Plus: clubbing in the club and three lions on a shirt. Send your questions and answers to knowledge@theguardian.com or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“Which rappers and tracks have referenced clubs or players in their lyrics?” Spits Kai Helge Aalhus.

Football references are unsurprisingly more common with UK rappers than their US counterparts, and there are plenty of examples littered throughout UK hip-hop and grime. Jack Ellis and J were keen to point out that it is rare for a song by UK prodigy Dave not to have a football reference in its lyrics. Best known is his hit with AJ Tracey, Thiago Silva, which features the line: “If I bang man’s face, man bop, then lean; KunKun Agüero, man dropped the shoulder feint once; quick-kick then I drop man’s G; first time I link her, Nando’s sweet, £9.95, I swipe, then eat; I one-two rap, she don’t give hat; Thiago Silva, man block, then skeet”.

What are the most unlikely gigs played at football stadiums? | The Knowledge Read more

If Dave is very current then Gareth Walsh points out that football references are nothing new. Blak Twang’s aptly titled 2002 album Kik Off includes several football references. The Knowledge’s personal favourite is on Blood and Fire with a nod to Patrick Vieira’s gobby 1999 run-in with Neil Ruddock: “Yeah, in this era I’m still the bollocks; throw lyrics in your face like Patrick Vieira at Neil Ruddock”.

RabMcHuggett has this: “The Blacksmith remix of Craig David’s Rendezvous features a quite incredible line from Know ?uestion: ‘I can saute, but foreplay is my forte, I know to score more ways than Luís Boa Morte’. A dive into the former Gunner’s stats reveals he scored 48 goals in 357 appearances. An average of a goal every 7.5 games represents questionable prowess about which to brag.”

dan almond (@pompeyrabbi) https://t.co/9Mhk7TPCFU 2.35 'I ain't a New Yorker, I'm London's best talker, You'll never beat me like you'll never beat Des Walker'

Drew Harris brings you an exhaustive list from American rappers. He writes: “Freddy Adu got quite a few references. Jay-Z on American Gangster: ‘And then I bid you Freddy Adu; Prodigal Child, y’all not ready for the future’; Lil’ Wayne’s verse on Haterz: ‘Trying to reach my goal, like a round-ball; Freddy Adu anything for the crown yall; David Beckham, over pay’em or respect’ em; pop one pop two, bitch I’m on a triple decker’; and Jedi Mind Tricks’s On The Eve Of War: ‘With the footwork of Freddy Adu, its all new; now the rap commissioners, they wanna clone my shoe’.” That is a lot of lyrical attention for a player who is still only 28 and was last seen on trial with Polish Premier League new boys Sandecja Nowy Sacz.

However popular Adu may be, Drew thinks that David Beckham wins for getting his name rhymed with rectum: “Missy Elliot’s Wake Up, she rhymes: ‘Evisu Jeans cover the rectum, my kick game just like David Beckham’. Mac Miller continues the booty theme on Moves like Jagger (remix), which features the line: ‘You need hoes, I just sex em, bend the ass like Beckham’. And finally for Becks: ‘Wait a God damn second I’m tripping balls, David Beckham’, fires off Tyler, the Creator on Domo 23.”

Drew’s final contribution is to delve into Action Bronson’s liner notes. “On Back to the Future he puts two references in one verse: ‘A Dutch Master like Robben and Sneijder, strike like a viper, the bottom of a shoe tap like a type writer’.”

The Knowledge’s contribution to this eclectic football-related playlist is Newcastle-supporting rapper CASisDEAD who released a single in 2012 called Leon Best and featured Southend bad boy Nile Ranger in his video for Cheese Slice.

Clubbing in the club (extended encore)



Harking back to unlikely gigs played at football stadiums, Giorgi Pirtskhelani, from Tbilisi, has this fabulous insight:

“Having read your article and the responses, I thought you might be interested to hear about a venue in my home city of Tbilisi – underneath the national football stadium Dinamo Arena, there is now one of the world’s largest techno music clubs, called Bassiani, with gigs taking place every week. The club is operating below the stadium’s East Stand, where there used to be a swimming pool. However, there are now three different concept rooms at the venue. Not far from Bassiani is another venue called the Spacehall, which hosted a John Maus gig a few weeks ago. Therefore, the area now has an iconic status among Tbilisi locals and visitors alike. It is not only the city’s electronic music hotspot, but is home to several social movements as well.”



Knowledge archive

“What is the history of the three lions on the English football shirt?” asked Lisa Herron in July 2002.

Put your lute tape on the jukebox, Lisa, because we’re about to embark on a history lesson.

The short answer is that England wear the three lions on their shirts - as they have done ever since the first international against Scotland in 1872 – because, as representatives of the Football Association, they’re simply sporting the logo of the FA.

However where that logo comes from is a much longer story. The lions have a history going back to the 12th century, when a standard with three gold lions on a red field was carried into battle to inspire the troops.

Football clubs' strangest sidelines – racing cars, petrol stations and bingo | The Knowledge Read more

The first one came from Henry I – known as the lion of England – who had a lion on his standard on taking power in 1100. Shortly afterwards he married Adeliza, whose father also had a lion on his shield, and to commemorate the event he added a second lion to his standard. In 1154, two lions became three when Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine, who – yes, you’ve guessed it – also had a lion her family crest.

Later that century, Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199) used the three golden lions on a scarlet background as a symbol of the English throne and, after that, it appeared on the Royal Arms of every succeeding monarch.

So when the FA was formed in 1863, it seemed natural enough to base their logo on this stirring royal shield. Since then, the design has only been changed once, in 1949 – when the crown that was on top of the lions was removed to differentiate the badge from that of the English cricket team.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest It’s not every week you get a nipple in The Knowledge. Photograph: Dan Chung/The Guardian

Can you help?

“Forest will play Leeds on New Year’s Day, meaning for the fifth time in six years the two teams will be meeting over the festive period (between 20 December and 1 January, in this case),” notes Jim Hearson. “Have any other teams played against each other as frequently at a particular time of each season in the modern era?”

“Chelsea have already recorded three 6-0 victories in the current FA WSL season,” writes Graham Clayton. “Has any other team in any other league recorded more 6-0 victories in a single season?”

“Maidenhead United are reigning champions in National League South, sixth in the English pyramid,” cheers Kári Tulinius. “York Road stadium is within Theresa May’s constituency of Maidenhead. As far as I can tell, that is the second highest league trophy won by a club within the constituency of a sitting British prime minister, only beaten by Manchester City’s old 2nd division triumph in 1903, when Hyde Road was within the boundary of Arthur Balfour’s Manchester East constituency. City were also the only team, as far as I can tell, to win the FA Cup while their MP was PM, in 1904. I couldn’t find a national champion in Wales or Scotland either represented by a sitting PM. Did I miss something? And have any other countries with first-past-the-post single-member-district electoral systems featured a national football champion being represented by a sitting prime minister or premier or whatever?”

“It suddenly occurred to me that, if Man City go on to win the title this season, it will mean that none of the title winners of the last five years will have worn red,” spots Joe Kenrick. “Is this some sort of top flight record? Are there other examples from top leagues where a colour of kit has been particularly dominant?”

“On Saturday 4 November at Stoke City’s 2–2 draw with Leicester at the Bet365 Stoke’s two goals were scored by Xherdan Shaqiri and Peter Crouch,” notes Potters fan Robin Wiles. “Has there ever been a greater disparity in the heights of players scoring goals for the same team in the same match?”

“Which manager has been sacked the most times?” ponders Adrian Burns.

M Higgins (@TheHiggsmeister) @TheKnowledge_GU Hi, was wondering what game at a major tournament has had the most players from one club, Googling yielded nothing, thanks