Cup, one Central League Championship, a League of Ireland Runners Up medal and an FA of Ireland Cup Runners Up medal. He also won a Sunday Pictorial Trophy for 60 League Goals in 1927-28, a Lewis's Medal to commemorate 200 league goals in 199 appearances, a Hall of Fame Trophy (1971) and a Football Writers' Association inscribed silver salver (1976). Dean is also an inaugural inductee in The National Football Museum Hall of Fame (2002) and was voted BBC Radio Merseyside's 4th "Greatest Merseysider" (2003).
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Tuesday 13 May
Dex, Belfast: Alright Gaff. Why have Boavista of Portugal been demoted? What happened and will they promote an extra team to make up the numbers?
The Gaffer says: Boavista have been relegated to Liga de Honra for next season due to bribery of referees in the 2003-04 season. The league have not yet announced what affect this will have on the other teams in the drop zone but Boavista can appeal against the decision.
Twigsy: Can you tell me who Barcelona bought Lionel Messi from and for how much? Also can you give me his stats? Thanks.
The Gaffer says: Interesting one this. At the age of five the Argentinian started playing football for Grandoli, and in 1995 switched to Newell's Old Boys. Aged 11 he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, and while River Plate showed interest in his progress they didn't have enough cash to pay for his treatment. Barcelona were made aware of his talent and signed soon him, offering to pay the medical bills if he was willing to move to start a new life in Spain. He did so, and worked his way through Barca's youth teams. Stats: 81 league appearances for Barca, 31 goals. 24 Argentina caps, seven goals.
Pablo, efc: Can you tell me how many major trophies Everton have won since day one?
The Gaffer says: They are one of the top five most successful English clubs in terms of major honours, having won the League Championship nine times, the FA Cup five times and the Uefa Cup Winners' Cup once - a total of 15 major honours.
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Monday 12 May
Matt: Can you tell me what Leeds' highest attendance was this season? And did that beat any Prem teams' best attendances?
The Gaffer: Leeds' highest so far is 38,256 which hammers quite a few in the Premier League. Their average attendance of 25,720 puts them ahead of Reading, Portsmouth, Fulham, Blackburn, Wigan and Bolton.
Andy, Manchester: Which was the last player to move from City to United, excluding Tony Coton?
The Gaffer: Excluding Coton, the last one I believe was Wyn Davies, who joined United from City in 1973.
Tom, London: Everyone knows about Arsenal's 40+ game unbeaten run, but who holds the record for most consecutive wins in the Premier League and old First Division?
The Gaffer: Spurs held the old First Division record with 13 victories spanning two seasons - the end of 1959-60 and the beginning of 60-61. In the Premier League, Arsenal won 14 on the trot from February-August 2002.
