With the Premier League just weeks away from concluding for another season, Caughtoffside takes a look at the division’s disciplinary table.
The rules are simple: two points are awarded for a red card and one for a yellow. The higher up the table your team are, the badder they have been.
20th with 50 points – Cardiff City (the nice guys)
Despite Cala picking up Cardiff’s first ever Premier League red card in Sunday’s 4-0 loss at Sunderland, the Bluebirds remain the side with the best disciplinary record in the top flight this season. They have collected just 48 yellow cards.
19th with 52 points – Liverpool
Jordan Henderson’s late dismissal in last month’s 3-2 win over Manchester City is the only red card received by a Liverpool player in the league this season. Gerrard is the Merseysiders’ most booked player, having picked up seven yellows – two more than the reformed Luis Suarez.
Joint 17th with 55 points – Fulham
Steve Sidwell is good at getting away with fouls. The ginger maestro has committed 60 fouls and only received five yellow cards this season. Midfield partner Scott Parker is not as tactful though, having also picked up a quintet of cards, committing just 31 fouls in the process. Venezuelan defender Fernando Amorebieta is the only Cottagers player to be sent off this term.
Joint 17th with 55 points – Everton
Toffees stopper Tim Howard has been the most booked goalkeeper in the Premier League this season, having been flashed yellow on four occasions. The American has been sent off once too, picking up a straight red in the Boxing Day defeat to Sunderland. On-loan Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry has been Everton’s biggest offender though, with 10 cautions.
16th with 56 points – Southampton
The Saints are one of just three top-flight teams that are yet to receive a red this season. Dejan Lovren and Morgan Schneiderlin have picked up their fair share of bookings though, with seven and eight yellow cards respectively.
Joint 14th with 57 points – Newcastle United
Only Cardiff have collected fewer yellow cards than Newcastle this season, but the Magpies have picked up four reds, with Loic Remy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Mathieu Debuchy and Steven Taylor all receiving their marching orders. This list would look significantly worse for the Tynesiders if cards shown to head-butting managers counted.
Joint 14th with 57 points – Swansea City
Defender Chico has been sent off twice this season – both in the past two months. Goalkeeper Michel Vorm is responsible for the Swans’ only other red, having been dismissed during November’s South Wales derby defeat to Cardiff City for a late professional foul on Fraizer Campbell.
Joint 12th with 59 points – Arsenal
The Gunners have received over 100 red cards in all competitions during Arsene Wenger’s reign. Former repeat offenders include the likes of Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Martin Keown and even Dennis Bergkamp, who used to frequently cause referees’ pencils to break. Wenger has improved his side’s discipline over the years, but Arsenal have still received four Premier League reds this season, with Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta the latest villains.
Joint 12th with 59 points – Crystal Palace
Palace have collected two red cards this season, but both were issued before no-nonsense former Stoke manager Tony Pulis took charge of his first game in November.
Joint 10th with 60 points – Hull City
Former Scotland bad boy Allan McGregor is responsible for half of Hull’s four Premier League red cards this season. Tom Huddlestone and Yannick Sagbo are the other offenders.
Joint 10th with 60 points – Chelsea
Chelsea would be much higher up this list if Ramires’ retrospective punishment for elbowing Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson counted towards the stats. As it is, the Brazilian midfielder can only contribute the one red – for his nasty stamp on Aston Villa’s Karim El Ahmadi. Ramires is Chelsea’s most booked player this season, with eight league yellows.
9th with 62 points – Norwich
Relegation-battlers Norwich have got more than twice as many yellow cards – 58 – as they have goals – 28 – this season. The Canaries have also picked up two reds, thanks to Bradley Johnson and Leroy Fer.
8th with 65 points – West Bromwich Albion
No reds for the Baggies this season, but a whopping 65 yellows sees them nicely into the top half of the naughty table. Jonas Olsson has been booked 10 times, while Claudio Yacob and Youssuf Mulumbu have each received seven cautions.
Joint 6th with 67 points – Manchester United
Seventh in the Premier League table and only joint sixth in this list, the Red Devils have even been mediocre in their poor disciple this season. Nemanja Vidic has been one of United’s main men for cards, with two reds and three yellows. Antonio Valencia has chipped in too, with one red and two yellows. Meanwhile, Adnan Januzaj and Wayne Rooney have collected six and eight cautions respectively.
Joint 6th with 67 points – Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham’s three red cards have been shared between Paulinho, Younes Kaboul and Danny Rose, who could easily have picked up another during last weekend’s 1-0 win at Stoke. Michael Dawson has the most yellows for Spurs with six, while six-goal striker Roberto Soldado is one of four players to have been cautioned five times.
5th with 68 points – Manchester City
Fans’ favourite Pablo Zabaleta has received a whopping 11 yellow cards this season – three more than fellow South American Fernandinho. In total, City have picked up 66 cautions – more than any other side in the Premier League’s top nine.
4th with 70 points – West Ham United
Big Sam’s Hammers may not have played attractive football this season, but they have certainly put themselves about. Their reward has been five red cards – two for captain Kevin Nolan and one each for Andy Carroll, James Tomkins and Mark Noble.
3rd with 76 points – Aston Villa
Despite being the team with the third worst disciplinary record in the Premier League, Aston Villa are one of just three sides that have not had a single red card. Far too many yellows for Paul Lambert’s men though – 76 in total. Ashley Westwood, Ciaran Clark, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Karim El Ahmadi have picked up seven each, while Fabian Delph, Leandro Bacuna and Nathan Baker have collected six apiece.
2nd with 80 points – Sunderland
Sunderland have had more reds – seven – than any other side this season. Wes Brown alone has been given his marching orders three times. Ridiculously, four of the Black Cats’ 66 yellow cards have been issued for players celebrating goals by taking their shirts off. The Wearsiders have only found the net 37 times in the Premier League, meaning that almost 11% of their goals have resulted in bookings for chest exposure.
1st with 82 points – Stoke City
Despite the exit of long-term spiritual leader Tony Pulis, Stoke look well set to win the naughty league for the second year on the spin. The Potters have backed up their five red cards with a very handy 72 yellows, eight of which have been flashed at Jonathan Walters, who also has one sending off to his name.
