Homegrown hotshots

Martin Tyler on the most English goals, Chelsea's derby record, Keane, Carragher and more...

English goals, Chelsea's blues, Carra in the red

Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here again offer you statistical gems to make your day and impress your mates. 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
Bellamy's Shed seventh

I was at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to see West Ham continue a remarkable run of Chelsea's. Craig Bellamy's opening goal in the game was the eighth goal the Blues have conceded at home this season, all of them going in at the Shed End. Luis Felipe Scolari's men have let in six home Premier League goals (Darren Bent, Ji Sung Park, Xabi Alonso, Robin van Persie (2) and now Bellamy) one in the Carling Cup against Burnley (Ade Akinbiyi) and one in the Champions' League against CFR Cluj (Yssouf Kone). That makes seven goalscorers at the Shed End in total. Of course, Carlton Cole had a great chance at the death to not only win the game for West Ham but also to become the first visiting player to score at the Matthew Harding end this season, but was denied by Petr Cech. The last time that happened was the very last minute of the last game of last season, when Bolton's Matthew Taylor scored at that end to secure a 1-1 draw and extinguish Chelsea's faint title hopes. CAPITAL BETTERS
Dear Martin. Chelsea have now failed to beat three London clubs at home this season - Arsenal, West Ham and Tottenham. This got me wondering, in terms of points per game, which London club are Chelsea's favourite opponents in Premier League history? And which are their least favourite? Cameron Lord
MARTIN SAYS: Looking at Chelsea's record against the eight other London clubs in Premier League history their favourite opponents are statistically Crystal Palace. In their eight Premier League meetings, Chelsea never lost a game and won six in the process. Arguably however, Tottenham are the favoured opponents for the Blues. Spurs have only won one of their 33 meetings and Chelsea have picked up a remarkable 72 points against Tottenham in that time. In the same number of games against Arsenal, Chelsea have picked up just 29 points. The Blues have won just six of their 33 Premier League clashes against the Gunners and have picked up less than one point per game - by far their worst record against any London club. To make things clearer, here is a table showing Chelsea's Premier League record against other London clubs:

Opponent	Meetings	Wins	Draws	Defeats	Points	Points per game
Crystal Palace	8	6	2	0	20	2.50
Tottenham	33	20	12	1	72	2.18
Fulham	14	8	5	1	29	2.07
Charlton	16	10	1	5	31	1.94
Wimbledon	16	8	6	2	30	1.88
QPR	8	4	3	1	15	1.86
West Ham	27	14	4	9	46	1.70
Arsenal	33	6	11	16	29	0.88

TRAVEL SICK
Martin, on the road back from the blustery Britannia Stadium on Saturday the lads and I were wondering if Fulham are on their way to an unwanted record for the least goals scored away from home during a Premier League season. We've seen only two on our travels so far - how many more do we need?! John, London
MARTIN SAYS: Well John, if Fulham continue scoring away from home at their current rate they will indeed enter the hall of infamy! Seol Ki-Hyeon's goal at Hull on the opening day and Clint Dempsey's late equaliser at Portsmouth in October are collectors' items in the eight away games the Cottagers have played so far. That's an average of just 0.25 goals a game. Four teams in Premier League history share the worst record of eight away goals all season at an average of 0.42 goals a game: Derby last season, Sheffield United the previous one, Southampton in 1998/9 and Middlesbrough's 1995/6 vintage. Incidentally, as I'm sure you're aware John, Roy Hodgson's side also drew a blank in their one away Carling Cup fixture this season - a 1-0 defeat at Burnley. CARRA IN THE RED
Hi Martin, I read the column a few weeks ago about the unfortunate Jamie Carragher's own goals and he was at it again against Hull at the weekend. What I want to know is this: has he managed to score as many league goals at the right end as he has at the wrong one! Gregory Wilson, Bootle
MARTIN SAYS: Saturday's own goal was the sixth of Jamie Carragher's Premier League career, putting him level with chief culprits Frank Sinclair and Richard Dunne. Of the three, only Sinclair can claim to be in credit, having scored eight Premier League goals (seven for Chelsea and one for Leicester); Dunne can at least match his own goals tally having netted six times in the top flight for City; Carragher, alas, has manged just three league goals in 377 appearances for Liverpool - and that after scoring on just his third outing for the club against Aston Villa in January 1997 on his full debut! HOMEGROWN VILLAINS
Martin, what with Gabby Agbonlahor and Ashley Young catching Capello's eye and Gareth Barry already an England regular I reckon the Villa can win the World Cup a la West Ham in 1966! What I'm wondering is, do we have the most Premier League goals by English players so far this season? Cheers! Tony Mountjoy, Kidderminster
MARTIN SAYS: Many in the midlands would share your optimism I'm sure, Tony, and Villa's English lads are really performing this season. Martin O'Neill's side do indeed boast the most Premier League goals by English players - Luke Young, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Sidwell and messrs Agbonlahor, Barry and Ashley Young have contributed 21 in total, four more than next-best side Portsmouth. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Arsenal share the lowest total of one goal - scored by Theo Walcott against Everton - but it might raise a few eyebrows if I tell you that the team they share it with is Stoke. Their only English scorer this term? Danny Higginbotham, from the penalty spot against Tottenham. Here is a full table...

Club	Goals	Goals by Englishmen	%
Aston Villa	29	21	72%
Portsmouth	19	17	89%
Tottenham	17	14	82%
Newcastle	22	13	59%
West Ham	18	11	61%
Bolton	20	11	55%
Fulham	13	8	62%
Hull	26	8	31%
Man Utd	27	8	30%
Wigan	21	7	33%
Chelsea	36	7	19%
Blackburn	17	6	35%
Everton	23	6	26%
Liverpool	26	6	23%
Sunderland	17	5	29%
Man City	30	5	17%
West Brom	12	4	33%
Middlesbrough	17	3	18%
Stoke	17	1	6%
Arsenal	29	1	3%

SUBBED STANDARD?
I have a question about Robbie Keane. I can't remember the last time he played 90 mintues! He might have done it this season for Liverpool, but i can never remember if he did it for Tottenham. If he hasn't done it for Liverpool, When was the last time? Nick T
MARTIN SAYS: Well Nick, it is true that Robbie Keane has not made the final whistle more often than not, but in terms of going back to his last complete appearance, it is not that long ago. You only have to go back to Liverpool's 2-0 win over Bolton on November 22 to find the last time he started and finished a game since his move from White Hart Lane. But, you are right in a way because Robbie has only completed three Premier League games for Liverpool. Of their 17 league clashes so far, he has started 13 but finished just three - against Fulham, Manchester United, and Middlesbrough. He has come off the bench twice and started and stayed on the bench another two times, the last two games against Blackburn and Hull. But even before this season, the same thing happened at Tottenham. In his last 11 Premier League games as a Spurs player, he only made the full 90 minutes on four occasions! In Robbie's defence it is fair to say that in the modern-day game, it is always tempting for a manager to put 'fresh legs' on up front and I am sure he is not alone. For instance, Obafemi Martins has been taken off in six of his last eight league games for Newcastle. As someone who used to play up front and hate being substituted I do have plenty of sympathy with today's frontmen and am just glad that in my day, there was only one substitute allowed! Mind you, I still got the hook often enough! That said, the boffins at Opta have provided us with a list of the Premier League's most subbed players and Robbie Keane is indeed the leading strikers, with the main culprits three wide midfielders. Here's a table...

Player	Club	Substituted off
Steed Malbranque	Sunderland	11
Morten Gamst Pedersen	Blackburn	11
Albert Riera	Liverpool	11
Robbie Keane	Liverpool	10
George Boateng	Hull City	9
Johan Elmander	Bolton	9
Joe Cole	Chelsea	9
Armand Traore	Portsmouth	9

LAST WEEK'S LEFTOVERS
Finally, a thank you to the eagle-eyed reader who emailed in about last week's column. Reef Hashim rightly pointed out that Burkina Faso (ranked 61st) are, in fact, the second-highest FIFA ranked country never to have been represented in the Premier League. Somehow, Saudi Arabia (ranked 52nd) crept under our collective radar here! Saudi footballing legend Sami Al-Jaber is the only man from his country to feature in English football at all, and that was at Wolves - then as now of the Championship - in 2000-01. Got a question for Martin? Well email here and he will do his best to answer, or use the feedback form below...