---------------------------------------------------------
Derby County – 2007/08 Premier League season
The 2007/08 season was to be a treacherous one for Derby County. After earning promotion by beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the play-off final the previous season, Billy Davies’ Derby County were to experience the worst Premier League season in history.Chalking up just one win all year, the Rams were soon condemned to relegation by mid-March – the quickest ever in the top flight.
Not only this, but they also hold the record for the lowest accumulation of points, having earned just 11 in 38 games.
Even after Davies was given the sack in November, his predecessor Paul Jewell could do little to calm the storm, amassing 32 games without a single win.
Having survived back-to-back relegation to League One the following season after finishing eight points above the drop zone, the Rams now sit mid-table in the Championship – a position unlikely to change anytime soon.
Howard Wilkinson – Managerial spell at Sunderland
Whilst Paul Jewell’s disastrous reign at Derby County remains the most unsuccessful of the Premier League to record, it was one that only just trumped former FA technical director Howard Wilkinson’s reign at Wearside.Appointed in 2002 to guide a struggling Sunderland side to safety, he managed just two wins out of a possible 20 during his time at the Stadium of Light.
If it weren’t for Derby’s catastrophic future in the Premier League, Wilkinson’s Sunderland side would have held the record for lowest points tally after achieving just 19 points during his 27-match spell at the club.
Fulham – No-score bore
Whilst Aston Villa have amassed 81 0-0 results during their time in the Premier League, on the balance of play, it is West-London outfit Fulham who have achieved the result the most often.Of their 405 games in the Premier League, Fulham have played out 49 no-score draws – that’s 12% of their games, more than any other club to have played in the Premier League, ever.
Interestingly, the most entertaining teams (though, on the basis of just 38 games in the top-flight) are Barnsley and Burnley, with both featuring a goal or more in every one of their games to date in the game’s highest division.
Richard Dunne – Own goals galore
It seems that whilst Jamie Carragher has managed to score more goals for Tottenham Hotspur than against them, his ability to score at the wrong end has been eclipsed by Aston Villa’s Richard Dunne.Holding the record for the most own goals in the Premier League with an impressive nine, Dunne’s most recent slip-up came with a 93rd minute equalising own goal against QPR back in September – a month before scoring his first of the season at the right end.
Kenny Cunningham – Goalless for 331 games
Birmingham’s Kenny Cunningham currently holds the record for the highest streak of games without scoring. At an impressive 331 goal-less appearances, the centre-back was far from renowned for his box-to-box prowess.The highest current player to reach anywhere near this record is Everton’s Tony Hibbert, having played 248 goal-less games in his career during a 12-year spell with the Toffees (as of April 2012).
Massimo Taibi – Worst signing ever?
Manchester United were always going to have trouble replacing legendary shot-stopper Peter Schmeichel, but when they brought in Venezia goal-keeper Massimo Taibi (pictured) for a pricey £4.5m in 1999, they didn’t expect a player quite as notoriously bad as him.Far from being a Red Devil legend, Taibi is famed for letting a weak shot from Southampton’s Matthew Le Tissier past his outstretched body during their 3-3 draw that season. It’s little wonder then that United fans class him as the club’s worst signing ever.
WATCH Taibi's error vs. Southampton, 1999/00 season
Fernando Torres - £50m failure
The inclusion of Chelsea hitman Fernando Torres in this list is debatable. Second in the first-team pecking order and unable to play alongside Didier Drogba, the Spaniard has had his fair share of bench-warming.However, his failure to capitalise on countless key goal-scoring opportunities for Chelsea has seen his £50m price tag come into serious disrepute.
The wayward striker often makes newspaper headlines simply by scoring, with his once-lethal pace, precision and confidence shot to an all-time low since his transfer from Liverpool to Chelsea in January 2011.
His first goal for Chelsea came three months after moving clubs during their 3-0 win against West Ham, ending a 903-minute goal drought.
Two more droughts were to come the following season, with his FA Cup double against Leicester City last month ending a 24-game goal-less run, whilst his strike against Aston Villa a fortnight later was his first league goal for over six months.
Mateja Kezman – Serbian slump
Arriving at Chelsea from PSV Eindhoven in 2004, big things were expected of Serbian Mateja Kezman after he managed an astonishing 105 goals in just 122 appearances for the Dutch side.However, his time at Chelsea was blemished, having only hit the target 7 times in his following 41 games for the west-London club.
Of this, his four league goals consisted of a penalty and three goals against clubs that would later be relegated.
Having failed to impress, his time in the Premier League was cut short after the wayward striker was transferred to Atletico Madrid the following season.
(Lack of) goalline technology
As any fan will agree, goal-line technology is a much-needed and overdue perk in the world of football. Whilst the likes of cricket, tennis and rugby possess video technologies to clear up any in-game dispute, football is yet to adopt the idea.From Pedro Mendes’ goal-that-never-was, denying Tottenham victory at Old Trafford during the 2005/06 season, to Chelsea’s goal-that-shouldn’t-be during their 5-1 FA Cup thrashing of Tottenham earlier this month, goal-line technology has been a much sought after addition to the game.
If that wasn’t enough, cast your mind back to Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal during the 2010 World Cup that arguably could have changed the game against Germany. England went on to lose the tie.
WATCH Lampard’s disallowed goal vs. Germany, 2010
Dodgy mascots
Often serving to add to the already red-hot atmospheric cauldron of any Premier League stadium, mascots can help immensely in rallying the troops ahead of the big kick-off.However, sometimes their purpose, presence, or even personality can come under serious question. Man City’s Moonchester was never quite sure of its/his species, whilst across the road a man dress in a huge red bear suit with horns – presumably a Red Devil – ran the terraces at Old Trafford.
Crystal Palace’s Pete the Eagle went one better, featuring lady-like eyelashes and what looked like a bra, whilst Stoke City’s mascot ‘Pottermus’ is a hippo – not exactly a predatory nor aggressive animal by any means, and rival only to Everton’s Chang the Elephant.
No comments:
Post a Comment