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Three Premier League bad-boys have seen red eight times
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Arsenal and Everton are the top-flight’s worst offenders
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Newcastle’s day of shame leads to in-fighting and farce
They can change the course of a game. They can spark controversy, even outrage. Occasionally, they can be hilarious.
Red cards may result from an unlawful act but so long as an opponent isn’t injured then deep down, who doesn’t love the drama of seeing a player being sent for an early bath?
In the combative environment of the Premier League a red is brandished on average every eight games while a player trudges off disgraced every 167 appearances.
The players and teams below, however, make a mockery of these stats, well acquainted as they are with that lonely walk to the dressing room.
Who has the most red cards in Premier League history?
Three players share the dubious honour of making it into our Premier League records hall of shame by having been sent off eight times and what is notable is that the trouble-making trio is made up of a no-nonsense centre-back; a truculent midfielder; and a frankly frightening centre-forward.
What a spine for any side Richard Dunne, Patrick Vieira and Duncan Ferguson would have been had they played together, assuming of course they remained on the pitch. Just imagine the in-play betting!
As well as being dismissed a record number of times former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender Dunne also has the unwanted distinction of putting through his own net more often than any other player.
Yet if that paints the Dubliner as a calamity-in-waiting the reverse is true. A highly accomplished stopper Dunne won City’s Player of the Year award four years running in the 2000s.
Think of Vieira and some memorable tussles spring to mind, namely his ferocious beefs with Roy Keane. He too though was an elite performer, arguably the best of his ilk in the modern era.
As for the formidable and battle-hardened ‘Big Dunc’ we’re too afraid to detail his transgressions in case he takes offence and finds us.
Which Premier League team has received the most red cards?
It makes sense that Arsenal and Everton top this list with 98 red cards apiece.
After all, they have been ever-presents in the top-flight since the Premier League was formed back in 1992 so it stands to reason they will have erred more than clubs who tend to yo-yo such as Norwich or West Brom.
Their high sin-count is forgivable only to an extent though. Liverpool, Manchester United, Spurs and Chelsea have also been mainstays but trail far behind in the bad-boy stakes. Chelsea come closest with a relatively serene 79.
So why do the Gunners and Toffees consistently find themselves reduced to ten men, or at least more often than any other side?
The fiery environs of Goodison Park partly explains it for the blue half of Merseyside. Evertonians traditionally value whole-hearted commitment as much as flair and that can understandably go awry.
As for Arsenal, while Arsene Wenger’s long reign is associated with beautiful football they certainly had a competitive edge that often spilled over into misconduct.
It’s reassuring incidentally to see that old habits die hard because last term, Mikel Arteta’s team saw red on five occasions on route to an eighth-place finish. Premier League odds for this season generously price them to improve in 2021/22 and make the top six.
Team with most red cards in a single Premier League season
Whether by unfortunate coincidence or design, from time to time a team emerges who just can’t help but make a nuisance of themselves.
Sunderland was one such side in 2009/10, somehow securing a mid-table berth despite Steve Bruce’s collection of rabble-rousers picking up nine red cards across the campaign. It surprises that the renowned agitator Lee Cattermole was responsible for only one of these.
A year later QPR stayed up by the skin of their teeth, their cause hardly helped by also having nine players sent off in a season to largely forget.
The most memorable of their dismissals came courtesy of Joey Barton – a player who could start a row in an empty house – who spectacularly lost the plot against Manchester City in a game soon after immortalised by Sergio Aguero.
First, the Hoops hardman threw a punch at Carlos Tevez before kneeing Aguero in the thigh and headbutting Vincent Kompany. Bluntly, his actions warranted three reds that day.
Our Premier League predictions tip City to once again finish top of the pile in 2021/22, this time free from assault.
Premier League player with most red cards in a single season
Five players have blotted their copybook and cost their side dear on three separate occasions over the course of a single season.
The first to reach this ignoble total was David Batty in the midfielder’s final year at Newcastle. Under Kenny Dalglish the Magpies under-performed in 1997/98 and perhaps frustration lay at the heart of Batty picking up three-quarters of his dismissals in the north-east in the short space of a few months.
Craig Short and Franck Queudrue were next, upending wingers and strikers for fun at Blackburn and Middlesbrough respectively in the early 2000s but then for the next decade Premier League footballers learnt to space out their misdemeanours before Wes Brown endured a nightmare campaign for Sunderland in 2013/14.
Victor Wanyama (2015/16) was the last to become overly familiar with the ref’s notebook though his discrepancies clearly had no inverse effect on his career. That summer Tottenham swooped to sign the Southampton repeat offender for £11m.
Most red cards in a Premier League game
There has yet to be a Premier League game reduced to such anarchy that four players have been sent off but give it time. Until that inevitable day comes, we have winced 17 times at bad-blooded affairs that have ended with 19 on the pitch.
From this compendium of carnage Newcastle’s 3-0 home reverse to Aston Villa stands out, with team-mates Lee Bowyer and Kieran Dyer brawling their way onto the following morning’s front pages while in the same game Steven Taylor saved a goal-bound effort with his arm before collapsing theatrically, feigning it had hit his chest. His deceit fooled nobody. It only made us laugh.
Villa were also involved in another incredible encounter several years later, this time drawing 4-4 at Stamford Bridge. Eight goals, two penalties, and three red cards certainly gave the fans plenty to talk about that afternoon.
The result alone would have had tremendous odds in the football betting market.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Laurence Griffiths / Pool via AP*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 8th August 2021