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Orange's football trivia expert answers your best questions
Luke, Nottingham – 16 May 2013
With Wigan and Swansea winning the cups this year, has there been a season where two bigger outsiders have won the cups?
The Gaffer says:
I don't know what the betting odds were in 1979-80, but that was a season in which the FA Cup was won by West Ham, who finished the league campaign seventh in the Second Division, and the League Cup by Wolves, who finished sixth in the top flight. The Irons were rank outsiders but beat Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup final courtesy of a rare Trevor Brooking header. Wolves overcame Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the League Cup final thanks to Andy Gray's 67th minute strike after a mix-up in the Forest defence. Forest had gone into the game as clear favourites: they were reigning European champions and went on to retain the European Cup in 1979-80. This season's FA Cup winners Wigan will finish 18th in the Premier League, while League Cup winners Swansea could finish as high as eighth depending on the outcome of Sunday's final round of matches.
Andy, Birmingham – 16 May 2013
Since the Europa League started, how many winners have been Champions League 'failures'.
The Gaffer says:
Since the Uefa Cup became the Europa League in 2009-10, the trophy has been won twice by teams knocked out of the Champions League. The first occasion was in 2009-10 when Atletico Madrid exited the Champions League at the group stage, but went on to beat Fulham in the Europa League final. Chelsea repeated Atletico's feat (if that's the right word!) this season. In fact as I write this they are, uniquely, holders of both the Champions League and Europa League trophies - until 25 May when Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have their final showdown at Wembley. The other two winners of the Europa League have been Porto in 2009-10 after qualifying by finishing third in the Portuguese league, and Atletico Madrid in 2011-12 after finishing seventh in La Liga in 2010-11.
Lofty, Peckham – 17 May 2013
My mate keeps telling me Chelsea do better without Terry than with him in Europe. Is he right Gaff?
The Gaffer says:
The raw statistics certainly indicate that your friend is correct. Ahead of their Europa League final victory over Benfica, since 2005-06 Chelsea had won 63% of their European ties without John Terry, compared with 47% when he has played. Those stats come from the reliable source of Opta. Terry, of course, was absent against Benfica, and also from last season's Champions League final in which Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties.
Gav, Hertford – 16 May 2013
After Cazorla's four assists against Wigan, has anyone else had four in a Prem game before?
The Gaffer says:
Yes, the last time being Emmanuel Adebayor's four assists in Tottenham's 5-0 win against Newcastle in February 2012. Adebayor, left, played a part in all four first-half goals at White Hart Lane before getting on the scoresheet himself with a volley after the break. As for Santi Cazorla, his contribution in Arsenal's 4-1 victory over Wigan took his 2012-13 tally of Premier League assists to 11.
Craig, Glasgow – 15 May 2013
Re Rangers' average attendance of 45,750 this season, is this the lowest in the past 20 years for league matches?
The Gaffer says:
No it's not. The average league attendance at Ibrox has been lower than this season's 45,750 four times in the past 20 years: in 1993-94 (43,408); 1994-95 (44,167); 1995-96 (44,579); 2010-11 (45,305). It's worth pointing out that the 2012-13 season's average has only been beaten 15 times in Rangers' entire history - all of them in the past 20 years.
Alex, Southampton – 16 May 2012
In the light of Jermaine Pennant's potential jail time can you name a jailbird XI (players who've spent time in prison)? I've currently thought of Lee Hughes, Ched Evans and Marlon King...
The Gaffer says:
Fabulous question! The man you're looking for is Les Sealey. He featured regularly in his first spell at Old Trafford, including a 1991 League Cup final defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup final victory against Barcelona. He was then transferred to Aston Villa before returning to Manchester United on a free transfer as understudy to Peter Schmeichel (thanks to Fred the Red and Woody in Swindon for pointing out that Sealey and Mark Bosnich are the only players Sir Alex Ferguson has ever re-signed). In his second spell, Sealey played only two games - coming on in an FA Cup quarter-final against Charlton after Schmeichel was sent off, and starting the 1994 League Cup final, which United lost 3-1 to Villa.
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.
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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