Mirko Bolesan 1995

Football’s oddities

5-5

Posted by Steven on November 18, 2009

I forgot to post about this last week. Marseille and Lyon fought out an entertaining 5-5 draw (I know, the ‘entertaining’ suffix is not really required is it). Leafing through the history books here are some other 5-5 draws from history:

12/11/2008 – FC United of Manchester 5 Cammel Laird 5
04/10/2008 – FC Kosice 5 Tatran Presov 5
05/04/2003 – De Graafschap 5 Feyenoord 5
14/12/2002 – Marine 5 Whitby 5
13/04/2002 – Chesham United 5 Hitchin Town 5
13/09/1997 – Rushden & Diamonds 5 Farnborough Town 5
07/01/1996 – Racing Santander 5 Albacete 5
03/11/1992 – Oxford United 5 Portsmouth 5
20/08/1991 – Barnet 5 Brentford 5
04/05/1982 – Southampton 5 Coventry City 5
18/11/1978 – Bristol Rovers 5 Charlton Athletic 5
16/11/1974 – Eintracht Frankfurt 5 VfB Stuttgart 5
08/09/1973 – Schalke 04 5 B. Munich 5
17/12/1966 – Chelsea 5 West Ham United 5
09/04/1966 – Birmingham City 5 Derby County 5
19/03/1966 – Tottenham Hotspur 5 Aston Villa 5
24/04/1965 – Birmingham City 5 Blackburn Rovers 5
03/11/1962 – Blackburn Rovers 5 Arsenal 5
10/12/1960 – Newcastle United 5 West Ham United 5
20/10/1956 – Nairn County 5 Berwick Rangers 5
09/01/1954 – Grimsby Town 5 Fulham 5
21/02/1953 – Aberdeen 5 Motherwell 5
03/11/1951 – Leicester City 5 Sheffield United 5
18/08/1951 – St Mirren 5 Hearts 5
12/02/1949 – Luton Town 5 Leicester City 5
21/01/1939 – Kings Park 5 Babcock & Wilcox 5
21/01/1939 – Nithsdale Wanderers 5 Buckie Thistle 5
30/10/1937 – Bolton Wanderers 5 Chelsea 5
21/11/1936 – Darlington 5 Hartlepool United 5
17/10/1936 – Middlesbrough 5 Sunderland 5
10/11/1934 – Bristol Rovers 5 Exeter City 5
27/01/1934 – Barrow 5 Walsall 5
01/02/1933 – Luton Town 5 Brentford 5
07/01/1933 – Grimsby Town 5 Charlton Athletic 5
15/10/1932 – Grimsby Town 5 Preston North End 5
02/04/1932 – Walsall 5 Accrington Stanley 5
02/01/1932 – Coventry City 5 Fulham 5
03/01/1931 – West Ham United 5 Aston Villa 5
27/08/1928 – Swansea City 5 Blackpool 5
28/11/1925 – Crystal Palace 5 Plymouth Argyle 5
19/09/1925 – Tottenham Hotspur 5 Huddersfield Town 5
29/04/1922 – Halifax Town 5 Crewe Alexandra 5
10/01/1914 – Leicester City 5 Tottenham Hotspur 5
19/01/1907 – Sunderland 5 Liverpool 5
12/11/1904 – Sheffield Wednesday 5 Everton 5
15/10/1898 – Derby County 5 Everton 5
16/11/1895 – Manchester United 5 Lincoln City 5
26/10/1889 – Queen of the South Wand 5 Moffat 5
15/09/1888 – Blackburn Rovers 5 Accrington (old) 5
22/10/1881 – Bolton Wanderers 5 Eagley 5
02/10/1880 – Campsie Central 5 Campsie 5
13/02/1879 – Old Etonians 5 Darwen 5

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We *never* beat them

Posted by Steven on November 18, 2009

An often used phrase amongst fans is “we never beat them”, it certainly can feel like that sometimes. However, when Chesterfield fans say it about Stoke City they are right. In twenty matches between the sides Chesterfield are yet to win. To be clear, I’m not 100% all of these figures are correct, so feel free to offer suggestions as to which ones aren’t quite right , and which are. Manchester United are in there, they have never beaten Southend United (in their one attempt)

A full list of sides who haven’t beaten each other follow. [Team - Team they haven't beat - number of attempts]

Chesterfield Stoke City 20
Hull City Liverpool 15
Swansea City Everton 13
Barnet Brentford 13
Rochdale Swindon Town 11
Scunthorpe United Liverpool 11
Rochdale Fulham 11
Crewe Alexandra Leicester City 11
Northampton Town Derby County 10
Wigan Athletic Liverpool 10
Wigan Athletic Manchester United 10
Northampton Town Sheffield United 9
Bournemouth Leeds United 9
Chester City Luton Town 9
Rotherham United Manchester City 8
Crewe Alexandra Fulham 8
Rochdale Wolverhampton Wanderers 8
Tranmere Rovers Tottenham Hotspur 8
Crewe Alexandra Liverpool 8
Rochdale Norwich City 8
Shrewsbury Town Sunderland 8
Darlington Bristol City 8
Reading Arsenal 8
Brentford Aston Villa 8
Darlington Middlesbrough 8
Barnet Bristol Rovers 8
Peterborough United Stoke City 8
Walsall Liverpool 7
Millwall Liverpool 7
Cheltenham Town Stockport County 7
Yeovil Town Stockport County 7
Doncaster Rovers Newcastle United 7
Gillingham Birmingham City 7
Gillingham Yeovil Town 7
Hereford United Nottingham Forest 7
Hereford United Portsmouth 7
Gillingham Manchester City 7
Exeter City Cheltenham Town 6
Chesterfield Morecambe 6
Colchester United Leicester City 6
Rotherham United Manchester United 6
Scunthorpe United Wolverhampton Wanderers 6
Accrington Stanley Colchester United 6
Hartlepool United Wolverhampton Wanderers 6
Macclesfield Town Bradford City 6
Cheltenham Town Walsall 6
Scunthorpe United Leicester City 6
Cheltenham Town Chesterfield 6
Bournemouth Sunderland 6
Crewe Alexandra Manchester United 6
Bournemouth Manchester City 6
Crewe Alexandra Arsenal 6
Plymouth Argyle Arsenal 5
Accrington Stanley Queens Park Rangers 5
Bristol Rovers Everton 5
Crewe Alexandra Tottenham Hotspur 5
Brentford Cheltenham Town 5
Barnet Burnley 5
Peterborough United Aston Villa 5
Wycombe Wanderers Hartlepool United 5
Southend United Manchester City 5
Exeter City Wolverhampton Wanderers 5
Barnet Queens Park Rangers 5
Exeter City Manchester United 5
Darlington Manchester City 5
Darlington Leeds United 5
Chesterfield Liverpool 5
Bournemouth West Ham United 5
Hartlepool United Leeds United 5
Yeovil Town Leeds United 5
Stockport County Everton 5
Stockport County Liverpool 5
Hartlepool United Sheffield United 5
Northampton Town Leicester City 5
Exeter City Aston Villa 5
Hereford United Leicester City 5
Wycombe Wanderers Watford 5
Cheltenham Town Watford 5
Dagenham & Redbridge Rotherham United 4
Exeter City Nottingham Forest 4
Exeter City West Bromwich Albion 4
Wycombe Wanderers West Bromwich Albion 4
Hereford United Sheffield United 4
Hereford United Bolton Wanderers 4
Hereford United Watford 4
Hereford United Barnsley 4
Wycombe Wanderers Barnsley 4
Crewe Alexandra Charlton Athletic 4
Chester City West Bromwich Albion 4
Chester City Blackburn Rovers 4
Wycombe Wanderers Hull City 4
Scunthorpe United Manchester City 4
Aldershot Town Sheffield Wednesday 4
Exeter City Sunderland 4
Morecambe Carlisle United 4
Morecambe Port Vale 4
Morecambe Wycombe Wanderers 4
Stockport County Aston Villa 4
Grimsby Town Dagenham & Redbridge 4
Hartlepool United Arsenal 4
Hartlepool United Portsmouth 4
Cheltenham Town Nottingham Forest 4
Barnet Charlton Athletic 4
Cheltenham Town Reading 4
Sheffield United Hereford United 4
Barnet Port Vale 4
Morecambe Rochdale 4
Carlisle United West Ham United 4
Carlisle United West Bromwich Albion 4
Carlisle United Morecambe 4
Bristol Rovers Tottenham Hotspur 4
Ipswich Town Peterborough United 4
Wigan Athletic Nottingham Forest 4
Bristol Rovers Manchester City 4
Accrington Stanley Southampton 4
Rochdale Portsmouth 4
Crewe Alexandra Southampton 4
Northampton Town Tottenham Hotspur 4
Northampton Town West Bromwich Albion 4
Accrington Stanley Millwall 4
Northampton Town Manchester United 4
Darlington Birmingham City 3
Chester City Manchester City 3
Darlington Ipswich Town 3
Darlington West Bromwich Albion 3
Port Vale Dagenham & Redbridge 3
Southend United Chelsea 3
Southend United Everton 3
Hartlepool United Leicester City 3
Scunthorpe United Birmingham City 3
Chester City Leeds United 3
Scunthorpe United Aston Villa 3
Chester City Wolverhampton Wanderers 3
Hartlepool United Ipswich Town 3
Macclesfield Town Crewe Alexandra 3
Hartlepool United Queens Park Rangers 3
Chester City Ipswich Town 3
Hartlepool United Norwich City 3
Carlisle United Liverpool 3
Exeter City Everton 3
Cheltenham Town Queens Park Rangers 3
Aldershot Town Stoke City 3
Tottenham Hotspur Swindon Town 3
Yeovil Town Luton Town 3
Colchester United Birmingham City 3
Accrington Stanley Crystal Palace 3
Lincoln City Norwich City 3
Stockport County Newcastle United 3
Yeovil Town Aldershot Town 3
Northampton Town Liverpool 3
Bristol Rovers Arsenal 3
Accrington Stanley Portsmouth 3
Northampton Town Chelsea 3
Doncaster Rovers Wycombe Wanderers 3
Bournemouth Everton 3
Gillingham Chelsea 3
Rotherham United Tottenham Hotspur 3
Shrewsbury Town Arsenal 3
Cheltenham Town Bradford City 3
Bournemouth Derby County 3
Peterborough United Sheffield United 3
Gillingham Aston Villa 3
Gillingham Everton 3
Luton Town Accrington Stanley 2
Lincoln City Aston Villa 2
Crystal Palace Yeovil Town 2
Walsall Everton 2
Cheltenham Town Leicester City 2
Tranmere Rovers Liverpool 2
Cheltenham Town Aldershot Town 2
Cheltenham Town West Bromwich Albion 2
Cheltenham Town Wigan Athletic 2
Peterborough United Chelsea 2
Peterborough United Tottenham Hotspur 2
Hartlepool United Middlesbrough 2
Peterborough United West Ham United 2
Cheltenham Town Barnsley 2
Peterborough United Norwich City 2
Peterborough United Morecambe 2
Hartlepool United Tottenham Hotspur 2
Scunthorpe United West Bromwich Albion 2
Scunthorpe United Tottenham Hotspur 2
Scunthorpe United Blackburn Rovers 2
Aldershot Town West Ham United 2
Aldershot Town Macclesfield Town 2
Scunthorpe United Everton 2
Doncaster Rovers Chelsea 2
Leicester City Wigan Athletic 2
Hereford United Middlesbrough 2
Hereford United Chelsea 2
Hereford United Luton Town 2
Hereford United Tottenham Hotspur 2
Hereford United Arsenal 2
Accrington Stanley Charlton Athletic 2
Accrington Stanley Stoke City 2
Crewe Alexandra Everton 2
Hartlepool United Charlton Athletic 2
Crewe Alexandra Aston Villa 2
Accrington Stanley Bristol City 2
Accrington Stanley Preston North End 2
Dagenham & Redbridge Southend United 2
Dagenham & Redbridge Stockport County 2
Dagenham & Redbridge Bournemouth 2
Accrington Stanley Manchester United 2
Dagenham & Redbridge Charlton Athletic 2
Dagenham & Redbridge Cheltenham Town 2
Oldham Athletic Macclesfield Town 2
Colchester United Manchester City 2
Barnet Luton Town 2
Macclesfield Town Fulham 2
Carlisle United Manchester United 2
Yeovil Town Hull City 2
Macclesfield Town Wigan Athletic 2
Plymouth Argyle Accrington Stanley 2
Plymouth Argyle Dagenham & Redbridge 2
Macclesfield Town Birmingham City 2
Colchester United Arsenal 2
Chester City Aston Villa 2
Chester City Arsenal 2
Chester City Chelsea 2
Barnet West Ham United 2
Macclesfield Town Leicester City 2
Macclesfield Town Manchester City 2
Macclesfield Town Tranmere Rovers 2
Macclesfield Town West Ham United 2
Yeovil Town Manchester United 2
Wycombe Wanderers Yeovil Town 2
Yeovil Town Arsenal 2
Wycombe Wanderers Sheffield Wednesday 2
Yeovil Town Norwich City 2
Wycombe Wanderers Middlesbrough 2
Gillingham Arsenal 2
Tottenham Hotspur Peterborough United 2
Wycombe Wanderers Aston Villa 2
Yeovil Town Southampton 2
Yeovil Town Sheffield Wednesday 2
Yeovil Town Liverpool 2
Yeovil Town Cardiff City 2
Macclesfield Town Millwall 2
Macclesfield Town Middlesbrough 2
Yeovil Town Bolton Wanderers 2
Wycombe Wanderers Norwich City 2
Yeovil Town Leicester City 2
Wycombe Wanderers Chelsea 2
Wycombe Wanderers Nottingham Forest 2
Darlington Coventry City 2
Crystal Palace Wigan Athletic 2
Morecambe Ipswich Town 2
Morecambe Bournemouth 2
Rochdale Sheffield United 2
Colchester United Middlesbrough 2
Morecambe Hull City 2
Exeter City Yeovil Town 2
Exeter City Chelsea 2
Morecambe Gillingham 2
Barnet Middlesbrough 2
Morecambe Luton Town 2
Bournemouth Liverpool 2
Chester City Liverpool 2
Rochdale Sheffield Wednesday 2
Rochdale Queens Park Rangers 2
West Bromwich Albion Hereford United 2
Chester City Tottenham Hotspur 2
Ipswich Town Yeovil Town 2
Aston Villa Aldershot Town 2
Northampton Town Everton 2
Aston Villa Lincoln City 2
Rochdale Leicester City 2
Barnet Watford 2
Barnet Chelsea 2
Nottingham Forest Macclesfield Town 1
Accrington Stanley Watford 1
Accrington Stanley Everton 1
Wigan Athletic Southampton 1
Accrington Stanley Manchester City 1
Sunderland Yeovil Town 1
Accrington Stanley Leicester City 1
Coventry City Hereford United 1
Accrington Stanley Liverpool 1
Norwich City Darlington 1
Accrington Stanley Chelsea 1
West Ham United Darlington 1
Queens Park Rangers Hereford United 1
Watford Accrington Stanley 1
Peterborough United Everton 1
Barnet Leeds United 1
Barnet Manchester United 1
Cheltenham Town Sheffield United 1
Cheltenham Town Crystal Palace 1
Peterborough United Manchester United 1
Bournemouth Arsenal 1
Blackpool Accrington Stanley 1
Shrewsbury Town Liverpool 1
Morecambe Swindon Town 1
Barnsley Macclesfield Town 1
Manchester United Southend United 1
Wolverhampton Wanderers Morecambe 1
Cheltenham Town Sunderland 1
Millwall Barnet 1
Cheltenham Town Fulham 1
Yeovil Town Reading 1
Cheltenham Town Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Yeovil Town Middlesbrough 1
Oldham Athletic Morecambe 1
Barnet Portsmouth 1
Cheltenham Town Accrington Stanley 1
Cheltenham Town Stoke City 1
Cheltenham Town Birmingham City 1
Barnet Southampton 1
Cheltenham Town Newcastle United 1
Accrington Stanley Bolton Wanderers 1
Rochdale Leeds United 1
Rochdale Manchester United 1
Chester City Southampton 1
Rochdale Chelsea 1
Hartlepool United West Ham United 1
Rochdale Liverpool 1
Rochdale Arsenal 1
Crewe Alexandra Dagenham & Redbridge 1
Leicester City Exeter City 1
Leicester City Wycombe Wanderers 1
Hereford United Manchester United 1
Macclesfield Town Watford 1
Chester City Manchester United 1
Macclesfield Town Sheffield United 1
Macclesfield Town Chelsea 1
Hartlepool United Newcastle United 1
Darlington Aston Villa 1
Morecambe Sheffield United 1
Morecambe Huddersfield Town 1
Chesterfield Everton 1
Darlington Liverpool 1
Darlington Sunderland 1
Chesterfield Ipswich Town 1
Morecambe Hartlepool United 1
Hartlepool United Chelsea 1
Morecambe Oldham Athletic 1
Hartlepool United Morecambe 1
Hartlepool United Sunderland 1
Hartlepool United Manchester United 1
Morecambe Northampton Town 1
Morecambe Nottingham Forest 1
Macclesfield Town Everton 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Queens Park Rangers 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Norwich City 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Bristol Rovers 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Ipswich Town 1
Darlington Arsenal 1
Colchester United Chelsea 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Cardiff City 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Reading 1
Accrington Stanley Blackpool 1
Arsenal Peterborough United 1
Nottingham Forest Accrington Stanley 1
Exeter City Liverpool 1
Colchester United Manchester United 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Hartlepool United 1
Dagenham & Redbridge Leicester City 1
Aldershot Town Liverpool 1
Wycombe Wanderers Liverpool 1
Hereford United Birmingham City 1
Newcastle United Colchester United 1
Wycombe Wanderers West Ham United 1
Macclesfield Town Coventry City 1
Macclesfield Town Leeds United 1
Wycombe Wanderers Sheffield United 1
Liverpool Peterborough United 1
Aldershot Town Everton 1
Tottenham Hotspur Bournemouth 1
Aldershot Town Leicester City 1
Aldershot Town Derby County 1
Wycombe Wanderers Leeds United 1
Burnley Cheltenham Town 1
Gillingham Liverpool 1

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Days of the Week

Posted by Steven on November 15, 2009

OK, an odd one this one, does it matter? Well, it matters to geeks with a little too much time on their hands, so here we go. The question is: What football league side is best on each day of the week [statistics use Football League matches only - I've only included sides that have played a decent amount of games on a particular day - approx 12]

  • Sunday: Bristol City
  • Monday: Boston United
  • Tuesday: Liverpool
  • Wednesday: Wigan Athletic
  • Thursday: Swansea City
  • Friday: Ipswich Town
  • Saturday: Liverpool

    What football clubs are most successful on each day of the week?

    What football clubs are most successful on each day of the week?

So, Liverpool take both Saturday and Tuesday. The juggernaught that normally steams through all these statistics doesn’t put Manchester United on top of any day of the week. Whilst this may seem odd, I feel it can be easily explained in that Sky often move matches, so Manchester United are now spreading themselves quite thinly across the week.

SUNDAY (1.5% of matches)

  1. Bristol City – 1.86
  2. Bury – 1.86
  3. Arsenal – 1.82
  4. Northampton Town 1.81
  5. Manchester United – 1.79

Lincoln City have lost 17 of the 26 matches they have played on Sunday, Exeter City have lost 8 of the 11 they have played on the Sabbath. Manchester United have played more games than anyone on a Sunday (156)

MONDAY (7% of matches)

  1. Boston United – 1.85
  2. Manchester United – 1.68
  3. Arsenal – 1.63
  4. Wigan Athletic – 1.60
  5. Wolverhampton Wanderers – 1.60

Workington played over 100 matches on a Monday, winning only 22. Port Vale have played 493 matches on Mondays, more than any other club.

TUESDAY (8% of matches)

  1. Liverpool – 1.87
  2. Arseal – 1.66
  3. Manchester United – 1.63
  4. Bristol City – 1.62
  5. Rushden and Diamonds – 1.61

Hereford United have played 134 matches on a Tuesday, only winning 31. Grimsby Town are the club to have played most football league matches on a Tuesday (453)

WEDNESDAY (6% of matches)

  1. Wigan Athletic – 1.88
  2. Maidestone United – 1.80
  3. Scarborough – 1.74
  4. Reading – 1.68
  5. Manchester United – 1.66

Newport County and Swansea City have had torrid times on Wednesdays throughout their history. They have both played over 100 matches on Wdnesday, Swansea winning 19 and Newport only 24. Both clubs have picked up less than a point a game on average on Wednesdays. Must be a Welsh thing. Newcastle United have played 421 matches on a Wednesday, more than any other club.

THURSDAY (1% of matches)

  1. Swansea City – 1.93
  2. Luton Town – 1.85
  3. Tottenham Hotspur – 1.85
  4. Sunderland – 1.84
  5. Chelsea – 1.75

I can only assume that Swansea played a lot of home games on Thursday, this is why their ranking is so good, and probably why their points average on a Wednesday is so poor. Birmingham City have suffered a torrid time on Thursdays, only ever winning five of their twenty-nine matches on the day.

Notts County have played almost 150 matches on Thursdays, the only other clubs to have played over 100 Football League fixtures on this day are Newport County and Leyton Orient.

FRIDAY (4% of matches)

  1. Ipswich Town – 1.86
  2. Arsenal – 1.74
  3. Tranmere Rovers – 1.72
  4. Millwall – 1.72
  5. Colchester United – 1.70

Accrington Stanley have picked up an average of 0.87 points per game on Fridays. Tranmere Rovers, who played many matches at home on Friday evenings to entice followings from Everton and Liverpool have an unsurprisingly high points per game ratio.

Despite Tranmere Rovers being the most famous club to partake in Friday evening matches it is Stockport County who have played most on Fridays having played in 525 matches, Tranmere have played 507, Southend United have played 420 matches.

SATURDAY (72.5% of matches)

  1. Liverpool – 1.67
  2. Manchester United – 1.64
  3. Arsenal – 1.60
  4. Yeovil Town – 1.53
  5. Leeds United – 1.53

This is a little more simple than most of the stats. The best clubs come out top, Yeovil Town, who have had a few good seasons since joining the Football League also feature.

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Bogey Sides

Posted by Steven on November 14, 2009

SOUTH WALES DERBY

Last weekend Cardiff City lost against Swansea, it’s now been eight matches since Cardiff City earned a victory against their South Wales rivals. Therefore, I thought it may be worth seeing who the bogey sides are of clubs in the Football League. The way I define bogey side is quite simple, it’s the team that the club has played the most times without recording a victory.

Cardiff+City+v+Swansea+City+S0ForXQU5icl

Swansea City have gone eight games unbeaten against Cardiff. But are they their true "bogey side"?

Thankfully for Cardiff City they do not face the ignominy of having their bogey side being Swansea City as they have gone eleven matches without beating either Millwall or Arsenal. It’s interesting to see both Millwall and Swansea being sides that Cardiff rarely win against, does the threat of trouble somehow cause Cardiff City players to play badly?

Oddly, Wrexham are Swansea City’s bogey club, so there is a Welsh factor to the bogey side debate!

MANCHESTER UNITED

Unsurprisingly Manchester United feature heavily on the list, most notably with Aston Villa. The Villains have now gone twenty-four matches without beating the Champions, and even that was only a League Cup victory against a youthful Manchester United side. For the record the game finished 3-0, Ian Taylor, Steve Stone and Julian Joachim scored for Villa. The likes of Michael Twiss, Danny Higginbotham and Ronnie Wallwork played for United.

Other clubs that feature Manchester United as their bogey club are the following. [Team followed by number of matches without a win]

  • Birmingham City (22)
  • Tottenham Hotspur (20)
  • Charlton Athletic (18)
  • Newcastle United (16)
  • Sunderland (12)
  • Reading (11)
  • QPR (11)
  • Middlesbrough (10)
  • Luton Town (10)
  • Millwall (1o) – have also gone 10 matches without beating Spurs.
  • Sheffield United (6)
  • Arsenal (4)

It does seem to be an odd anomaly that Arsenal & Spurs, the three major North East clubs and Villa & Brum all have the same side as their bogey side. I suppose it underlines the dominance of Manchester United more than anything else!

TWENTY SIX MATCHES

South coast club Portsmouth have gone an unbelievable twenty-six matches without beating Chelsea, the last time they recorded a victory over the London club was almost fifty years ago (1-0 in a League Cup tie) in December 1960. Everton are another club who have a dreadful record against Chelsea, going twenty-three matches without winning. However, unlike Pompey their win is relatively recently, comingĀ  as recent as November 2000 when Danny Cadamateri and Kevin Campbell handed Everton a 2-1 victory. For the record Samuel Dalla Bona scored Chelsea’s goal in hte match.

THE REST

What is perhaps more interesting than clubs not being able to beat superpowers such as Chelsea and Manchester United are the stories from the Football League where (for example) Bristol City have failed to beat Nottingham Forest in twenty-two attempts. Rotherham United are another club who have failed to beat Forest – now running at no wins in their last fourteen matches.

Bradford City have gone sixteen matches since they had the bragging rights in their Yorkshire “derby” against Sheffield United, whilst Bournemouth have failed to beat another Yorkshire side Huddersfield in fifteen attempts. Blackpool have struggled in their orange/old gold clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers, they haven’t won the fixture in thirteen attempts (last win came in the late 60s).

Statistics follow… I hope they are correct, but there’s a lot of data to get through so there could well be mistakes.. If there are, please let me know.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Alec Forbes

Posted by Steven on November 7, 2009

I’m sure most of us are aware that many footballers in the early part of the 20th century played other sports other than football. Many of them played that very English pastime: cricket and did so at a very high level. In the late 19th century it was almost expected, the remarkable story of CB Fry (World record holder in the long jump, footballer, cricketer and even acrobat) gives a fantastic insight into the sport of that era. It wasn’t uncommon for players to play football in the winter and cricket in the winter. Denis Compton is a famous example, a man who represented Arsenal and England, at the same time played for Middlesex and earned 76 test caps in that time.

There are many more recent examples including Ian Botham playing for Scunthorpe United during the early 80s (and becoming the subject of a slightly cheeky “England captains who have played for Scunthorpe?) question. Geoff Hurst played at a decent level for Essex, whilst Steve Ogrizovic bowled at minor counties level before becoming the subject of a bizarre internet rumour in his retirement.

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Arsenal's 1950 FA Cup Winning side

But, more interesting (I think) than those who have played the two most popular sports in the UK there’s the case of Alec Forbes who won an FA Cup winners medal for Arsenal in 1950 and played over 200 matches for the London club. From the age of 14-18 Alec Forbes did not play football, he instead worked at his local ice rink in Dundee. He was so good at the sport that he soon became a member of the local side (The Tigers) who were mainly made up of Canadians. During his time playing the sport he broke his collar-bone, his ankle and his leg. So it’s perhaps a blessing that he took up football at the age of 18 with Dundee North End, moves to Sheffield United and then Arsenal followed along with 14 caps for Scotland. However, the red-headed Forbes maintained even whilst playing professionally that ice hockey was his favourite sport.

It is very unlikely that a footballer will ever play at a high level in any other sport, football at the top end is so highly competitive and the training so vigorous for youngsters that it’s not particularly likely they’ll get to play any other sports than football – especially not one as violent as ice hockey.

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1000 Football League goals in each division

Posted by Steven on November 5, 2009

Bury hold a couple of unique distinctions, they are the team who recorded the largest winning margin in the FA Cup Final of 1903 and they are the only club who have scored over 1000 goals in each of the four divisions of the Football League. In a time where clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea dominate the football landscape it’s important to remember the clubs who are the glue of the football league.

The clubs who have scored more than 1000 in three different divisions are Notts County, Blackpool, Chesterfield, Bradford City, Huddersfield Town and Swansea City.

The full results do not include Division 3N or Division 3S, the figures are up to date to approximately the start of 2009

Team Name Div 1 Div 2 Div 3 Div 4
Preston North End 2701 2497 1120 341
Burnley 3163 2317 643 416
Stoke City 2651 2428 465 0
West Bromwich Albion 4188 2396 152 0
Bolton Wanderers 3997 1821 598 66
Derby County 3766 2615 80 0
Everton 6367 348 0 0
Accrington (old) 226 0 0 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3912 2857 153 151
Aston Villa 6246 617 139 0
Blackburn Rovers 4153 2195 299 0
Notts County 1403 2179 1273 838
Sunderland 4762 1897 92 0
Darwen 75 326 0 0
Walsall 0 785 2089 633
Sheffield Wednesday 3918 2038 422 0
Sheffield United 3531 2633 366 94
Lincoln City 0 1740 527 2264
Birmingham City 2974 2921 260 0
Port Vale 0 2208 1682 765
Burton United 0 657 0 0
Crewe Alexandra 0 572 646 1840
Grimsby Town 756 2914 1135 766
Northwich Victoria 0 72 0 0
Manchester United 5694 1433 0 0
Manchester City 4840 1847 69 0
Bootle 0 49 0 0
Nottingham Forest 3013 2783 196 0
Middlesbrough Iron 0 37 0 0
Liverpool 6053 977 0 0
Rotherham Town 0 133 0 0
Arsenal 6040 824 0 0
Newcastle United 4770 1798 0 0
Leicester City 2731 3477 43 0
Bury 1176 2396 1426 1103
Burton Wanderers 0 167 0 0
Loughborough 0 170 0 0
Gainsborough Trinity 0 718 0 0
Blackpool 1733 2545 1319 413
Luton Town 807 2116 888 362
Barnsley 37 3820 972 628
Glossop North End 31 798 0 0
New Brighton Tower 0 194 0 0
Middlesbrough 3388 2421 154 0
Chesterfield 0 1070 1720 1154
Stockport County 0 1221 852 1736
Bristol City 428 2358 1548 129
Doncaster Rovers 0 741 695 1858
Bradford City 584 1620 1107 1275
Leyton Orient 37 1970 808 930
Hull City 28 2983 1152 576
Leeds City 0 592 0 0
Chelsea 4393 1323 0 0
Fulham 1047 2986 877 189
Oldham Athletic 601 2111 1304 499
Tottenham Hotspur 4593 1253 0 0
Bradford Park Avenue 172 1448 159 647
Huddersfield Town 1874 1886 1143 405
West Ham United 2993 2091 0 0
Gateshead 0 489 0 114
Coventry City 1557 1473 403 84
Rotherham United 0 1637 1444 584
Newport County (old) 0 61 672 1167
Reading 93 931 2019 513
Portsmouth 1970 2238 412 153
Swansea City 109 2190 1200 1080
Plymouth Argyle 0 2308 1536 306
Norwich City 966 1950 215 0
Gillingham 0 274 1720 1022
Southampton 1812 2425 258 0
Leeds United 3079 1817 111 0
Exeter City 0 0 798 1822
Brentford 330 588 2129 961
Northampton Town 55 171 986 1915
Cardiff City 865 2118 593 600
Millwall 86 1970 1060 422
Bristol Rovers 0 1162 2044 308
Merthyr Town (old) 0 0 60 0
Crystal Palace 548 1820 489 284
Queens Park Rangers 974 1326 1052 0
Watford 369 1276 1057 387
Swindon Town 47 1039 1824 259
Southend United 0 375 1528 1187
Brighton & Hove Albion 182 953 1371 450
Charlton Athletic 1424 2511 274 0
Darlington 0 151 209 2603
Halifax Town 0 0 697 1387
Barrow 0 0 167 685
Wrexham 0 168 1528 1402
Hartlepool United 0 1 471 2332
Rochdale 0 0 310 2486
Accrington Stanley 0 0 128 220
Tranmere Rovers 0 648 1436 1096
Southport 0 0 219 931
Nelson 0 40 0 0
Bournemouth 0 168 2179 527
Torquay United 0 0 592 2186
Carlisle United 43 787 734 1210
York City 0 90 850 1727
Mansfield Town 0 49 1344 1730
Chester City 0 0 737 1852
Aldershot Town 0 0 289 1806
Ipswich Town 1396 1863 0 0
Colchester United 0 132 1367 1540
Scunthorpe United 0 422 569 2025
Shrewsbury Town 0 415 1611 894
Workington 0 0 180 873
Peterborough United 0 103 1397 1644
Oxford United 150 852 921 474
Cambridge United 0 389 498 1125
Hereford United 0 57 254 1122
Wigan Athletic 140 139 1014 520
Scarborough 0 0 0 697
Maidstone United 0 0 0 188
Barnet 0 0 41 736
Wycombe Wanderers 0 0 546 338
Chester 0 0 0 1
Macclesfield Town 0 0 44 583
Cheltenham Town 0 0 170 348
Kidderminster Harriers 0 0 0 249
Rushden & Diamonds 0 0 60 228
Boston United 0 0 0 268
Yeovil Town 0 0 169 160
Dagenham & Redbridge 0 0 0 96
Morecambe 0 0 0 84

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4-3

Posted by Steven on October 24, 2009

With my side Cardiff City winning out as 4-3 victors over Sheffield United (the first time they had recorded this score in almost 24 years) I felt it was worthwhile taking a look at the scoreline and its history within the Football League.

At the end of the 2007/2008 season there had been almost 1500 4-3 results in Football League history. The highpoint for the scoreline was the 1889/1890 season where approximately one in twenty matches ended in that scoreline. The worst season, surprisingly perhaps, was 1910/1911 where only one of the 280 matches played that season ended in a 4-3 scoreline (a 4-3 victory for Everton over Bristol City on Christmas Eve).

Here’s the graph depicting the occurrence of the scoreline. Unsurprisingly the score has become less frequent since the free-scoring, early days of the Football League. The last time more than 1% of matches in a Football League season ended in 4-3 was the 1964/1965 season.

43

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COSAFA Cup 2009 – Zimbabwe

Posted by Steven on October 22, 2009

African international football is separated into different confederations, COSAFA covers the southern section of the continent and includes sides such as Angola and World Cup 2010 hosts South Africa.

Dynamos FC greet the players of CAPS United.

Dynamos FC greet the players of CAPS United.

Each individual confederation has their own cup and COSAFA’s 2009 tournament is currently being played in Zimbabwe. The tournament was due to be held in South Africa, but logistical and local governmental problems in South Africa led to its cancellation before Zimbabwe stepped in. Football in the troubled southern African nation has experienced a renaissance of sorts with the biggest club side in Zimbabwe, Dynamos reaching the semi-finals of the African Champions League in 2008 beating Egyptian giants Zamalek on the way.

Unusually, from a European perspective, the competition appears to be bankrolled by a cigarette company (Savannah) who also sponsor Dynamos FC. Tobacco advertising appears to be ubiquitous in Zimbabwe. Savannah almost pulled the plug on their sponsorship of Dyanmos when the club competed in a tournament sponsored by a rival brand of cigarette. In fact they have provided a “range of T-shirts and tracksuits, which the fans will wear during the Cosafa tournament.”

The first round of matches have already taken place with the host nation and Botswana making it through the initial group stages (with the likes of Lesotho and the Seychelles) to the quarter finals to play “the big six” of South Africa, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. (Angola and South Africa have sent U23 or U20 squads to the tournament, it’s a practice quite common in these sorts of tournaments to make the games a little more competitive).

Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola and South Africa have all won the competition on three occasions each, and it will be a big surprise if any country from outside these four wins the trophy this time around. Zimbabwe face Botswana in the Quarter Finals. in Harare. The final is on the 1st November.

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Ninian Park is falling down

Posted by Steven on October 16, 2009

Cardiff City moved to a brand new soulless dome this summer so now the time has come to knock down the old home Ninian Park (unsurprisingly to be replaced by houses).

Demolition of Ninian Park

Demolition of Ninian Park

One of the more interesting aspects of the ground demolition has been the removal of the cladding from the main Grandstand, the demolition crew have exposed an old AFC CARDIFF CITY sign.

Exposed signage

Exposed signage

It’s quite sad to see the old ground in the state it’s in, though some jokers may say “What’s changed?”, but as soon as a football team no longer plays in a ground it loses its purpose and magic. It’s just a shell.

Further pictures here:
Mike Morris

Jon Candy

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Finland 2 Wales 1

Posted by Steven on October 10, 2009

Any slim hopes Wales had of finishing third were dashed with another disappointing loss in their World Cup qualification campaign. They have now played Russia, Germany and Finland home and away, failing to take even a point from six matches.

Jari Litmanen - 128 caps

Jari Litmanen - 128 caps

As a Wales fan I do not expect us to qualify, in all honesty I don’t really expect us to get even close. However, I do expect us to show a little bit of attacking ambition. Playing three centre halves against Jonatan Johansson, a man who hasn’t currently got a club (on trial at St. Johnstone I believe?), was hard to understand, but ever so predictable from a Toshack Wales side. Further frustration was caused by multiple squad withdrawals. Wales were left in the embarrassing situation of only having three outfield players on the bench, this led to the odd sight of Toshack bringing on fullback Neal Eardley for centre-half Lewin Nyatanga when Wales were chasing the game late on. Surely the Welsh set-up has contingency plans for such situations?

Finland’s side appeared many familiar names, Jusi Jaaskalinen between the sticks, Hyypia and Tihinen in defense and Kolkka and the evergreen Litmanen pulling the strings in the Finnish midfield. It’s interesting to note that Litmanen has now won 128 caps, that’s twice as many as Ryan Giggs, it shows the differing attitudes of the two footballers to their national sides. Glen, who runs vivarovers used an excellent turn of phrase when he described Litmanen’s performance at the MillStad – “he stood us ragged”, which summed up just how inept our midfield were that day.

A wholly disappointing performance from Wales, even the normally fluent Ramsey looked out of sorts playing in a very deep role where his talents were never shown. When Wales play like this you start to think of the players who are missing, Danny Collins would be a very welcome addition into defence, John Oster and Paul Parry would be useful options from the bench at the very least. I’m even starting to think that a 34 year old Robbie Savage would be good to have around the place. That’s how bad it’s got.

The FAW in their infinite wisdom recently awarded John Toshack an extension to his contract, so we have to put up with this dirge for another qualification campaign (at least). When will he realise he’s not up to the job? The side looks low on morale and confidence, something needs to change. Sack Tosh, bring in Flynn, I don’t see how it can get any worse! Wales play Liechtenstein in Vaduz on Wednesday evening.

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