There are a million and one football websites out there these days to cater for all needs, but with it being international weekend, and erm, week at the moment, it’s worth noting that one of the best ones out there is www.englandfootballonline.com The site having been run for 14 years now by Josh Benn, Chris Goodwin, Glen Isherwood and Peter Young as it charts the complete, and boy do I mean complete, history of the England national football team.
The amount of detail on the site is remarkable with lists and stats for almost anything you can think of as far as England are concerned. There is some interesting stuff in the trivia section for you to pub bore quiz your mates with as well aside from the stats aspect of things. Here’s one for you to start with, who made the first substitute appearance for England? Well, it was former Burnley manager Jimmy Mullen as he replaced Wor Jackie Milburn in a 4-1 win in Belgium in May 1950.
Remarkably there’s also an age gap of just over 30 years between the oldest and youngest players to have featured against England, Billy Meredith for Wales in 1920 being 45 years and 229 days old, while the Republic of Ireland’s Sam Johnston was just 15 years and 154 days old even further back in 1881. As for England themselves, well Theo Walcott on 17 years and 75 days old has Wayne Rooney 36 days behind and in second place as far as the youngest player ever is concerned.
There are some real niche facts in there as well, for instance only 35 of England’s 1195 players over the years have been born outside of England, with 18 of those coming from either India, Jamaica or South Africa, mainly from the days of Empire. Surprising to see that, and the page was last updated in March so don’t blame me if it’s changed recently, but only one player was born in Scotland, that being John Bain who made just one appearance, against Scotland funnily enough, back in 1877. It’s closer to home than Mexican-born Richard Geaves though who attended Harrow School and picked up a solitary cap two years earlier.
For a couple of real crackers on the pub quiz front mind, look no further than players and managers. Which England player has played under the most England managers for instance? Well, while you have a quick think, it’s eight managers in Kevin Keegan, Howard Wilkinson, Peter Taylor, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello, Stuart Pearce and Roy Hodgson. And the answer is Gareth Barry. Another odd fact being that Andrew Cole earned his first four England caps under four different managers in Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle, Howard Wilkinson and then finally Kevin Keegan.
Only 12 players have been historically red carded for England meanwhile, although it’s 14 dismissals overall with David Beckham and Wayne Rooney being the only England players to have been sent off twice. It’s noticeable too on that line that 10 of the 14 red cards have come since 1998, with the first of the other four coming in 1968 when Alan Mullery was sent off against Yugoslavia for aiming a retaliatory kick at Dobrivoje Trivic.
Rob Green is the only goalkeeper, in 2009 against Ukraine, to have been sent off for England, while staying in that section of the pitch we’ve been awarded 102 penalties over time, with 71 scored and 31 missed or saved, at a conversion rate of 69.6%. That rate being remarkably similar to the conceded one, which sits at 68.4% on the back of 54 penalties scored from 79 taken.
Our record in penalty shootouts is as bad as you expected as well, with seven of the eight having ended in defeat, the only success coming against Spain in EURO 96, when Alan Shearer, David Platt, Stuart Pearce and Paul Gascoigne scored in a 4-2 quarter-final victory. If the game goes to extra-time don’t abandon all hope though as of the other four games that have gone that far but not gone to penalties, England have won three and lost just one. Name the victories then, which all came in World Cups. West Germany 1996, Belgium 1990 and Cameroon 1990 is the answer. The defeat meanwhile was West Germany in 1970.