Time for a silly-level quiz question.
Michael Owen did it twice in English football; Romelu Lukaku, Yakubu and Andre Schurrle all did it once. Name anyone to do it in the Champions League.
We'll reveal the answer this time next week in the next edition of The Pre-Match Poser – stay tuned for that – but for now, here's the answer to last week's conundrum…
Q. Ipswich Town are first in the Premier League, followed by Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Coventry City rounding up the top four. Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Brighton are all in midtable. Manchester United are 20th, narrowly ahead of Arsenal – before there's a steep jump to Manchester City just above them. Liverpool are 17th, and Tottenham Hotspur 16th. What are we talking about?
A. We’re talking about the last time that every Premier League club hired an English manager. Ipswich were most recent with Gary O’Neil over the summer, then Chelsea with Liam Rosenior earlier this year, Forest with Sean Dyche in Autumn 2025, and Frank Lampard at Coventry in 2024. Then we have Sunderland (Michael Beale, December 2023), Leeds (Sam Allardyce, May 2023), Crystal Palace (Roy Hodgson, March 2023), Everton (Dyche again, January 2023), Bournemouth (O'Neil again, November 2022), Hull City (Rosenior again, November 2022), Aston Villa (Steven Gerrard, November 2021), Newcastle United (Eddie Howe, November 2021), Brighton & Hove Albion (Graham Potter, May 2019, Fulham (Scott Parker, May 2019) and Brentford (Dean Smith, November 2015). Manchester United are 20th because they last hired an English boss in 1981 (Ron Atkinson), with Arsenal not far behind in 19th, having last hired Englishman Don Howe in 1983. Manchester City (18th) hired Stuart Pearce in May 2005, Liverpool (17th) brought in Hodgson in July 2010, and Tottenham Hotspur employed Tim Sherwood in December 2013.
More football quizzes we know you'll love
While you're mulling over the latest Pre-Match Poser, we've got some more conventional quizzes for you. From the vast historical archives of domestic title races to iconic cover stars; from quirky player trivia to the complete silverware history of the English pyramid, we'd like to test you further, with quizzes courtesy of Kwizly.
We’re starting with a deep dive into individual folklore and magazine history. First, we want you to test your deep-cut knowledge of the game's biggest personalities by seeing if you can match these 40 players to these facts, separating urban myths from genuine career milestones. Once you’ve sorted those player dossiers, put your visual memory to work on our front-page heritage: can you guess the FFT cover star?
If your scouting network is built on the hard-won silverware of the domestic game, we have a massive double-header waiting in the tunnel. You can prove your knowledge of the second-tier grind by attempting to name every club to have ever won the English second tier, honoring the champions who earned their golden ticket to the top flight. Following that, widen your scope across the entire professional structure and try to name every team to have won one of English football's top four tiers. From top-flight dynasties to Fourth Division title heroes, it’s a comprehensive audit of league history.
To lower your pulse after that heavy workout, settle into a quiet spot in the dugout for FourFourTwo’s Weekend Crossword 66, with clues on Kings, Emperors and Pharoahs, featuring a brilliantly majestic mix of footballing royalty and cryptic clues. To ensure you stay top of the table every single day, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of hand-picked trivia. To complete your transfer to terrace legend status, join The Club, our free membership hub that serves as your digital dugout, where you can unlock secret hints for our hardest quizzes, climb global leaderboards, and debate the latest topics directly in the comments.
