Current Opponents' Players v RFC

[strap]

Slow week due to the international break, so was wandering around the old beast and happened across this snippet:

These are the current players, (pretty sure not retired yet), with at least 10 starts v RFC over the years



Lee Grant might just jump to the top of the list this season but he does seem to be Derby's nr 2 keeper at present. Rob Green and Clint Hill may beat him to it, with Rob Green more likely as he's started QPR's fir 6 or so matches. Mike Duff of Burnley has also made a good start to the season, so he might also figure.

No-one is going to come near Tony Ingram's record of 25 starts v RFC, (all for QPR), nor I suspect Ernie Moss's nor Jimmy Cookson's record of 14 goals each v RFC.

Steve Claridge once held the record for most matches for different opponents v RFC with 7, but Luke Varney eclipsed that with 8 (Crewe, CHarlton, Derby, Sheffield Wed (2 different loan spells), Portsmouth, Leeds, Blackburn (1 loan and 1 proper spell), finally ipswich). You could argue the two spells at Sheff W and Blackburn count as 2 each, so he's faced us in 10 differnet spells at 8 clubs. He's not in the list above as I think he's now retired - plus he only made 8 starts and 3 sub apps v RFC in his career

Sorry, as I say, just a bit bored.

[Royal Ginger]

Jagielka could well match top spot too.

James Hayter's name on that list gives me shivers. A fairly average player who always seemed to pick up his game against us.

[Sutekh]

Hi Strap, as usual - excellent stuff.

Is there anyone not on that list of current players who has scored more than Mr Routledge's 4 goals against us?

Also do you keep a record of bookings and sending's off, be good to see if there are any current players who tend to get into trouble with officials when playing against us

Also, if you're still bored, what about an analysis of our game history v our next opponents? Could be good to make it a regular thread prior to every game....

[The Prisoner]

Are there any players with under 10 appearances with more goals? Thinking Jon Stead who ALWAYS seemed to score against us?!

[savage 4 england]

Andy Johnson is currently club less.

He must have scored about 8 against us and wouldn't be surprised if that was in less than 10 games.

[Winchester Royal]

Hi Strap, as usual - excellent stuff.

Is there anyone not on that list of current players who has scored more than Mr Routledge's 4 goals against us?

Also do you keep a record of bookings and sending's off, be good to see if there are any current players who tend to get into trouble with officials when playing against us

Also, if you're still bored, what about an analysis of our game history v our next opponents? Could be good to make it a regular thread prior to every game....

Jamie Cureton may be a contender for that, and Peter Hoekstra always seemed to score against us too.
Ronaldo, Rooney, Torres and Walcott are both on 4 as well.

Santi Cazorla is the highest scoring I can find in recent years, with five.

[Platypuss]

Berbatov got 4 in one game!

Defoe must have got a few against us over the years too.

[Winchester Royal]

Berbatov has 6.

Scott Sinclair also has 4.

[Platypuss]

Robbie Keane ?

[From Despair To Where?]

I know Bolton are potless and desperate but Andy Hughes????????

[Sutekh]

I know Bolton are potless and desperate but Andy Hughes????????

He's player/coach up there actually so presumably more or less retired by now (he's 37 currently).

[peterroyal76]

John Stead? I know he didn't score against for Bradford last season, but he always seemed to score against us.

[SCIAG]

Stead only scored against us four times, but that includes goals in three consecutive appearances against us so it seems like more than it is. Plenty have equalled that in recent years.

Berbatov might well be the most threatening, seven goals in six games (although he failed to score in half of them!). Think Winchester forgot that he played for Fulham.
Johnson scored six goals in six games for Palace (and he scored in five of the matches). He then got 2 in his first two appearances for Everton against us, but hasn't scored in his last three appearances against us. Total: eight goals in eleven games.

[RoyallyFcuked]

Hi Strap, as usual - excellent stuff.

Is there anyone not on that list of current players who has scored more than Mr Routledge's 4 goals against us?

Also do you keep a record of bookings and sending's off, be good to see if there are any current players who tend to get into trouble with officials when playing against us

Also, if you're still bored, what about an analysis of our game history v our next opponents? Could be good to make it a regular thread prior to every game....

Jamie Cureton may be a contender for that, and Peter Hoekstra always seemed to score against us too.
Ronaldo, Rooney, Torres and Walcott are both on 4 as well.

Santi Cazorla is the highest scoring I can find in recent years, with five.

Cureton got 4 in the 6-0 home defeat by Bristol Rovers, not sure if he got any more against us.

Pretty sure Hoekstra only scored against us 3 times, all in the same game (away to Stoke) in the 2003-04 season. The sad part is he only scored 4 goals in total that season...

However, that was topped (if you can call it that) more recently by Jordi Gomez of Wigan in the 2012-13 season. He scored a hat trick against us in the away fixture which we lost 3-2, and they were the only 3 goals he scored in the PL all season...

[TBM]

What does 'nrOfOpposvRFC' mean??

[Royal Ginger]

Number of Opponents vs Reading FC? I've been working on the assumption that's how many different teams they've appeared for against Reading.

[strap]

Hi Strap, as usual - excellent stuff.

Is there anyone not on that list of current players who has scored more than Mr Routledge's 4 goals against us?

Also do you keep a record of bookings and sending's off, be good to see if there are any current players who tend to get into trouble with officials when playing against us

Also, if you're still bored, what about an analysis of our game history v our next opponents? Could be good to make it a regular thread prior to every game....

Thanks for all your comments, picking up Sutekh's first - yes, there are a number of "current players" who have scored more than 4 in less than 10 starts.



I was going to say the legend that is Jamie Cureton topped the charts, but sadly Dimitar Berbatov signed for PAOK a couple of days ago so is not now retired!

Yes, I do keep records of our opponents discipled v RFC, and will add that after doing a bit more coding. I should warn though that red and yellow card a data can be a bit sketchy before about 1998 - although I think I have captured most since our move to the MadStad, so that should mean "current players" records would be pretty complete.

I have detailed records of all our matches from 1920 including opponents line ups, and have started going backwards into our Southern league days so would be able to produce something - perhaps along the lines of below?





I'll answer other people's suggestions in order if that's ok, as this reply on its own is pretty lengthy!

[strap]

Number of Opponents vs Reading FC? I've been working on the assumption that's how many different teams they've appeared for against Reading.

Sorry, yes, Couldn't think of a snappy heading!

[strap]

Andy Johnson is currently club less.

He must have scored about 8 against us and wouldn't be surprised if that was in less than 10 games.

Yes, I think he's without a club currently, and given his injury record I've lumped him in with the "retireds" for now.

[Sutekh]

Thanks for the Ipswich stats Strap, makes interesting reading. Looks like we've played them 30 times at Division 2 level and 22 times at Division 3 level and all of those 30 Division 2 level games would have come after 1986 (i.e the last 30 years or so). Indication for how long Ipswich have been away from the "basement divisions" and our ability to maintain our improved league position in recent years too.

Similar records home and away as well. 13 - 5 - 8 at home and 8 - 4 - 14 away so presumably Friday's game could go in any way at all

Interestingly Hal Robson-Kanu looks like the current player with most appearances against them (4).