Football quiz: the most memorable quotes from the 2023-24 season

1. 'It is an obvious mistake ... I think the outcome should be a replay. I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened.' Which Premier League manager said this?

   1. Mikel Arteta

   2. Jürgen Klopp

   3. Nuno Espírito Santo

   4. Thomas Frank

2. Who said: 'It’s an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed. An absolute disgrace'?

   1. Chris Wilder

   2. Gary O'Neil

   3. Mikel Arteta

   4. Ange Postecoglou

3. 'I’ve been to see the referee ... one of his assistants was eating a sandwich at the time, which I thought was a complete lack of respect. Hopefully he enjoyed his sandwich while he was talking to a Premier League manager.' But which manager?

   1. Unai Emery

   2. Eddie Howe

   3. Chris Wilder

   4. Vincent Kompany

4. 'I haven’t changed my view about him. He scored three goals; it should have been six.' Which manager said this, and which of his players was he calling out?

   1. Mauricio Pochettino and Nicolas Jackson

   2. Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland

   3. Erik ten Hag and Marcus Rashford

   4. Ange Postecoglou and Richarlison

5. 'We will go to the end, but I don't think the title will be heading to us this year' – which manager said this, admitting defeat in their team's title fight?

   1. Mikel Arteta

   2. Jürgen Klopp

   3. Emma Hayes

   4. Thomas Tuchel

6. 'If you’re not allowed to celebrate when you win a game, when are you allowed to celebrate?' Which Premier League player said this?

   1. Jack Grealish

   2. Antony

   3. Martin Ødegaard

   4. James Maddison

7. 'I just said to him, he probably hasn’t scored enough goals of his own over the last few years to have his own celebration, so you probably have to copy mine.' Another celebration row, between which two players?

   1. Erling Haaland and Rasmus Højlund

   2. Darwin Núñez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin

   3. James Maddison and Neal Maupay

   4. Jude Bellingham and Robert Lewandowski

8. 'We have individual mistakes but we should cover each other, we let each other down … We were hard to beat in a lot of games and today we were easy to beat.' Who said this?

   1. Sean Dyche

   2. Ange Postecoglou

   3. Eddie Howe

   4. Erik ten Hag

9. 'They were already history makers and take every bit of the glory today. We have created history and the magic of the FA Cup is here.' Which manager said this?

   1. Wrexham's Phil Parkinson

   2. Coventry's Mark Robins

   3. Maidstone's George Elokobi

   4. Newport's Graham Coughlan

10. 'I watched this game on the sofa with my brother, my parents. I said it was my turn to experience it, to make an impression.' Which player said this after scoring a late winner?

    1. Harry Kane

    2. Jude Bellingham

    3. Jordan Henderson

    4. Lauren Hemp

11. 'My daughter actually told me: "Father, sometimes I think you are a character from The Lord of the Rings." But I’m not. I’m not interested in the ring.' The words of which football administrator?

    1. Gianni Infantino

    2. Richard Masters

    3. Trevor Birch

    4. Aleksander Ceferin

12. Who said this? 'Gary Neville didn’t win four Premier Leagues in a row. Jamie Carragher didn’t win one once. Micah Richards didn’t do it. Never, ever. It’s never happened.'

    1. Pep Guardiola

    2. Jürgen Klopp

    3. Mikel Arteta

    4. Roy Keane

13. 'I do care. People might think I don’t but I do care about other people. I’ve never tried to hurt anybody – that was never my intention ever.' Which footballer said this?

    1. Kylian Mbappé

    2. Mason Holgate

    3. Jordan Henderson

    4. Cristian Romero

14. Who gave this post-match review? 'The first half was boring and I would have preferred to watch Antiques Roadshow … [and] the amount of nonsense you have to deal with at this place, from players by the way, is embarrassing'

    1. Troy Deeney

    2. Joey Barton

    3. Chris Wilder

    4. Neil Warnock

15. 'It is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction … to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help.' Which high-profile referee said this?

    1. Michael Oliver

    2. Howard Webb

    3. Mark Clattenburg

    4. Craig Pawson

16. Which manager said the following: 'There’s always a temptation, but apart from chocolate I’m always pretty good at not giving into them.'

    1. Mauricio Pochettino

    2. Carlo Ancelotti

    3. Ange Postecoglou

    4. Xabi Alonso

17. "When the opportunity presents itself to appoint a manager who is both a student and a great of the game, then you act." Who said this?

    1. Gary Neville

    2. Garry Cook

    3. Gary Lineker

    4. Harry Kane

18. 'There are teams going through in this competition that are not good enough. Our standard is better than that standard.' Who said this after European elimination?

    1. Eddie Howe

    2. Erik ten Hag

    3. Jonas Eidevall

    4. Marc Skinner

19. Which veteran manager said this? 'If anything, I’ve got the buzz again. I’m sure when February comes round, one or two people will ask me to come out again. I’ve had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra haven’t I?'

    1. Steve Evans

    2. Neil Warnock

    3. Roy Hodgson

    4. John Coleman

20. Finally, who said this? 'I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything.'

    1. Pep Guardiola

    2. Jürgen Klopp

    3. Unai Emery

    4. Roberto De Zerbi

Solutions

1:B - Refereeing controversy reached new heights this season, with the Liverpool manager speaking out after the Luis Díaz offside debacle in his side's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in September., 2:C - More ref-based rage, this time from the Arsenal manager after Newcastle's controversial winner against his side in November., 3:C - It wasn't just VAR that got coaches upset – here, soon-to-be former Premier League manager Wilder hit out at an assistant referee for daring to enjoy a snack after Sheffield United's loss to Crystal Palace., 4:A - The Chelsea manager criticised his forward after two late goals rescued an underwhelming display against nine-man Spurs., 5:C - The Chelsea manager accepted that Manchester City had the WSL title in their hands after her team lost to Liverpool. Four days later, City lost 2-1 to Arsenal and Chelsea thrashed Bristol City 8-0 to regain the title advantage., 6:C - The Arsenal playmaker spoke out after receiving criticism for taking photos on the pitch after the crucial 3-1 win over Liverpool., 7:C - The Spurs man reacted after Brentford's arch-irritant mimicked his 'dart throw' celebration during the two sides' meeting in January. Maupay's response came in an Instagram post: 'More goals and less relegations in my career than James Maddison'., 8:D - The beleaguered Manchester United manager was speaking after the 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, although in truth it could have been quite a few games this season., 9:C - There were precious few other upsets but sixth-tier Maidstone's historic run to the last 16 – including a 2-1 win at Championship high-flyers Ipswich – more than made up for it., 10:B - Bellingham was speaking after scoring twice for Real Madrid to beat Barcelona in his first clásico; he scored another injury-time winner when the teams met again in April., 11:D - The Uefa president made the curious analogy after agreeing to step down in 2027 – having allegedly made moves to try and extend his tenure until 2031., 12:A - It was the Manchester City manager, who could win his fourth Premier League title in a row on Sunday., 13:C - The former Liverpool player spoke about criticism of his move to Saudi side Al-Ettifaq, having high-tailed it to Ajax after just six months., 14:A - In his first job as a head coach, Deeney lasted just 29 days after failing to win a match and publicly criticising his players. Forest Green ended the season rock-bottom of League Two and will drop back into the National League., 15:C - It's former Premier League official Mark 'Clatts' Clattenburg, after quitting his role as a 'referee analyst' with Nottingham Forest. He's staying on Gladiators, though, 16:C - One of many memorable quotes from the high-line-loving Australian's first season in the Tottenham dugout., 17:B - The Birmingham City CEO was talking up the board's decision to sack John Eustace and bring in Wayne Rooney. The new manager won two of his first 15 games before being dismissed; the Blues ended up dropping into League One., 18:D - The Manchester United manager was unhappy after being knocked out of the Women's Champions League by PSG before the group stage. Emma Hayes hit back, calling his comments 'ignorant and arrogant'., 19:B - The well-travelled manager was speaking after leaving Huddersfield in September. As he predicted, Aberdeen came calling on 5 February – but Warnock was on his way again after just over a month at Pittodrie., 20:B - The Liverpool manager is rarely short of a soundbite but the farewell video he released in January, announcing the end of his nine-year tenure at Anfield, stopped the football world in its tracks. Auf wiedersehen, Jürgen.

Scores

1. 11 and above.

   Well played – it's a top-half finish for you

2. 5 and above.

   A mid-table effort. Thanks for playing

3. 16 and above.

   Elite knowledge – you're heading to the Champions League

4. 0 and above.

   Hard luck – but relegation beckons

5. 20 and above.

   Champions! A perfect score, excellent work