Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is back for the new season and will be here offering you statistical gems for the remainder of the campaign.

Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts are here to answer your questions and queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.

It could be on a side in the Premier League or Football League, international scene or European competitions - or it could be about an individual player or manager.

If you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email here and Martin will do his best to answer.

Or use the feedback form at the bottom of the page....

Tyler's Starting Stat - The Chronicles of Ninian

I'm off, with the rest of the Sky Sports crew to Ninian Park - the venue for my first England commentary - on Friday to see England Under-21's take on Wales Under-21's in a play-off for the European Championships, in Sweden next summer. James Milner will be making the pre-match headlines no doubt because he is already England's record Under-21 appearance maker with 38 to his name and if he plays in both play-off legs, will of course hit the 40-mark. If England win as well and make it to the finals it will mark more than five years as an Under-21 player for the Aston Villa man, a remarkable achievement. Scott Carson is currently second on the list with 29 appearances, but is too old now, and if Tom Huddlestone plays both legs he will overtake the West Brom keeper with 30 caps. Jamie Carragher and Gareth Barry have 27 to their name but if Steven Taylor plays both legs, he will overtake both of them and move on to 28 games. Wales of course have never been to a major championships at any level since the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden. Funnily enough, winners Brazil embarked on a 25th anniversary tour of their World Cup win by playing Wales en route to Sweden in 1983, a game I was lucky enough to commentate on. The game, which included the likes of Zico, Socrates, et al ended 1-1 with the Welsh goal scored by none other than Bryan Flynn, who is in course in charge of the young Welsh side on Friday! I am delighted to say I will be handing over to Bryan a special DVD of the game.

OPEN THE FLOODGATES
Martin, I know we are going spend the next few days being told there are no easy games in international football, but surely they don't come easier than Kazakhstan! I was wondering what England's biggest-ever win was? Dave Byrd
MARTIN SAYS: I am not sure we are going to see anything like England's record score over the next week Dave, because it actually stands at 13-0. They have achieved that twice, both times against poor old Ireland, although both way back in the 19th century. The first came in 1882 and then the feat was repeated 17 years later in 1899. They have also beaten Austria 11-1 in 1908 but in terms of post-war scores, the best is 10-0, recorded against the USA in 1964 and Portugal in 1947. Neither of those were competitive games so perhaps the best gauge here is England's record win in competition, which stands at 9-0. As with Ireland, both those wins came against the same opposition in the shape of Luxembourg, in 1960 in a World Cup qualifier and 1982, in a European Championship qualifier. I was actually commentating on that game at the old Wembley when Luther Blissett scored a hat-trick - his only goals in 14 England appearances - and Tony Woodcock, Steve Coppell, Glenn Hoddle, Mark Chamberlain, Phil Neal and an own goal racked up the impressive margin. Like I say Dave, whether or not there are any easy games any more, I very much doubt we'll see the same against either Kazakstan or Belarus.

GUNNING FOR GOALS
Who was the last Arsenal player to score for England before Theo Walcott's hat-trick? I think it was either Ian Wright, Paul Merson or maybe even Tony Adams, but can't for the life of me work out who? Anne-Marie Johnson
MARTIN SAYS: I can start off Anne-Marie by telling you that there have been 54 Arsenal players to have pulled on an England shirt during their time with the club, but of course young Theo Walcott is the latest. His hat-trick in Zagreb made plenty of headlines and set several new statistical records and was in fact the first England goal by a Gunner for over five years. The last Arsenal man to score for England was in fact the 'fox in the box' himself Francis Jeffers, who scored on his one and only full England appearance against Australia on February 12, 2003. Funnily enough Jeffers was a little more prolific at Under-21 level and is in fact the last player to score an England hat-trick for the side, against Moldova at Reading, back in October 2002.

BANK ON STEVEN AND FRANK
Martin, I was just wondering, have Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard ever scored in the same England game? Mark Scully
MARTIN SAYS: That's a good question Mark, because - as you can see below - a lot is always made of Messrs Lampard and Gerrard in midfield but goals rarely seem to come up, especially in the same game. Maybe because in the 40 times they have started for England together they have only found the net ONCE in the same match. That came back in September 2004 in a World Cup qualifier against Austria in Vienna, when Lampard put England ahead before Gerrard made it 2-0. Austria though, fought back on a night that David James might wish to remember, to make it 2-2 and ensure that while the game was a unique experience, it wasn't a winning one for the England duo.

STEVEN AND FRANK IN THE TANK
Apparently Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are going to be given another go in midfield in at least one of the next two games, but I was wondering, how England actually do with them two alongside each other in midfield? Do you have England's record with them in the side? Will Bennett
MARTIN SAYS: My trusty team of helpers at Skysports.com have been on the case and have come up with just the stats you are looking for. I can also offer you their individual breakdowns, to see how it all adds up. Basically, the pair have appeared, in the starting line-up or otherwise a total of 40 times and of those games England have gone on to win 24, at a success rate of 60 per cent. Individually, Frank Lampard has 64 caps for England and 36 of those have been winning appearances at a rate of 56 per cent, while Gerrard's 68 England caps have brought 44 victories at a rate of 64.7 per cent. The other man currently vying for a central midfield berth is Gareth Barry who has 23 England caps to his name so far, with 13 victories and a success rate of 57 per cent, slightly higher than Lampard, but lower than Gerrard. It's all a little confusing when written down, so maybe a table will help.

SORRY, I DON'T THINK WE'VE MET...
Martin, I read that we have not played Kazakhstan and Belarus before, but are there any other European nations left who England haven't played? Claire Southerton

MARTIN SAYS: It is pretty hard keeping track of the emerging footballing nations these days Claire, I have to admit, but the best way to do it is to run through the European qualifying groups for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Doing that, I can tell you that there are eight sides England are yet to come up against in Europe, excluding the Ukraine, who they have played in a friendly. Those eight are, in no particular, Latvia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia, Lithuania, the Faroe Islands, Serbia and Montenegro, who are now separate nations, but did play England when they were one nation back in June 2003 in a friendly at the Walker's Stadium, Leicester, which England won 2-1 with goals from Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole.

OWEN v THE OTHERS
Martin I was shocked to see Michael Owen left out of the England squad again! Surely he has the best goals-per-game ratio of any of the current England strikers and more goals than all of Crouch, Heskey, Walcott, Defoe and Rooney put together come to that. Please prove me right, I have been telling anyone that would listen that he is better than the others put together! Matty Walton
MARTIN SAYS: I have to say Matty, Theo Waclott is essentially an attacking player or midfielder and not strictly a striker, but given his hat-trick and the fact that you have included him, suggests I should include him with 'the rest' as it were. Michael Owen's England scoring record is 40 goals in 89 caps which is a rate of 0.45 goals per game, whereas the other's combined tally is 42 goals in 156 games at a strike rate of 0.27 goals per game. So in one instant you are right Matty, but when it comes to having scored more than his peers put together you are wrong - by two goals! Also, Michael doesn't even have the best stats in terms of goals-per-game individually. Admittedly, Walcott has only made four appearances but that hat-trick gives him a ratio of 0.75 goals a game, but perhaps more impressive is Peter Crouch's strike rate. The Portsmouth striker has scored 14 goals in 28 appearances, which of course tallies up at 0.50 goals per appearance. Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey have all had longer international careers, but don't really come close to any of the three I have mentioned. Just for the record, here are those six strikers and their England records.

BACK IN THE USSR
Hi Martin, England usually get the same names in qualifying competitions, but as we are playing Kazakhstan and Belarus me and my mates in the boozer were wondering how we have done against nations from the old Soviet Union? I was no good at geography and even worse at remembering football stats, so thought you might be the man to help me! Robert Newman MARTIN SAYS: Since the break up of the USSR, or the Soviet Union in the early nineties, England have played 12 games against former Soviet states. That tally includes World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia, Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia and friendlies against the Ukraine. The omens for the games against Kazakhstan and Belarus this week are fairly good because until last year's 2-1 defeat to Russia on the artificial pitch in Moscow, England boasted a 100 per cent record against post Soviet States and in fact had not even conceded a goal. The goals in that 2-1 defeat both came from Tottenham's Roman Pavlyuchenko, but that aside England's record against was indeed, perfect. In total though they have Played 12, Won 11, Drawn 0, Lost 1, Scored 29, Conceded 2. I hope that has answered an unusual question Robert!

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