What a bunch of Knit-wits.
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To glove or not to glove? That is the question.
Premier League stars faced that age old conundrum this last weekend with temperatures plummeting almost to zero whilst matches were underway but despite having to brave the cold, just 24 of the 200 outfield players chose to wear gloves. Some stars also donned a variety of knitwear to try and keep just a little bit warmer before their respective kick-offs.
But this got CaughtOffside wondering – just which team is the hardest based on how many of their players had to wear gloves while playing this weekend.
We take a look below:
20th: Aston Villa (7C temperature) – Three
Three stars wore gloves including Gabriel Agbonlahor, midfielder Charles N’Zogbia and unexpectedly, hardman upfront Christian Benteke.
19th: Manchester City (5C temperature) – Three
Yaya Toure, who scored the penalty to put City back in the title race, was one of three City stars to be wearing knitwear.
17th=: West Ham (9C temperature) – Two
An almost tropical paradise in East London on Sunday compared to other grounds in the league. But two players had to wear gloves to keep warm, you wouldn’t think that’d go down well with Big Sam, but then again he might not understand as he does have all that natural insulation.
17th=: Swansea (9C temperature) – Two
West Ham’s opponents at the weekend, matching the Hammers like for like with two stars wearing gloves.
16th: West Brom (6C temperature) – Two
I’m not saying the gloves were the reason, but Alan Irvine’s side did manage to stop a four game losing streak. Maybe the entire West Brom side needs to wrap up warm when they play Aston Villa this weekend
15th: QPR (6C temperature) – Two
Eduardo Vargas slipped on a pair at the break as QPR rallied in the second half to beat Burnley 2-0. Coincidence?
14th: Everton (5C temperature) – Two
Everton were a cold as the temperature against City, showing no real attacking conviction once they went behind.
12th=: Liverpool (8C temperature) – One
A very tepid affair at Anfield when Liverpool drew 0-0 with Sunderland. Anfield will need to hot up come Tuesday night when Liverpool need a win against Basel to secure Champions League qualification
12th=: Sunderland (8C temperature) – One
Sunderland kept Liverpool at bay with ease in an almost balmy eight degrees.
11th: Hull (6C temperature) – One
Abel Hernandez was among players wearing short sleeves and gloves together which may just defeat the purpose of trying to keep warm.
10th: Crystal Palace (5C temperature) – One but had base layer too
Unable to be counted as exactly equal to the other players with only a pair of gloves on – I’m sure fans of the Eagles will be pleased they just manage to scrape into the top 10.
8th: Tottenham (5C temperature) – One
Erik Lamela perhaps used to a warmer Christmas than the temperature at White Hart Lane on Saturday as he was the only Spurs player to wear gloves. Don’t worry Erik, global warming’s coming.
8th: Southampton (5C temperature) – One
The harsh temperatures on the South coast weren’t enough to keep Jose Fonté alert as his slack back pass let van Persie in to open the scoring in United’s 2-1 win.
6th: Newcastle (5C temperature) – One
If you’d have asked before the match whether it would be an inconsistent and erratic Newcastle to break Chelsea’s 23 game unbeaten run, the phrase “when Hell freezes over” might have been most apt. The North East froze over but Newcastle still managed the win.
6th: Chelsea (5C temperature) – One
Diego Costa the only one of Jose Mourinho’s side to don the knitwear on the weekend. Whilst his fingers might have turned blue on their own, Costa donned matching gloves to his blue kit. Fashion conscious and sensible.
5th: Leicester City (7C temperature) – No gloves
Now we get down to the real hard-men – the no gloves and Nigel Pearson’s side does not let him down. For a manager who once fought off a pack of wild dogs whilst back-packing in Romania with just a walking stick , you’d imagine Pearson wouldn’t put up with knitwear.
4th: Burnley (6C temperature) – No gloves
The question should really be; can you do it on a cold wet night in Burnley? Sean Dyche’s side proving that despite being 50 miles outside of Stoke, they’re hardly lesser in terms of hard-man status.
1st=: Stoke City (5C temperature) – No gloves
Stoke didn’t fail to live up to their image as one of the toughest teams in the league as they fought of the cold and Arsenal to record a shock win.
1st=: Arsenal (5C temperature) – No gloves
Despite wearing no gloves, the entire side wore long sleeved shirts as club tradition dictates the team must follow the lead of the captain who makes a decision before the match.
1st=: Manchester United (5C temperature) – No gloves
Louis van Gaal’s side braved the cold to get an early Christmas present at Southampton, somehow claiming all three points in a lacklustre performance but proved themselves to be one of the toughest sides in league.
(List compiled here)