The TOP FIVE Dirtiest Teams In Premier League History

Certain clubs do carry a reputation for being ‘dirty’. Wimbledon, of the ‘Crazy Gang’ era were notorious, with characters such as Vinnie Jones playing for the team.

Over the past three decades, though, the Premier League has increasingly become known for an exciting brand of attacking football, rather than its physicality and strong tackling. Even so, there are clubs who continue to use the dark arts.

Some of the teams on this list are actually quite surprising, considering the playing philosophies that are associated with the club, while there are a couple, at least, that you would expect to be high up in terms of sending offs.

Press the next page as we name the five dirtiest teams of the Premier League era.

5) West Ham – 79 Red Cards

The Hammers are historically regarded as a team who play the right way, extolling footballers for their individual skill. However, a number of managers during the Premier League era have transformed the London club’s style of play.

Sam Allardyce, in particular, was known for promoting a physical and direct approach, and West Ham’s current boss David Moyes has done wonders with the resources at his disposal by producing a team that is intimidating to come up against.

4) Chelsea – 82 Red Cards

Under the management of Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli, the 90s Chelsea weren’t exactly tough to play against, but that began to change under Claudio Ranieri as we headed into the 00s.

Following the start of the Roman Abramovich era and the arrival of Jose Mourinho, the transformation of the Blues’ approach was complete. They became very strong defensively, which meant they did end up in the referee’s notebook more often than not.

3) Newcastle United – 89 Red Cards

It’s actually surprising to see the Magpies so high up on this list, especially considering the fact that they have spent a few years outside of the top flight. Under Kevin Keegan, they were a cavalier, pedal to the metal attacking force but that philosophy has seeped away over the past two decades.

Managers such as Alan Pardew, Rafa Benitez and Steve Bruce played more conservatively and it seems they are generally more likely to put in a strong challenge than other teams.

2) Arsenal – 99 Red Cards

With the likes of Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Martin Keown, Lee Dixon, Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, the Gunners used to have a whole host of tough tackling defenders and midfielders, who did step over the line on more than one occasion.

Arsene Wenger was known for his attacking style, but in his first decade at the club, it was married to a strong defensive core, which helped Arsenal win plenty of major trophies.

1) Everton – 99 Red Cards

The Toffees finish top of the list, having had more yellow cards in the Premier League than Arsenal over the past 30 years. When you consider some of the players that have played for them, that is not a surprise.

Duncan Ferguson has the most red cards (eight) in Premier League history, holding the record with another former Everton player, Richard Dunne. The likes of Mikel Arteta, Craig Short and David Unsworth were also sent off pretty regularly during their careers.

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