PREMIER LEAGUE NUGGETS – MatchWeek 3
RED CARDS
Arsenal fans were left fuming by the dismissal of Declan Rice in the Brighton game. While there is some sympathy for Rice, for whom this was his first sending-off in the 245 appearances of his professional career. The second yellow card for nudging the ball away was by letter of the law correct, the more legitimate complaint was that Jõao Pedro did something similar earlier with no booking and Joël Veltman certainly hacked the Arsenal man with intent and escaped any admonishment.
Rice’s dismissal was the third red card of the season after Fabian Schar and Ashley Young were both sent off in the first week. The significance of this is that Arsenal, Newcastle and Everton are at the top of the tree for Premier League red cards. Impressively, all three clubs are averaging over three sending-offs per season, which no other club who have appeared in more than ten seasons, can equal.
Newcastle’s 94 reds have come in 1,113 matches and their eight reds in 2008/09 season is in the top 3 in Premier League disciplinary table, only QPR in 2011/12 and Sunderland in 2009/10 have had more with nine. Arsenal have been the most consistent with only one season (2022/23) in which they have not had a player sent off, and the most was five, which they have had three times. Arsenal’s 105 reds is eclipsed by Everton who lead the field with 108 and like Arsenal in only one season have they not received a red, which was way back in 1993/94.
It Started With a Kick
This week’s guest Jim Beglin provides a fascinating insight into how he broke into the all-conquering Liverpool side of the early eighties. Jim’s debut against Southampton prompted The Liverpool Echo to use the headline ‘Begin the Beglin’ which all you Julio Iglesias fans will love. Amongst some of his great stories, my personal favourite is after he had scored the fourth goal in a European Cup semi-final against Panathanikos he went to a local chippy and the guy refused to serve him because he had a bet on 3-0.
Part 1 – https://bit.ly/4g6Ogaj
Part 2 – https://bit.ly/3Xcj3tI
The Football Mine 