“I seem to remember, in the early 2000s, Arsenal having three different strips with three different sponsors; their home kit displayed Dreamcast, their away kit, then gold, was emblazoned with JVC and their third kit, a navy blue number, showed Sega on the front,” writes Elliot Leaver. “Can someone confirm if this is true and, if so, whether other clubs have had similar scenarios?”



Matt Kersley has a correction: “Elliot Leaver is remembering incorrectly; the away shirts had Sega and the blue third shirt kept Dreamcast; the JVC deal ended at the end of the 1998-99 season.”



David Craig can add some more detail and perhaps offer an explanation behind the three-kit, two-sponsor scenario. “I was always told that they had that odd arrangement due to fear of causing offence in Europe as Sega is the Italian word for ‘wanker’. When they played Fiorentina, they had intended on wearing their away kit but were apparently politely asked not to, so Fiorentina wore theirs.

“Atlético Madrid had a similarly strange sponsor in 2003-04. As their deal was with Columbia Pictures, they changed their sponsor whenever Columbia had a new film out. Cue Fernando Torres and co running around with the likes of Hellboy, White Chicks, Spider-Man 2, The Punisher, Bad Boys (and many more) emblazoned across their shirts during the season.”

Dirk Maas has a fine example from Italy at the turn of the millennium that will have commercial departments drooling. “Lazio did have three different strips with three different sponsors for one season in the early 2000s,” he writes. “A light blue home shirt, sponsored by Cirio, in the Serie A 1999-2000 season; a white shirt with light blue trim, sponsored by Stream TV, in the Coppa Italia; and a vertically light blue and white striped shirt, sponsored by Del Monte, in the Champions League.”



Lennon Craig has a more recent example: “On a slightly tangental note, Southampton’s 2015-16 home kit featured local electronics company Veho on the front while the away kit was emblazoned with the word Muvi. While the kits were different the sponsor was not, as Muvi is a brand of camera Veho produce.”

The Knowledge recalls similar scenarios – firstly, Coventry City whose home shirts from 1997 to 2005 bore the name of Japanese car manufacturer Subaru, with the away shirts using partner firm Isuzu. When Hull City were promoted to the Premier League in 2008, their away and third shirts (and stadium) were sponsored by Kingston Communications; the home shirt by the telecom firm’s broadband offshoot, Karoo.

Martyn Levitt wraps us up: “I give you Huddersfield Town in 2015-16. Home kit sponsored by Pure Legal. Away kit sponsored by Radian B. Third kit, a camouflage number designed to remember former Town players who died during the first and second world wars, sponsored by Covonia.”

Geographically speaking

“Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Iran: the geographically closest World Cup group ever?” asks Doug Coyle.

“Not even close,” begins James Dixon. “It is 5,277km from Tehran to Lisbon and 5,240km from the Iranian capital to Rabat. Back in the olden days of World Cup play it was not unheard of to get groupings that came from one continent. In 1950, Group 4 consisted of only Uruguay and Bolivia after Scotland, Turkey and then their replacements France all withdrew (distance between Montevideo and Sucre: 1,977km). But this is bettered by an-all European grouping of England, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy in 1954, with only a mere 1,435km separating London and Rome.

“However, assuming Doug wants to know about four-team groups from more than one confederation, I would suggest Group F in 1986 (Morocco, Portugal, England and Poland – max distance 3,004km) albeit with three Uefa members. Group H in 2006 had teams from three different confederations (Spain, Ukraine, Saudia Arabia and Tunisia) and the maximum distance between the capitals is the 4,974km between Madrid and Riyadh. Based on Fifa’s 2018 seedings and the confederation restrictions, the geographically closest group that could have been drawn together nearly happened. Russia, Croatia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia would have a maximum distances between capital cities of 3,530km between Moscow and Riyadh. However, sadly for geographers everywhere, Uruguay were drawn in Group A not Croatia.”

Another unlikely half-and-half scarf

Non-league third-round absentees (correction)

Last week, we stated that there had been no occasion since the FA Cup third round was introduced in 1925-26 that non-league teams had failed to make that stage … Alun Thomas was among those who got in touch to kindly correct us: “There were no non-league sides in the third round in 1950-51, the only occasion this has happened since it was introduced.”

Knowledge archive

Back in 2008 we asked for tales of professionals who turned out for pub teams. Mike Hulse drew our attention to the occasion George Best turned out for Dee Why Swans, an Australian Sunday league team. Best’s appearance, while on holiday near Sydney in 1983, is commemorated in a photograph on the clubhouse wall.

No less unlikely was the legendary September 1999 Dutch amateur league clash in which former Dutch internationals Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten went head-to-head. Gullit, still only 37, got wind that Van Basten would be turning out for the ABN-Amro sixth XI, and agreed to a request from friends to level the playing field by representing the AFC fifth team. Gullit started the game but his ex-Milan team-mate missed kick-off after falling asleep at home. Van Basten subsequently rushed to the ground, scoring within 11 seconds of his introduction as a substitute, but could do nothing to prevent a 6-2 victory for AFC fifths in which Gullit bagged a double.

Over in the US, Julio César Romero, Roberto Cabañas and other legendary Paraguayan fortysomethings, as Alan Cooper highlighted, played in New York’s Golden League.

John McKillop wrote to tell us about Chris Waddle and David Hirst’s games for Brunsmeer Athletic against such luminaries as the Handsworth Turf Tavern and Chapeltown Royal Oak in the Meadowhall Sheffield & District Sunday Football League. And apparently Neville Southall played for a Sunday parks team alongside The Clash drummer Topper Headon.

Can you help?



“German football magazine 11Freunde is asking for ‘two further football players beside the ever-present George Best’ to find on the cover of Oasis’s Definitely Maybe. I’m only able to spot Rodney Marsh – is there any other pictured?” asks Ulrich Stolze.

“Plymouth Argyle have already used seven keepers before the middle of December: Luke McCormick, Kyle Letheren, Robert Te Locke, Remi Matthews, Mike Cooper, Will Mannion and Kelle Roos,” writes Tom Aldous. “We’ve also had a 16-year-old, Max Childs, on the bench and, given our luck, he’ll be keeper No8 before long. What is the record number of keepers used by a club in a season?”

“Has there been (or, if so, when was the last time) anyone in the professional divisions who has taken a penalty without any run-up? That is, simply stood by the ball, swung a leg, and kicked the ball?” poses Bob Zoellner.

Malcolm Macdonald left Newcastle for Arsenal in 1976 for a fee of £333,333.34. Arsenal famously bid £40,000,001 for Luis Suarez in 2013.

Are there any other tales of bizarre transfer values? — Scott Sumner (@sasumner) December 12, 2017

@TheKnowledge_GU Anyone know which football club was first to bring out a vinyl record? I know Leeds United brought out a double-A side in 1964 to commemorate promotion, was this the earliest one? Thanks — Robert (@RobertEndeacott) December 7, 2017