The 2022/23 Premier League season is starting to come to the boil, and the current campaign promises to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. As things stand, Arsenal are the division’s surprise package. They lead the English top flight, with reigning champions Manchester City currently five points behind them.
But Pep Guardiola has transformed Manchester City into a winning machine. They have won the title in four of the last five seasons, and it will take a herculean effort from Mikel Arteta’s young gunners to stop them from making it five in six come May. But there have been signs that City may be prone to the occasional slip-up.
The Etihad club were stunned in the League Cup quarterfinals in midweek away at lowly Southampton. The Saints haven’t won a Premier League game since new manager Nathan Jones was handed the reigns at St. Mary’s and are rooted to the bottom of the table. But that didn’t stop them from racing into a 2-0 lead against the Blues, a lead that they wouldn’t surrender.
Despite the recent slip-up, online bookmaker Bovada – a website that provides soccer odds today – still make Guardiola’s men the favorites in the Premier League title race this season. And with their striking sensation Erling Haaland firing on all cylinders, their prediction may yet come true.
This season, we have seen the best and worst of the Norweigian powerhouse. He has hammered in 21 goals in just 16 Premier League games so far this term, but he has also been seen losing his temper, with Everton’s Ben Godfrey successfully managing to get under his skin in the recent 1-1 draw at the Etihad. But Haaland has some way to go in order to see his name go down in history as one of the division’s notorious bad boys.
The Premier League is widely regarded as one of the most competitive and thrilling leagues in world football, and a major part of this is its intense physicality. Players regularly push themselves to the limit to ensure they are the ones that come out on top, and sometimes these competitive instincts can lead to some rather rash decisions – as a result, a number of players have gained a bit of a reputation for being somewhat “hot-headed”.
In this article, we take a look at the players who have been some of the most ill-disciplined in Premier League history.
Craig Bellamy
First up is Craig Bellamy, who racked up an impressive 46 yellow cards and two red cards during his time in the English top flight. The former Welsh international was renowned for his flamboyant style of play and he scored plenty of goals for the likes of Newcastle, West Ham, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Blackburn. You don’t usually see too many strikers entering the referee’s notebook, but Bellamy was a regular.
The Welshman could regularly be seen clattering into opposition players or arguing with referees. If there was any kind of scuffle on the pitch, you can guarantee that Bellamy was the first one to be in and amongst it and it’s no surprise that his ill-discipline has earned him a place in the history books.
Lee Cattermole
Next up, we have former Sunderland and Wigan Athletic captain Lee Cattermole, who is the Premier League’s most cautioned player with 87 yellow cards. Cattermole was the ultimate Brexit footballer, and he made sure that central midfielders up and down the country knew they were in for a fight if they were going up against him.
The 34-year-old wasn’t the most elegant of footballers, but boy did he love a tackle. So much so that he managed to pick up seven red cards throughout his career. His career has been filled with controversy and a number of unsavoury incidents, and it’s no surprise he’s been hit with so many cautions.
Unfortunately for Cattermole, and for those of us who love Claude Makélélé-Esque midfielders, the former Middlesbrough man’s career is now over. He retired at the age of 31, with the sheer amount of meaty tackles he’s put in over the years surely taking their toll on his body. You weren’t everyone’s cup of tea, Lee, but thank you for the memories.
Richard Dunne
Before Manchester City had Abu Dhabi’s billions of pounds to rely on, and the central defenders such as Vincent Kompany and Ruben Dias that said billions brought with them, the Blues had one Irish stalwart at centre half. Richard Dunne featured over 350 times for Cit and even captained the club for a number of years. During his time in the North West, the Irishman picked up 50 bookings and seven red cards.
Dunne would also spend time in the Premier League with Aston Villa and Queen’s Park Rangers, and he was a regular fixture in the referee’s notebook. Throughout his Premier League career, the former City man picked up a whopping 97 yellow cards, as well as picking up the record for the most red cards in Premier League history, having been sent off on 11 occasions during his time in the league. The towering Irish centre-back was renowned for his willingness to put his body on the line, and unfortunately, this sometimes led to him being shown a red card.