The Knowledge Christmas Special – part two | Tom Lutz

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.4/91261?ns=guardian&pageName=The+Knowledge+Christmas+Special+*+part+two+%7C+Tom+Lutz%3AArticle%3A1679162&ch=Football&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Football%2CSport&c5=&c6=Tom+Lutz&c7=11-Dec-21&c8=1679162&c9=Article&c10=Feature&c11=Football&c13=The+Knowledge&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FFootball%2F" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Which team is the most successful on Christmas Day? The players to have starred in panto; plus plenty from the Christmas archives. Send your questions and answers to <a href="mailto:knowledge@guardian.co.uk" title="">knowledge@guardian.co.uk</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/theknowledge_gu" title="">follow us on Twitter</a></p><h2><strong>THE KINGS OF CHRISTMAS DAY</strong></h2><p></p><p><strong>"Given that Peterborough have only won once on Boxing Day in 15 years, who are the most and least successful teams at Christmas?"</strong> asked xAnder50nx on Twitter.</p><p></p><p>Davy Allen sent us a lovingly crafted spreadsheet on the subject and it turns out you really don't want to mess with Norwich City on Christmas Day. They've played on 25 December five times and won <em>every</em> time. Admittedly, those games all took place between 1925 and 1948, before Deal Or No Deal Christmas Special was a distraction in Norfolk, but it's an impressive feat nonetheless. At the other end of the festive spectrum come Darlington. They've played 10 times on Christmas Day – including a humdinger of a 5-4 defeat against Accrington Stanley in 1951 – and won only once.</p><p></p><h2>HE'S BEHIND YOU!</h2><p></p><p><strong>"Have any footballing thespians ever treaded the boards in panto?"</strong> muses Chris Callaghan.</p><p></p><p>Manchester United run an annual pantomime, which is written by and stars the club's youth players. According to no lesser a source than <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/4004856/Wayne-Rooney-is-star-of-Mock-The-Wig.html" title="">the Sun</a>, this year's panto included skits on Wayne Rooney and David de Gea. One youth player appeared in a Rooney shirt with a Shrek mask and gave a mock-interview about how his hair transplants had changed his life. Anderson was teased about his weight, while De Gea's run-in with the doughnut police was also recreated.</p><p></p><p>In years gone by, the Newcastle favourite Peter Beardsley has appeared in Sleeping Beauty ("he impressed as King Pedro of Gallowgate in a part written specially for him," in 1999 according to <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,609856,00.html" title="">this OSM account</a>), and even though he has returned to the stage since, he seems to be in the minority. Vinnie Jones shunned pantomimes for bigger things (like Midnight Meat Train, we assume), declaring as he set off for Hollywood: "I want to be a big player. I've been offered pantos and turned them down – they didn't do Frank Bruno any favours."</p><p></p><p>Any more for any more? <a href="mailto:knowledge@guardian.co.uk" title="">Send them this way</a>.</p><p></p><h2>CHRISTMAS ARCHIVE</h2><p></p><p><strong>"I vaguely remember waking up on Boxing Day morning a couple of years ago (with a massive hangover) and seeing a caption on Football Focus with an old list of Boxing Day fixtures and an awful lot of goals. Was it something to do with the DTs or did this really happen?"</strong> asked Ken Davro in 2000.</p><p></p><p>We're not doctors, so our lawyers have advised us to make no comment about the floating spots in front of your eyes. But we can help you with the Boxing Day thing. On December 26 1963, an amazing 66 goals were scored in the old First Division, leaving some teams wishing there had been a repeat of the previous season's Big Freeze (which had wiped out nearly all the football between Boxing Day and March). Here are the classifieds:</p><p></p><p>Blackpool 1-5 Chelsea</p><p>Burnley 6-1 Manchester Utd</p><p>Fulham 10-1 Ipswich</p><p>Leicester 2-0 Everton</p><p>Liverpool 6-1 Stoke</p><p>Nottingham Forest 3-3 Sheffield Utd</p><p>WBA 4-4 Tottenham</p><p>Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Bolton</p><p>Wolves 3-3 Aston Villa</p><p>West Ham 2-8 Blackburn</p><p></p><p>If that wasn't weird enough, the results two days later – when many of the teams played the "return leg" – beggar belief. West Ham, who had lost 8-2 at home to Blackburn, won 3-1 at Ewood Park. Manchester United, fresh from a 6-1 thrashing at Burnley, turned the tables at Old Trafford with a 5-1 win.</p><p></p><p>And poor Ipswich, who had clearly been on the Christmas Day pop, avenged their 10-1 defeat by Fulham with a 4-2 victory over the Cottagers at Portman Road. Much good the two points did them, mind you: they finished bottom.</p><p></p><p>Explore our previous Christmas specials in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/series/theknowledge" title="">the Knowledge archive</a>, including: <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2005/dec/21/theknowledge.sport" title="">which football teams appear in the Bible</a>? <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/dec/16/the-knowledge-footballer-christmas-parties" title="">What happens when football's Christmas parties turn bad</a>? And <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/dec/22/first-team-christmas-tree-formation" title="">who were the first team to use the Christmas tree formation</a>?</p><p></p><h2>CAN YOU HELP?</h2><p></p><p>"Wayne Rooney's goal at QPR came inside the first minute and, as the game was meant to kick off at 12pm, I'm guessing it was around 12.01pm in real time," begins Stephen Travers. "We don't have many 12pm kick-offs these days so could this goal be one of the earliest ever scored in a top-flight match?"</p><p></p><p>"Neil Etheridge of Fulham finally made his senior debut against Odense," notes Kameel Gopal. "He has had previous loan spells at Leatherhead (semi-pro) and Charlton (did not play), but already has 28 international caps for the Philippines. What, therefore, is the most international caps a player has won without making a senior professional appearance for any club?"</p><p></p><p>"Which club has gone the longest since one of their players last scored a hat-trick?" asks Nik Johnson.</p><p></p><p>"Recently, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16172276.stm" title="">three managers in the Irish Premier League resigned or were sacked</a> – Dixie Robinson from Dungannon Swifts, Stephen Small from Carrick Rangers and Roy Walker from Ballymena United," emails Kim Coates. "As this is a 12-team league, that's a quarter of the managers gone in one day. Is this the highest percentage of managerial removals in a 24-hour period in any top-flight league?"</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Send your questions and answers to the happy little elves at </em></strong><a href="mailto:knowledge@guardian.co.uk" title=""><strong><em>knowledge@guardian.co.uk</em></strong></a><strong><em>. Happy Christmas. The Knowledge will return on 4 January.</em></strong></p><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/tomlutz">Tom Lutz</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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