“After watching Amad Diallo get sent off for removing his shirt, I have a few questions,” begins Alan Middlemass. “Who was the first player to be given a yellow card for celebrating by removing a shirt? Was anyone notorious for doing so before the punishment was introduced? How many have still made the celebration when on a first yellow?”
We covered the last question – players being sent off for taking their shirt off – back in 2016. Most of the examples come from the 21st century, but we missed a good story from February 1996. Beppe Signori scored a late penalty to win the Rome derby for Lazio and was giving a second yellow card for overdoing the euphoria.
It was in the mid-1990s, when football’s lawmakers decided that there was too much optimism and happiness in the world, that players started to be booked for this particular form of ungentlemanly conduct. As far as we’re aware, the first time it really made headlines in England was in December 1996, when Newcastle beat Metz in the Uefa Cup thanks to two late goals from Tino Asprilla.
Asprilla celebrated the first by taking his shirt off, sticking it on the corner flag and lifting it in triumph. He was booked. “Sometimes I feel it’s the referees who should be shown a yellow card, not the players,” said his teammate David Ginola after the game. “I mean, what is the game coming to when someone is booked for enjoying himself?”
(Ginola happily accepted a booking four years later when he scored a late equaliser for Aston Villa against Manchester City. He whipped off his shirt and posed to the cameras – not in an expression joy, but as a response to pre-match comments from his manager John Gregory that he was “carrying a bit of timber”. Just look at the state of him.)
Asprilla’s yellow card meant he was suspended for the first leg of the quarter-final against Monaco. His manager Kevin Keegan absolved Asprilla of any blame. “It’s my fault he was booked,” said Keegan. “The referee said beforehand that anyone who took their shirt off would get a yellow card but I forgot to tell the lads in the dressing-room.”
Keegan had left Newcastle by the time the quarter-final came round. With Asprilla suspended and Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand and Peter Beardsley all injured, the new manager Kenny Dalglish fielded the midfielder Rob Lee as a lone striker for the first leg at St James’ Park. Monaco won 1-0 and then, despite the return of Asprilla and Beardsley, hammered Newcastle 3-0 in the second leg.
Earlier in the same European season, Christophe Dugarry (Milan v Rosenborg) and Ally McCoist (Rangers v Grasshoppers) were booked for similar celebrations in Champions League matches. At the end of the previous season, 1995-96, Brennan Johnson’s father David was given a yellow card for scoring what was effectively a promotion-clinching goal for Bury against Cardiff.
But the earliest yellow card we’ve been able to find was in the Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final second leg of 1994-95. With eight minutes to go, the teenage substitute Claudio Bellucci scored the goal which put Sampdoria ahead in the tie on away goals, and celebrated as you’d expect: by getting rid of his top quicksmart and running the entire length of the field before sliding in front of the Gradinata Sud.
He was booked, although it’s quite possible this was for the lap of honour rather than the specific act of taking his shirt off. He kept his kit on when he scored again two minutes later, but Arsenal eventually won the tie on penalties thanks to David Seaman. Bellucci wasn’t the only striker celebrating in that manner in 1994-95. But as far as we’re aware, nobody was brave or jobsworthy enough to book Duncan Ferguson during his topless phase at Everton.
The most goals conceded with a positive GD
“Notts County have conceded 72 goals in League Two but still have a positive goal difference. Obviously there are a number of games to go, but what is the highest number of goals conceded by a team who still have a positive goal difference?” wonders Stephen Garbett.
Thanks to everyone who did the hard yards on this one, especially Chris Roe and Andy Wright. The highest total that any of you could find was a nice round 100. That’s how many goals Manchester City conceded in 1957-58, which made their defence the second leakiest in Division One (Leicester conceded a chilling 112 but stayed up by a point). City also had the best attack – they scored 104 goals, one more than the champions Wolves, and finished fifth in the table.
There were some spectacular victories (6-2, 5-4, three 5-2s) and even more spectacular defeats: 6-1 at Preston, 8-4 at Leicester and 9-2 at West Brom.
Here’s a list of the Football League teams who have conceded 90+ goals and still had a positive goal difference.
100 Manchester City (+4, Division One 1957-58, 5th place)
97 Coventry City (+11, Division Three South 1931-32, 12th)
94 Barrow (+22, Division Three North 1933-34, 8th)
93 Blackburn Rovers (+6, Division One 1929-30, 6th)
92 Bradford Park Avenue (+10, Division Four 1965-66, 11th), Bristol City (+8, Divsion Three 1962-63, 14th), Mansfield Town (+8, Division Three North 1957-58, 6th)
91 Charlton Athletic (+6, Division Two 1960-61, 10th)
Andy Wright also has the highest total in Scotland: 95, conceded by Forfar in Division Two in 1929-30. They scored 98 goals and finished eighth.
Finally, the record in the Premier League era is 63. It belongs to those great entertainers: Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur. They finished eighth last year with a goal difference of +7, having scored 70 and conceded 63 – including three at both ends in the game at Southampton that tipped Conte over the edge.
More footballing refuseniks
In last week’s Knowledge we looked at individual players who declined to go back out for the second half. We missed a couple of beauties.
“Johan Cruyff refused to play the second half of the last game of the 1982-83 season for Ajax,” writes Adam Webster. “The reason being that he had signed a contract for the following season at bitter rivals Feyenoord and it was going to be announced just after half time. You can hear the full story here, starting at 3m58s, brilliantly told by Jan Molby.”
You can read about how such an unlikely move came about with this extract from Andy Bollen’s book Fierce Genius.
The other example involves another player who made a controversial move to a bitter rival. “Sol Campbell, Arsenal v West Ham 2006. He left the stadium,” writes David Campbell, who may or may not be a disgusted relative.
Knowledge archive
“Upon musing at the trend of football managers having their initials on their jackets or tracksuit tops, I wondered if any manager has been replaced with another who has the same initials, thus saving the expense of new matchday apparel?” pondered thrifty Ed Ginzler in November 2014.
There have been a few. Gareth Southgate, for example, was replaced by Gordon Strachan at Middlesbrough, though as Pete Scarborough points out: “I’m not sure if Gareth’s jacket would have fit wee Gordon” And as Tom Pringle adds: “It was a bit of a false economy on the kit initials though, as Strachan proceeded to spend every penny in the piggy bank on dross before being sacked himself a year later.”
That does seem to be a theme – the savings on matchday apparel initials seem to be regularly offset by spending (or general failure) elsewhere. “Wolves did exactly this in March 1994, replacing popular but limited stalwart Graham Turner (two promotions on a shoe-string, Steve Bull, Sherpa Van Trophy) with Graham Taylor (stagnation, tried to sell Steve Bull, Turnip),” writes Phil Russell. “Although given the transfer budget squandered on the likes of Tony Daley, Mark Atkins, Steve Sedgeley etc I can’t imagine cost savings were high on the agenda when he was appointed.”
David Weir replaced Danny Wilson at Sheffield United in the summer of 2013, and won one game before being sacked after 13 matches. And it was a similarly sorry story at Manchester City in 1984. “As a diehard Manchester City fan I remember only too well the dark days of the 80s when City truly were a shambles,” writes Phil Hammond. “John Bond resigned in 1983 to be replaced by assistant manager John Benson. City were duly relegated, Benson was sacked. The following season Bond went to Burnley, Benson followed him as assistant. Bond was sacked and Benson took over from him as manager again. So that’s two clubs who saved on the reprinting of initials – beat that!”
Can you help?
“Geoff Hurst, while professionally contracted to West Ham, batted for Essex against Lancashire in the 1962 County Championship. He failed to score a run with one out from two innings and never played first-class cricket again. If this isn’t the most disastrous debut of a footballer in another sport – what is?” writes Jack Hayward.
“While watching Match of the Day at the weekend an interesting stat popped up: Enes Unal has now scored in five different top-flight leagues. It made us wonder who has scored in the most. The best we could find was Diego Forlán with nine. Can anyone beat that?” asks Alex Price.
@TheKnowledge_GU Ashford Town (Middx) played South Park (Reigate) in the Isthmian League South Central Division on 16th March. Are there any other Parenthesis derbies?
— Andrew Wilson (@PickaPuzzle) March 16, 2024
“What is the biggest deficit from which a team has come back to win a single football match?” muses Susannah Clark.
“Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City could all finish the season with 90+ points. Have three teams in the same top-flight league ever done that before?” wonders Peter Franklin.
“This season’s Championship is crazy, with potentially the top four reaching 92 points (two per game). Has any team in the Football League ever got two points per game and failed to win automatic promotion?” asks Tim.
“Darlington’s away record this season in the National League North is P20 W7 D0 L13. They have had one cup away game and lost 2-0. Has a team in the top six divisions in England ever gone though a season without drawing away from home?” wonders Craig Stoddart.
“What is the most bizarre penalty taken?” asks Susannah Clark (again).
Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU.
