footballsite - football and general sports quizzes

WORLD CUP

2010 Which England player was replaced in the squad by Michael Dawson after suffering a training injury shortly after arriving in South Africa?
Rio Ferdinand

2010 England opened their campaign against the United States on June 12th. Name the other two countries in England's group.
Algeria and Slovenia

2010 Who 'scored' England's well-over-the-line goal against Germany?
Frank Lampard

2010 Internal strife led to a dismal World Cup for France and international bans for a number of their players. The worst punishment was an 18-match international ban handed to which Premier Division player at the time?
Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka

2010 Who were the only unbeaten nation at the 2010 finals?
New Zealand who drew their 3 group matches to finish third in the group (winners Spain were beaten by Switzerland in their opening match)

2010 The final was played in the Soccer City Stadium (First National Bank Stadium), pictured right. In which city was the final played?
Johannesburg

2010 The player pictured was named 'Player of the Tournament' in South Africa. Name him.
Diego Forlan of Uruguay

2006 In which city was the stadium pictured alongside?
Frankfurt - the Waldstadion with its suspended video cube.

2006 Who finished as the leading goalscorer in the finals?
Miroslav Klose of Germany with 5 goals.

2006 Who was the only English referee to officiate in the finals?
Graham Poll.

2006 Which country was eliminated without conceding a goal in the finals (other than from a penalty shoot-out)?
Switzerland

2006 In the Group stage which European country lost 0-4 and then won 4-0 in successive matches?
Ukraine who followed a 0-4 defeat to Spain with a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.

The 2006 World Cup Finals were staged in which country?
Germany

"Fail to prepare, prepare to fail" was famously said by which player prior to the start of the 2002 finals?
Roy Keane who walked out of the Republic of Ireland camp citing poor preparation as the reason.

Name either of the losing semi-finalists from the 2002 World Cup finals.
South Korea, Turkey

In which year was the Jules Rimet trophy last presented?
1970 when Brazil won the World Cup for the third time and so kept the old trophy.

Football, and in 2010 which former England striker admitted that he went down a little too easily when winning penalties for England against Argentina in both the 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals?
Michael Owen (see penalties)

Who were the 1000/1 outsiders who in 1990 in their first ever match in the World Cup finals, beat Scotland?
Costa Rica

Diana Ross sang at the opening ceremony of which World Cup finals?
1994 in USA

MISDEAMENOURS

In 2007 which squad member 2014 WC squad suffered an £80 fine for attempting to buy a toilet seat from B &Q having changed the price tag to a cheaper one?
Glen Johnson

Alain Baxter lost a rare Olympic medal for Britain when he failed a drugs test after originally winning bronze at the 2002 Olympics - he had innocently used a Vicks inhaler. In which sport?
Skiing - he had finished third in the men's slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City winter Olympics.

SPORT

Moving abroad, in August 2013 Alan Rodriguez was banned from which sport for 211 matches for his part in a drugs scandal?
Baseball (New York Yankees)

Which former Question of Sport team captain took part in the 2013 Celebrity Big Brother when serving a 6 month ban from his sport for a drugs offence?
Jockey Frankie Dettori

Who announced that he would step down as UK Athletics head coach after the track and field team failed to meet his medal target at the 2012 London Olympics?
Charles van Commenee

In Formula 1 Grand Prix speak what does DRS stand for?
Drag Reduction System

In cricket speak what does DRS stand for?
Decision Review System

Which British athlete won a gold medal at the 2013 World Championships by four hundredths of a second?
Christine Ohuruogu (400 metres)

Who did Andy Murray beat in New York in 2012 to claim his first Grand Slam title?
Novak Djokovic

Europe retained the Ryder Cup in 2012 in what some described as the greatest-ever sporting fight-back. Who captained the Europe team?
José María Olazábal

Name the Australian who in 2012 became the first cricketer to score four Test double-centuries in a calendar year.
Michael Clarke

What is the main sporting claim to fame of Grove in Oxfordshire?
It is the home of the Williams F1 Grand Prix HQ/factory

English golfer Andy Sullivan won what unusual prize for scoring a hole in one at the KLM Openin 2014?
A trip into space

Who was the only British winner of a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi?
Lizzy Yarnold in the skeleton event

In October 2014 why did Ben Flower make the sporting headlines?
The Wigan Warriors prop was sent off after he threw a punch after just 2 minutes of Rugby League's Super League Grand Final v St Helens at Old Trafford

Name the English sportswoman who was born in Bournemouth on 10th July 1945 and had the high-point on her career in London on July 1st 1977.
Virginia Wade of tennis fame - she won the Wimbledon singles title in 1977

With which sport do you associate the Breeders' Cup?
Horse racing (USA)

Who is 'Baby Schumi' who had a very successful sporting 2010?
Sebastian Vettel who became F1 world champion for the first time in 2010

At which weight did Nottingham boxer Carl Froch become a WBC world champion for the first time in 2008?
Super middleweight

In January 2007 it was announced that which former world boxing champion had been stripped of his MBE award after having served 16 weeks of a 15-month prison sentence for dangerous driving?
'Prince' Naseem Hamed

In April 2012 which driver won the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, his first victory in 111 GP starts?
Nico Rosberg

OLYMPICS

Who sang the song 'Oceania' at the 2004 opening ceremony?
Bjork

2004 In which event did Kelly Sotherton win an Olympic bronze medal for Britain?
Heptathlon

2004 On the track, name the American who became Olympic 100 metres sprint champion.
Justin Gatlin

England's women won the Rugby Union World Cup in 2014 - who did they beat in the final?
Canada

The designer of the adidas kit worn by Team GB at the Olympic and Paralympic Games won the designer of the year award after the Games. Who?
Stella McCartney

If we heard LOCOG being mentioned once we heard it mentioned a million times in 2012. What does LOCOG stand for?
London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.

A world record time of 36.84 seconds was set in the final of which 2012 Olympic event?
Men's 4 x 100 metre relay - Jamaica were the winners

2004 Which event for both men's and women's competition was held at Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games?
Shot Put

2004 Kate Howey carried the flag for Britain at the opening ceremony. In which sport is she a past Olympic medallist?
Judo

2004 At the Paralympics which was the only country to beat Britain's haul of 35 gold medals?
China (with 63 golds).

In which track and field event did American Al Oerter win four Olympic Gold medals?
Discus

Which Briton won a bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics, silver at the 2012 London Olympics but won't be at Rio because his event is being dropped in 2016?
Windsdsufer Nick Dempsey - windsurfing is being replaced by kiteboarding in 2016

2012 Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake made the headlines in the 100 metres final but who finished third?
Justin Gatlin (USA)

2012 Name the pictured athlete who was the first to set a world record on the track at the Olympic Stadium.
David Rudisha, who won 800m gold for Kenya

Who did the Netherlands men's hockey team thump 9-2 at the Riverbank Arena?
Great Britain

SUNDERLAND

In February 2012 which former Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham player suffered a managerial sacking after recording just 3 defeats in the 55 League matches before his sacking, a run that included a club record 43 match unbeaten run in the League?
Lee Clark - sacked as manager of Huddersfield Town

In 2008 who resigned as a Premier Division manager when two of his players - Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney - were sold to Sunderland against his wishes?
Alan Curbishley of West Ham United.

In 2013 which former Foreign Secretary resigned his position as vice-chairman of Sunderland after Paolo Di Canio was appointed manager of the Black Cats, because of Di Canio’s ‘past political statements’?
David Miliband

MANCHESTER UNITED

After Manchester United drew with Sunderland at Old Trafford in October 2009 Alex Ferguson accused the referee of being physical unfit. Ferguson was fined £20,000 for the comment. Who was that referee?
Alan Wiley

Before he moved to Chelsea Ken Bates served alongside Bobby Charlton as directors of which Football League club?
Wigan Athletic

In the 2012 Olympic men's football tournament which country suffered defeat in the Old Trafford semi-final?
South Korea.

Before he moved to Chelsea Ken Bates served alongside Bobby Charlton as

Who scored a record-equalling five goals in Manchester United's 7-1 Premier League defeat of Blackburn in November 2010?
Dimitar Berbatov

Which Football League side defeated Manchester United 4-0 in the Capital One Cup? 2014/15
Milton Keynes Dons

FOOTBALL

On February 29th 2012 England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all played international friendly matches. Three of those countries had managers who were making their debut for their new countries. Who were the 3 managerial debutants?
Stuart Pearce of England (against Holland, caretaker replacement for Fabio Capello), Chris Coleman of Wales (against Costa Rica, replacing Gary Speed), Michael O'Neill of Northern Ireland (against Norway, replacing Nigel Worthington). All three suffered debut defeats!

In the summer of 2012 the hopes of a Premier League club moving its home to an iconic, Grade 2 listed site ended when a rival consortium bought the property. Name the club and the location they hoped to buy.
Chelsea, Battersea Power Station.

Pictured is a European stadium that regularly hosts international fixtures. Which stadium?
Rome's Olympic Stadium

Name the two players who missed England's penalties against Italy at the Euro 2012 finals.
Ashleys Cole and Young

Six players finished as top goalscorers with three goals each but after assists and time spent on the pitch which player received the Golden Boot award at Euro 2012 finals?
Fernando Torres

Which goalkeeper, originally named in England's Euro 2012 finals squad, had to be replaced (by Jack Butland) when he broke a finger?
John Ruddy

In their group matches the Republic of Ireland played Italy, Spain and which other country at Euro 2012 finals?
Croatia

Barbara McNally, the sister of which member of Manchester United's 1968 European Cup winning side, sold his medal at auction for £156,000 in October 2010?
George Best

Which promoted Football League club recorded an 8-0 away League victory in 2014/15?
Championship champions Bournemouth won 8-0 at Birmingham in October - 2014/15 Bournemouth results

A tragic own goal saw England defeated by which country in the semi-final of the women's World Cup? 2014/15
Japan

Internet humour took over when Uruguay's Luis Suarez took a bite out of which player at football's World Cup finals in Brazil?
Giorgio Chiellini of Italy

2014/15 Which club had its final home League match of the season abandoned when protesting fans invaded the pitch?
Blackpool (against Huddersfield) - Blackpool results 2014/15

Who started his League career at Shrewsbury Town and has also played on loan at Tranmere, Blackpool and Birmingham?
Joe Hart

Which squad member was sent off in the World Cup warm-up match against Ecuador? 2014???
Raheem Sterling

Everton signed Phil Jagielka from which club in 2007?
Sheffield United

In November 2007 who did Liverpool beat 8-0 in a Champions League match just a couple of weeks after losing to the same opposition in the away fixture?
Besiktas of Turkey

The Premier League had 22 clubs when in started in the 1992/93 season. One of those clubs was managed by Joe Royle - which one?
Oldham Athletic.

Name the Rangers player who topped the Champions League goalscorers charts in 1996/97 with 6 goals.
Ally McCoist

Following his move from Middlesbrough to Siena in the January 2007 transfer window about who did Massimo Maccarone say "He's the most two-faced and false person I've ever met in football"?.
His former manager at Boro Steve McClaren who by then had moved on to the England job.

Which was the club who used to stage its Scottish League matches at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh, their home at the time being described as the worst ground ever to host Scottish League matches because of its lack of atmosphere?
Meadowbank Thistle who later upped-sticks to Livingston.

In March 2012 which club recorded a record-breaking 7-3 League victory over Leeds United at Elland Road?
Nottingham Forest.

Who followed Steve McClaren as manager of Middlesbrough?
Gareth Southgate

For which club did Dixie Dean score a record 60 League goals in the 1927/28 season?
Everton

In June 1995 who did Liverpool buy from Nottingham Forest in an £8.5 million transfer?
Stan Collymore

Who was the first Englishman to make 100 full international appearances?
Billy Wright

Which Scottish side played Bolton Wanderers in the First Round of the FA Cup in November 1993?
Gretna, who at the time were members of the First Division of the English Northern Premier League. They later joined the Scottish League, getting into the Premier Division before going bust.

Who resigned as Chief Executive of the Football Association in August 2004?
Mark Palios

In October 1974 after a First Division victory over Ipswich Terry Mancini stood in front of the directors' box and 'mooned' his chairman Jim Gregory in protest at him blocking a proposed transfer to Arsenal. It worked. He was banned and fined but got his transfer to Arsenal - from which club?
Queens Park Rangers

Fulham had to record an away victory at which club on the last day of the 2007/08 season to ensure Premier Division survival?
Portsmouth

In June 2012 which country beat Northern Ireland 6-0 in an international friendly?
Netherlands

Moderate To Orbit - Roberto Di Matteo

Salary in club, eh? - Alan Curbishley

Football On This Day - 8th September 1958
17-year-old Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore made his debut for West Ham United, a 3-2 First Division victory over Manchester United at Upton Park. Bobby Moore went on to make 544 League appearances for the Hammers before moving to Fulham in 1974 as well as playing 108 times for England.

'I'm just going to write because I can't help it'

Charlotte Brontë, and me

Question:

Brothers have often played together for the same country but at the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa and again at the 2014 finals in Brazil two brothers played in the same match - but for opposing sides. Kevin-Prince Boateng played for Ghana and was up against his brother Jerome Boateng who was playing for which country?

Football on This Day – 28^th July 1985
Just two days short of the 19th anniversary the players from the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany played against each other again to raise money for the Bradford Fire Disaster Fund. England again ran out winners – or strolled out winners was perhaps a more accurate description of the speed of play – this time 6-4 with Geoff Hurst again hitting a hat-trick. A crowd of 19,496 at Elland Road, Leeds, contributed nearly £50,000 towards the appeal.

Football On This Day – 5th September 1936
The curious incident of Walter Pontin and the the deflated football.
Chesterfield beat Burnley 4-1 in a Second Division match at Saltergate – but it really should have been 5-1. A shot from Chesterfield’s Walter Pontin had beaten the opposition goalkeeper and was about to enter the net when it burst and failed to cross the line (newspaper report below). Such is life!


WORLD CUP FACTS - OPENING MATCHES In the last two World Cups the host nation has opened the proceedings but before that the defending champions played in the first match. The opening matches from the last 5 tournaments - 2010 - South Africa 1 Mexico 1 2006 - Germany 4 Costa Rica 2 2002 - France 0 Senegal 1 1998 - Brazil 2 Scotland 1 1994 - Germany 1 Bolivia 0

WORLD CUP FACTS - SHOCKS Holland 5 Spain 1 was certainly a shock result - a few more World Cup shockers - World Cup Finals 1950 - England 0 USA 1 At their first finals England suffered their most embarrassing defeat against USA with a goal from Joe Gaetjens, a part-time dishwasher. World Cup Finals 1966 - North Korea 1 Italy 0 This group match result saw North Korea progress to the quarter-finals and Italy on the plane home - to a hostile reception! World Cup Finals 2002 - France 0 Senegal 1 France lose their first match as defending champions to former colony Senegal who were playing their first match in the finals. World Cup finals 1982 - West Germany 1 Algeria 2 A shock for the Germans in their first group match - but of course they still got to the final. World Cup Qualifier 1993 - San Marino 1 England 7 OK the result was fine but Davide Gualtieri scored for San Marino after just 8 seconds - a shocker!
	England's best performance - that's easy - in 1966 Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in the 4-2 defeat of West Germany in the World Cup Final at Wembley. We were the champs! The closest England have been to another final was in 1990 when they were defeated by Germany on penalties in the semis. England finished fourth after being beaten by Italy in the 3rd/4th place match.

WORLD CUP FACTS PAST ENGLAND v ITALY WORLD CUP MATCHES England and Italy have met five times previously in the World Cup - November 17th 1976 - Italy 2 England 0 England's defeat in Rome was their only defeat in the qualifying group for the 1978 finals. November 16th 1977 - England 2 Italy 0 Goals from Keegan and Brooking gave England the win but Italy topped the group on goal difference and England were out of the World Cup. July 7th 1990 - Italy 2 England 1 A David Platt goal was not good enough against World Cup hosts Italy in the 3rd/4th place play-off but 4th place is still England's best performance after the 1966 victory. February 12th 1997 - England 0 Italy 1 A Zola goal at Wembley after 20 minutes put Italy in the driving seat in the World Cup qualifying group. October 11th 1997 - Italy 0 England 0 A draw in Rome saw England pip the unbeaten Italy for top place and automatic WC qualification - Italy qualified through the play-offs Football On This Day - TODAY, September 6th 2014 Hey, I can be current! If you are a supporter of a Premier League or Championship club why not give a try to Leagues 1 or 2 or non league football? It's NON LEAGUE DAY today and non league clubs up and down the country are offering various incentives to get extra fans through the turnstiles. If you are anywhere near Bungay in Suffolk, for example, you can pick up a free punnet of mushrooms for attending the Bungay Town v Martham match. Now I guarantee that's something new for any football fan! Don't just think about it, do it. Football On This Day – 6th September 1913 Following their move from the Manor Ground in Plumstead, Arsenal – still Woolwich Arsenal at the time - played their first match at Highbury against Leicester Fosse in the Second Division. A 20,000 crowd saw Leicester’s Tommy Benfield score the first Highbury goal, George Jobey equalising for Arsenal with Arichibald Devine scoring the Arsenal winner from the penalty spot. Football On This Day - 7th September 1960 This day in 1960 saw Peterborough United play their sixth match in the Football League, against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park with a mahoosive 36,478 attending. Five days later the return League match at London Road was played in front of a 21,171 crowd. Nearly 60,000 watching a new Football League side play two Division 4 matches in a week - that will surely never happen again! (Posh won both matches)
WORLD CUP FACTS - ENGLAND LOSE THEIR FIRST MATCH Before the Italy defeat only twice before have England lost their opening match at the World Cup finals - World Cup Finals 1962 - Hungary 2 England 1 World Cup Finals 1986 - Portugal 1 England 0 On both occasions England qualified for the knock-out stages by finishing second in their group. Will history repeat itself?


WORLD CUP SHORTS Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking came on as a double substitution for England against Spain in the 1982 finals. For both of them the 26 minutes they were on the pitch that day was their only experience of playing in the World Cup finals. Jimmy Greaves played in the first three matches of England's successful 1966 World Cup campaign but he lost his place due to injury. He was fit for the final but by then Geoff Hurst had taken his place. Greaves said that missing the final was by a mile his biggest disappointment in football. George Best and Ryan Giggs never played at the World Cup finals - will Gareth Bale? Liverpool's Ian Callaghan played one match for England at the 1966 finals - but didn't play for his country again until 1977! A foul on Gordon Strachan saw Uruguay's Jose Batista sent off after just 56 seconds of the group match against Scotland at the 1986 finals.
WORLD CUP SHORTS - The 1930 World Cup Finals The first World Cup finals were played in Uruguay. Hosts Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the final. There was no qualification for the finals with FIFA issuing an open invitation for entrants. Thirteen countries entered but only four were from Europe - Belgium, France, Romania and Yugoslavia - with other European countries being put off by the two-week sea journey to Uruguay. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland didn't enter - they weren't members of FIFA at the time.
	The first World Cup matches took place on 13th July 1930 - France 4 Mexico 1 and USA 3 Belgium 0 - Lucien Laurent of France was the first World Cup goalscorer. Only three grounds were used, all in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo. But the biggest of them couldn't be used in the first five days - it hadn't been finished!

WORLD CUP SHORTS - Goals, Goals, Goals Plenty of goals so far in Brazil - a few from previous WC Finals.... The highest score is the finals is Hungary 10 El Salvador 1 in a 1982 group match although Australia did a tad better in a qualifier in 2001, the Aussies beat American Samoa 31-0. The most goals scored in a finals match is 12 - Austria beat Switzerland 7-5 in 1954 after coming back from 0-3 down. Hungary beat West Germany 8-3 in a group match at the 1954 finals and then the sides met again in the final - this time the Germans won 3-2. It's not surprising that the 1954 finals saw the highest number of goals per match - an average of 5.38. England's best in the finals is 4 against Belgium in 1954 (4-4) and that 4 against West Germany in 1966 (4-2) - both times needing 120 minutes to score them!

WORLD CUP SHORTS - Early trips home

So Spain are rebooking their tickets to get home a bit earlier than they anticipated - they are not the first......

Scotland’s Willie Johnston was sent home from the 1978 finals in Argentina after failing a drugs test – he blamed was a banned substance in his hay-fever medication.

A row at the 2002 finals between Irish manager Mick McCarthy and captain Roy Keane saw the Manchester United player sent home.

Diego Maradona was another who found himself on an early plane home after failing a drugs test at USA 94 – he blamed the positive test on an energy drink.

Another player who made the trip home early from the 1994 finals was Stefan Effenberg who was banned by the Germans after he had made an obscene gesture to German fans during a group match with South Korea.

In 1974 Haiti’s Ernst Jean-Joseph became the first player to fail a drugs test at the World Cup. Reports say he got a thumping from Haiti officials – then he was sent home!

WORLD CUP SHORTS - The 1950 World Cup Finals

Brazil first hosted the World Cup Finals in 1950 - Uruguay won it, Brazil were runners-up, Sweden were third and Spain fourth.

There wasn’t a final in the 1950 World Cup – the last four played a round-robin group to decide the winners but it was the last match - Uruguay 2 Brazil 1 - that decided the winners and runners-up and so is thought of as the final.

England played in the finals for the first time in 1950. They beat Chile 2-0 in their first match, but lost 1-0 to both USA in the second and Spain in the third and failed to make the final group.

The defeat by the United States is regarded as the most embarrassing result in England's history. After the match England player Wilf Mannion said ‘Bloody ridiculous. Can't we play them again tomorrow?’

English referee George Reader was 53 years 236 days old when he refereed the 1950 World Cup decider between Uruguay and Brazil, the oldest referee in World Cup finals history.

WORLD CUP SHORTS - Scotland in the finals

If you are disappointed by England remember it could be worse ...you might support Scotland!

Scotland first qualified for the finals in Brazil in 1950 when the top two teams in the British Home International championship qualified for the World Cup finals. But Scotland finished second and had said they would only go to the World Cup if they were British champions and so withdrew.

Scotland qualified for the 1954 finals and turned up in Switzerland but might have wished they hadn't - in their two matches they lost 1-0 to Austria and, shortly after manager Andy Beattie resigned, were thumped 7-0 by Uruguay.

Scotland have played in 8 World Cup final tournaments - including 5 on the trot from 1974 - but hold the disappointing record of not getting past the group stage in any of those appearances.

Scotland went out of the 1974 World Cup at the group stage despite being unbeaten. With one victory and two draws Brazil pipped them for second spot in the group on goal difference.

At the 1978 finals manager Ally MacLeod hoped to get Scotland to the semi's - so inevitably they got knocked out in the group stage losing to Peru, drawing with Iran before recording perhaps their best finals result, a 3-2 defeat of Holland.

Football On This Day – 8th August 2009
To lose at home in your first League match of the season is bad enough but to lose 1-7 at home against traditionally ‘junior’ neighbours is a disaster as Norwich City found in their opening League 1 fixture of the 2009/10 season when losing by that score to Colchester United. Norwich manager Bryan Gunn lost his job within a week and was replaced by Colchester manager Paul Lambert with Norwich later winning the return match at Colchester 5-0 and taking the League 1 title.
It’s funny old game!

WORLD CUP SHORTS
What we would give for a goalscorer!

The record number of goals scored by a player in a single finals tournament belongs to Juste Fontaine of France who scored 13 times in 6 matches in 1958.

Only two players have scored hat-tricks for England in matches at the World Cup finals - Sir Geoff at that match in 1966 and Gary Lineker against Poland in 1986.

Lineker's hat-trick helped him to win the Golden Boot for the leading goalscorer at the 1986 finals with 6 goals, the only time an Englishman has won the award.

Oleg Salenko of Russia is the highest scorer in a match at the finals with 5 against Cameroon in 1994 but the record in a qualifier is held by Aussie Archie Thompson who scored 13 against American Samoa in 2001.

Pele was just 17 when he scored a hat-trick in the World Cup semi-final in 1958.

Football On This Day – 5th July 1982
A draw against hosts Spain in the World Cup second group stage saw England eliminated despite an unbeaten record. It was Ron Greenwood’s last match as England manager and the last England appearances for Kevin Keegan and Trevor Booking who both came on as late substitutes for their only appearances in the World Cup finals.

Perhaps the most optimistic of fans are those of Manchester City. When City put in a £100 million offer for Kaka City fan Chris Atkinson thought he would get in first and had the Brazilian stars' name tattooed on his chest. Kaka signed for AC Milan! At the start of the 2009/10 season another City fan, Kirk Bradley, was so convinced that Manchester City would qualify for the Champions League that season and win it in 2010/11 he was tattooed with the predicted victory. They didn't win it, they didn't even qualify for the Champions League that season but it came close to being worse still - Manchester United were the beaten finalists! Still, with a slight amendment he could get it to work in 2017 or....

Football On This Day – 1st September 1892
After Everton had left Anfield for Goodison Park because of a rent increase a new club needed to be found to play at Anfield. That newly formed club – Liverpool FC – played its first-ever match on this day in 1892, beating Midland League champions Rotherham Town 7-1 in a friendly at Anfield. Around 100 turned up for that match but when Liverpool played its first competitive match – just two days later against Higher Walton in the Lancashire League – the Anfied crowd had swelled to around 200 to witness an 8-0 victory. From small beginnings ….

WORLD CUP SHORTS - The 1958 World Cup Finals

Sweden hosted the 1958 World Cup finals which was won by Brazil. Hosts Sweden were runners-up, France third and West Germany fourth.

For the first and only time England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all qualified for the finals. Northern Ireland and Wales - in their only finals appearance - were the best of the bunch, both reaching the quarter-finals.

The 1958 finals saw Edson Arantes do Nascimento become a household name. The 17 year old - probably better known as Pele! - scored 6 goals including a hat-trick in the semi.

Amazingly the World Cup started in 1930 but the sixth World Cup finals in 1958 saw the first 0-0 draw in a finals match - between England and Brazil in a group match.

Equally as amazing is the fact that there was time in the playing schedule for play-off matches to decide who would progress to the quarter finals when second and third placed group teams finished equal on points. England, Wales and Northern Ireland all found themselves playing an additional play-off match!

WORLD CUP SHORTS - The 1966 World Cup Finals

Football came home in 1966 with England hosting and winning the World Cup. West Germany were runners-up, Portugal third and the Soviet Union fourth.

The fact that all England's matches were played at Wembley helped set a new record for the average attendance at the World Cup finals - 48,848 - which lasted until the finals were played in the USA in 1994 (68,991)

Not everybody was caught up in World Cup hype. Wembley staged all but one of the fixtures played in London with the one exception being played at the White City Stadium. The reason - Friday night was greyhound night at Wembley and the organisers wouldn't change it for the World Cup so when the World Cup and greyhounds clashed the World Cup went to the White City!

For the first time the World Cup had a mascot in 1966 - World Cup Willie.

The names of the 11 English players who played in the 1966 World Cup final can surely be reeled off by every England fan but four others - Callaghan, Connelly, Greaves and Paine - played in earlier matches without making the final 11 while 7 more members of the squad - Armfield, Bonetti, Byrne, Eastham, Flowers, Hunter and Ron Springett - didn't get a kick.

Football On This Day – 4th September 1905
Chelsea played their first match at Stamford Bridge on this day in 1905. Chelsea's early history was a bit unusual. They were elected to the Football League without having kicked a football in anger and didn't play at match of any kind at home until after they had made their debut in the Football League. Their League debut was a 1-0 defeat at Stockport County on September 2nd 1905 and two days later Chelsea played their first match at Stamford Bridge, a 4-0 victory in a friendly against Liverpool. Almost exactly a century later the same two clubs were playing at the same venue in a Champions League semi-final watched live by millions worldwide on something called a television - who would have guessed that in 1905!

Football On This Day – 10th August 2003
Football finally arrived at Manchester City's new home - the City of Manchester Stadium/ Eastlands/Etihad – after its conversation from the stadium that staged the 2002 Commonweath Games. Manchester City’s first match was a friendly against Barcelona with Nicolas Anelka scoring the first goal at the ground in City’s 2-1 victory

First match under Floodlights........

leyton orient

For a club finishing in the bottom half of the Second Division of the Southern League in 1904/05 - they lost one match 13-0 - it is perhaps a little surprising that Clapton Orient should even have applied, let alone successfully applied, to join the Football League. Even more surprising was that their first choice wasn't to join the Football League but to get a place in the First Division of the Southern League.

When thinking of the matches Wembley Stadium has staged thoughts immediately go to the Cup Finals and internationals rather than Clapton Orient in the Third Division (South)! But it happened.

Clapton Orient - now Leyton Orient - moved to their Millfields Road ground in 1900. All was well at the venue - which had a record attendance of 31,400 against Newcastle in 1926 - until 1927 when a greyhound racing syndicate bought the ground from the local council. Relations between the greyhound and football fraternities were soon strained with the O's being banned from using the ground for training or the boardroom on match days. A new ground was needed and this they found just half a mile away at Lea Bridge Road.

The oval-shaped ground had been used for speedway and had a wooden fence around the perimeter. The first League match at the ground was on the afternoon of Thursday September 4th 1930 (no floodlights in those days) with 5505 spectators witnessing them defeat Newport County in Division 3 (South). A couple of months later when the O's had beaten Torquay United 4-0 the visitors complained that the wooden fencing was too close to the pitch and affected their play. As a result the Football League closed the ground for alterations to be made.

While those alterations were being made Clapton Orient played their two home League matches at Wembley Stadium. On Saturday November 22nd 1930 the Third Division South match against Brentford was staged at the famous Stadium and 8319 fans witnessed a 3-0 'home' win. Two weeks later on Saturday December 6th the O's defeated Southend United 3-1 at their temporary home although terrible weather cut the attendance to 1916.

Between those two matches - on Saturday November 29th - a 'home' FA Cup First Round replay against Luton Town was staged at Arsenal's Highbury stadium. An attendance of 8021 witnessed a 4-2 victory for Luton.

With the works at Lea Bridge Road completed Clapton Orient played at that ground until their move to their present Brisbane Road ground. Their last match at Lea Bridge Road was in April 1937 with the O's taking over Brisbane Road from Leyton Amateurs at the start of the following season.

Goals........

The most League goals in a season - and the only time the Hammers have scored a century in a season - was in the Division 2 championship season of 1957/58 when 101 goals were scored. The worst season was the Division 1 relegation season of 1931/32 when 107 League goals were conceded - the only time the Hammers have let in a century of League goals in a season. Thirty one of those goals came in the seven defeats that came in the last seven matches of the season.

Some of the Matches........

The success of the West Ham youth policy over the years can be measured by the 7 FA Youth Cup finals the Hammers have played in - only Manchester and Arsenal have reached more finals (FA Youth Cup Finals). The first final came in 1956/57 when Manchester United's Busby Babes defeated West Ham 8-2 on aggregate, the Hammers including John Lyall and Joe Kirkup in their line-up. Even with Bobby Moore, Jack Burkett and Eddie Bovington in their side their second final appearance, in 1958/59, also ended in an aggregate defeat - 1-2 against Blackburn Rovers. The first success came in 1962/63 when John Sissons, John Charles and Harry Redknapp - yes he was young once - helped West Ham to a 6-5 aggregate victory over Liverpool in the final. In 1974/75 Ipswich defeated West Ham 5-1 on aggregate in the final, the Hammers including Alvin Martin, Geoff Pike and Alan Curbishley who would later between them make over 800 League appearances for the club. Included in the ranks of the team that defeated Tottenham 2-1 over two legs in the 1980/81 final were Paul Allen, Alan Dickens and Bobby Barnes. The 1995/96 final saw Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand up against Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher in the final with Liverpool finishing on top, 4-1 on aggregate. The most recent final was in 1998/99 when Michael Carrick and Joe Cole were members of the team that beat Coventry City in the final, the 9-0 aggregate scoreline being the biggest winning margin in Youth Cup final history.

The Portman Road floodlights had their opening in a friendly match against First Division Arsenal during the 1959/60 season. The £15,000 cost of the floodlights and electrical work at the ground was donated by the Supporters Association with the opening ceremony performed by Lady Blanche Cobbold.

Date: Tuesday February 16th 1960.
Result: Ipswich Town 4 Arsenal 0
Goalscorers: Phillips, Crawford (2), Millward
Attendance: 15,835
Team: Roy Bailey, Larry Carberry, Ken Alcolm, Reg Pickett, Andy Nelson, John Elsworthy, Aled Owen, Doug Millward, Ray Crawford, Ted Phillips, Jimmy Leadbetter.

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West Ham Miscellany

First match under Floodlights........

Goals........

Some of the Matches........

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Two other Englishmen probably also wished that they had a German GCSE between them when they followed England to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. The non-German speakers carefully wrote down the street they had parked their car in before attending one of England's matches. Afterwards they couldn't find their car and were a little surprised at the comical expressions the locals gave when they showed then the piece of paper the road name was written on. Until someone translated it for them - 'one-way street'.

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CARLISLE UNITED

The 1997/98 season saw Carlisle relegated from Division 2 to Division 3 – the fourth tier - while the following season they could hardly have come closer to being relegated to non-league football. With the final whistle about to be blown in their last match of the season – against Plymouth at Brunton Park on May 8th 1999 – Carlisle were drawing but needed a win to finish above Scarborough and retain their League place. With literally seconds left Carlisle goalkeeper Jimmy Glass went upfield for a Carlisle corner - and scored the winning goal to keep Carlisle in the Football League. Jimmy Glass was on loan from Swindon at the time, he only ever played 3 times for Carlisle and yet scored one of the most important goals in the clubs' history - not bad for a goalkeeper!
Link - 1998/99 Division 3 League table

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The 1991/92 season saw Carlisle finish bottom of the Fourth Division, a position which would normally have seen them relegated to the Vauxhall Conference. But in March 1992 Division 4 side Aldershot had been declared bankrupt and were forced to resign from the Football League leaving the division one team short. As a result there was no relegation from the Football League that season with Conference champions Colchester United taking Aldershot’s place and so saving Carlisle from the drop to non-league football.
Link - 1991/92 Division 4 League table

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Carlisle were one of the early clubs to install floodlights, Brunton Park turning on the lights for the first time for a friendly against Blackburn Rovers on 24th February 1953. On 28th November 1955 the second replay of the First Round FA Cup match between Carlisle and Darlington at St James’ Park, Newcastle, was the first time two Football League sides had played an FA Cup tie under floodlights. Darlington won 3-1.
Link - FA Cup results 1955/56
Link - Floodlights

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In January 1949 the 26-year-old Carlisle United player-manager Ivor Broadis hit the national headlines when he transferred himself to Sunderland for £18,000, a mahoosive amount in those days. Less newsworthy at the time was the story about the man who replaced him in the Brunton Park hot-seat – Bill Shankly. The Scot had started his League playing career at Carlisle and this was the start of his managerial career. His stayed at Carlisle until 1951 before moving to Grimsby and then on to Workington, Huddersfield and finally Liverpool.

While both Ivor Broadis and Bill Shankly both played for and managed Carlisle neither seemed particularly impressed with the Brunton Park set-up. Broadis described his move from Spurs to Carlisle as ‘stepping down from the Savoy Hotel into the Jungle Café’ while Shankly described Brunton Park as ‘a glorified hen-coop’.

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Bill Shankly is best remembered for his time at Liverpool but on 31^st December 1932 he started his career in the Football League at Brunton Park when the 19-year-old former coalminer made his League playing debut for Carlisle in the 2-2 Third Division North match against Rochdale. Shankly had been invited to Carlisle for a one-month trial but signed for the club after just one appearance for the reserves – a 6-0 defeat against Middlesbrough Reserves! He made 16 League appearances for Carlisle in the 1932/33 season before moving to Preston North end where he spent the remainder of his playing career.

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Crystal Palace

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Football On This Day – 20th February 1926
Only one club scored more goals than the 4 Crystal Palace scored in the 5th Round of the FA Cup on this day in 1925/26. Sadly for Palace that was the club they were playing that day – Manchester City – who scored 11 in the match at Maine Road. 11-4, now that’s a result!

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Football On This Day - 22nd January 2016
You would think that top footballers might enjoy the perfect lifestyle but in reality they are as human as the rest of us. In a Jeremy Kyle 'celebrity intervention' the former Arsenal and Crystal Palace player, who won 86 England caps, shared his 30 year problem with alcoholism with the watching public. As usual the Jeremy Kyle Show was more about Jeremy Kyle than his guest but I'm sure that everyone wished him - and any every other person inflicted with the same problem - all the best in their battle against it. PICTURE

Eric Cantona was always a controversial player, but he literally went over the top when appearing for Manchester United in a League fixture at Crystal Palace. Sent off for kicking Richard Shaw, on his way back to the changing room he leapt over the barrier and attacked Palace fan Matthew Simmons, who had been using abusive language to the Frenchman, with a two-footed kung-fu type assault.

Manchester United immediately suspended the player for the remainder of the season and fined him the maximum amount they could - two weeks wages (about £20,000). He later appeared before the courts charged with common assault. Found guilty, he was originally sentenced by Croydon Magistrates to two weeks in prison which, on appeal, was reduced to 120 hours community service. An FA Disciplinary hearing also extended his worldwide playing ban to 30th September and fined him a further £10,000.

At the press conference after his prison sentence had been commuted to community service Cantona attempted philosophy with the comments - "When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think that sardines will be thrown into the sea."

And the other consequences of the incident.? The cost to Manchester United was arguably much greater. They lost their Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers by a single point, something which most United fans would agree would not have happened if the mercurial Frenchman had not been out of the side. Paul Ince, who had also been arrested and charged with assault following another incident at the same match was later cleared of threatening behaviour and assaulting a fan. However Matthew Simmons, the Palace fan, was found guilty of provoking the attack and was fined £500 and banned from all football for 12 months. He was also jailed for a week for jumping a bench in court to attack a prosecuting solicitor!

After his 8-month ban Cantona returned to football on 1st October 1995 and scored from the penalty spot in the 2-2 Premier League draw at Old Trafford against Liverpool. He helped United to regain the title that season and to confirm the transition from being l'enfant terrible to the prodigal son he was voted 'Football of the Year' by the Football Writers' Association in April 1996.

Quotes

Eric Cantona on the events at Palace:
"Before that night I was behaving like a child. I was prepared to repeat the same mistake again and again. After it, I realised that was an irresponsible habit I don't think of him (Simmons) much, only that his assault on the lawyer last Thursday speaks for itself."

Alex Ferguson looking back on the same events:
"I don't think any player in the history of football will get the sentence he got unless they had killed Bert Millichip's dog. When someone is doing well we have to knock him down. We don't do it with horses. Red Rum is more loved than anyone I know but he must have lost one race." (Millichip was the FA Chairman)

What Brian Clough had to say:
"I'd have cut his balls off."

What Matthew Simmons said he yelled at Cantona:
"Off you go, Cantona - it's an early shower for you."

Gordon Strachan on the philosophical comments of his former team-mate:
"If a Frenchman goes on about seagulls, trawlers and sardines, he's called a philosopher. I'd just be called a short Scottish bum talking crap."

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Football On This Day - 4th February 2017
When Sunderland beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at Selhurst Park in a vital Premier League relegation encounter there was one particularly relieved player - Sunderland's Jack Rodwell. The midfielder hadn't started a Premier League match that ended in a victory for his side since May 7th 2013. That run had lasted 39 matches - 2 for Manchester City and then all his first 37 League starts for Sunderland. Even then though he suffered a disappointment against Palace - an injury saw him subbed early in the second half.

Football On This Day – 10th February 1975
Southern League Wimbledon played a ‘home’ FA Cup 4th Round replay against League champions Leeds United at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park before a mahoosive 45,071 crowd. After winning at First Division Burnley in the Third Round and drawing at Elland Road in the Fourth the non-leaguers lost by the only goal of the match – an unlucky deflection – in the replay against Leeds. Thirteen years later Wimbledon beat Liverpool in the FA Cup final!

PICTURE

Football On This Day – 20th February 1926
Only one club scored more goals than the 4 Crystal Palace scored in the 5th Round of the FA Cup on this day in 1925/26. Sadly for Palace that was the club they were playing that day – Manchester City – who scored 11 in the match at Maine Road. 11-4, now that’s a result!

Football On This Day – 31st March 1961
The highest 4th tier attendance in England - 37,774 - were present at Sehurst Park for a Good Friday Fourth Division promotion clash between Crystal Palace and Millwall. Millwall won the match 2-0 but Palace went on to win promotion.

Football On This Day – 22nd April 1959
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vic Rouse became the first player from the Fourth Division to win a full international cap. He played for Wales against Northern Ireland in Belfast. The Irish won 4-1 - it was the only cap he won!

Football On This Day – 11th May 1979
The Selhurst Park record crowd was set when 51,801 fans turned up to watch Crystal Palace beat Burnley 2-0 to clinch the Division 2 championship.

Football On This Day - 7th September 1960
This day in 1960 saw Peterborough United play their sixth match in the Football League, against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park with a mahoosive 36,478 attending. Five days later the return League match at London Road was played in front of a 21,171 crowd. Nearly 60,000 watching a new Football League side play two Division 4 matches in a week - that will surely never happen again! (Posh won both matches).

Football On This Day – 12th September 1989
Liverpool had a 9-0 home League victory over Crystal Palace with 8 different players scoring the goals. Despite that scoreline Liverpool scored more goals away from home than they did at Anfield in achieving their 18th League title that season. Liverpool did the League double over Palace that season but the Londoners did record a memorable cup victory over the Merseysiders in 1989/90 - beating Liverpool 4-3 in the FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park to reach their first FA Cup Final.

Football On This Day – 21st September 1985
Charlton Athletic beat Stoke 2-0 in front of an 8,858 crowd who witnessed the clubs' last match before a period of exile from their home ground, The Valley. Money problems, sadly. There were ground-shares with Crystal Palace and West Ham before Charlton finally returned home in 1992.

Football On This Day – 24th September 1991
Arsenal paid Crystal Palace £2.5m for forward Ian Wright with many doubting the wisdom of paying a then club record fee for a player not far off his 28th birthday. But Wrighty scored a hat-trick on his Arsenal League debut and went on to score 185 goals in 288 first team appearances, a Gunners record until Thierry Henry came along.

Football On This Day – 8th November 1996
Steve Coppell left Crystal Palace to make over as manager of First Division Manchester City in October 1996 but after only 33 days and six matches as boss he resigned the Maine Road job because of stress. His assistant Phil Neal became caretaker manager.

Football On This Day – 18th November 1905
In their first season in the Football League Chelsea were forced to play in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup. The fixture congestion that caused saw the Londoners have to play two matches in one day. On 18th November 1905 Chelsea's first team beat Burnley 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Second Division while their reserves lost 7-1 at Southern League Crystal Palace in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. That is still the worst defeat suffered by a League side against a non-league team in the FA Cup.

Derby County's programme cover for the Premier League match against Wimbledon on Wednesday August 13th 1997 proudly announced that it was the first League match at their newly-opened Pride Park ground. But pride turned to embarrassment when the floodlights failed after 11 minutes of the second half when Wimbledon were leading 2-1. Ref Uriah Rennie abandoned the match half an hour later after attempts to resolve the problem proved unsuccessful. Derby Vice-Chairman Peter Gadsby said: 'We had 11 maintenance people on duty including six electricians but nobody has yet worked out why both generators failed. There was a bang of such strength that it fused them both.'

Three months later, on November 3rd 1997, another Premier match suffered an abandonment because of floodlight failure. The Monday night televised match between West Ham and Crystal Palace went dark immediately after Frank Lampard's 65th minute goal for the Hammers which had made the score 2-2. Again attempts to restart the match failed and ref David Elleray was forced to abandon the fixture. West Ham managing director Peter Storrie said 'The floodlights at the south end contracted a fault which was impossible to find in the timescale. As this end controls the floodlights for both ends of the ground, this is why the whole system went down.'

Amazingly the following month the same happened again. At Selhurst Park on Monday December 22nd 1997 a failure of the switch gear controlling the ground's power supply seconds into the second half of the Premier League match between Wimbledon and Arsenal caused a blackout. Engineers managed to briefly restore power but the supply failed again before play restarted forcing ref Dermot Gallagher to abandon the televised match with the score 0-0.

Wimbledon owner Sam Hammam commented on the three abandonments 'This shouldn't be happening. Once was bad enough, the second wasn't pretty, and this is getting near a disaster. Unless we stop it there will be shame on the game. We are all embarrassed by it.' Foul play was suspected but police could find no evidence of wrong-doing. Until February of 1999 that is.

Police were made aware of an attempt to install a remote control device which would have interfered with the floodlights at the Charlton v Liverpool Premier League match at the Valley on February 13th 1999. An investigation concluded that a Malaysian-betting syndicate was behind the floodlight failures at West Ham and Wimbledon and the incident at Charlton - but could find no link with the problem at Pride Park. Betting on Premier League matches is big business in Asia and unlike in Britain, where bets on the result of an abandoned match are void, in Asia the score stands in matches that survive to the second half before being abandoned. So there was a potential profit of millions of pounds if a match could be ended in the second half when there was a favourable scoreline for floodlight saboteurs. Wai Yuen Liu, Eng Hwa Lim and Chee Kew Ong plus Charlton security supervisor Roger Firth were all found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and jailed. And from then on floodlights became a bit more reliable!

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Another favourite day for conceding double figures is the first away League match of the season. Stoke, Burnley, Rotherham and Northampton have all let in 10 or more in their first away League match of the season and Torquay (twice) and Crystal Palace have suffered the same in their second away League match of the season.

1946/47

see cp result

Matches between Crystal Palace and Brighton are always passionate affairs and perhaps none more so that when they played each other at Selhurst Park on Easter Monday (March 27th) in 1989. At the time Palace were fighting for promotion from the old Division 2 while Brighton were battling to remain in the division but it was referee Kelvin Morton whose performance was best remembered by send off one player, booking five more and awarding a record five penalties in just 27 minutes of play.

Mark Bright scored the first to give Palace a 2-0 lead against 10-man Brighton, but missed the second when Brighton 'keeper John Keeley saved. Just five minutes after being awarded their first penalty they are awarded their third, this time Ian Wright hit the post with his effort.

Shortly after the second half kicked off Brighton were awarded a penalty - Alan Curbishley scored - followed shortly after by another one for Palace - John Pemberton sending his effort into row Z.

Palace eventually won 2-1 - and were promoted to the top flight via the play-offs - and Brighton were to keep their place in Division 2.

The attendances in the Third Division of the Scottish League for Saturday August 18th 2012 proved interesting reading - 512 (at Annan Athletic), 401 (Clyde), 631 (Elgin City), 498 (Queen's Park) and 49,118 at Rangers for their match against East Stirlingshire. It was the first League match that the new Rangers had played at Ibrox in their new lowly surroundings and set a new world record attendance for a match in the fourth tier of a League competition. The previous record was set in England on 31st March 1961 when 37,774 were present at Selhurst Park for a Crystal Palace v Millwall Football League Fourth Division fixture.

The Selhurst Park faithful had a new chant at the start of the 2004/05 Premier League season - 'There's only one h in Palace'. Amazingly Diadora - Palace's shirt manufacturer - had supplied the club with a batch of shirts with a badge that had the club name printed as Chrystal Palace! They did well on ebay!

It is more normal to 'drop the aitch' and that is what happened on the shirt that David Beckham wore at Wembley for the 1997 Charity Shield match against Chelsea. His name was spelt Beckam! Beckam - sorry Beckham - said 'I thought the lads were winding me up. Then I saw it for myself. It was too late to do anything about it, so we all had a laugh instead.'