WORST KEEPER?

On Talksport (early afternoon) yesterday, was a debate about which Man Utd, goalkeeper in "recent" history, has been the worst! There is much debate. My memory goes back a long way......LET'S SAY 1957...when I was grown up enough to understand what a gk was! Not sure that my judgement is reliable though.

Andre Onana blasted as one of Man Utd's worst-ever goalkeepers by Nemanja Matic after bold Lyon claim Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matic and Man Utd goalkeeper Andre Onana find themselves in a war of words ahead of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie; Onana responds to Matic's brutal criticism by questioning the success he had as an outfield player at Man Utd. 

The argument is more recent, so here are the stats for the latest lot....interesting stats!!

Saves per 90 minutes Man Utd goalkeepers since 2003/04; factors 900+ minutes

Table with 4 columns and 9 rows. Sorted descending by column "Saves/90"

			Saves/90'
1	André Onana	69	3.4
2	Dean Henderson	13	3.2
3	David de Gea	415	2.8
4	Tomasz Kuszczak	32	2.7
5	Tim Howard	45	2.6
6	Ben Foster	12	2.6
7	Edwin van der Sar	186	2.5
8	Roy Carroll	32	2.4
9	Anders Lindegaard	19	2.3

Here is the "Clean sheet ratio"..more recent!

Man Utd goalkeepers since 2003/04; factors 900+ minutes.

Table with 5 columns and 9 rows. Sorted descending by column "Clean sheet %"

1	Roy Carroll	32	2,880	17	53.1%
2	Tomasz Kuszczak	32	2,802	15	50.0%
3	Ben Foster	12	1,080	6	50.0%
4	Edwin van der Sar	186	16,591	90	48.4%
5	Anders Lindegaard	19	1,710	9	47.4%
6	Tim Howard	45	4,003	16	36.4%
7	David de Gea	415	37,289	147	35.4%
8	Dean Henderson	13	1,125	4	33.3%
9	André Onana	69	6,210	18	26.1%

No.	Player Name		Nationality	Years at Club	Total Apps		Clean Sheets
1	Allen, Reginald "Reg"		England	1950-1953	80		0.338
2	Amos, Ben		England	2008-2015	7	3	0.429
3	Bailey, Gary		England	1978-1987	375	161	0.429
4	Barrett, Frank		Scotland	1896-1900	136	54	0.397
5	Barthez, Fabien		France	2000-2004	139	50	0.360
6	Bayindir, Altay		Turkey	2023-Present*	7	2	0.286
7	Beale, Robert		England	1912-1919	112	35	0.313
8	Beckett, Robert		England	1885-1887	1	0	0.000
9	Behan, Billy		Republic of Ireland	1933-1934	1	0	0.000
10	Birchenough, Herbert		England	1902-1903	30	8	0.267
11	Bosnich, Mark		Australia	1989-1991, 1999-2000	38	15	0.395
12	Breedon, Jack		England	1935-1945	35	9	0.257
13	Breen, Thomas		Northern Ireland	1936-1939	71	15	0.211
14	Briggs, Ronnie		Northern Ireland	1960-1962	11	1	0.091
15	Broomfield, Herbert		England	1907-1908	9	1	0.111
16	Brown, Robert		England	1946-1949	4	2	0.500
17	Caine, James		England	1894-1899	1	0	0.000
18	Carroll, Roy		Northern Ireland	2001-2005	72	38	0.528
19	Chesters, Arthur		England	1929-1933	9	1	0.111
20	Clayton, Gordon		England	1953-1959	2	0	0.000
21	Collinson, Clifford		England	1946-1947	7	1	0.143
22	Connaughton, Patrick		England	1966-1972	3	0	0.000
23	Crompton, Jack		England	1945-1956	212	67	0.316
24	Culkin, Nick		England	1995-2002	1	1	1.000
25	Davies, John		England	1892-1893	9	1	0.111
26	de Gea, David		Spain	2011-2023	545	190	0.349
27	Douglas, William "Hugh"		Scotland	1894-1896	57	10	0.175
28	Dubravka, Martin		Slovakia	2022-2023	2	1	0.500
29	Dunne, Patrick		Republic of Ireland	1964-1966	67	26	0.388
30	Edmonds, Hugh		Scotland	1910-1912	51	19	0.373
31	Fall, Joseph		England	1893-1894	27	4	0.148
32	Feehan, John "Sonny"		Republic of Ireland	1948-1950	14	4	0.286
33	Fielding, William		England	1947-1948	7	1	0.143
34	Foster, Ben		England	2005-2010	23	10	0.435
35	Garvey, James		England	1900-1901	6	2	0.333
36	Gaskell, David		England	1956-1967	120	21	0.175
37	Goram, Andy		Scotland	2000-2001	2	0	0.000
38	Grant, Lee		England	2018-2022	2	0	0.000
39	Gregg, Harry		Northern Ireland	1957-1966	247	44	0.178
40	Gyves, William		England	1890-1891	1	0	0.000
41	Hacking, Jack		England	1934-1935	34	12	0.353
42	Hall, John "Jack" (1932-1936)		England	1932-1936	73	20	0.274
43	Harrison, Charles E.		England	1887, 1889-1890	1	0	0.000
44	Hawksworth, Anthony		England	1953-1958	1	0	0.000
45	Hay, Thomas		England	1887-1890	1	0	0.000
46	Heaton, Tom		England	2005-2010, 2021-Present*	3	3	1.000
47	Henderson, Dean		England	2015-2023	29	13	0.448
48	Hillam, Charles		England	1933-1934	8	0	0.000
49	Howard, Tim		USA	2003-2007	77	31	0.403
50	John, Roy		Wales	1936-1938	15	3	0.200
51	Kuszczak, Tomasz		Poland	2006-2012	61	28	0.459
52	Lancaster, Joseph		England	1950	4	2	0.500
53	Langford, Leonard		England	1934-1937	15	6	0.400
54	Leighton, Jim		Scotland	1988-1991	94	34	0.362
55	Lindegaard, Anders		Denmark	2011-2015	29	13	0.448
56	Mew, John		England	1912-1927	199	49	0.246
57	Moger, Harry		England	1903-1912	266	92	0.346
58	Montgomery, Archibald		Scotland	1905-1906	3	1	0.333
59	Moody, John		England	1932-1933	51	9	0.176
60	Olive, Les		England	1952-1953	2	0	0.000
61	Onana, Andre		Cameroon	2023-Present*	93	23	0.247
62	Pears, Stephen		England	1979-1985	5	1	0.200
63	Pegg, James		England	1947-1949	2	0	0.000
64	Pereira, Joel		Portugal	2017-2021	3	2	0.667
65	Pilkington, Kevin		England	1994-1998	8	2	0.250
66	Pinner, Michael		England	1960-1962	4	0	0.000
67	Rachubka, Paul		England	2000-2002	3	3	1.000
68	Ricardo Lopez Felipe		Spain	2002-2005	5	2	0.400
69	Richardson, Lancelot		England	1926-1929	42	6	0.143
70	Ridgway, Joseph		England	1895-1901	17	6	0.353
71	Rimmer, Jimmy		England	1968-1974	46	10	0.217
72	Roche, Paddy		Republic of Ireland	1973-1982	53	11	0.208
73	Romero, Sergio		Argentina	2015-2021	61	39	0.639
74	Round, Elijah		England	1909-1919	2	0	0.000
75	Royals, Ezra		England	1912-1920	7	0	0.000
76	Saunders, James		England	1901-1905	13	5	0.385
77	Schmeichel, Peter		Denmark	1991-1999	398	180	0.452
78	Sealey, Les		England	1989-1992, 1993-1994	56	19	0.339
79	Slater, John Frank		England	1890-1892	4	2	0.500
80	Stepney, Alex		England	1966-1978	539	175	0.325
81	Steward, Alfred		England	1920-1932	326	96	0.294
82	Sutcliffe, John		England	1903-1905	28	7	0.250
83	Taibi, Massimo		Italy	1999-2000	4	0	0.000
84	Tapken, Norman		England	1938-1947	16	4	0.250
85	Turner, Chris		England	1985-1988	79	24	0.304
86	Valdes, Victor		Spain	2015-2016	2	1	0.500
87	Valentine, Robert		England	1903-1908	10	4	0.400
88	van der Gouw, Raimond		Holland	1996-2002	60	27	0.450
89	van der Sar, Edwin		Holland	2005-2011	266	135	0.508
90	Walsh, Gary		England	1986-1995	63	22	0.349
91	Warner, James "Jimmy"		England	1892-1893	23	3	0.130
92	Wealands, Jeff		England	1983-1985	8	3	0.375
93	Wetherell, Joseph		England	1896-1897	2	0	0.000
94	Whitehouse, James "Jimmy"		England	1900-1903	64	21	0.328
95	Whittaker, Walter		England	1896	3	0	0.000
96	Wilcox, Thomas		England	1908-1909	2	0	0.000
97	Wilkinson, Ian		England	1991-1993	1	0	0.000
98	Wood, Ray		England	1949-1959	208	55	0.264

17 YEAR OLD BREACHES GUNNERS WALL

On April 9th 1988, a young footballer called Alan Shearer, at 17 years old, became the youngest ever player to score a top flight hat trick, breaking a record held by Jimmy Greaves (remember him?) It was Shearer's full debut and the opponents? Arsenal!! a team that was reknowned for its "stinginess", when it came to allowing goals into the George Graham's, Gunners' nets.

Less impressive, on the same date, was the defending of the Tongan international side in 2001, when the flood gates opened and their defence was crunched by Australia's international team, who thumped the plucky Pacific Islanders 22-0. It was a new record for international defeats. However, this did not stand for long because  two days later, the Aussies were at it again, thumping American Samao by 31-0. Maybe time toi look up in an atlas these poor wretches!!

The 2022 World Cup is now in the past, but it will certainly be remembered for a long time to come. The big guns were on show as always, with South American giants Argentina coming out on top against fellow footballing superpower France.

A mean defence has been key to many World Cup successes over the years, but such an approach is perhaps not as important as a lethal front line, particularly in the modern game. We have just witnessed the 22nd edition of the famous tournament, and there have been over 2,000 goals scored to date. But which nations have scored the most goals?

The 10 top scoring nations in FIFA World Cup history: 10th Hungary – 87 goals. Somewhat of a World Cup bridesmaid is Hungary, who have finished second in the famous competition on two occasions, never lifting the prestigious trophy. But they have certainly scored plenty of goals. The legendary Ferenc Puskas was once in their ranks, but it was his equally legendary compatriot Sándor Kocsis who made headlines at the 1954 World Cup, scoring 11 goals to secure the Golden Boot. In that tournament, and indeed the 1938 event, Hungary scored more goals than any other nation.

9-Uruguay 89 Two ahead of Hungary on 89 goals are two-time winners, Uruguay, who always seem to have a lethal goalscorer among their ranks. Striker Diego Forlan was the most recent such goalscorer, netting five goals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the joint-most scored that year. Oscar Miguez remains the country’s all-time top scorer in the competition with eight goals, with former Liverpool and Barcelona man Luis Suarez one goal behind him on seven. 8. Netherlands – 96 Definitely always the bridesmaid, never the bride, the Netherlands have been World Cup runners-up on three occasions, the most for any nation not to lift the trophy. They had a chance to put that unwanted title to bed in Qatar, but the likes of Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay couldn’t quite bring it home. Nevertheless, the Netherlands have scored plenty of goals throughout the competition’s history, and sit eighth in the all-time scoring list with 96 goals. They’ve boasted several world-class attackers over the years, including Dennis Bergkamp, Robin van Persie, Johnny Rep, Rudd van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben among many others.

8-England – 104, has lifted the World Cup trophy just once before, but they certainly score plenty of goals when it comes to the major tournament. Current captain Harry Kane scored six goals in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, adding two more in Qatar. Kane England’s leading scorer for most active players, but former striker Gary Lineker has scored the most goals in the competition for the Three Lions, finding the back of the net 10 times. 

7-Spain – 108 Spain are again regulars at scoring goals in major tournaments, with the European outfit improving their tally with nine goals in the most recent World Cup, despite having a largely miserable competition overall. The likes of Fernando Torres, Raul and Fernando Morientes have all represented the country on the scoring front over the years, but it is iconic striker David Villa that leads the way in their World Cup goals list with nine.

6-Italy – 128 have finished as the highest scorers at the World Cup on just one occasion, scoring 12 goals in the 1934 tournament. It was enough to secure the title that year, with the Italians going on to win three further World Cup trophies in 1938, 1982 and 2006. Heroic forwards Christian Vieri, Roberto Baggio and Paolo Rossi have all scored nine goals in the competition. The current Italy squad is in desperate need of such goalscoring talent, having failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions.

5-France – 136 have also been blessed with phenomenal talent over the years, talent which has helped them lift the trophy on two occasions, the first coming in 1998 on home soil and the second coming in the most recent edition of the World Cup 2018. And they have scored plenty of goals along the way, courtesy of legendary figures Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini. But it is former striker Just Fontaine who stands as their record World Cup goalscorer, with the French hero incredibly netting all 13 of his goals in the 1958 tournament. He is, however, being chased by the incredible Kylian Mbappe, who already has 12.

4-Argentina – 152 Argentina got their 2022 World Cup off to the worst possible start, losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition. But it mattered not, with the South Americans lifting the Qatar Trophy! Argentina topped the scoring charts in their two previous successes, with icons like Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta among their all-time leading scorers in this tournament. Both have, however, now been taken over by the one and only Lionel Messi. 

3-Germany – 232 Sitting second in the all-time scoring list is Germany, who were of course known as West Germany once upon a time. Their combined total in the World Cup sits at 232 goals, with the country finishing as the top scoring team at the tournament on four occasions.That includes three times in the last four competitions, with Belgium breaking their run in 2018. The Germans have been helped in this regard by the fact that Miroslav Klose sits top of the all-time scoring charts with 16 goals, with Gerd Muller just two behind him on the leaderboard. Jurgen Klinsmann and Helmut Rahn also netted double figures for their country on the biggest stage of them all and Brazil – 237.  

FEARFUL INJURY-CAREER ENDING

All professional footballers must have a fear of sustaining a career ending injury, more than anything else. On this day, April 8th 1996, Coventry defender David Busst had his playing days cut short, when he broke his leg during a match. The break was so bad that his bone ewas protruding through his skin and sock and it looked at one point that he may have to lose his leg. Some 26 operations later, although the doctors saved his leg, but could not save his career, as he was forced to hang up his boots at the age of 29.

"Dion Dublin was on his haunches with a gasped look on his face," recalls David Busst. "People told me Peter Schmeichel was physically sick on the pitch. I was lying there thinking 'somebody help me'."

It's the business end of the 1995-96 season. Having trailed Newcastle United by 12 points, Manchester United are on their way to a third Premier League title in four seasons. Home supporters are in high spirits for the visit of struggling Coventry City but just 87 seconds after kick-off the mood inside Old Trafford changes. The 50,332 fans fall silent after one of the most sickening injuries of the Premier League era. A header by Coventry's Noel Whelan is parried by goalkeeper Schmeichel into the path of defender Busst at the far post. "It landed perfectly for me inside the six-yard box," Busst tells BBC Sport. "I go for the ball and the next thing I'm lying flat on my back. "I must have been in shock because I was in this enormous pain and I didn't want to move." Schmeichel, who had saved Busst's attempt, could not bear to look and covered his face with his gloves after throwing the ball out of play so his stricken opponent could receive immediate treatment. Busst's right leg had been shattered in an unintentional collision with United's Denis Irwin and Brian McClair, who were trying to prevent the shot. McClair held his opponent's hand to comfort him as medical staff from both benches rushed on to the pitch. Play was stopped for nine minutes so Busst, who had joined Coventry from non-league Moor Green four years earlier, could be carried away on a stretcher, while blood from his open wound was cleaned off the grass using water and sand.

Players from both sides were visibly shaken while Busst's father, John, and brother, Paul, were at Old Trafford and watched in horror as the drama unfolded. "I couldn't hear 50,000 fans applauding me above the noise of my own screams," says Busst, who was 28 at the time. He never played professional football again.

Despite the injury, Coventry City has remained a huge part of Busst's life. Having taken up a role with the club's football in the community programme after his playing career was cut short, Busst, 56, has served the Sky Blues for more than half his life.

HAPPY STOKOE

In 1973, on this day, Sunderland supporters saw their boys book the club's place in the Wembley FA Cup Final having beaten Arsenal 2-1, at Hillsborough (a suitable "neutral ground") Sheffield, under the management of Bob Stokoe, a nicer man you couldn't meet! This was one of the greatest upsets in Cup history, as the "Mackems" beat "all-conquering", Leeds United at Wembley, with Ian Porterfield scoring the only goal, marking Sunderland's second FA Cup win. Sunderland's victory was a major upset, as Leeds United were considered one of the best teams in English football at the time, Bremner and all!! 

Other Notable Events: Sunderland goalkeeper Jim Montgomery made a crucial double save in the second half, helping to preserve the lead. This was Sunderland's second FA Cup win, their first being in 1937. Sunderland became the first Second Division side to win the FA Cup since West Bromwich Albion in 1931. 

Sunderland's Team:Jimmy Montgomery (Goalkeeper) Dick Malone Ron Guthrie Micky Horswill David Watson Richie Pitt Bobby Kerr (Captain) Billy Hughes Vic Halom Ian Porterfield Dennis Tueart Sub: Bob Stokoe!! 

Leeds United's Team: David Harvey Paul Reaney Trevor Cherry Billy Bremner Paul Madeley Norman Hunter Peter Lorimer Allan Clarke Mick Jones Johnny Giles Eddie Gray Sub: Terry York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNwH7MdadHk&t=2506s

TIMINGS

I reckon weekend football should kick off at 3pm on a Saturday, but the demands of television have seen a variety of kick off times develop over both days of the weekend. Television dictated the earliest kick-off in Premier League history on Sunday October 2nd 2005 at the City of Manchester Stadium, when Manchester City were desperate for TV income. Their match against Everton was screened on PPV (pay per view) TV and kicked off at 11.15am on the Sunday morning, in front of a 42,681 crowd. No doubt the others were in church? 

TV also dictated the kick-off time of the 2008 Champions' League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. Armchair fans saw the match kick off at 7.45pm which was perfect for the British and western European TV audience. But the match was played in Moscow and 7.45 for us was 10.45pm local time in Russia. When extra time was over and the penalties were taken, it was 1.30 am, the following morning in Moscow!! and after the final whistle and other amusements, the cup still had to be presented!

TV couldn't be blamed for the earliest kick off in senior football in England - it happened in 1892! Football League side Burton Swifts were double-booked on Saturday 1st October 1892 - involving a Second Division match at Crewe Alexandra and a home FA Cup Preliminary Round fixture against Singers of Coventry (a forerunner of Coventry City). They solved the problem by bringing forward the cup tie to the previous Wednesday - with an 8am kick off, yes that's 8 o'clock in the morning! Swifts won 3-0 although there is no record of the attendance!

APRIL FOOL! A DAY LATE

1st April 2025: April Fools' Day jokes dominated the air waves, with some fans taking the opportunity to poke fun at Manchester UnitedII It has been a dire season for the Red Devils, who currently found themselves down in 13th place in the Premier League table. They look set to miss out on European football altogether, and have not come close to winning the Champions League since losing in the final to Barcelona, back in 2011. 

A fake report suggested the sides that come up could be given a helping hand before a ball is even kicked, which drew a furious reaction from Cundy. 'I'm sorry, there's no way they'll get this over the line,' he said. 'There's no way the Premier League teams will vote for this. Absolutely no way.  'There'll be court cases everywhere. You're not going to hear the end of that one.' He was speaking to The Guardian's football journalist Jamie Jackson, who just about managed to keep a straight face during Cundy's rant. 

Popular ex-footballer and TV personality Chris Kamara also got in on the act as he took to X with some 'incredible news'. Alongside a photo that looked suspiciously like himself with girl's hair, Kamara wrote to his followers: 'Wow, some incredible news. Just found out after all these years that I have sister!!! She is called April, first I’ve heard of it. Who do you think you are, coming to our screens very soon on ITV.' Kamara's joke comes just months after he made his return to TV amid his battle with speech apraxia.

Kamara had been out of the spotlight due to the neurological disorder that affects the brain pathways involved in producing speech. But he made his comeback to cover Nottingham Forest's 1-0 win over Tottenham on Boxing Day, as he reunited with old friend Jeff Stelling on Amazon Prime Video. Over three months on, he appears to still be in good spirits, although it seems unlikely that his joke will have caught out many fans this time around.

1st April 2006 Leicester City opened their new stadium in July 2002 and on this day in 2006 the record attendance figure was set at the stadium – by the local rugby club! A crowd of 32,488 were present at the ground – then called the Walkers Stadium – for a Heineken Cup quarter-final between Leicester Tigers and Bath. The best Leicester City have managed for one of their games was 32,242 in the Premier League against Sunderland on August 8th 2015 - their first match in their amazing title winning season - with less seats being available at football matches because of the need for crowd segregation.

1st April 2011
There was shock when The Sun newspaper reported that Alex Ferguson had agreed to become Life President of the Referees' Association. Fergie never had an easy relationship with match officials but the Manchester United manager was reported to have accepted the role in an effort to end his long-running feud with the officials. Under the terms of his appointment, he promised to serve as an ambassador for all referees and their assistants and would try not to criticise their performances after matches. Then the date was noticed!