Top 10 football lists

Chelsea Versus Manchester United

2016-02-04T02:24:00.000-08:00

1. Chelsea first played Manchester United on Christmas Day, 1905, at Bank Street, Clayton, Manchester. A Second Division clash and watched by 35,000, the match ended in a 0.0 draw.

2. The Red Devils' first match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was on 13th April, 1906 - Good Friday - and also finished in a draw: 1.1 - watched by a huge holiday crowd of 67,000.

3. Chelsea's first win against United came on 7th November, 1908 - again at Bank Street but this time in the First Division of the Football League. Chelsea won 1.0 with a penalty from George Hilsdon (the first Chelsea player to score 100 goals for the club).

4. Manchester United first won at Chelsea on 28th September, 1907. A 4.1 win included two goals from Billy Meredith, with Hilsdon again scoring for the Pensioners.

5. It wasn't until 17th January, 1920 that Chelsea first beat Manchester United at Stamford Bridge: 1.0 in a Division One clash, with the solitary goal coming from their centre-forward, John 'Jack' Cock.

6. Chelsea scored their highest number of goals in a single home match against United in a 6.2 win on 6th September, 1930. Alexander 'Alec' Cheyne scored a hat-trick and Hughie Gallacher got two goals that day, in front of a crowd of 48,648.

7. Chelsea's highest margin of victory over Manchester United at The Bridge came on 3rd October, 1999 in a 5.0 win. Gus Poyet scored two goals for The Blues that day - the first after just 27 seconds.

8. Manchester United have scored four goals on five occasions in league games at Stamford Bridge. The third time they did this - on 29th November, 1947 - gave them their highest winning margin in matches at Chelsea. They won 4.0 with Johnny Morris scoring a hat-trick.

9. The highest aggregate score (11) in these matches occurred on 16th October, 1954 in front of 55,966. Seamus O'Connell scored a hat-trick on his debut for Chelsea but Dennis Viollet also got a hat-trick for Manchester United and Tommy Taylor scored two more in a 6.5 win.

10. The highest scoring draw in this fixture at Stamford Bridge came on 5th February, 2012 with the match finishing 3.3. Chelsea had led 3.0 at one point but two Wayne Rooney penalties and a Javier Hernandez equaliser six minutes from time ensured that honours ended even.

Aston Villa Versus Leicester City

2016-01-14T06:49:00.001-08:00

1. The first ever meeting between these two sides at Villa Park took place on 4th February, 1905 in a first round FA Cup tie which Aston Villa won 5.1 in front of 25,000.

2. Two of Villa's goals in that first match were scored by Joe Bache who is fourth on the list of their all-time top goal-scorers.

3. The first league meeting between Aston Villa and Leicester City at Villa Park occurred on 31st October, 1908 and ended in a 1.1 draw.

4. Apart from in the 1969-70 and 1987-88 seasons, all league meetings between the two sides have been played in the top tier of English football.

5. On 27th November, 1926 Leicester also won 5.1 - this time at Filbert Street (their former football ground) - with Arthur Chandler scoring all five goals for The Foxes. Chandler remains Leicester's top goal-scorer of all time.

6. In the 1934-35 season Leicester beat Villa 5.0 at home and Villa beat Leicester 5.0 in the return fixture at Villa Park.

7. A five-goal winning margin is the best Aston Villa have managed against Leicester City at Villa Park, including an 8.3 win on 21st April, 1962 when Bobby Thomson scored a hat-trick for Villa.

8. Villa had also won 8.3 at Filbert Street, 30 years earlier on 2nd January, 1932 when George 'Bomber' Brown scored five of their goals. Brown scored 79 goals in a total of 116 appearances for the Villans.

9. The highest scoring draw in the league fixture at Villa Park took place on 22nd February, 1995. The match finished 4.4 after Villa had been 3.0 and then 4.1 up.

10. Leicester City's best league victory at Villa Park came on 6th November, 1954 with a 5.2 win, Fred Worthington scoring two of Leicester's goals

West Bromwich Albion Versus Tottenham Hotspur

2015-12-02T01:59:00.000-08:00

1. The first league meeting between West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur took place at The Hawthorns on 7th November, 1908, in front of 27,224 football fans.

2. West Brom won this Second Division match 3.0 to go top of the table, ahead of local rivals Birmingham City.

3. The result marked West Brom's first ever win over Spurs, having lost two previous FA Cup ties.

4. This was Tottenham's first season in the Football League and they were promoted to the First Division at the end of it, pipping Albion on goal average by just 0.02 goals.

5. West Bromwich Albion's highest home league win against Tottenham Hotspur came on 12th February, 1927, with a 5.0 victory.

6. Tottenham's highest league win at The Hawthorns came on 31st January, 2015 with a 3.0 win. Eriksen and Kane (2) scored for Spurs that day.

7. The highest aggregate score in league games between these clubs at The Hawthorns was in a First Division match on Boxing Day, 1963 in a 4.4. draw, watched by 37,189 football supporters.

8. The Baggies have beaten The Lilywhites at home 4.3 on no less than five occasions, including on Easter Monday, 1969 when goalscorers included Tony 'Bomber' Brown, Jeff Astle and Jimmy Greaves.

9. Bobby Smith for Spurs is the leading scorer in matches with WBA, with 17 goals. Tony Brown has the most for Albion with 12, including two December hat-tricks - in 1966 and 1970.

10. Tottenham Hotspur have won their league games at The Hawthorns in each season when they have gone on to win the league championship (1951 and 1961).

Crystal Palace Versus West Ham United

2015-10-14T09:06:00.002-07:00

1. The first ever meeting between Crystal Palace and West Ham United took place in the grounds of the Crystal Palace in the Southern League First Division on 29th September, 1906 and finished 1.1

2. Their first meeting in the Football League was a Second Division clash on 4th March, 1922 which West Ham won 2.1

3. West Ham's all-time record goalscorer, Victor Watson, scored in each of the first four Football League fixtures between the two clubs, including four goals on 31st March, 1923 in a 5.1 win.

4. The match in March, 1923 was Crystal Palace's last home league match against West Ham for almost 50 years and played at 'The Nest.' The club moved to Selhurst Park the following year.

5. The first league match in this fixture to take place at Selhurst Park came in the Football League First Division on 24th March, 1970 and finished 0.0.

6. West Ham won the league fixture at Selhurst Park in successive seasons - 1971-72 and 1972-73 - scoring three goals on each occasion.

7. The clubs did not play each other at all in the 1980s, with league matches resuming in the Football League Division One in 1991.

8. Crystal Palace finally secured their first home league victory over West Ham since the First World War on 6th May, 1995. The match took place in the Premier League and finished 1.0.

9. Chris Armstrong scored Crystal Palace's winner in their first home league victory against West Ham at Selhurst Park, in front of 18,224 fans.

10. One of the most famous matches between the two teams was the League Division One Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in 2004. Crystal Palace won 1.0 - with a goal scored by Neil Shipperley - and were subsequently promoted back to the Premier League.

Everton Versus Liverpool

2015-10-01T02:50:00.001-07:00

1. The first ever Merseyside derby took place at Goodison Park on 13th October, 1894. Everton won the match 3.0.

2. Thomas McInnes became the first player to score in a Merseyside derby.

3. Everton won their first three league games at home to Liverpool.

4. Liverpool's first win in the league at Goodison Park came on 24th September, 1898 with two goals from Andrew McCowie (one a penalty).

5. The first draw in this fixture at Goodison Park (1.1) occurred on 22nd September, 1900 (the first ever league draw in a Merseyside derby came at Anfield on 17th November, 1894 (2.2)).

6. To date this league fixture has always been played in the top tier of English football (the old First Division and now the Premier League).

7. On 18th September, 1948 the fixture attracted a crowd of 78,599 – the highest ever for a Merseyside derby - and finished 1.1.

8. Liverpool's Ian Rush is the record Merseyside derby scorer in all competitions with 25; Dixie Dean of Everton holds the record for league goals in derby matches with 18.

9. On 20th March 1988 Everton won 1.0 with a goal from Wayne Clarke. This ended Liverpool’s run of 29 games unbeaten since the start of the season which was a record they shared at the time with Leeds United.

10 On 16th April, 2001 Gary McAllister scored a long-range free kick for Liverpool after three minutes of added time to win the match for The Reds 3.2 in one of the most dramatic finishes ever seen in a derby game at Goodison.

Chelsea Versus Arsenal

2015-09-18T04:27:00.001-07:00

1. The first match in this league fixture took place at Stamford Bridge on 9th November, 1907. George Hilsdon scored both of Chelsea's goals in a 2.1 victory.

2. The match was watched by a then record crowd for England's top division: 65,000

3. This was the first ever match to be played by two London clubs in the First Division and so the first major 'London derby.'

4. To date this league fixture has always been played in the top tier of English football (the old First Division and now the Premier League).

5. Arsenal's first victory in the fixture came on 28th November, 1908 with a 2.1 win.

6. The first draw recorded in this fixture was 1.1 on 15th February, 1913.

7. Another 1.1 draw on 12th October, 1935 was played in front of a huge crowd - 82,905 - the second highest recorded attendance for an English league match.

8. Arsenal's record league win at Stamford Bridge came on 29th November, 1930 - 5.1 with David Jack scoring a hat-trick.

9. Chelsea's largest win in the fixture was 6.0 on 22nd March, 2014, which was also Arsene Wenger's 1000th game in charge of The Gunners.

10. In the seasons when Chelsea have gone on to win the League Title they have never lost this home fixture to Arsenal.

Manchester United Versus Newcastle United

2015-08-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

1. Manchester United have won more than twice as many of the matches in this fixture as they have lost.

2. This fixture was first played over 120 years ago – on 6th April, 1895 – when Manchester United, still known then as Newton Heath, beat Newcastle United 5.1 at Bank Street in Clayton, Manchester in front of a crowd of 6,000.

3. Newcastle United’s first victory in the fixture came on 13th November, 1897 with a 1.0 win.

4. Newcastle United’s biggest margin of victory was achieved on 10th September, 1927 when they won 7.1.

5. Newcastle United scored seven goals for a second time in the fixture with a 7.4 win on 13th September, 1930.

6. The highest scoring draw in these matches came on 31st January, 1959 when the match finished 4.4.

7. Alan Shearer of Newcastle United scored his 100th Premier League goal for the club in a 5.3 loss on 23rd November, 2002.

8. Javier Hernandez scored a last-minute winner on Boxing Day, 2012, giving Manchester United a 4.3 win.

9. Manchester United have scored six goals in this fixture on three occasions: 1957, 1968 and 2008.

10. Manchester United have won this fixture 6.0 in two out of the three seasons when they went on to win the UEFA Champions League (European Cup): 1968 and 2008

10 meaningless phrases used by football commentators

2012-02-24T11:27:00.004-08:00

1. He knows where the goal is
2. He didn't even need to think
3. It's just like the Alamo; I wonder what the outcome will be
4. He's got two feet: that's what sets him apart from the others
5. This is literally going to be a fight to the death
6. He doesn't score ordinary goals does he?
7. They don't know when they're beaten, even after the final whistle
8. They're a wise lot here; they know the meaning of the word 'football'
9. He'd have taken the draw before they started losing
10. It's a real flat cap and Bovril kind of ground