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Archive (part two)
Your football questions answered every Wednesday. (Unless we happen to do it on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, obviously.) Email knowledge@guardian.co.uk and we'll do our best to help Archive (part one)
Wednesday 21 September 2005 11.25 EDT
First published on Wednesday 21 September 2005 11.25 EDT
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December 11, 2003: Did the Beatles like football; Steve Archibald on Top of the Pops and football references in Spinal Tap (reprise). Click here .
December 4: How often have animals been seen on scoreboards; players with the same name at the same club and referees changing their minds Pt II. Click here .
November 27: Has a player ever persuaded the ref to change his mind? Click here .
November 13: Was Ally McLeod really a born winner? Steven Gerrard - international record breaker and the highest number of penalties in a UK shoot-out (3). Click here .
November 6: The greatest-ever European Cup thrashings; did Ken Dodd ever play Glasgow the Monday after Rangers and Celtic both lost at home? The Battle of Santiago; and a British penalty shoot-out that finished 11-10. Click here .
October 30: England's 1986 squad: the worst bunch of managers ever? Most penalties in a match, has Keegan ever managed a team booed off at half-time and most goals in a short space of time. Click here .
October 23: Greatest two-legged comeback ever; when Moscow Dynamo tried to play with 12 men against Rangers, most goals in the shortest amount of time and a lesson in probability. Click here .
October 17: The odds of the big teams missing each other in the Euro 2004 draw; late goals; Rattin: an apology, Club with fewest and most managers. Click here .
October 9: Football or Baseball: which is bigger; Was Rattin's sending off in 1966 justified?; How do you pronounce Bernabeu?; Longest number of league games without a draw. Click here
September 27: Has anyone played on all League grounds; a home-nation full house; more Laurent Blanc; rubbish polyester shirts; and squad numbers. Click here
September 18: High-scoring defenders; most Premiership red cards; biggest lower-league attendances; the statistical significance of a first win of the season (2). Click here .
September 10: Does a first day win make all the difference?; most clubs with the same starting letter in one division, scoring goalkeeprs; Bolton v Manchester United. Click here
September 4: Can Rangers invoke the Treaty of Rome to play in England?; worst value for money player ever; why Gary Neville and Raul have more Champions League appearances than David Beckham; and the team that scored six - and still lost. Click here
August 27: Is Gary Neville a Champions League record-breaker? Is Sicknote the most injured player of all time (Part 3)? and Did Paul Rideout ever play for a Hong Kong Select XI? Click here .
August 12: Are Chelsea the biggest spenders ever? Why do they throw rubbish on the pitch in Argentina? And why wasn't the 1970 FA Cup final replay played at Wembley? Click here .
July 17: World Cup final players, best-supported lower league club; Corinthian Casuals, England team suppliers, and did Pele ever play against Stoke? Click here .
July 10: Kit clashes, world record-breaking Rangers, Arsenal's England internationals... and yet more away penalties at Old Trafford. Click here .
June 26: Penalties at Old Trafford, the worst manager ever (2), most sent off player - ever! and Matt Jansen, record breaker. Click here .
June 16: The worst manager ever; the geographically closest Champions League final opponents ever; the most injured player ever - the sequel. Click here .
June 5: The most injured player ever; Robbie Fowler's three good seasons; the return of the largest town with a league club; the smallest town with a league ground. Click here .
May 29: The largest town without a League club; Second Division sides reaching the FA Cup final II; Goalkeepers scoring from drop-kicks. Click here .
May 8: Footballers in trouble with the law; Why the Czech league was once more predictable than the SPL; Gary Crosby's finest hour; And some very bad news for Phil Neal. Click here .
April 10: How many football references are there in Spinal Tap? What League club comes from the town with the smallest population? getting booked without playing and winning the Paulista championship by tribunal. Click here .
April 03: Are Boro the best supported, least successful side ever? Who were the first United? Is the SPL the worst league in the world III? What Second Division teams have reached the FA Cup final twice? Click here
March 19: Is the SPL the worst league in the world? The Champions League theme; Shirt sponsorships (2); You'll Never Walk Alone (2) Click here
March 12: Liverpool or Celtic: who Walked Alone first? First Englishman to play abroad; shirt sponsorship; The SPL: the easiest league in the world Click here
February 27: Which player has scored in both a Manchester and Merseyside derby in the same year? Last keeper to play without gloves; grounds and their nicknames; footballers with their names on the front and back of their shirts; which player has played in the Liverpool-Everton; Man Utd-Man City; Arsenal-Spurs and Luton Town-Watford derbies. Click here
February 20: How do the FA number their balls? Grounds and their nicknames; which grounds are closest to each other; in 1982, a First Division side had six past and future England captains in the same team. Which team was this? Click here
February 14: Has anyone played in the top division of each of the big five European leagues? Players who've played for two clubs twice; Which football league club has been promoted and relegated the most times; monikered grounds. Click here
February 5: Has any team ever won the FA Cup without playing a single home game? Clubs that play in brown; Ireland v England, 1988; footballers scoring despite being their team's only player to touch the ball: Click here
January 29: Who has played in five big derbies; goals for the most teams in one season; oldest player to make his professional debut? How many professional footballers have had their sons make it too? Click here
January 24: Knowledge Special: that 'five derbies' teaser: is it Tony Tiger? Click here
January 22: Which player has played in all of the following derby matches: AC Milan v Inter Milan, Arsenal v Chelsea, Liverpool v Everton, Real Madrid v Athletico Madrid, Borusia Dortmund v Borusia Moenchengladbach, part 1; The film involving Danish legend Allan Simonsen being targeted by a sniper during a football game; What was the Byron Cup? Do matches in Argentina switch around at half-time Click here
January 15 Why German hat-tricks are different to English ones; Why do Spanish fans make weird noises; Amusing couplings (4) and consecutive hat-tricks Click here
2002
December 12 Managers who've also scored in the Premiership, 149-0 - a world record score?, comedy couplings (part 3) and more longest derby distances Click here
November 20 High-profile players who have scored with obscure parts of their body on purpose (e.g. buttocks, shoulder, groin)? More of your humorous team-sheet couplings, along the lines of Pilkington and Glass; lower clubs flying high in Europe; If the World Cup title passed on boxing-style from England in 1966 to all subsequent conquerors, are Brazil the current champions? Click here
November 13 The best start ever by a relegated team; which current Premiership player has played for the most Premiership clubs; Have Everton been relegated from the top division; Amusing couplings Click here
October 30 The most boring league champions in the world...ever! How many goals did Steve Bull score for England? The oldest Premiership player and the day when Ian Rush and Tony Woodcock both scored five in 1983 Click here
September 26 When Halifax literally skated on thin ice; longest derby match distance; which footballer has played for Man Utd, Everton and Aston Villa. Click here
September 19: Ray Stewart: penalty maestro; countries whose colours don't represent their flags; Musical footballers (2); who played against the Russkies in 1973. Click here
August 28: Musical footballers; the lower league go Europe!; smallest league in the world; most promoted and relegated club Click here
August 21: Did Bobby Moore win the US League with the Hammers; Longest team in the top flight; smallest World Cup ground and have Scotland ever played in orange. Click here
August 8: Victory at the toss of a coin; Bob Wilson and his roots; blagging a place in the European Cup; clubs better in Europe than at home. Click here
August 1: Lucky England; when Carlisle cost Everton the championship; stealing the title; small World Cup towns. Click here
May 27: The World Cup trophy up for grabs (or not), the smallest ever World Cup town, the hairiest World Cup squad ever, and derby days (again). Click here
April 25: United's worst ever striker, sent off for playing a trumpet, sides with the most captains and whatever happened to the next Ryan Giggs (2). Click here
April 18: The great armchair audience debate (FA Cup or Superbowl?), whatever happened to the next Ryan Giggs, and players who just never managed to score (2). Click here
April 11: Is the Manager of the Month award a poisoned chalice? Plus, players who just never managed to score, and the goalkeeper with the plastic knuckle. Click here
March 27: The most farcical matches ever! Plus the first goal in the Premiership and Lee Dixon's scoring record.Click here
March 13: Which team has beaten Manchester United the most times on the trot? And what makes Ugo Ehiogu so special, then? Click here
March 6: Can Imre Varadi beat Paul Stewart in the who's-played-in-most-derbies sttakes? And who on earth was Lee Won Pen? Something to do with the amount penalties scored in season, we reckon. Click here
February 28: Clubs which have won a cup then been relegated; Could Di Canio play for England?; Has Paul Stewart played more derby matches than anyone else?; Strange sendings-off (2), Foreigners in the Premiership (2). Click here .
February 20: Smoking footballers; Which player has been relegated the most, strange sendings-off. click here .
February 14: Why Scotland are the best team ever; Strange middle names (2), That "Arsenal cannot do it until Arsene Wenger leaves riddle..." click here
February 7: Who are the unofficial 1966 World Cup champions?; Is Bob Wilson's middle name Primrose? What's the highest place a team with negative goal difference has achieved? click here
January 28: The most red cards...ever!; why are Peterborough called Posh; was Higuita's scorpion kick offside? and more clubs not named after a place. Click here
January 10: The first shoot-out miss; the fastest Champions League hat-trick and why it's not all in a name for some clubs. Click here
January 4: Ireland-Argentina connection; teams that have won the league without losing a game; and a whole load of questions that have got evryone stumped. Click here
2001
December 20: How Dean Windass got sent off three times in 22 minutes; the most symmetric finish ever; was Carlton Palmer the world skipping record holder? Why a nutmeg is so called (again). Click here
December 13: When did football violence start, which player has scored at Wembley three times in one season for three different teams, but all against the same goalkeeper; 10 players who've played in the Premiership, La Liga and Serie A; Another riddle involving playing and managing in the Premier League, and playing for England and against England Click here
December 6: Is Christian Karembeu the most undeserving winner ever?; did Pele and Di Stefano play together; the most capital-centric league in the world; more about Ireland v Brazil. Click here
November 15: Things you don't know about Ireland; when a derby is not a derby; even more about Ireland; players who have won the European Cup with two different clubs; that old sitcom chestnut. Click here .
November 8: Diego Maradona and the Ipswich Town-Sheffield United connection; football grounds that look down on all the rest; the wonderful world of sitcom characters and their sporting allegiances. Click here .
November 1: The literary vibe continues with Alex Ferguson: Canadian slam poet; teams and their long names; different goalscorers, same match; random keepers. Click here .
October 24: Sitcom stars and their footballing loyalties; the longest injury time - ever; winning the Charity Shield without winning the league championship or the FA Cup. Click here .
October 11: The quickest comeback ever, a time when there was no injury time and literary football stars. Click here
October 5: Are Everton really the most successful English team ever? Plus relegtion and European success in one season and the first hat-trick ever. Click here
September 20: The only man to referee and then fight for a world heavyweight title; palindromic footballers - they exist; highest scoring penalty shoot-out ever; players who have played in every position for the same club Click here
September 13: Are there any palindromic footballers out there? Did Athletico Madrid model their look on America? The easiest cap ever; how to get your hands on the FA Cup; and players who played in every position for the same club. Click here
August 21: Tommy Smith: cheat? Footballing Brits abroad part 2, not the only English team to have won all four divisions, and how sad is sad? Click here
August 9: Only English team to win all four divisions; Brits abroad; why Manchester United are not the best ever; the top cricket side before the Aussies; and Gary Speed: record breaker. Click here
August 2: High-scoring defenders, going Irish in Greece, racking up goals in extra time and that shocking home record thing (again). Click here
July 21:What happened to Bradford Park Avenue; first ever subsitute; teams with the worst home records in history, and Maggie, your boys took one helluva beating (again). Click here
July 4:Best Liverpool striker ever, Ernst Happel wonder coach, that infuriating football riddle (again), 50 Italian internationals not ending in a vowel. Click here
June 12: Violent testimonials, buying replica trophies, moniker mates and barmy goalscoring. Click here
May 30: Johan Cruyff's strip strops, the call of nature, shirt numbers and more international players of lower standing. Click here
May 10: United we fall, the fabulous Baker boys, Goal of the Month music and clubs that are what they say. Click here
May 2: International players of lower standing, goalscoring droughts and goalscoring demons. Click here
April 25: Away kit exemptions (reprised), a European first, England' third man and a County riddle. Click here
April 18: Phil Neal: king of Europe, all foreign English teams, away kit exemptions, hoop nightmares and bias the Beeb. Click here
April 11: Lucky, lucky Arsenal, England mascots, Peter Schmeichel's penalty record and the most prolific foreigner (2). Click here
April 4: Most prolific foreigners, the origin of shirt numbers, origin of hat-trick and Ashley Cole: record breaker? Click here
March 29: England an the letter 'o'; the origin of the term hat-trick; the nature of kit colours; Aussies over here. Click here
March 14: Isolated seasons of brilliance in lengthy periods of mediocrity; the clubs of John 'Budgie' Burridge; could Dixie Dean afford a car? Click here
March 7: The strange location of Chester City; not Rugby League; shirt colours; draws; brothers. Click here
February 28: Ukrainian footballers against fascism; Bangor City's claim to fame; and "prove a Tokyo bar owner wrong!" Click here
February 21: What happened to Third Lanark?; Why do Watford have a moose in their badge?; Football playing brothers; Is English football more exciting under three points for a win?; Which team scored the most goals in a season and still got relegated? Click here
February 14: The only player to play in the Tottenham v Arsenal, Liverpool v Everton, Manchester City v United and Palace v Millwall derbies; The only league team to have won every single home game in a season; The highest drawn game ever (part 2); Fastest hat-trick ever (part 2); First footballer to be sent off for a professional foul; highest number of captains in a match; the 92 team club. Click here
February 7: Coventry City and elephants; Joe Jordan and World Cups; Billy Wright and caps; high-scoring draws. Click here
February 1: Gaps between trophies; most-played fixture; fastest declines; unlucky Scotland. Click here
January 24: The greatest comeback ever; how Fifa stitched up Henry Kissinger; how a dubious offside decision saved a tactical genius's life; playing for three clubs who have won the European Cup; brothers scoring in the same match; yet more Spinal Tap. Click here
January 10: Fastest sending off; democratic goal sharing; was Murphy the first Englishman to score against Manchester United this season?; Julio Iglesias, goalkeeping sensation; Taffarel's spell at an Italian church side; successive FA Cups with different teams; highest squad number ever (yet again). Click here
2000
December 20: 1963 Boxing Day goal bonanza; naming the Kop; fastest hat-trick ever; latest scores in grounds in the good old days; England's last penalty before Italia 90; world's fastest booking; European players who have made it in South America; highest squad number ever (again). Click here
December 13: The worst team ever; the death of John Thomson; Smart Arridge; what does stonewall mean?; local support for the Saints. Click here
December 6: Local support; more promoted champions; Sunderland's 1973 FA Cup side; Norwich and the canary; hat-tricks. Click here
November 29: Champions - relegated; relegated clubs that were champions; has Beckham ever taken a penalty?; What's happened to Jordi Cruyff?; Has anyone played in the Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester derbys?; Losing hat-trick heroes. Click here
November 22: Does Desailly make the difference for Chelsea?; The least successful football side...ever; the life and times of Jimmy Cantrell; Roy of the Rovers and Gola sponsorship; more sheep-stealing footballers Click here
November 15: Tactical genius threatened by Italian fascist; Manchester United losing at home; well-travelled footballers; ads on kits; Emile 'Scratch' Heskey; Jimmy Cantrell; useless old Thames. Click here
November 8: The real history of shirt sponsorship; Rodney Marsh's feet; Jack Hodgson; evil, evil kits. Click here
November 1: Giggs for England?; USSR; Exeter City; Shilton saves penalty; dodgy kits; Derek Smalls in Hammers shock. Click here
October 25: Footballing murderer; greedy goalscorers; amusing miners strike story; Aston Villa - why?; Wolves and Spinal Tap. Click here
October 18: Why do River Plate hate Boca?; sheep stealing footballer; origin of cliches; the 1966 World Cup and a coin. Click here
October 12: Slimy shirts; Bob Paisley and England; films and socialists. Click here
October 4: Socialist footballers of the world unite; more clubs on cellluloid; clubs with numbers in their names; first club to play under floodlights corrected; more footballers that went to public school. Click here
September 27: Club kits that have made the silver screen; footballing firsts; sheep stealing centre-forwards (part two); Footballers that went to public school (part two); what happens when three Northern teams get relegated from the Conference in one year? Click here
September 13: Socrates spell at the University College Dublin; How Fifa rankings are worked out; Footballers that went to public school (part one); Was a Everton player hung for stealing a sheep? Click here
September 6: Countries that have been European champs and Eurovision winners; how much Premiership clubs charge to be a mascot; why 1860 Munich are so called; John Hollins. Click here
August 30: Why some countries have stars on their shirts; why the East German team played in blue; Kanu's squad number for Nigeria; swapping keepers with outfield players. Click here
August 23: Payment for caps; Gil Scott Heron; the first black footballer; keepers in green shirts. Click here
August 9 Playing for Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton; are all footballers thick?; is shielding the ball legal? Click here
August 2: Pele's club career; more sectarianism; non-EU players flooding the West Ham team. Click here
July 26: Manchester, Liverpool, Protestants and Catholics; why the German away strip is green; Thomas Doll or Matthias Sammer? Click here
July 19: The men who've been sent off for England; the men who've scored in more than one European Cup final; the man who scored all four goals in a 2-2 draw. Click here
July 12: Why is the nutmeg so called? How many Premiership footballers are vegetarians? Why do Italy play in blue? Click here
July 5: Why are caps awarded? Why are Celtic called the Bhoys? Was John Lukic on board during the 1958 Munich air crash? Click here
June 28: Terry Venables' Euro 2000 formation; Lev Yashin; the TV pundit who finished second in the BBC's Find a Commentator competition. Click here
June 7: The first dugout; hat-tricks against Man Utd at Old Trafford; nutmegs; trophies for Spurs; FA Cups in the 1800s, 1900s and 2000s. Click here
May 31: Remi Moses; winning the Treble; Roy of the Rovers; Idwal Robling; Beckham at Spurs; and that 'what comes on the pitch at half-time' question - again. Click here
May 24: Manchester City and their FA Cup nightmare; Manchester City and their First Division nightmare; David Beckham's youth. Click here
May 17: The highest number of different countries represented by the starting 22 players in a Premiership match; winning the FA Cup; Forfar 4, East Fife 5. Click here
May 10: Transfers between Man Utd and Liverpool; managers who haven't played top-flight football; Olivier Monterrubio. Click here
May 3: Managers who haven't played football; Scott Oakes; European Cup semi-finals; FA Cup final goals from the bench; Robert Warzycha. Click here
April 26: Mirandinha since he left Newcastle; players who have scored 100 Premiership goals; clubs unbeaten at Wembley since World War II; and the number of points you need to avoid relegation. Click here
April 19: Nobby Stiles scoring for England; 30 goals for Manchester City; current Premiership players to have played in both a Merseyside and a Manchester derby; moving the 1966 World Cup semi-final; and that question about things coming onto the pitch at half time. Click here
April 12: Manchester United losing at home; smoking on the touchline; more Champions League confusion; and tributes to Hillsborough. Click here
April 5: Players who have scored for four different Premiership clubs; the England U-21 team in the 1990 Toulon tournament; Champions League confusion; and the Goal of the Month music. Click here
March 29: Once you have done it, you can never do it again; your boys took one hell of a beating; Dion Dublin at Norwich; and the last English manager to win a major piece of silverware. Click here