United they fall

Martin Tyler on Man Utd's defeats, Danny Murphy's deeds, north eastern dread, and a great deal more...

Danny's delight, Villa killers and the name game

Martin Tyler's stats offers you statistical gems to make your day, impress your mates and, on occasion, to settle the odd bet and this week, lift the lid on a rivalry! 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. If you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email here he will do his best to help.

Tyler's Starting Stat - Big Ben strikes again

I was at the JJB Stadium on Sunday to see Ben Watson give Wigan a 1-0 win over Hull, a result which not only gave them their first Premier League double of the season, but also saw them become the first Premier League club to achieve the feat against the Tigers. The victory was Wigan's second in a row after eight games without success and Watson has scored in both, his first Premier League goals having previously played there with Crystal Palace. As for Phil Brown's side, the Starting Stats are not so good. They now have 33 points and, having picked up 20 of those in their opening nine games, have accrued just 13 in the last 21 games - of which they have won only two. They are though, unbeaten in the Premier League when - and if - they go in front... LOW HIGH SCORERS
Hi Martin, I support Chelsea and noticed Nicolas Anelka is still top of the goal scoring charts, despite only scoring 15 goals this season. With his recent toe injury keeping him out for three weeks and the league coming to a close he may not add many more to that total but with no other strikers in emphatic goal scoring form I was wondering if he is on course to take the golden boot with the fewest goals in Premier League history? Paul, Fulham
MARTIN SAYS: Actually, Paul, he may well be! With just eight games to go, and Anelka likely to miss matches against Newcastle and Bolton Wanderers, he will need to hit four in the remaining six Premier League games when he returns to beat the lowest winning goal tally. Coventry City's Dion Dublin shared the prize with Liverpool's Michael Owen and Chris Sutton of Blackburn in 1997-1998; the trio were only able to hit the net 18 times. Owen matched that feat the following season with another 18 strikes, but was again forced to share the trophy with two other forwards - Manchester United's Dwight Yorke and Leeds' Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Their hauls would have only secured them fifth place in the charts last season, when Cristiano Ronaldo hit a 38-game record haul of 31 goals. However, Anelka might be denied his title by a resurgent Steven Gerrard who smashed his first Premier League hat-trick against Aston Villa on Sunday to move to within two goals of the Chelsea man.

Season	Player(s)	Total
1992-93	Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham, incl one for Nottm Forest) *	22
1993-94	Andy Cole (Newcastle) *	34
1994-95	Alan Shearer (Blackburn) *	34
1995-96	Alan Shearer (Blackburn)	31
1996-97	Alan Shearer (Newcastle)	25
1996-97	Dion Dublin (Coventry), Michael Owen (Liverpool), Chris Sutton (Blackburn)	18
1998-99	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Leeds), Michel Owen (Liverpool), Dwight Yorke (Man Utd)	18
1999-00	Kevin Phillips (Sunderland)	30
2000-01	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea)	23
2001-02	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)	24
2002-03	Ruud van Nistelrooy (Man Utd)	25
2003-04	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)	30
2004-05	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)	25
2005-06	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)	27
2006-07	Didier Drogba (Chelsea)	20
2007-08	Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd)	31
* denotes 42-game seasoon

VILLAINS TO VILLANS
Hi Martin. Depressed Villa fan here - still not very keen to leave the house after Sunday's mauling at Anfield. It strikes me that Steven Gerrard is our bogey player. He always seems to score against Aston Villa! Can you tell me his record against us? Also, I seem to remember Robbie Fowler always scoring against us. Can you tell me who has scored more against Villa - Fowler or Gerrard? Thanks, Miles Stevens
MARTIN SAYS: Hi Miles. Well you're right, both Liverpool icons have enjoyed themselves at Villa's expense during their careers. For both players Villa were their favoured victims, hitting more goals against your club than any other Premier League team. Steven Gerrard's impressive hat-trick at Anfield on Sunday was his 9th goal against Villa in 15 appearances, of which he has been on the losing side just once, winning eight times. He's also got a league cup goal to his name against your side. Fowler, meanwhile, was even more clinical in front of Villans goalkeepers. As well as a couple in the FA Cup, the talismanic striker scored an incredible 12 goals in 13 Premier League contests against Aston Villa, though his goals were, perhaps, not as influential as Gerrard's - Liverpool won less than half of the games with him in the team. Villa defeated The Reds five times and earned two draws during his time on Merseyside.

THREE-SY DOES IT
Hi Martin, me and my Dad were wondering the last time Liverpool were 3-0 up at half-time in a Premier League game? We have racked our brains and can't remember... Thommo
MARTIN SAYS: Well Thommo, it's not as obvious an answer as you might think, because having thumbed back through the record books, Liverpool do tend to score more after the break. For instance even when they beat Besiktas 8-0 in the Champions League, they were only 2-0 up at half-time. But in the league, you have to go back to December 2, 2006 for the last time they were three goals - or more - to the good at the halfway stage of a Premier League game. That was against Wigan at the JJB when two goals from Craig Bellamy (9 & 26), Dirk Kuyt (40) and a Lee McCulloch own goal (45) gave them a 4-0 half-time lead and indeed turned out to be the final score. The last time it happened at Anfield was, funnily enough, also against Aston Villa, also in 2006. On October 28 goals from Kuyt (31), Peter Crouch (38) and Luis Garcia (44) put them three to the good against Villa, who back then, did not ship any more and hit back through Gabriel Agbonlahor for a 3-1 loss. NORTH EAST GOES WEST
Howay Martin, another defeat for the Toon, another defeat for Boro and Sunderland and all of sudden it's looking pretty bleak for the three north east side. The one consolation if Newcastle go down is that we might take the other two with us! I was wondering, when was the last time the north east did not have a representative in the top flight? Malkie Norwood
MARTIN SAYS: It was a bad weekend for football in the north east Malkie with two of the three clubs now occupying the last two relegation places along with West Brom. Sunderland are currently in 14th, but just three points clear of Newcastle in 18th - that's how tight it is. Should all three end up getting relegated to the Championship next season it will be the very first time in 18 Premier League campaigns that at least one of Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Sunderland has not been in the division. But to find the last time, you only have to go back to the very season before the Premier League came to be, the old First Division campaign of 1991-92 when all three were in what was known as Division Two then, but the Championship now. Middlesbrough had been promoted by the time the new competition enjoyed its inaugural season in 1992-93, but they were also in the first batch of sides to be relegated - with Newcastle passing them in the opposite direction. In all there have been four seasons when only one of the three has been in the top flight - 1992-3 ('Boro), 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1997-8 (all Newcastle). There have been five occasions when two of the three have been in and interestingly, on each of those it was Boro and Newcastle, meaning Sunderland are always alongside one of their local rivals when they make the top division. MURPHY'S LAW
Martin, no surprises to see Danny Murphy doing the damage again on Saturday. I thought that was his third major goal against us, but apparently it's his fourth. Can you fill me in please? Either way, I am sick of the sight of him... Eoin Brill
MARTIN SAYS: Well Eoin, Danny Murphy has indeed been a thorn in United's side since the turn of the Millennium. Saturday's penalty was his fourth goal against them since 2000 - although this was his first since his Liverpool days having failed to find the net in three appearances for Charlton and Tottenham against United. Amazingly, Saturday's was his first home goal against them after three winning goals at Old Trafford, all in 1-0 victories. Those games also came in sequence in 2000, 2002 and 2004. Overall against United in the Premier League, Danny's record is not that impressive in terms of results because in 19 games against the Red Devils, he has only been on the winning side six times (scoring in four), drawn two and lost the other 11. Incidentally, there couldn't have been a more fitting scorer at Craven Cottage on Saturday because Murphy's Law actually states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. With red cards for Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes and an injury to Dimitar Berbatov, that pretty much summed up United's afternoon down by the Thames! UNITED THEY FALL, FALL, AND FALL AGAIN
Martin I am sure you have been asked this a million times already since Saturday, but when was the last time United lost two league games back-to-back. And although having seen Villa fold quicker than Superman on laundry day, I can't see it happening this season, but what about THREE defeats on the spin? Ian Dermond
MARTIN SAYS: I am sure we have all heard this or read it somewhere over the past couple of days, but you have to go back four years to find the last time United lost back-to-back Premier League games. It happened in April, when they were first sunk by goals from Leon McKenzie and Dean Ashton on the 9th, before travelling to Everton on the 20th when a solitary strike from their old friend Duncan Ferguson did for them.

Tyler's Teaser

This is an ongoing game played when at work where we name the teams with a unique name, not Rovers, United, City or Town but a unique name which no-one else in the football league has. Can you name them all? Via email
MARTIN SAYS: Our apologies to whoever sent this in, we've lost your name I'm afraid. Nevertheless, me and my team of trusty helpers at skysports.com have been racking our brains and think we have come up with some sort of definitive answer, although there are one or two grey areas to try and clear up as well. For a start, I have 11 unique team names: (Aston) Villa, (Tottenham) Hotspur, (Nottingham) Forest, (Preston) North End, (Sheffield) Wednesday, (Plymouth) Argyle, (Milton Keynes) Dons, (Crewe) Alexandra, (Accrington) Stanley, (Leyton) Orient, (Queen's Park) Rangers. Before people start mailing in, we have decided to discount Port Vale because 'Vale' is not actually the team name - they would not be called Port United or Port Town, if you follow. Port Vale was a place referred to on old maps but not an actual place; the club did play in Longport and Westport before moving to Burslem in 1884. In actual fact the name Port Vale is believed to have come from Port Vale House, after the club was formed at a meeting there. As for the other dubious one, Crystal Palace cannot really be considered as it is the name of an area in South London and if we were to include them, we would have to say that the likes of Chelsea, Fulham, Brentford, Liverpool, Everton and Walsall for example, would all have to be considered unique team names! I hope that makes sense! Got a question or teaser for Martin that you'd like answered? Simply email here he will do his best to help.