Q & A The legend of local rivalry . . . . . and other myths exploded

Since the introduction of three points for a win, have more matches ended in home wins than before?

When I compared the five seasons prior to the change (1976-77 to 1980-81) with the five seasons up to 1990-91 (a gap of 10 years which allowed the new system to settle), the evidence was very much that home teams were, in fact, doing worse. Essentially, after the change, fewer games were home wins or drawn and there were more away wins. Additionally, away goals per game increased at the expense of home goals per game and there were more goals in total. The following tables demonstrated this:

----------------------------------------------------------------- Pre- Post- 3PW 3PW Diff ----------------------------------------------------------------- Home wins (%) 49.9 47.4 -2.5 Draws (%) 28.9 27.6 -1.3 Away wins (%) 21.3 25.0 +3.7 Goals per game Home 1.59 1.55 -0.04 Away 0.98 1.07 +0.09 Total 2.57 2.62 +0.06 -----------------------------------------------------------------

I also compared the share of points earned between the two periods on the basis that three points had been in force in the first one too. This also showed that away teams were responding to the challenge as their share of available points went up, as follows (note that points earned also went up as fewer draws meant fewer 'unearned' points going astray):

----------------------------------------------------------------- Home teams (%) 59.5 56.6 -2.9 Away teams (%) 30.6 34.2 +3.6 Points earned (%) 90.1 90.8 +0.7 -----------------------------------------------------------------

One other discernible change was a drop of over 15 per cent in the number of 0-0 draws, and I think these statistics indicate that the change in the points system has improved the appeal of the game without tampering with the fundamental laws. The full details of this analysis were first published in November 1991, in Report No 74 of the Association of Football Statisticians. - Gilbert Upton, Southport.

Why is a match between local rivals referred to as a 'derby'?

The term derby match most probably has its origin in the ancient Shrovetide football that for centuries was played with fierce local rivalry in the streets of Derby between the parishes of All Saints' and St Peter's. Legend has it that the game started in the third century, commemorating an encounter between Roman soldiers and the civil population.

The street football became so violent and involved such large crowds of players in the 19th century that in 1846 it was banned. Attempts were made to continue it for the next few years, but it was soon suppressed completely.

However, a similar Shrovetide football game at Ashbourne, 15 miles from Derby, still continues, bringing the boarded-up town to a halt each Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday as the 'hug' of players try to carry the ball to goals three miles apart on either side of the town.

The carrying of the ball is a distinctive aspect of the Ashbourne game and in his newly published official history of Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football, Lindsey Porter suggests that rugby football had its origin in that game. Three Ashbourne boys were at Rugby School in 1823 when William Webb Ellis did his famous pick-up and run; it seems that he had heard from those boys how they played their football at Ashbourne. - Geoffrey D Hammerton, Mickleover, Derby.

In football, why are goalkeepers no longer penalised for taking more than four steps while holding the ball? What should the penalty be?

It would be simplistic to say that 'Referees can't count]'

Law XII para 5 (a) states that if 'When playing as Goalkeeper and within his own penalty area (a) from the moment he takes control of the ball with his hands, he takes more than four steps in any direction whilst holding, bouncing or throwing the ball in the air and catching it again . . . he shall be penalised by the award of an indirect free-kick . . .'

It is often difficult to determine just when the goalkeeper has taken control of the ball with his hands, and thus to start the counting of steps. It is also difficult to judge just when he releases the ball when kicking it up-field, in terms of the number of steps taken.

As an FA Referee Instructor with almost 30 years' refereeing experience, I can assure the questioner that:

(1) Referees are given instruction in how the Law works and how it should be applied, through practical demonstrations.

(2) Most referees get it right within the context of the game.

(3) Most referees will penalise the offence and award an indirect free-kick (ie from which a goal cannot be scored direct by the player taking the kick) when a goalkeeper indulges in tactics designed to hold up the game, waste time or give his team an unfair advantage. This latter would include taking more than four steps in order to gain ground, delay putting the ball into play to enable his colleagues to get into position, and so on.

However, only the opinion of the referee on the day, based on how he or she saw the incident, carries any weight, and I suspect that when a goalkeeper genuinely 'gets on with the game' the 'spirit of the law' and its commonsense application overrides the pedantic application of the four-step Law. - John Clancey, Nelson, Lancashire.

They are occasionally - the penalty is an indirect free-kick to the opposition. The offence is usually ignored because of the lethargy of the referee. Over the years referees have increasingly flouted many laws in the interests of energy conservation by 'letting the game flow' (delighting the Moores and the Motsons) because a stoppage would mean readjusting their position. Why are goalkeepers allowed to cuddle the ball for up to 15 seconds? Because penalising them would mean the referee running from perhaps the halfway line to the goal area to supervise an indirect free-kick.

Other examples of referee lethargy start with the kick-off. I record on video all clearly shown kick-offs on television. I have seen just four legitimate kick-offs this season - the first on 18 November (referees Swedish, German, two Italian). The laws state that the ball must be kicked forward, travel at least the distance of its circumference (27in), with all players in their own half of the field. I saw Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest (12 December) with a 'goal' from an illegally taken free-kick in which the ball moved a few inches before being played by the kicker's colleague.

More examples: foul throws; ground-stealing ignored (and offenders often allowed a retake under a law that was abandoned in 1987 when Fifa finally adopted my own long-standing suggestion to rule a foul throw); encroaching at penalty-kicks (a 90-per- cent offence rate); players allowed to stand over the ball to delay a free-kick. - Lawrence Sutton, Orpington.

Has any professional footballer ever held a PhD or other higher degree (not including those awarded on an honorary basis)?

Socrates, captain of Brazil during the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals, is also a practising paediatrician. Off the field he smoked like a chimney, up to 40 cigarettes a day. On the field he was so laid-back that some of his team-mates said he occasionally fell asleep during play] - C B Basher, London NW1.

Dr Ceri Evans has made 91 appearances for Oxford United as a centre- back. (This makes him one of the very few Oxford graduates to achieve anything constructive for the town]) - Ed Horton.

Surely the question should be: 'Has any PhD holder managed to rise to the top ranks of professional football?' If Mr Bell is attempting to imply that footballers are less capable of attaining academic honours than the average citizen, I think he misunderstands the nature of high-level sport.

Sporting excellence frequently depends on the early development of youthful talent, and this, together with the dedication required to rise to the top, of necessity means reduced opportunities for formal education.

A PhD is a qualification for professional success of a different kind, as a football match between University College, Oxford, and Liverpool FC Reserves would prove. - Paul Heath, Blisworth, Northants.

ANSWERS PLEASE

Racing journalists offer two tips, a 'nap' and 'next best'. What is the origin of the world 'nap'? - Matthew Dening, Sutton Coldfield.

What happened to William Webb Ellis, who evolved the rugby code back in 1823? Did he go on to play the game? - Kevin Maguire.

What is the highest number of own goals scored by a player in a football League game? - Mark Kelly, Ballymena.

Which is the most remote football club in the Premier or Football League? - Guy Douglas, Cheltenham.

Why is a hat-trick so called? - Brian Shearing, Reading.

Who is the top goalscorer in world football? Pele retired with 1,000 goals, and I would like to know if any modern player comes close to this total. - Paul Scullion (aged 8), Balloch, Dunbartonshire.

How is it that racehorses appear not to be subject to the usual quarantine laws when travelling abroad? - Mr Alan Marsh, Leigh.

Why do American Footballers wear mascara under their eyes? - J S Ritchie, Aberdeen.

If you know the answers to any of these questions, or have a sporting question of your own you would like answered, write to:

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