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Orange's football trivia expert answers your best questions
Brian Scott, London – 11 February 2012
Can you name the three players who've played for four different London clubs in the Premier League?
The Gaffer says:
Yes I can, the latest being Bobby Zamora (Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham and QPR). The other two are Scott Parker (Chelsea, West Ham, Charlton, Tottenham) and Paul Konchesky, left, (Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham, Charlton). I've discounted Watford as a London club. Interestingly, all three have played for Tottenham but none of them, as at time of writing, has scored for the club in the Premier League. That will change if/when Parker gets off the mark at Spurs.
Scott Leslie, Glasgow – 11 February 2012
Have Alloa Athletic ever had an internationally capped player on their books?
The Gaffer says:
Yes, Paul Hartley for one. He was appointed player-manager in May 2011 despite announcing his retirement from playing a few days previously. So the midfielder, who played 25 times for Scotland, is registered as a player and is in the Division 3 leaders' squad but has yet to don his boots for The Wasps in a league game.
Mike, Manchester – 10 February 2012
When was the last time there was an all top tier quarter-final in the FA Cup?
The Gaffer says:
It was in the 2005-06 season when Middlesbrough beat Charlton 4-2 in a replay after a 0-0 draw; West Ham won 2-1 at Manchester City; Chelsea beat Newcastle 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, and Liverpool thrashed Birmingham 7-0 at St Andrews. The Reds went on to beat West Ham in the final after extra time and a penalty shoot-out.
William Holden, Glossop – 10 February 2012
Re Giggs how many games has he played for Man Utd and what honours has he won in total?
The Gaffer says:
Ryan Giggs has made a club record 898 appearances for Manchester United, scoring 162 goals. He's won 12 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, two Champions Leagues, one Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and a Fifa Club World Cup.
Learie Foster, London – 10 February 2012
Who has scored two hat-tricks in succession in this year's Premier League campaign?
The Gaffer says:
The answer is Wayne Rooney, who scored hat-tricks in successive Premier League games earlier this season against Arsenal on 28 August and against Bolton on 10 September. United won the matches 8-2 and 5-0 respectively.
Kev Swannack, UK – 24 December 2011
Name three post-war England players with 3 letter o in their surnames.
The Gaffer says:
Superb question Kev - a cracking bit of trivia! The three men in question are Peter Osgood, Tony Woodcock and Ian Storey-Moore.
Andrew Clarke, Mossley – 8 December 2011
Who won league titles in three consecutive seasons with three different clubs?
The Gaffer says:
Hail Eric Cantona, winner of titles with Marseille in 1991, with Leeds in 1992, and with Manchester United in 1993. In all, the flamboyant Frenchman won seven league championship medals, four of them with United. Another, and less obvious, player to achieve the feat is Alexei Mikhailichenko, who won titles with Dynamo Kiev, Sampdoria and Rangers from 1990-92 (thanks Martin from Doncaster).
Gary Africa, Iraq – 31 May 2011
Who are 9 players who have played for two of the Big Four (ManU, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal) plus a Spanish club??
The Gaffer says:
This old chestnut eh? I get this one a lot and in previous years there were seven - Michael Owen, Lassana Diarra, Boudewijn Zenden, Mark Hughes, Nicolas Anelka, Emmanuel Petit and Jermaine Pennant. More recently we can of course add Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun to the list to make it nine.
Dave, Arsenal – 23 May 2011
Why do Boca Juniors wear a blue and yellow kit?
The Gaffer says:
Until 1907 Boca Juniors wore white shirts with vertical dark blue or black stripes. However, rivals Club Boedo had the same colours so a game was played, with the losers having to change colours. Boca were beaten and after the match some of the players went down to the local harbour. They decided that they would choose the colours of the flag of the first ship to arrive in the harbour. The Swedish vessel Drottning Sophia duly arrived so Boca decided that the club should adopt the blue and yellow of the Swedish flag.
Stu, Dumbarton – 10 March 2011
Have there been any high profile players who smoke?
The Gaffer says:
There are surprisingly plenty. I remember Zinedine Zidane was pictured smoking before the France v Portugal 2006 World Cup semi-final - the same French magician who fronted the EU's 'Feel free to say no' anti-smoking campaign in 2002. Dimitar Berbatov enjoys the odd coffin nail, while David James used to be a smoker but quit in 2000. Back in 1998, the pro-smoking group Forest published an all-smoking fantasy team: Dino Zoff, Socrates, Gerson, Jack Charlton, Frank Leboeuf, Jimmy Greaves, David Ginola, Ossie Ardiles, Malcolm Macdonald, Bobby Charlton, Robert Prosinecki. Sub: Paul Gascoigne. Coach: Cesar Luis Menotti. I'd however have Carlo Ancelotti (pictured) as boss, who is rather partial to a puff.
Chum, London – 13 April 2011
Which was the last team to win the FA Cup with an all-English side?
The Gaffer says:
The 1975 West Ham team who beat Fulham 2-0 in the final. The line-up was: Mervyn Day, John McDowell, Frank Lampard, Billy Bonds (c), Tommy Taylor, Kevin Lock, Billy Jennings, Graham Paddon, Alan Taylor, Trevor Brooking, Pat Holland.
Imran, Manchester – 22 March 2011
Which players have won the Premier League, that are the only players from their country to do so. Eg Dwight Yorke with Man Utd who comes from Trinidad & Tobago.
The Gaffer says:
This is one of my 'classic questions', so apologies to long-term readers who may have seen it on the old site or on Orange World. Here's the full list: Alex Manninger (Austria), Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria), Peter Schmeichel (Denmark), Michael Essien (Ghana), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Iceland), Park Ji-Sung (Korea), Christopher Wreh (Liberia), Tomasz Kuszczak (Poland), Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago), Oleg Luzhny (Ukraine), Diego Forlan (Uruguay). N.B. Quinton Fortune (South Africa) didn't play enough games in one season to win a title while at Manchester United.
Darren Stow, Boston – 28 February 2011
Who played in the Premiership and was also on the plane of the Munich air crash but obviously survived?
The Gaffer says:
A horrible urban myth this one. The answer is supposedly the unborn John Lukic in his mother's womb, but it's untrue. Lukic was born in December 1960, nearly three years after the tragedy - that's one long pregnancy! There was at least a passenger called Lukic on the flight, which is where the myth stems from.
Zac Bearshaw, Rochdale – 16 February 2011
Which Football League team is closest to the River Mersey?
The Gaffer says:
Stockport County's Edgeley Park. The River Mersey starts where the River Goyt and River Tame - which run off the Derbyshire hills - meet under the MerseyWay Shopping Centre in the centre of Stockport.
Rambo, Scotland – 11 February 2011
What's the only team in Britain with a J in its name?
The Gaffer says:
Of note? St Johnstone.
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