Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here!
Every week he will be here to offer you statistical gems to make your day, impress your mates and, on occasion, to settle the odd bet.
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.
Drogba & Rooney: goal records investigated
If you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email here and he will do his best to help.
Tyler's Starting Stat - Munich misery
After defeat in Munich, Manchester United know that in order to progress they must beat Bayern for what would only be the second time in the Champions League. As I'm sure you all know, the first occasion was the 1999 final in Barcelona, a game which was almost a mirror image of Tuesday night's match. That famous win was United's only success in eight attempts against Bayern Munich.
Wayne Rooney scored his 20th goal in 52 Champions League appearances and took his tally to five in this season's knockout stage. He now has 34 from 40 games this season and we are all holding our breaths to find out when he'll add to that total.
Edwin van der Sar could be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu after Ivica Olic's winning goal. The same player scored past him in November 2002 when he was playing for Fulham in a Uefa Cup game against Dynamo Zagreb.
The result also meant United missed their chance to equal a Champions League record of seven consecutive away wins. That record is still held by Ajax (1995 to 1997) when Louis van Gaal was the coach - so he has protected his own record.
The defeat also ended United's run of 17 unbeaten away games in the Champions League. The last time was the 2007 semi-final against AC Milan - and coincidentally the referee that day was Frank de Bleeckere who officiated Tuesday night's game.
SEVEN AND HELL
Martin. Like me, I'm sure you're staggered that Chelsea put seven goals past a team as strong as Aston Villa. A few of my friends were wondering if a team placed that high in the league has ever let in seven goals or more before. I remember Ipswich letting in nine and Wigan doing the same earlier this season, but they were bottom-half teams, not top-half teams. Luke, Sunderland.
MARTIN SAYS: Aston Villa were the 24th team to concede seven goals or more in a Premier League match, but according to our friends at Opta only two teams were positioned higher when those thrashings occurred.
Villa were seventh going into Saturday's game, but back in May 2005 Everton were sitting in fourth place when they were beaten 7-0 by Arsenal. The good news for them was they still held onto that fourth spot until the end of the season.
Even more remarkably, a team sitting top of the Premier League conceded seven goals in October 1992. Norwich City were leading the Premier League in the very first season when they were beaten 7-1 at second-placed Blackburn Rovers.
Here you can see the 24 teams that have conceded seven goals and where they were in the Premier League at the time.
| Date | Result | Position at time of defeat |
| 3rd October 1992 | Blackburn 7-1 Norwich | 1st |
| 12th March 1994 | Newcastle 7-1 Swindon | 22nd |
| 11th February 1995 | Aston Villa 7-1 Wimbledon | 9th |
| 4th March 1995 | Man Utd 9-0 Ipswich | 21st |
| 1st April 1995 | Sheffield Wed 1-7 Notts Forest | 10th |
| 18th November 1995 | Blackburn 7-0 Notts Forest | 14th |
| 16th November 1996 | Everton 7-1 Southampton | 14th |
| 28th December 1996 | Newcastle 7-1 Tottenham | 9th |
| 25th August 1997 | Blackburn 7-2 Sheff Wed | 17th |
| 25th October 1997 | Man Utd 7-0 Barnsley | 18th |
| 16th January 1999 | Liverpool 7-1 Southampton | 18th |
| 6th February 1999 | Notts Forest 1-8 Man Utd | 20th |
| 19th September 1999 | Newcastle 8-0 Sheff Wed | 20th |
| 11th March 2000 | Tottenham 7-2 Southampton | 15th |
| 1st April 2000 | Man Utd 7-1 West Ham | 8th |
| 14th October 2001 | Blackburn 7-1 West Ham | 18th |
| 11th May 2005 | Arsenal 7-0 Everton | 4th |
| 14th January 2006 | Arsenal 7-0 Middlesbrough | 16th |
| 29th September 2007 | Portsmouth 7-4 Reading | 16th |
| 24th November 2007 | Everton 7-1 Sunderland | 16th |
| 11th May 2008 | Middlesbrough 8-1 Man City | 9th |
| 22nd November 2009 | Tottenham 9-1 Wigan | 14th |
| 16th January 2010 | Chelsea 7-2 Sunderland | 11th |
| 27th March 2010 | Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa | 7th |
MAIN MINUTE MEN
Hi. I love your column; it's what I look forward to each week. So keep up the great work. I am a Liverpool fan (so obviously will have a biased opinion) and even though Rooney is scoring goals for fun this season I still think Torres is a far better player and a more complete striker. Torres has been injured most of the season but every time he comes back he starts scoring goals like he's never been away - as can be seen with him averaging almost a goal a game. So my question is who has the better goals-minutes ratio for this season? I'm guessing it will be close as Rooney has played 90minutes in most of the games whereas Torres has made a few cameo appearances for few minutes in games. Thanks a lot. And I really hope this makes the website (it would settle a few debates). Cheers. Saqlain Hussain
MARTIN SAYS: Well Saqlain, given the recent clash between Man Utd and Liverpool there has been a lot of debate about this, so it's probably a good time to settle the dispute - statistically at least. The Premier League website details how many minutes each players have played, but please note a full game is classed as 90 minutes - injury time is not included.
According to these figures, Fernando Torres has played 831 minutes less than Wayne Rooney. However it appears to be the Spaniard who has made slightly better use of his time on the pitch:
Torres: 18 goals in 1,641 minutes = 91.7 minutes per goal
Rooney: 26 goals in 2,472 minutes = 95.1 minutes per goal
As a point of comparison, here are the minutes-per-goal ratios for the other players to have scored 10 or more goals in the Premier League this season. As you can see, Didier Drogba is the next most impressive marksman, scoring once every 96 minutes. I think any striker would be happy with just over a game per goal!
Drogba: 95.8 minutes per goal
Tevez: 122.1
Defoe: 123.6
Berbatov: 139.7
Bent: 142.9
Fabregas: 145.9
Saha: 148.2
Lampard: 157.5
Malouda: 166.3
Agbonlahor: 224.6
Arsenal fans may be interested to hear that Robin van Persie's seven goals equated to 136.9 minutes per goal before his injury.
APRIL RULES DAY
Hi Martin, terrific column as always. I was in the pub on Sunday and me and my friend were wondering after Man United's win against Bolton on Saturday they will be top of the league going into April. How many times have United gone on to win the EPL being top going into April under Sir Alex Ferguson? Thanks for your time. Cheers. Russell Tyler (West Ham fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Manchester United have been top of the Premier League on April 1 on 10 occasions - and on nine occasions they went on to win the title. The exception was the 1997/98 season when Arsenal came from second at the start of April to take the title. They were three points behind United with two games in hand on April 1.
In fact, during a 38-game Premier League season there is only one other occasion when the team that was top on April Fool's Day didn't go on to win the league. That occasion also involved Arsenal and Manchester United. In 2002/03, Arsenal were top on April 1, but second-placed United overtook them to take the title.
In the very first Premier League season, played over 42 games, Norwich City were top on April 1 but finished third by the end of the campaign with Manchester United taking the trophy.
| Season | Top on April 1st | Champions |
| 2008/09 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 2007/08 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 2006/07 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 2005/06 | Chelsea | Chelsea |
| 2004/05 | Chelsea | Chelsea |
| 2003/04 | Arsenal | Arsenal |
| 2002/03 | Arsenal | Man Utd |
| 2001/02 | Arsenal | Arsenal |
| 2000/01 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 1999/00 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 1998/99 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 1997/98 | Man Utd | Arsenal |
| 1996/97 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 1995/96 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 1994/95 | Blackburn | Blackburn |
| 1993/94 | Man Utd | Man Utd |
| 1992/93 | Norwich | Man Utd |
GREAT AGAINST EIGHT
Darren Bent's form is pressing his claims for a World Cup spot. But do his goals come against weaker opposition? Who are the Top Scorers in the Premier League against the (current) top eight teams - Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa & Everton?? Thanks, Geoff.
MARTIN SAYS: The man who has scored the most goals against the top eight is a man playing for one of the top eight. That man is Didier Drogba, who has hit eight goals against Chelsea's top eight rivals this season (against Arsenal (4), Everton (2), Spurs and Villa). He will be looking to add to that tally at Old Trafford on Saturday - and at Anfield too - and of course he didn't play any part in the 7-1 win against Villa!
The player you mention, Darren Bent, is joint second on the list with six goals. He has scored against Chelsea (2), Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton this season - so I don't think you could say he only scores against weaker opposition. Craig Bellamy, Frank Lampard and Louis Saha have also hit six goals against top eight sides - that's more than the Premier League's top scorer Wayne Rooney.
Top scorers against the current top eight sides:
EIGHT: Drogba
SIX: Bent, Bellamy, Lampard, Saha
FIVE: Rooney, Fabregas, Kuyt
FOUR: Torres, Malouda, C. Cole
Bent is top of the pile if you only consider players from non-top eight clubs. Carlton Cole's four goals put him second on this list.
Top scorers against the current top eight sides (non-top eight players):
SIX: Bent
FOUR: C. Cole
THREE: G. Cahill, Diamanti, Duff, Hunt, S Fletcher, Jerome, K Jones, Klasnic, Rodallega.
LATE BLOOMERS
Hi Martin! Was wondering if you could tell me what the league would look like since the start of December. I think Everton would be in the top three challenging for the title. James King (Everton fan)
MARTIN SAYS: If the league had started on December 1 then Everton wouldn't quite be challenging for the title but they would be looking good for a Champions League place. Everton would be in fourth place ahead of Manchester City on goal difference and just one point behind Chelsea. Arsenal would be two points clear of Manchester United at the top having played a game more.
If we exclude Portsmouth's points deduction, they have the 15th best record in this period and would be ahead of Wigan, West Ham, Hull and Burnley - who have only picked up seven points since the start of December.
Premier League table since the start of December:
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
| Arsenal | 19 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 43 |
| Man Utd | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 41 |
| Chelsea | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 35 |
| Everton | 18 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 34 |
| Man City | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 34 |
| Tottenham | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 32 |
| Liverpool | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 31 |
| Aston Villa | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 28 |
| Birmingham | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | -6 | 27 |
| Blackburn | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | -3 | 24 |
| Wolves | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | -7 | 22 |
| Bolton | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | -13 | 20 |
| Stoke | 17 | 4 | 7 | 6 | -3 | 19 |
| Fulham | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | -5 | 19 |
| Sunderland | 18 | 2 | 9 | 7 | -10 | 15 |
| Portsmouth | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | -20 | 15* |
| Wigan | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -17 | 14 |
| West Ham | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | -15 | 13 |
| Hull | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | -19 | 11 |
| Burnley | 18 | 1 | 4 | 13 | -22 | 7 |
* Not including nine-point deduction
Hi Martin. Quick question. I see Harry Redknapp and Tottenham have got through to the semi finals of the FA Cup. He has already won it with Portsmouth, however has any manager ever won the FA Cup with two different teams? Cheers, Phil Barclay.
MARTIN SAYS: It has happened on two occasions in the past, but Redknapp would become the first man to do so since 1959. That was the year that Billy Walker won his second FA Cup with Nottingham Forest, having previously lifted the trophy with Sheffield Wednesday in 1935. Before that Herbert Chapman won the FA Cup with Huddersfield Town in 1922 and repeated the feat with Arsenal eight years later in 1930.
He knows a remarkable piece of history is in his grasp - to do it within 3 years would be remarkable.
In addition, several men have won an FA Cup medal as a player at one club and then as a manager at another:
| Name | FA Cup win as player | FA Cup win as manager |
| Peter McWilliam | Newcastle Utd, 1910 | Tottenham, 1921 |
| Billy Walker | Aston Villa, 1920 | Sheff Weds 1935, Nottm Forest 1959 |
| Jimmy Seed | Tottenham, 1921 | Charlton, 1947 |
| Matt Busby | Man City, 1934 | Man Utd, 1948 & 1963 |
| Joe Smith | Bolton, 1923 & 1926 | Blackpool, 1953 |
| Bill Shankly | Preston, 1938 | Liverpool, 1965 & 1974 |
| Joe Mercer | Everton 1933, Arsenal 1950 | Man City, 1969 |
| Bob Stokoe | Newcastle 1955 | Sunderland, 1973 |
| Don Revie | Man City, 1956 | Leeds, 1972 |
| Bobby Gould | West Ham, 1975 (unused sub) | Wimbledon, 1988 |
Tyler's teaser
Fill in your answers to Martin's teaser using the feedback form below - and keep those questions coming in!
Comments (49)
Rakan T (Chelsea fan) says...
Hi Martin. Love the column! I have a question about which premiership player gets was the victim of the most red-card fouls. I seem to remember Xabi Alonso being the victim of the most red-card offenses while he was at Liverpool.
Posted 09:32 6th April 2010
Hassaan Muazzam (Chelsea) (Chelsea fan) says...
i love your column martin.as i am a chelsea fan,so i want to ask u about a chelsea player.this year it was the sixth time that frank lampard had scored 20 goals in a season.is there any central midfielder in the world who has scored 20 goals in a season more times than frank lampard.
Posted 03:19 6th April 2010
Pete Middleton (Portsmouth fan) says...
Hi martin, love the column! i was wondering with newcastle having secured promotion already with 6 games to go in the championship, if this is the quickest a team have ever secured promotion from the championship to the premier league and also for the two leagues older equivalents?
Posted 23:27 5th April 2010
Danny Greeves (Manchester United fan) says...
Hi Martin, I was just thinking about players like Nicholas Anelka, who tend to be somewhat nomadic and play for many different clubs in their careers. Then I accidentally came across Trevor Benjamin, and saw that he has played for about 26 different teams in his professional career, I was just wondering which player has played for the most different teams in English football?
Posted 18:07 5th April 2010
Conor Canavan (Manchester United fan) says...
Hi martin, great column i want to echo nick wilsons point.i believe that the majority of times man utd have lost in the past 3 years i believe it has been when they have kicked off at 12.45 on a saturday. is this true? if it is i am very worried due to the fact that utd still have to play city and spurs on saturday mornings.
Posted 17:28 5th April 2010
Kieran Murray (Chelsea fan) says...
Hi Martin, Love the column. With Chelsea having a 100% record against their 'Big 4' rivals this year, I was wondering what were the previous league champions place in the 'Big 4' mini league.
Posted 13:17 5th April 2010
Karthik Harnath (Manchester United fan) says...
Hey Martin.. awesome article as usual... having watched united slip up against chelsea nd subsequently surrendering the lead at the top, i would like to know on how many occasions has a team leading the table with 5 matches to go( at present Chelsea) and having done the double on their nearest rivals ( at present United) still managed to lose the title ??... awaiting your reply.. cheers...
Posted 03:39 5th April 2010
Vicki Gillibrand (Blackburn Rovers fan) says...
Hi Martin. You'll know that Blackburn Rovers have been getting a lot of stick for being a long ball team, and I just wondered how accurate this is. Do we really play more long balls than other teams in the league? Many thanks, Vicki
Posted 14:43 4th April 2010
Lucas Howe (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Darren Bent's goals for Sunderland, and Rooney's for Manchester United, this season have been so precious to their clubs. My question is, which clubs are most reliant on their top-scorers and what would the league table be like if each teams top scorers hadn't have scored were taken out of the equation. I'd put money on Sunderland being in the relegation zone. PLEASE answer this question so I can prove to my Sunderland-supporting friends that their team are purely a one-man team.
Posted 16:58 3rd April 2010
Nick Wilson (Manchester United fan) says...
Martin, Yet again Manchester United have lost a game when they have played on a Saturday at 12:45. I was just wondering what the stats were for us when we kick off at this time? This season we have played two lost two, (Everton, Chelsea). I can remember last season losing two to Liverpool and one to Arsenal at 12:45. Kick off times shouldn't be blamed for bad form I just wondering if the stats from Kick off times pointed to when Man Utd play best / worst? Many Thanks!
Posted 15:26 3rd April 2010
Kevin Young (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Hello Martin, could you please tell me who is the most fouled team in the premiership?
Posted 11:15 3rd April 2010
Mohi Uddin (Arsenal fan) says...
dear martin, big fan and espcially love it when you and andy team up behind the mic. just wondering as a arsenal fan, everytime Mr.Wenger has spent big on players they always seem to flop, i have a feeling this is why he doesn't spend big and has anyone that moved away from arsenal gone on to bigger and better things, i dont think so? hope this goes up thanks again.
Posted 01:36 3rd April 2010
Martin Cass (Grimsby Town fan) says...
With Grimsby Town Getting Their 8th Player Of The Season Sent Off Against Northampton. I Was Wondering If You Could Tell Me The Worst Dicipline Teams In The Football League, Also Could Opta Find Out Who Over The Last 10 Years Has Been The Worst Diciplined
Posted 21:19 2nd April 2010
Bryan Lee (Manchester United fan) says...
Hi Martin! Great column you have. It's been keeping me entertained and sane at work at least! We know that Manchester United have been benefiting from own goals recently, more so ever in this season. My questions is, which Premier League player in the history of the Premier League has scored the most own goals? My guess would be Jamie Carragher... but until Sky proves me wrong, I'll stand by my choice!
Posted 16:25 2nd April 2010
Ilan Bermeister (West Ham United fan) says...
Hi Martin, I really enjoy your column. With West Ham performing so woefully at the moment, I'm slightly pessimistic of our chances of staying in the Premiership. With the World Cup coming up this year, I expect 5 of our players to participate, being Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Jonathan Spector, Valon Behrami and Benni McCarthy (sorry Carlton). I would like to know if a team has ever been relegated in a World Cup year with more players participating in the competition. Keep well, and keep up the good work.
Posted 14:38 2nd April 2010
Pete Goldsmith (Newcastle United fan) says...
Seeing as no-one on the boards has had a bash at Tyler's teaser, I'll have a go. 5 English grounds that have seen Premiership Football and a World Title fight. City of Manchester Stadium, Anfield, Highbury, Old Trafford and finally, my local ground... Carrow Road
Posted 13:42 2nd April 2010
Ben Palmer (Burnley fan) says...
Higuain is at 72mins per goal it said on Revista De La Liga this week, with Messi on early 80s and Ronaldo on about 90.
Posted 13:02 2nd April 2010
Ryan Callow (Rangers fan) says...
Great column. Could you compare minutes on pitch to goals ratio for ally mccoist, henrik larsson and kris boyd please. Dont see much scottish footy on here.
Posted 03:12 2nd April 2010
Dara Hamill (Newcastle United fan) says...
Hi Martin. I am in awe of your stats. Anyway, considering how Newcastle, barring a complete and utter massive implosion, are heading back to the Premier league how do you think they'll do? Also, i would be quite interested to find out what is the best any newly promoted team has done in the Premier league.
Posted 23:05 1st April 2010
Adrian Page (Charlton Athletic fan) says...
As much as I don't like Benitez (for his insistance that out spendin united, chelsea and arsenal is not being backed by the owners) or Liverpool (as there fans are the reason English teams were banned form Europe and probably why FIFA and UEFA are so anti-English) his huge gamble on Torres really has paid off. What I don't get is why is he so prolific in england he's got 23 in 71 for spain which is less than 1 in 3 including a hat-trick against the mighty New Zealand. Also at athletico he got 91 in 249 games which is just over 1 in 3. So I can see why United and Chelsea were unwilling to splash out about £20million on a goal scorer who only scores 1 in 3. As prolific as Torres has been for Liverpool I'd still rather have Rooney or Drogba as I think that they may get less goals personally but they lead to more goals and more wins than Torres. What sums it up for me is Tevez saying Rooney is the best player he's ever played with and he's played with both Ronaldo and Messi.
Posted 22:46 1st April 2010
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