ask the gaffer on twitter

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I know Bale had most shots on target in the Prem last season. But what about the others in the top five? Cheers.
Three of the top five goalscorers in the 2012-13 Premier League feature in the top five for most shots on target, which is as follows: Gareth Bale 73 shots, Luis Suarez 72, Robin van Persie 65, Demba Ba 54, Romelu Lukaku 47. Just a reminder of the number of Prem goals scored by van Persie, above, Suarez and Bale: 26, 23 and 21 respectively.
Re your answer about the four newly promoted teams who won top flight-titles in England, what about it happening in major leagues abroad?
It happened most recenly in the Bundesliga. Kaiserslautern won Germany's top two divisions in successive seasons, becoming champions of the country in 1997-98 when they pipped defending champs Bayern Munich for the title. In the previous season the Red Devils had finished 10 points clear at the top of 2.Bundesliga.
Hi Gaffer. Will next season be the first time that the top three finishers in the league from the previous season will all start with a new manager?
The closest I can come up with since the Second World War was at the end of the 1973-74 season when Leeds won the league title, Liverpool finished second and Tottenham were 11th. All three clubs' notable and highly successful managers left at the end of the campaign: Leeds's Don Revie went on to manage England, while the Reds' Bill Shankly and Spurs' Bill Nicholson, above, both retired.
Name the seven players with the letter Z in their surname who have five or more assists in the Premier League in the 2012-13 season?
Santi Cazorla with 11 assists; Eden Hazard 11; Carlos Tevez 8; Bryan Ruiz 7; Jonathan De Guzman 6; Jay Rodriguez 5; Luis Suarez 5.
How many times have Man Utd failed to win on the last day of the season in the Prem?
United's 5-5 draw at West Brom was the sixth time they have failed to win the final game in 21 Premier League seasons.
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...
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.
Name three post-war England players with 3 letter o in their surnames.
Superb question Kev - a cracking bit of trivia! The three men in question are Peter Osgood, Tony Woodcock and Ian Storey-Moore.
Who won league titles in three consecutive seasons with three different clubs?
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).
Who are 9 players who have played for two of the Big Four (ManU, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal) plus a Spanish club??
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.
Why do Boca Juniors wear a blue and yellow kit?
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.
Can you name three players who have played for Scunthorpe and captained England?
Kevin Keegan, Ray Clemence and Ian Botham. Botham (pictured) of course played 11 Football League games for the Iron in the early 1980s, in a bid to get fit after injury. He also had a short spell at Yeovil Town.
Has Eric Cantona got a Leeds tattoo on his neck?
This was started as a rumour when he left Leeds for Man Utd as he always had his collar turned up and so was said to be covering up his 'Leeds tattoo'. A load of codswallop.
What is the most red cards produced in one game?
Twenty players were sent off in a Paraguayan league game in 1993 between Sportivo Ameliano and General Caballero. Two players were red-carded before a 10-minute brawl broke out, with the referee sending off a further 18, leaving just two players on the pitch. The match was abandoned, obviously. In England the record is five, and this has occurred three times. 1997: Chesterfield v Plymouth, 1997: Wigan v Bristol Rovers (1997 was an angry year!), 2002: Exeter v Cambridge.
What was the fastest English league goal ever scored?
A staggering four seconds. Jim Fryatt got it for Bradford Park Avenue against Tranmere in Division Four on 25 April 1965.
Which team at one time had six past, present or future England captains in the team at the same time?
It was the 1982 Southampton team which featured Alan Ball, Mick Channon, Kevin Keegan, Mick Mills, David Watson, Peter Shilton and Mark Wright.

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