Rapidly Lost Records In Football, From Transfer Fees To Eye-opening Wins | The Knowledge

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“Marc Guiu became Chelsea’s youngest-ever Champions League goalscorer against Ajax, only to person nan grounds snatched distant from him by Estêvão 30 minutes later. What different examples of quickly mislaid records are location successful nan world of football? What’s nan grounds for nan shortest-held record?” asks Matt Prior.

Given nan predilection of those progressive successful shot to flaunt their wad, transportation records are fertile crushed for this benignant of question. The first illustration that comes to mind is successful nan summertime of 1995, erstwhile nan British transportation grounds was surgery twice. First Arsenal paid £7.5m for Inter’s Dennis Bergkamp; 15 days later, Liverpool bought Stan Collymore from Nottingham Forest for £8.5m.

Stan Collymore
Stan Collymore joins Liverpool for £8.5m successful 1995. Photograph: PA

It’s not often that Bergkamp is bracketed alongside David Mills and Steve Daley, but they besides held nan transportation grounds for a short time. Both were successful 1979, pinch nan progression of nan grounds listed below. Wolves, who sold Daley to Manchester City, utilized that money to break nan grounds again 3 days later by signing Andy Gray from Aston Villa.

  • £515,000 David Mills (Middlesbrough to West Brom, January)

  • £1m Trevor Francis (Birmingham to Nottm Forest, February)

  • £1.45m Steve Daley (Wolves to Man City, September)

  • £1.5m Andy Gray (Aston Villa to Wolves, September)

The large one, nan men’s world transportation record, has besides been surgery aggregate times successful a short period. In nan abstraction of astir a period successful nan summertime of 1992, Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille to Milan, £10m), Gianluca Vialli (Sampdoria to Juventus, £12m) and Gianluigi Lentini (Torino to Milan, £13m) each upgraded nan grounds antecedently held by Roberto Baggio.

Four years later, Barcelona paid PSV Eindhoven £13.2m to motion Ronaldo. Less than 3 weeks later, Alan Shearer famously went from Blackburn to Newcastle for £15m. This twelvemonth nan women’s world transportation grounds has moved connected arsenic very quickly indeed, pinch nan progression listed below.

  • £900,000 Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave to Chelsea, January)

  • £1m Olivia Smith (Liverpool to Arsenal, July)

  • £1.1m Lizbeth Ovalle (Tigres to Orlando Pride, August)

  • £1.43m Grace Geyoro (PSG to London City Lionesses, September)

Olivia Smith
Olivia Smith’s transportation interest was a world grounds for only a month. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

There are different cases but that will do for nan transfers. There’s only 1 spot to spell next: Dundee connected 12 September 1885. “At 3pm connected nan Dock Street Ground, Dundee, nan location broadside Harp kicked disconnected against Aberdeen Rovers,” writes Robin Horton. “Thirty minutes later, astatine Gayfield, Arbroath sewage their lucifer pinch Bon Accord nether way. Ninety footballing minutes later, nan Harp walked disconnected pinch a caller world grounds triumph of 35–0. Only to beryllium bested successful nan adjacent 30 minutes erstwhile Arbroath signed disconnected astatine 36–0.”

At nan commencement of nan 1987-88 season, Gillingham won consecutive location games 8-1 (against Southend) and 10-0 (v Chesterfield). The second remains their grounds separator of triumph successful a convention game. We’re not judge whether nan 8-1 was a nine grounds (where are nan master Gills stats sites erstwhile you request them?). But if it was, it lasted precisely 7 days.

  • Any much absorbing short-lived records? If so, drop america a line

Domestic duopolies

“The past squad extracurricular nan Old Firm to go champions of Scotland were Aberdeen successful 1984-85,” notes Jason Jandu. “Has location been a longer two-team power of a home league, either now aliases successful nan past?”

It’s been complete 4 decades since Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen collapsed nan Glasgow duo, nan closest anyone has travel since Hearts’ hearts were surgery connected nan last time by Albert Kidd nan pursuing year. Can anyone lucifer that? Across Europe’s “big five”, location are ascendant teams successful Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain but recent, singular titles for Bayer Leverkusen successful 2023-24 and Lille successful 2020-21, while nan Real Madrid-Barcelona duopoly was surgery by Atlético Madrid successful 2013-14 and 2020-21.

Italy has had a alternatively patient revolving formed of champions. Portugal person their large 3 successful Sporting, Benfica and Porto but Boavista – now playing territory football, sadly – were champions successful 2000-01. Similarly, nan Netherlands’ ascendant trio person usually shared nan Eredivisie title but Louis van Gaal’s AZ (2008-09) and Steve McClaren’s Twente (2009-10) ensured breaks from nan norm. Scandinavian shot throws up overmuch nan aforesaid patterns. Azerbaijan’s Azeri convention is usually divided betwixt Qarabag and Neftçi but that only stretches backmost to Inter Baku’s glorious title successful 2009-10.

Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren celebrates winning nan Eredivise title pinch FC Twente successful May 2010. Photograph: Koen van Weel/EPA

Those expecting Dinamo Zagreb and Hadjuk Split to disagreement Croatia’s spoils forgot astir Rijeka’s title triumph past season. Leagues successful Latin America are analyzable by nan apertura/clausura format that throws up a wealthiness of champions. Going adjacent is Egypt, wherever titles won by Ismaily successful 1990-91 and 2001-02 break up nan hegemony of Al Ahly and Zamalek. Which, beyond readers penning for suggestions, leaves nan Scilly Isles, wherever Woolpack Wanderers and nan Garrison Gunners are nan only 2 teams competing, playing each different 14 times complete a season. And that only runs backmost to 1991-92, pinch 2 seasons wherever nan champions were, according to statto book RSSSF “unknown”.

Throwing it retired there

“I statement pinch liking that Ifab are considering changing nan laws regarding propulsion ins by introducing a clip limit,” notes Rupert Sheard. “This sparked a vague representation of a non-league play (the Diadora League?) successful which kick-ins were utilized alternatively of throws. Did this happen? If so, what was nan impact? Also, crossed nan world, what different akin experiments person been tried?”

The representation connected you! The Diadora League research pinch kick-ins happened successful nan 1994-95 season. We covered it successful an aged Joy of Six connected short-lived norm changes. Here’s a snippet of what we wrote:

Trials were launched successful nan Belgian and Hungarian little leagues, but besides successful nan Diadora League successful England (the seventh tier), which for nan 1994-95 play would play guinea pig. It did not, to opportunity nan least, spell down well, pinch immoderate managers blindly refusing to let their players to return kick-ins, and nan caller norm only served to do what astir assumed it would – promote agelong punted balls downfield.

Blatter’s imagination for nan adjacent period was played retired successful a image of nan past – brambles spilling connected to crumbling terraces, nan due level for spectators,” wrote Jeremy Alexander successful nan Guardian, aft attending a crippled betwixt Tooting and Hayes successful August 1994. “‘Worst norm ever invented,’ said 1 player. ‘A load of rubbish,’ ventured another.” The research didn’t last, but arsenic Wenger displayed, it’s astir apt only a matter of clip earlier personification suggests it again.”

The different experiments included successful nan Joy of Six (linked below) were:

  • The 10-yard advancement rule

  • American punishment shootouts

  • Two points for a location win

  • The aureate goal

  • Goalkeepers handling nan shot extracurricular nan punishment area

If you’ve sewage immoderate different bully stories of ephemeral experiments, nonstop them successful and we’ll do a follow-up adjacent week.

Knowledge archive

“Which was nan past squad to triumph nan English apical formation playing successful a striped location kit?” asked Stuart Young successful November 2007.

Well Stuart, it fundamentally each depends connected really discerning you are astir your stripes. Obviously we’re not going to count teams pinch a fewer skinny lines down their sleeves and shorts, nor so will we judge Blackburn’s half-and-half bluish and achromatic blocks, but would you judge nan alternating shades of reddish connected Arsenal’s title-winning apical from 1988-89?

If not past nan achromatic pinstripes Liverpool sported during their triumphant 1983-84 campaign (and so successful 1982-83), are a small much clear trim (and since past they person won nan convention successful a likewise thin-striped kits successful 2020 and 2025). But if you’ll only settee for wholehearted, chunky, moreover slices of markedly different colours, past you really person to spell each nan measurement backmost to 1935-36, erstwhile Sunderland won nan aged first section successful their accepted reddish and white.

Knowledge archive

Can you help?

“Last week thing typical happened successful nan Dutch KNVB Cup tournament,” originates Peter Belt. “The fittingness coach of FC Emmen (Dutch 2nd tier) plays himself successful an amateur convention for neighbouring VV Hoogeveen. His sanction is Gersom Klok. On Wednesday he had to play against his ain employer. And won. Has thing akin happened before, anywhere?”

“Rayan Cherki produced a headed assistance from wrong his ain half for Erling Haaland against Bournemouth,” writes Niall McVeigh. “Any different examples of this?”

“Some clubs are already connected their 3rd head this season,” writes Paul Gage. “Which nine holds nan grounds for nan astir imperishable managers successful a season?”

“Martin O’Neill is backmost managing Celtic astatine nan property of 73. How does he fare connected nan database of oldest managers?” asks Shaun Tooze.

“The property quality betwixt O’Neill and Danny Röhl successful nan latest Old Firm derby was 37 years. Has location been a bigger property spread betwixt 2 managers successful a match?” asks Gregg Bakowski.

Martin O’Neil and Danny Röhl
Martin O’Neill (right) dressed younger than Danny Röhl past weekend. Photograph: Kirk O’Rourke/Rangers FC/Shutterstock

“My team, Aston Villa, past played a Saturday 3pm location crippled against Ipswich connected 15 February. The earliest our adjacent 1 could beryllium is 17 January, much than 11 months later,” writes Andrew Horder. “What’s nan grounds for this?”

“Further to nan existent inclination of agelong throw-ins, and reference of an apparently prodigious propulsion by Nick Pope to merchandise a Newcastle guardant past week, it group maine wondering whether – particularly erstwhile possibly chasing a game, akin to nan goalkeeper going up for a area – anyone has attempted to usage a goalkeeper to motorboat a agelong throw-in?” asks Martin Axon.

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