Niall McVeigh 

Quiz: test your knowledge of English football’s weird and wonderful mascots

Do you know your Moonchester from your Gunnersaurus? If so, this quiz on football’s furry friends is for you
  
  

An assortment of Mascots
Some of the more unusual mascots you might spot at an English ground. Composite: Guardian Pictures/Jessica Hornby, Getty Images, Shutterstock

  1. Let's start with a familiar face. This is Manchester United's mascot – but what is his name?

    1. Busby

    2. Fred the Red

    3. Evil Eric

    4. Fergie

  2. Brendan Rodgers, then the Leicester manager, greets a mascot for which club back in 2019?

    1. Aston Villa

    2. Burnley

    3. West Ham

    4. Scunthorpe

  3. Which team has this colourful character as a mascot?

    1. Brentford

    2. Exeter City

    3. Sheffield United

    4. Sunderland

  4. Manchester City and West Ham's mascots have a race at the Etihad back in early 2020. What are their names?

    1. Blue Moon and Iron Man

    2. Bertie and Billy

    3. Moonchester and Hammerhead

    4. Cityzen and Harry Hammer

  5. This is Liverpool's rather quirky-looking mascot, Mighty Red. What type of creature is Mighty Red supposed to be?

    1. Bird

    2. Fish

    3. Human

    4. Alien

  6. Here's the Wigan mascot turning to fit through a gate before the Latics' FA Cup tie with Fulham. What is his name?

    1. Beefy

    2. Crusty

    3. Flaky

    4. Meaty

  7. This in-no-way terrifying furry character turns out for which lower-league club?

    1. Carlisle United

    2. Peterborough United

    3. Stockport County

    4. Chesterfield

  8. No prizes for guessing that this is Tottenham's mascot. But what is he called?

    1. Chirpy

    2. Harry

    3. Ossie

    4. Terry

  9. Lenny the Lion retired in 2023 after more than 30 years as which club's mascot?

    1. AFC Wimbledon

    2. Chester

    3. Rochdale

    4. Shrewsbury Town

  10. Which club's canine mascot is pictured while taking a break from matchday duties?

    1. Charlton

    2. Leyton Orient

    3. Rotherham

    4. Wrexham

  11. This is Bertie Bee, the popular mascot at Burnley FC. How did he score an early viral moment back in 2002?

    1. Coming on to take (and score) a penalty in a friendly match

    2. Offering a pair of glasses to an assistant referee

    3. Rugby-tackling a streaker during a big derby game

    4. Tripping an opposition winger who was flying down the touchline

  12. Which club's mascot is pictured here with Sky Sports' Kelly Cates and Gary Neville?

    1. Brentford

    2. Southampton

    3. Stoke City

    4. Sunderland

  13. Roy Hodgson shares a moment with Crystal Palace mascot Alice the Eagle after a game. Which team's mascot irked the Palace manager back in 2018?

    1. Brentford

    2. Brighton

    3. Fulham

    4. Watford

  14. Behold Boilerman, one of the most unusual mascots ever seen in the Football League. Which club introduced him in 2018?

    1. Bolton

    2. Leeds United

    3. Swansea

    4. West Brom

  15. Finally, it's Gunnersaurus. Despite being one of English football's most famous mascots, the Arsenal cheerleader had to be saved from redundancy by which former player?

    1. Ian Wright

    2. Niklas Bendtner

    3. Mesut Özil

    4. Robin van Persie

Solutions

1:B - Fred is pictured at Leigh Sports Village cheering on the women's team., 2:A - It's Bella the lion, who also made headlines in 2019 by walking out on to the pitch arm-in-arm with Villa striker Wesley., 3:C - 'Captain Blade' certainly looks the part, but a pirate is perhaps a surprising choice for a team based some distance from the sea., 4:C - We can confirm that the City mascot, Moonchester, won the race., 5:A - Mighty Red is a Liver Bird, the animal symbol of the city of Liverpool; maybe it's more obvious from another angle., 6:B - Crusty the Pie is a tribute to the Lancashire town's pastry-making traditions., 7:B - This is Peter Burrow, who can be found lurking in the concourses at London Road., 8:A - Chirpy the Cockerel is one of the few happy faces at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season., 9:D - Ron Millar started out as a penguin, before switching to the animal on the club's badge. 'I used to get injured players coming up to me asking to wear the suit,' he told the Shropshire Star. 'Sometimes the supporters had no idea there was a player inside!', 10:A - Floyd is part of an unlikely duo with a cat mascot, Harvey, at the Valley., 11:C - The memorable moment came against Preston, as Bertie sent the naked pitch invader spinning over his shoulder – and celebrated by doing the worm., 12:B - Mary Saint, one of a number of canine mascots for the club, takes her name from the stadium, St Mary's., 13:D - Hodgson called Harry the Hornet 'disgraceful' for implying that Wilf Zaha had dived during a game – which made things awkward when he became the Watford manager in 2022., 14:D - Boilerman has appeared at the Hawthorns as part of the club's ongoing sponsorship deal with Ideal Boilers, but took an unexplained hiatus near the end of last season., 15:C - The German playmaker stepped in after the man inside the suit, Jerry Quy, was laid off in 2020, and vowed to keep Gunnersaurus in a job 'as long as I'm an Arsenal player'. Özil left a year later – but the mascot is still in place.

Scores

  1. 0 and above.

    Thanks for playing

 

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