Some players on this list make controversial QPR man look like a pussy cat!
Joey Barton collected his sixth Premier League red card against Hull City on Saturday, but where does he rank amongst the other bad boys in Premier League history? Here’s the list…
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11) Joey Barton (6 red cards)
While Barton ties with plenty of players, having being dismissed six times throughout his Premier League career, he actually falls out of the top ten based on minutes played per red card. The 32-year-old’s career has been shrouded in controversy, both on and off the pitch. His most dramatic red came on the final day of the 2011/12 season, with QPR’s Premier League survival hanging in the balance. Barton was dismissed for elbowing Carlos Tevez, but only left the pitch after also kicking Sergio Aguero and throwing a head-butt at Vincent Kompany.
10) Alan Smith (6 red cards)
The former Leeds United, Manchester United and Newcastle United striker-turned-midfielder also possessed a reputation for being able to lose his temper with little provocation. Once lined up as Roy Keane’s successor by Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s only right that Smith collected a few reds along the way. Though not in the Premier League, Smith was sent off in the last minute in Leeds’s Champions League second leg defeat against Valencia in 2001, compounding an awful night for David O’Leary’s men.
9) Nemanja Vidic (6 red cards)
Considering he finds himself on this list, perhaps it is no surprise that the Inter Milan centre-back was sent off on debut for his latest club. The former Manchester United captain has a bizarre record against the club’s biggest rivals, Liverpool, having been dismissed four times in total, including three matches in a row between 2008 and 2009.
8) Franck Queudrue (6 red cards)
The full-back has developed more of a reputation as a set-piece specialist, but the former Middlesbrough, Fulham and Birmingham defender collected enough reds to make this list. After an impressive loan at the Riverside, Boro paid £2.5m to make the move permanent. The Frenchman repaid the fee by being dismissed three times in his first full season, including two in two games, the second of which came against Newcastle United in the Tyne-Wear derby.
7) Vinnie Jones (6 red cards)
It is probably not a surprise to see the midfielder-turned-actor in the list. The Premier League’s original bad boy collected enough red cards to be considered the perfect host of the controversial video, ‘Soccer’s Hard Men.’ The video was contentious enough to see Jones served with a suspended six-month ban. Having been one of the members of the Crazy Gang, it is also not a surprise too, that Jones collected enough disciplinary points to face an FA Panel in the inaugural Premier League season.
6) John Hartson (6 red cards)
Of all of the players to have picked up six red cards, the former Wales striker has collected them in the quickest time. The former West Ham player was sent off every 2096 minutes. After falling out with Wimbledon boss Egil Olsen during the 1999/00 season, Hartson was banished from the team for months. But with Olsen’s sacking, came Hartson’s return to help keep the Dons in the Premier League. He was sent off in his first game back after exile, in a crushing 3-0 defeat to relegation rivals, Bradford City. The result proved pivotal to Wimbledon’s future.
5) Roy Keane (7 red cards)
Despite what he may say, Roy Keane ruled Manchester United by fear, but became a Premier League legend in the process. The midfielder’s most famous Premier League dismissal came in the Manchester derby when Keane settled a score with City’s Alf-Inge Haaland by practically ending the Norwegian’s career.
4) Lee Cattermole (7 red cards)
At just 26-years-old, Lee Cattermole is by far the youngest player on the list, thus giving him a good chance of claiming the record for himself. It is perhaps fair to say that the midfielder has calmed himself down in the past couple of years, but only after numerous managers had lost patience with the former Wigan man. His worst spell saw Cattermole collect two reds in his first three Premier League games of the 2010/11 season.
3) Richard Dunne (8 red cards)
Not only is Dunne tied for the top spot with most red cards, he also has the most own goals in Premier League history. Amazingly, the QPR centre-back has not been dismissed in the Premier League since 2008 when his Manchester City side – including Robinho – lost 2-1 at home to Tottenham. Teammate Gelson Fernandes also received his marching orders, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto was sent off for Spurs.
2) Patrick Vieira (8 red cards)
The other half of the Keane-Vieira double act, Patrick Vieira was one of Arsenal’s leaders during their period of success around the Millennium. In October 1999, Vieira received a six-match ban after spitting at West Ham defender Neil Ruddock, having already been sent off for a second yellow.
1) Duncan Ferguson (8 red cards)
Big Dunc came to English football having already served a three-month prison sentence for a head-butt in a Rangers match. He collected his eighth – and record equalling – red card during an Everton game against Wigan during the 2005/06 season. The Scottish striker was banned for seven matches following an incident with Wigan players, Paul Scharner and Pascal Chimbonda.