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Got a football trivia question bugging you? Ask The Gaffer by email or text message and Orange's expert will answer the best ones:
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Latest Twitter trivia answer: Sir Alex Ferguson, Ron Atkinson, Mike Walker, Kenny Dalglish, Gerry Francis, Graeme Souness, Trevor Francis, Doug Livermore, Peter Reid, George Graham, Ian Porterfield, Joe Kinnear, Howard Kendall, Dave Bassett, Bobby Gould, John Lyall, Howard Wilkinson, Ian Branfoot, Joe Royle, Steve Coppell, Lennie Lawrence, Brian Clough.
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Saturday July 4
Keir: Can you name all the players to have played for AC Milan and Chelsea? I can name the following who have: Crespo, Shevchenko, Gullit, Panucci, Brian Laudrup, Wilkins, Greaves, Desailly.
The Gaffer says: I can add George Weah, Winston Bogarde, Carlo Cudicini and Sam Dalla Bona to the list.
Buzz: How many players have scored at least five hat-tricks in the Premier League?
The Gaffer says: Alan Shearer (11); Robbie Fowler Thierry Henry, Michael Owen (8); Andrew Cole, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ian Wright (5).
Mikey: Hi Gaff, which player has won the most Community Shields?
The Gaffer says: Ryan Giggs with seven outright wins (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008).
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Friday July 3
Christian, Swansea: After the death of Mark Vivian Foe Man City retired his shirt number. Have any other Prem clubs followed them in doing this?
The Gaffer says: Good question Christian (if a little morbid!). You're quite correct about Foe. West Ham have retired Bobby Moore's No6 shirt, but it took them 15 years after his death in 1993 to do so. Chelsea have not 'officially' retired the 25 shirt in tribute to Gianfranco Zola, but it has gone unused ever since his departure, presumably deliberately. Outside the Prem, several clubs have retired shirts due to players' deaths including Hartlepool (Michael Maidens, No25), QPR (Ray Jones, No31), Wycombe (Mark Philo, No14) and Aberdeen (Hicham Zerouali, No20).
Adam Griffiths: Who was on the losing team in a World Cup Final, on the winning side in the Champions League final and scored the goal that won the English Premier League title?
The Gaffer says: You can only be referring to Thierry Henry of Sylvain Wiltord, but in actual fact neither fulfil all three of the criteria you mention. Henry did lose a World Cup final in 2006 and win the Champions League with Barcelona in May but he didn't score the goal that won the Premier League (it was goals by Wiltord at Old Trafford in 2001/02 and Vieira and Pires at White Hart Lane in 2003/04 that mathematically sealed Arsenal's two titles). Equally, Wiltord also lost a WC final in 2006 and scored a Premier League title-winning goal, but he has not won the Champions League. If you know different, please let me know.
Antony Phillips: How many players with a surname beginning with M played for England under Sven?
The Gaffer says: Strange question! There were five - Nigel Martyn, Gavin McCann, Steve McManaman, Danny Mills, Danny Murphy.
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Thursday July 2
Grant, Whitefield: Which tournament both started and finished with a missed penalty?
The Gaffer says: The 1994 World Cup finals in the USA, with Diana Ross's ludicrous miss in the opening ceremony, and Roberto Baggio's howler over the bar during the penalty shoot out in the final.
Randy: RE your response to yesterday's question 'Which England player played for his country before he had played for his club?'. This question could perhaps be understood a couple of ways. For instance, could not the answer also be Owen Hargreaves?
The Gaffer says: I think in retrospect I was barking up the wrong tree with this one. I reckon this is one of those 'old chestnut' questions, and the answer is actually Geoff Hurst. He played for England before his club - the 'club' in question being Essex Cricket Club, for whom he played at first-class level after his retirement from football in 1976.
Jack, London: What will happen if Southampton (or any league team) go out of business in the close season? Do all losing play off finalists go up a division?
The Gaffer says: As fixtures have already been released, I would be surprised if they promoted an extra League Two club. It would have ramifications for every division below it. I imagine they would just stick with 23 teams in League One next season and even things up next summer.
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Wednesday July 1
Scott Leonard: Hi gaff, can you tell me who the all-time top goalscoring defender is at club football level and what has been the most goals scored by a defender in one season?
The Gaffer says: A hard one to answer, Scott. In England, I would be surprised if a defender has beaten Steve Bruce's 19 goals in all competitions in the 1990-91 season. Ronald Koeman has claims for the most goals by a defender - he scored more than 200 goals in his career and once scored 21 in a season for PSV.
Johnny Thompson: Which team has had the lowest-scoring top goalscorer in the Premier League, and who is the most unlikely top goalscorer?
The Gaffer says: I've understood this to include past and present players at the 20 teams who finished the last Premier League season. With this in mind, Hull are the lowest with Geovanni on 8, but that's a bit unfair as they've only experienced one season. Of the teams with plenty of Premier League experience, you might be surprised to know that Niall Quinn is Manchester City's best with just 29. The most surprising is perhaps Kevin Nolan of Bolton with 39 to his name.
John Gates: Which England player played for his country before he had played for his club?
The Gaffer says: Michael Mancienne.
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Tuesday June 30
Jonathan Godfrey: Is it true that Matthew Le Tissier only ever missed one penalty in his whole professional career and that he said afterwards that the "keeper didn't save it, I was just giving the keeper a chance"?
The Gaffer says: It's true. Le Tissier's only miss from the penalty spot was against Nottingham Forest in 1993, when Mark Crossley was the keeper. Crossley said later that it was the save he was most proud of in his entire career. I'm not so sure about Le Tissier's quote - probably said with tongue firmly in cheek.
Aaron from Hull: Is it true Cantona had a tattoo on his neck saying 'I love Leeds'?
The Gaffer says: It's an urban myth, just like the one about Jamie Carragher having an Everton crest tattooed on his arm.
El Nino: Who is the most expensive English player to never have a full cap?
The Gaffer says: James Milner, who cost a reported £12m when he joined Villa from Newcastle.
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Monday June 29
Caroline Peters: How many managers have started their managerial careers by managing their national team (and who are they?)? I can think of Dunga and Jurgen Klinsman.
The Gaffer says: Great question Caroline. Several men come to mind - Mark Hughes (Wales), Frank Rijkaard (Holland) and Marco van Basten (also Holland). Van Basten had only previously managed the Ajax youth side, so I'm not counting that as a 'proper' job. Berti Vogts had never managed a club before taking charge of Germany, but he had worked his way up from national U20 manager and assistant to Franz Beckenbauer. Republic of Ireland have plunged a few inexperienced bosses in at the deep end, most recently Steve Staunton, as well as Don Givens (as caretaker) and Johnny Giles as player-manager between 1973-80. Edit: Huge kudos to John Sanaghan in High Blantyre for adding the following: Michel Platini (France), Andy Roxbrough (Scotland - who previously took charge of the U16, U18 and U21s), Juste Fontaine (France), Slaven Bilic (Croatia - previously with the U21s), Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany), Walter Winterbotom (England), Otto Nerz (Germany) and Mike England (Wales).
Bomma, Newcastle: Can you let me know how many penalties Alan Shearer missed in his career both as a club player and as an England player? I remember him missing against Sunderland but can't remember any more.
The Gaffer says: Stats for missed pens are notoriously hard to dig out as they don't officially go down in match stat archives, but I've managed to find seven Shearer missed pens - For England in Poland in a World Cup qualifier in May 97, for Newcastle at home to Wolves in May 2004, at home to Villa in Nov 2003, at home to Partisan Belgrade in August 2003, at home to Sunderland in 1999, at Ipswich, at Everton in April 1999 and for Blackburn at Southampton in August 1994. Edit: Thanks to Darryl in Newcastle for adding these - "He also missed one against Fulham at home in 02-03, Charlton at home 03-04 (he scored the rebound) and against Chelsea in the Malaysia Cup final pen shootout pre-season '03".
Les: Were the two Hoggs who played for Sunderland in early 1900's related?
The Gaffer says: They were indeed, and in fact there were three of them! Billy Hogg was the most successful, making over 300 appearances for the club between 1899-1909 before moving to Rangers where he won three titles. Robert started at Sunderland before moving to Grimsby and Blackpool while Jack failed to make the grade at Roker Park and moved on to Morpeth, Sheffield Utd and Southampton.
The Gaffer's football trivia archive:
22/06/09 - 28/06/09: First £100k British transfer; most common Premier League surname; international twins. Trivia answers
15/06/09 - 21/06/09: The leakiest Premier League keeper; the longest Celtic and Rangers have gone without tropies. Trivia answers
08/06/09 - 14/06/09: World Cup clean-sheet records; most capped players; England's highest scoring partnerships. Trivia answers
01/06/09 - 07/06/09: England players to be sent off; Rangers players with the letter 'u' in their first and last names. Trivia answers
25/05/09 - 31/05/09: First player to be sent off in Champions League final; most penalties awarded in normal time of a game. Trivia answers
18/05/09 - 24/05/09: Premier League ever-presents; foreign managers in the SPL; World Cup wonders. Trivia answers
11/05/09 - 17/05/09: Foreign Premier League managers; Fewest defeats for a runner-up; Premier League own goals. Trivia answers
04/05/09 - 10/05/09: Premier League player-managers; Highest Uefa Cup scorers; Champions League debut hat-tricks. Trivia answers
27/04/09 - 03/05/09: One-club wonders; Premier League's most booked players; most international caps: Trivia answers
20/04/09 - 26/04/09: Scorer of most England hat-tricks; Cruyff's special deal; Ruud's record goal run: Trivia answers
13/04/09 - 19/04/09: Brothers to play for different countries; England internationals born abroad. Trivia answers
06/04/09 - 12/04/09: Youngest ever league scorer; players with capital city surnames and matches won by coin toss. Trivia answers
30/03/09 - 05/04/09: International goal droughts; Italians in the Prem; non-indigenous title winners. Trivia answers
23/03-09 - 29/03/09: Oldest England debutant; the football Lord; England players with an 'x'; Charity Shield poser. Trivia answers
16/03/09 - 22/03/09: British players to score in two European Cup finals; highest scoring keeper; most teams in a city. Trivia answers
09/03/09 - 15/03/09: Brothers to play in the Premier League; first player to be sent off in an FA Cup final at Wembley. Trivia answers
02/03/09 - 08/03/09: Last three English managers to win the FA Cup; non-English Premier League high scorers. Trivia answers
23/02/09 - 01/03/09: Smallest ever crowd; Laurie Cunningham's strange fact; Kanu's great record, quickest goal. Trivia answers
16/02/09 - 22/02/09: 13 Prem winners from one country; unofficial world champions; fathers and sons in same XI. Trivia answers
09/02/09 - 15/02/09: Rio Ferdinand's stint in goal; which footballer links England, Scotland, Wales and Jamaica? Trivia answers
02/02/09 - 08/02/09: Most players from one club in an England match; hat-tricks against three keepers in one game. Trivia answers
