“My team, Bristol City, are on the verge of a trip to Wembley for the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final this season,” Will Jones writes. “I’m pleased because, when we got relegated, one of my consolations was that getting to Wembley seems to be easier in the lower divisions. Given this, and given that most Premier League/Championship clubs have been there for a final at some stage in their existence, I wondered whether any of the 92 league teams have never played at Wembley? And a second question – which side is currently enduring the longest wait since their most recent appearance?”
Two questions, Will? A bit cheeky. But we’ll let it ride. You’ve never been to Wembley, after all, it’s understandable that you’re in an excitable mood at the moment.
And here’s a straightforward answer to your first question: only four current Football League clubs have never made it to Wembley and they are Accrington Stanley, Crawley Town, Hartlepool United and Walsall. But that might change soon, because Walsall are on the verge of making their first visit to the home of English football this season, having won the first leg of their Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Area semi-final 2-0 away at Preston North End. Will’s Bristol City are their likely opponents in the final, assuming that they can push home a 4-2 advantage from the first leg of their semi against Gillingham.
As for those who have been to Wembley already, the club who have had to wait the longest for another appearance are Fulham. Their last trip there was in 1975 when they were beaten 2-0 by West Ham United in the FA Cup final.
THREE UNITEDS
“While shooting the proverbial, a mate of mine raised an interesting point (28 November 2014),” wrote Daniel Jackson last month. “As of today, the Premier League table reads: 4) Manchester United; 5) Newcastle United; 6) West Ham United. Is this the highest that all three ‘Uniteds’ have sat at any given time? Has there been another occasion were all three were positioned in the top six?”
And help is at hand at long last, from Tom Thorby. “The state of the positions of Manchester, West Ham and Newcastle Uniteds of 4th, 5th and 6th on 28 November 2014 gives an average position of 5,” Tom says. “However, on 1 December 1985, the positions of the sides were an average of 4.33 with Manchester United 1st, West Ham 3rd and Newcastle 9th. This was the best average position of the season as Liverpool and Everton eventually finished 1st and 2nd, pushing the Uniteds’ average down to 6. I cannot find a higher average than 4.33 for these three sides over the seasons.
“In terms of lowest positional average in the top division, in 1977-78 the league finished with Manchester United 10th and West Ham and Newcastle both relegated, finishing 21st and 22nd, giving an average position of 17, and the 1974 season where Manchester United were relegated in 21st, Newcastle finished in 15th and West Ham 18th.
“While the question is referring to West Ham United, if they are replaced by Leeds United then on 18 December 1993 there were three Uniteds in the top 6 as Manchester were 1st, Newcastle 2nd and Leeds 4th. This gives an average position of 2.33. At the end of the 1993-94 season, Manchester United finished 1st, Newcastle United 3rd and Leeds United 5th, giving an average of 3 which appears to be the highest average of any Uniteds in the English top division.”
LOWEST SCORING HIGHEST SCORERS (2)
Last week’s edition looked at the lowest number of goals scored by the top goalscorer in a league-winning side. But there’s more …
Andrew Amor has one more. Over to you, Andrew: “Cardiff City won the Championship in 2013 despite our leading goalscorers, Peter Whittingham, Heider Helguson and Aron Gunnarsson, scoring only eight league goals each,” he notes. “Despite this we still finished with the league’s joint-best goal difference and were third top scorers, proving that double-digit strikers are overrated.” Presumably that’s Adam Le Fondre’s excuse now.
KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE
“I vaguely remember waking up on Boxing Day morning a couple of years ago (with a massive hangover) and seeing a caption on Football Focus with an old list of Boxing Day fixtures and an awful lot of goals. Was it something to do with the DTs or did this really happen?” asked Ken Davro in 2000.
We’re not doctors, so our lawyers have advised us to make no comment about the floating spots in front of your eyes. But we can help you with the Boxing Day thing. On 26 December 1963, an amazing 66 goals were scored in the old First Division, leaving some teams wishing there had been a repeat of the previous season’s Big Freeze (which had wiped out nearly all the football between Boxing Day and March). Here are the classifieds:
Blackpool 1-5 Chelsea
Burnley 6-1 Man Utd
Fulham 10-1 Ipswich
Leicester 2-0 Everton
Liverpool 6-1 Stoke
Nottm Forest 3-3 Sheff Utd
WBA 4-4 Tottenham
Sheff Wed 3-0 Bolton
Wolves 3-3 Aston Villa
West Ham 2-8 Blackburn
If that wasn’t weird enough, the results two days later – when many of the teams played the “return leg” – beggar belief. West Ham, who had lost 8-2 at home to Blackburn, won 3-1 at Ewood Park. Manchester United, fresh from a 6-1 thrashing at Burnley, turned the tables at Old Trafford with a 5-1 win. And poor Ipswich, who had clearly been on the Christmas Day pop, avenged their 10-1 defeat by Fulham with a 4-2 victory over the Cottagers at Portman Road. Much good the two points did them, mind you: they finished bottom.
CAN YOU HELP?
“What is the longest period for which only one player has scored for a club?” muses Michael Brown.
“Recently, Burnley made all three substitutions against Newcastle in the first 37 minutes,” observes Peter Goldstein. “What’s the record for the earliest three substitutions?”
“Which team has successfully negotiated the most number of rounds on a single run in the FA Cup, or any cup competition,” wonders Chris Lloyd.
“Who holds the record for the most unused substitute appearances in the Premier League?” tweets John Briggs.
“If we define the promotion score of a manager as (# of promotions) minus (# of relegations), who has the highest promotion score?” muses Taufiq Akbari Utomo.
• Send your questions and answers to the lovely people at knowledge@theguardian.com.
