| Is Chris Maguire's goal the way forward for Scotland against Spain? • Chris Maguire strikes from halfway line against Iceland• Scotland lose 2-1 and miss out on place in under-21 finalsPilloried by the press for starting Scotland's 1-0 defeat to Czech Republic with a 4-6-0 formation, Craig Levein may need his players to study the wondergoal scored by Chris Maguire for the Under-21s against Iceland if his side hope to get anywhere near Spain's goal tonight.Immediately after the former Reading player Gilfi Sigurdsson had given Iceland the lead at Easter Road in the 75th minute, the Aberdeen forward Maguire took one touch after kick-off before sending a perfectly weighted shot high into the net to equalise.It was not enough for the Scots to make it into the European Under-21 Championship finals next summer, as soon afterwards they conceded a second goal and lost 4-2 on aggregate.It is doubtful that Iker Casillas will be so easily caught out of position at Hampden Park – and also whether Levein's team will have a striker out there capable of such a feat.ScotlandEuropean Under-21 ChampionshipGregg Roughleyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Liverpool future unclear amid court case, new bids A British judge will rule Wednesday on a key issue in the battle for ownership of Liverpool. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Which club started the most managers? Plus: Top-flight first XIs without internationals; Feyenoord: 10-goal record-breakers? and beers named after footballers. Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk and follow us on Twitter"While pondering the former players from my club – Queen's Park – who hold current managerial positions with British senior clubs (as you do), I realised that all six I had come up with not only played for Queen's but actually started their senior playing career there," writes Alistair Murdoch. "Can any other club claim to have started so many current managers on their footballing career? Incidentally the six are Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Malky Mackay (Watford), Alan Irvine (Sheffield Wednesday), Ian McCall (Partick Thistle), Kenny Brannigan (Queen of the South), Jimmy Boyle (Airdrie United)."Of the 87 league clubs south of the border Manchester United lead the way with five managers – Billy Davies (Nottingham Forest), Sammy McIlroy (Morecambe), Mark Robins (Barnsley), Darren Ferguson (Preston) and Mark Hughes (Fulham) – beginning their playing careers at Old Trafford. Next up is Southampton with four – Paul Tisdale (Exeter City), Alan Knill (Bury), Phil Parkinson (Charlton) and Keith Millen (Bristol City), while three – Ferguson, Mackay, Irvine – began their playing careers at Queen's Park.Twelve other teams set two managers on the road to success – Bristol Rovers (Ian Holloway and Tony Pulis), QPR (Gary Waddock and Graham Westley), Bolton Wanderers (Peter Reid and Sam Allardyce), Sheffield United (Chris Wilder and Micky Adams), Leeds United (Gary Speed and Simon Grayson), Chelsea (Chris Hutchings and Terry Skiverton), Manchester City (Paul Simpson and John Sheridan), Tranmere Rovers (Nigel Adkins and Ronnie Moore), Tottenham Hotspur (Mark Stimson and Chris Hughton), Birmingham City (Mark Yates and Kevin Dillon), Arsenal (Paul Dickov and Brian McDermott) and Southend United (Steve Tilson and Peter Taylor).In Scotland nods are due to Greenock Morton and Dundee United, both of whom have produced current Scottish league managers. Jimmy Nicholl's presence at Cowdenbeath would suggest that Queen's Park's efforts are equalled by the giants from Manchester, but one man was missed out in Alistair's question – John O'Neill, manager of Stirling Albion, also cut his playing teeth at Hampden Park, meaning the Spiders have a grand total of seven managers in positions across the English and Scottish leagues.FIRST XIs WITHOUT INTERNATIONALS"What is the last English top-flight club to put out a team without a single full international on the team or on the substitutes bench?" wonders Padraig McAuliffe.An easy one this. In May 2006, with the Uefa Cup final against Sevilla a few days away, Steve McClaren fielded a team with an average of 20 against Fulham at Craven Cottage.The Boro line-up was: Turnbull, Davies, Bates, Wheater, Taylor, Morrison, Cattermole, Kennedy, Johnson, Graham, Christie. Substitutes: Cooper, Craddock, Walker, Knight, McMahon. James Morrison became the first of that number to receive an international call-up when he was named in the Scotland squad for a friendly against South Africa in August 2007.FEYENOORD: 10-GOAL RECORD-BREAKERS?"In the light of Feyenoord's 10-0 defeat to PSV at the weekend, when was the last time a European Cup-winning side conceded double figures?" ponders Rich Symes.The Rotterdam side, winners in 1969-70, joined a rather exclusive group with that humiliation at the hands of PSV, possibly even a group all of their own. The vast majority of European Cup and Champions League winning sides have never shipped 10 times in one match – only three sides had done so before Sunday, although, unlike the Dutchmen, they had not been European champions at the time.Barcelona were hammered 12-1 by Athletic Club (later Athletic Bilbao) in February 1931, Porto were pummelled 12-2 by Benfica in February 1943, and Dortmund were on the wrong end of an 11-1 against Bayern Munich in November 1971, when Gerd Müller scored four, Uli Hoeneß bagged a brace and even Franz Beckenbauer got his name on the scoresheet.KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE"A litre bottle of a certain beer is known as a 'Drogba' in the Ivory Coast, on account of it being big and strong," wrote Nathan Maddison in 2007. "Have any other footballers lent their name to food or drink?"They sure have, Nathan, and some are more obscure than others. Take the 'Andy Porter', brewed briefly during the late 1990s by the Titanic Brewery in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in honour of the eponymous Port Vale midfielder who made 357 appearances for the club between 1987 and 1998. By the time he retired in 2006, the Andy Porter was no more. When the Knowledge called Titanic to find out what happened to this 5% ale, we were told "it was a one-off for one person". Andy Porter, presumably.Mart Poom may be the only goalkeeper to have a beer named after him. Poominator Ale is thought to derive from commentary by Simon Crabtree on Metro Radio in the north-east after Poom equalised in the last minute of Sunderland's Championship game against Derby at Pride Park in September 2003. The words, "It's the Poominator. He'll be back" appear to have inspired one listener to brew the beer. "I don't drink beer," Poom said, "but it was a nice gesture and meant I had some presents for my friends."Jonny Lentoni alerts us to the brief existence of the Chimblonda ale at a Wigan beer festival. According to the Campaign for Real Ale's website (Wigan branch), the Chimblonda, named in honour of Pascal Chimbonda, cost £2 a pint, clocked in at 4.3%, and was a "new beer from Wigan's brewery, brewed specially for the festival. A very pale beer using Challenger and Cascade hops".Mark McManus in Johannesburg writes in with an example of a beer – spotted a theme yet? – that took its name from a team. The Egyptian side Zamalek sport a red and black badge that matches the colours of Carling Black Label. "The beer was launched around the same time as Zamalek played a local team here," says Mark. Thus, if you want a Carling Black Label in South Africa, ask instead for a Zamalek.And what about a player named after a beer? John Jensen, the former Denmark and Arsenal midfielder, was thought to have played for his country with his nickname "Faxe" emblazoned across his back. Faxe, needless to say, was a Danish lager.As far as food goes, Luke Jackson points out that Walkers temporarily called two of their crisp flavours "Salt and Lineker" and "Cheese and Owen", but the word on the street in Liverpool is that sustenance of a less family-orientated kind became known during the 1990s as "Garys". According to one reader, who for the sake of his career shall remain nameless, ecstasy tablets on Merseyside at the time owed their nickname to a piece of rhyming slang derived from the former Liverpool defender Gary Ablett.For thousands more questions and answers take a trip through the Knowledge archiveCan you help?"I was reading that Yoan Gouffran is allergic to grass, are there any other more unfortunate allergies or phobias that either players or managers complain of?" wonders Harry Bronsdon."It seems Andy Legg won't ever quit," writes Kai Helge Aalhus. "On Sunday at the respectable age of 44 he played in Llanelli's 1-1 draw at home to Airbus UK in the Welsh Premier League. He has featured in seven of Llanelli's 11 matches so far this season. Is Andy the oldest active professional player in Britain?""At the time of writing, Rangers are 2,500-1 to win all their SPL games this season," writes Adam Timms. "Has a team in a professional league ever accomplished this feat?""I was wondering," writes Robert Sleigh, "what was the highest ever attendance at a reserve game?""Peter Hartley and James Poole were both on the pitch at the Vic for the home side as Hartlepool drew with Bristol Rovers at the weekend," notes Will Langley. "Has this phonetic miracle ever occurred before?"Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.ukQueen's ParkJohn Ashdownguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Gérard Houllier implores Aston Villa players to avoid alcohol and nightclubs Gérard Houllier has warned his Aston Villa players there is no place for nightclubs and alcohol in a modern footballer's life. telegraph.co.uk |
Old Firm ref's family threatened The referee in a stormy Old Firm clash receives threatening phone calls after awarding a controversial penalty to Rangers. foxsports.com.au |