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The Gaffer's football trivia archive
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Sunday October 11
Disgruntled England fan: Who are the lowest-ranked team to have beaten England and what's the lowest rank England have ever been?
The Gaffer says: The Fifa world rankings have only been in existence since 1991. Since that year the lowest-ranked opponents England have lost to are Northern Ireland, who were 101st on the list when they beat Sven's boys at Windsor Park in September 2005. England's worst ever ranking was 27th in February 1996, due to their failure to qualify for USA 94 and lack of competitive action in the build-up to Euro 96 due to qualifying automatically as hosts.
Ryan, Bath: I wondered what position for England has been sent off the most and which positions are yet to have a sending off?
The Gaffer says: Amazingly, England have only ever had one defender sent off in their history - Trevor Cherry in a friendly against Argentina in 1977. Eight out of England's total of 12 red cards have been for midfielders - Alan Mullery, Alan Ball, Ray Wilkins, David Beckham (twice), Paul Ince, Paul Scholes and David Batty.
James Crewe: Hey gaff, I was wondering what team has won the most games at a World Cup without ever winning it?
The Gaffer says: Spain have won 22 matches at World Cup finals without ever having lifted the trophy. They beat Holland (16) and Mexico (11) to this unwanted record.
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Saturday October 10
Phil Goicoechea: Which players have scored a hat-trick for Premier League clubs and international teams?
The Gaffer says: It's hard to track down some players, but here is a list of players I KNOW have scored trebles at both levels: Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Peter Crouch, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes, Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, Robbie Keane, Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mikael Forssell, Didier Drogba, Robert Earnshaw, Milan Baros, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paulo Wanchope, Steffen Iversen, Savo Milosevic.
Timblez: Hi gaff just wondering which club has had the most england goal scorers since beggining of football league?
The Gaffer says: A good question! Here is the top ten: Man Utd 27, Villa 26, Arsenal and Spurs 25, Liverpool 24, Everton 20, Chelsea 19, Man City 17, West Ham and Newcastle 13.
Jon, Darlo: I know Shearer is the Premier League's all-time top scorer, but has he scored in the most games? What's the top 5?
The Gaffer says: It's still Shearer, who scored in 190 games. Cole (150), Henry (123), Ferdinand and Sheringham (both 120) and Fowler (117) make up the top six.
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Friday October 9
Jon: Which Premier League footballers have been in a film? I can think of four - Vinnie Jones (Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, X-Men etc), Eric Cantona (Looking For Eric, Elizabeth etc), Stan Collymore (Basic Instict 2), David Beckham (Bend It Like Beckham).
The Gaffer says: There were a host of players who made cameo appearances in the Goal! films. Didier Agathe, who made a handful of appearances for Aston Villa, was in A Shot at Glory, along with Ally McCoist, Steve Tosh and Burnley boss Owen Coyle. Scott Mean (three games for West Ham) was in Mike Bassett: England Manager. Also, Mel Sterland (Leeds) in When Saturday Comes and John Wark (Ipswich) in Escape to Victory (thanks Gavin).
Josimar, Bolton: Is it true England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom's dad was a professional footballer?
The Gaffer says: It is true. Arnie Sidebottom was a central defender who joined Man Utd in 1971. He was an average player but did help United win the Second Division title in 1975, before moving to Huddersfield Town and later Halifax. In 2007 he was voted No.5 in The Times' poll of the 50 worst players to play in the top flight.
Nick from Torbay: Who and when started the game with 11 English lads in the Prem?
The Gaffer says: It has happened a few times, one example being Middlesbrough's starting XI in the last game of the 2005-06 season against Fulham: Turnbull, Davies, Bates, Wheater, Taylor, Morrison, Kennedy, Cattermole, Christie, Graham, Johnson.
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Thursday October 8
Daniel: Who is the oldest player to make his debut in the Premier League?
The Gaffer says: Graham Alexander of Burnley who turns 38 on October 10 (thanks Martin and Jon).
Peter: Which player has played for all these teams - Manchester City, Manchester United and Bolton.
The Gaffer says: I can think of four: Brian Kidd, Peter Beardsley, Wyn Davies, Peter Barnes.
Richard: Hi Gaff, as a Newcastle Utd fan I have seen many managers come and go. But what is the shortest duration a manager has spent at a club in the Premier League?
The Gaffer says: Not including caretaker managers, Les Reed, who lasted just 41 days at Charlton in 2006.
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Wednesday October 7
Chris, Gloucester: How much have Liverpool spent on players, compared with how much they have received, since Hicks and Gillett took over the club?
The Gaffer says: Ins: Fernando Torres (£26.5m), Robbie Keane (£20.3m) Alberto Aquilani (£20m), Glen Johnson (£18m), Ryan Babel (£11.5m), Alberto Riera (£8m), Andrea Dossena (£7m), Martin Skrtel (£6m), Yossi Benayoun (£5m), Diego Cavalieri (£3.5m), Sotiros Kyrgiakos (£2m), David Ngog (£1.5m), Emiliano Insua, Damien Plessis, Krisztian Nemeth, Charles Itandje (all undisclosed). Total: £129.3m. Outs: Xabi Alonso (£30m), Robbie Keane (£12m), Peter Crouch (£9m), Mohamed Sissoko (£8.2m), Craig Bellamy (£7.5m), Djibril Cisse (£6m),Mark Gonzalez (£4.2m), John Arne Riise (£4m), Luis Garcia (£4m), Alvaro Arbeloa (£3.5m), Scott Carson (£3.25m), Florent Sinama Pongolle (£2.7m), Danny Guthrie (£2.5m), Sebastian Leto (£1.3m), Anthony Le Tallec (£1.1m), Steve Finnan (£1m), Paul Anderson (£250k), Danny O'Donnell (£100k), Gabriel Paletta, Lee Peltier (both undisclosed). Total £100.6m. So after player sales, and excluding the undisclosed transfers (which wouldn't make too much difference), Benitez has spent £28.7m.
Dan: Which player past or present has played for the most Premier League teams? We have Kevin Phillips on six.
The Gaffer says: Phillips on six?! He has only played for four - Sunderland, Southampton, Aston Villa and Birmingham. Andy Cole - Newcastle, Man Utd, Blackburn, Fulham, Man City, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Sunderland, and Marcus Bent - Crystal Palace, Blackburn, Ipswich, Leicester, Everton, Charlton, Wigan, share the record on seven. However, if/when Bent plays for Birmingham this season, he will add an eighth club to his list.
Scott: Hi Gaffer, superb site. Could you tell me every Rangers player who has scored against Celtic since the SPL began in 1998/99?
The Gaffer says: Only counting SPL matches and not including own goals: Nacho Novo (6), Kenny Miller (4), Ronald de Boer (4), Jorg Albertz (4), Gabriel Amato (2), Rod Wallace (2), Giovanni Van Bronckhorst (2), Gavin McCann (2), Lorenzo Amoruso (2), Billy Dodds (2), Barry Ferguson (2), Michael Mols (2), Peter Lovenkrands (2), Steven Thompson (2), Dado Prso (2), Daniel Cousin (2), Jonatan Johansson, Andrei Kanchelskis, Claudio Reyna, Tore-Andre Flo, Arthur Numan, Shota Arveladze, Mikel Arteta, Craig Moore, Gregory Vignal, Thomas Buffel, Brahim Hemdani, Ugo Ehiogu, Kris Boyd, Charlie Adam, Kevin Thomson, David Weir, Pedro Mendes, Steven Davis.
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Tuesday October 6
Ryan, Crewe: What is the most games a manager has been in charge of at a club? My guess would be Dario Gradi or Fergie.
The Gaffer says: Tricky one - Fred Everiss was at West Brom for 46 years, making him English football's longest-serving manager of all time, but while he was in charge for 1520 games a lot of those were in an administrative capacity and he didn't pick the team. Dario Gradi has been in charge of 1244 games at Crewe over four spells, while Sir Alex has overseen 1288 games at Man Utd - and I don't think there's any historical doubt as to whether Fergie picks his teams!
Jamesards: Are there any League Two teams that have full international players in their squads?
The Gaffer says: There are loads of Under 21s knocking about in League Two, but not so many full internationals. However, the lowest-positioned side in the current League Two table to boast full internationals are third-from-bottom Grimsby. Keeper Nick Colgan has nine full Republic of Ireland caps, while defender Robbie Stockdale has played five times for Scotland.
KJ: My mate says women aren't allowed to play in the mens game. I'm sure there was a girl who almost signed for an Italian club. What happened with her? Was the move blocked or was it a publicity stunt.
The Gaffer says: Former Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci attempted to sign female players Hanna Ljungberg and Birgit Prinz in 2003, but failed to bring them to the club. Prinz is playing for women's side FFC Frankfurt and is the Women's World Cup all-time leading scorer with 14 goals, while Ljungberg retired this year with a knee injury.
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Monday October 5
Andy Brown: Gaffa, with the pending resale of Portsmouth it prompted a question. Is this the shortest time a single person has owned a football club?
The Gaffer says: This question brings to mind the bumbling figure of Michael Knighton (pictured) juggling the ball towards the Stretford End at Old Trafford in 1989. Man United fans will shudder at the memory of the Isle of Man property tycoon, whose £20 bid for the club was accepted by then chairman Martin Edwards. However, the takeover proved even shorter than Sulaiman al-Fahim's at Portsmouth as Knighton's financial backers pulled out a few weeks later. Knighton went on to buy Carlisle instead, later taking over as first team manager, getting them relegated to the bottom tier and, thanks to Jimmy Glass' famous goal, avoiding the Conference by a whisker.
Benny Bielstein: This was asked on MUTV - name six players who have won the European Cup and LATER signed for Manchester United. The answers were Gary Birtles, Viv Anderson, Fabien Barthez, Henrik Larsson, Owen Hargreaves and Edwin van de Sar. I think (know!) that Arnold Muhren played for Ajax in 1973. Are there any others?
The Gaffer says: There's one other - Colin Gibson. He won the European Cup with Aston Villa in 1982 before joining United three years later.
Cathy Abraham: Who is the last person to be awarded a penalty at Anfield, playing against Liverpool?
The Gaffer says: It's not as long ago as you clearly think it is, Cathy! Ashley Young scored from the spot in Villa's 3-1 win on August 24.
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Recent trivia answers from The Gaffer:
28/09/09 - 04/10/09: World Cup winners to play in an Old Firm derby, Champions League winners from unique countries. Trivia answers
21/09/09 - 27/09/09: England's one-cap goalscorers, Serie A appearance records and three successive hat-tricks. Trivia answers
14/09/09 - 20/09/09: Highest penalty scorers in the Premier League and 25 players who appeared for Sheff Utd and Wednesday. Trivia answers
07/09/09 - 13/09/09: Hat-tricks by England midfielders and when the Rest of the World came to Wembley. Trivia answers
31/08/09 - 06/09/09: Smallest player ever, Cole's row with Sheringham and most successful colours. Trivia answers
24/08/09 - 30/08/09: Footballing politicians; youngest captain to win Champions League; most Premier League appearances. Trivia answers
17/08/09 - 23/08/09: Smallest country to provide a Premier League player; most hat-tricks for one club; most relegated player. Trivia answers
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 >>>
