Does Shay Given really carry holy water with him at every match?

Plus: England v Scotland goalkeeper showdown; footballers releasing records (3); and the keeper sent off in a shootout. Email your questions and answers to
Shay Given at the 2002 World Cup
'Mind the holy water!' Photograph: Jacques Demarthon/EPA

"I vaguely recall hearing that Shay Given has a special bottle of water he puts in his goal before every match," vaguely recalls Damien Hensley. "Is this really true?"

Well, Damien, according to the man himself, it is. Prior to every game he plays, the Republic of Ireland keeper places a vial of Lourdes holy water at the back of his goal as a lucky charm. "I carry it in my kit bag and it goes everywhere with me," he told the Irish News of the World in 2002. Apparently, the water carries with it powers that many Roman Catholics ascribe to the Lourdes spring, where apparitions of the Virgin Mary first appeared in 1858. Given also takes a picture of his late mother wherever he goes. "He's been doing it since he was small," revealed his father Seamus. "I don't know how much he remembers her because he was so young when she died, but he doesn't want to forget about her."

It won't come as any real surprise that goalkeepers are as superstitious they come, and myths abound that Arsenal's will never wear brand new shirts unless they have already been washed. Apparently, this dates back to the Gunners' 1927 FA Cup final defeat to Cardiff, when Dan Lewis blamed a greasy new woollen top for the mistake that led to the only goal of the game.

Prior to this, the Woolwich Arsenal keeper Leigh Richmond Roose (cited by the Daily Mail in 1905 as one of the capital's most eligible bachelors, no less) had a similar clothing ritual. Legend has it that Roose played every match with an unwashed 'lucky' black-and-green Aberystwyth top underneath his jersey. "Roose is one of the cleanest custodians we have, but he apparently is a trifle superstitious about his football garments, for he seldom seems to trouble the charwoman with them," read one March 1904 account in Bolton's Cricket and Football Field. "Considerable amusement was created at Stoke on Saturday and again at Liverpool on Monday, when it was noticed that Roose alone failed to turn out in spic and span garments. His pants, we should say, carried about them the marks of many a thrilling contest."

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"On the first day of the season, both current England and Scotland international goalkeepers opposed each other for Sunderland and Spurs," notes Adam Burrage. "When was the last time this took place in a competitive club match?"

The answer is April 8 2001, Adam. It was the FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford and again Tottenham found themselves on the wrong end of the result, with Neil Sullivan conceding two goals to the one that sneaked past David Seaman. In terms of the last league meeting, the pair featured in a north London derby at Highbury just nine days earlier, which Spurs once again contrived to lose, this time 2-0.


We've been investigating players' crimes against music for the past two weeks, but several eagle-eyed readers have pulled us up on some key absentees from our current list of examples ...

"About your singing footballers list," begins Erwan Le Duc. "I would suggest you try France 98 world champion Youri Djorkaeff, with this amazing hit called Vivre dans ta lumière, meaning 'living in your light'." Amazing? "Hope you enjoy it as much as I did." Hmm ...

"Johan Cruyff had a small hit (No 21 in the charts) in the Netherlands with 'Oei Oei Oei (Dat Was Me Weer een Loei)," volunteers Martijn ter Haar. "When he went to Barcelona, the Spanish branch of Polydor released the single in Spain, where quite a few were sold too. Also, not only does former Belgium keeper Jean-Marie Pfaff have his own Osbournes-style reality TV show (De Pfaffs), but he also released a single, simply called 'Jean Marie'."

Finally, Dennis Jones remembers that none other than John Charles made "a recording of Sixteen Tons in the late 1950s. It wasn't very good; not much of a singer but what a player!" According to the Gentle Giant's autobiography, he was persuaded to sing some songs during his time in Italy and these were released as singles.

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"Has a goalkeeper ever been sent off during a penalty shootout?" wondered Olumide Hassan in 2005.

Hats were taken off in tribute to Tommy Tucker for discovering that Botswana goalkeeper and captain Modiri Marumo was sent off during a Castle Cup shootout against Malawi in May 2003. Having been booked for time-wasting before Malawi scored their third spot-kick, Marumo "reacted to a pat on the shoulder from opposite number Philip Nyasulu by punching him in the face and got a red card". The defender Michael Mogaladi had to go in goal, but he couldn't stop Malawi winning 4-1 on penalties to reach the Malawi to reach the semi-finals.

"I over-reacted in an exchange of words between myself and my counterpart," admitted Marumo. "This unbecoming behaviour has not only embarrassed me, but also the organisation that I work for, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). I hope my apology would be recognised and I pledge my commitment in serving the nation."

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Can you help?

"Alan Smith has gone from Leeds United to Manchester United and recently to Newcastle United," observes Lars Helge Strand. "Has anybody played for more Uniteds than Smith?"

"Which club holds the record for having the most players with criminal convictions in their squad at one time?" asks Stuart Ferguson.

"Following last week's Uefa Cup tie between Dunfermline and FC Haken, has there ever been another fixture in the main three European competitions that didn't involve a side from the top division of either country?" wonders Mike Ritchie.

"Portsmouth's back four against Bolton on Saturday comprised four left-footers (honk, etc): Taylor, Distin, Hreidarsson and Traore," notes Jessica Forsdyke. "Has this ever happened before?"

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