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The Premier League is considered one of the most competitive football leagues in the world. Ever since its inception in 1992, it has gained a lot of popularity over the past 22 seasons.We take a look at some individual and team records that have been set which may never be broken or emulated any time soon.
#1 Most consecutive games unbeaten: Arsenal - 49
Back in 2002, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said (reportedly misquoted), “I am still hopeful we can go through the season unbeaten - a frightening thought.” Of course, the press and the rival fans ridiculed him after they finally lost a game.
But Wenger lived up to the statement as the Gunners won the 2003/04 season comfortably – without losing a game! Their record that season read P38 W26 D12 L0, winning the title ahead of runners-up Chelsea by 11 points. That squad fittingly went down in history as The Invincibles.
What’s more; they went on to break the record for most games without defeat, beating Nottingham Forest’s long standing record of 42 games unbeaten and went undefeated for a total of 49 games (between May 2003 and October 2004). The run came to an end after a highly controversial 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
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#2 Most goals scored by a substitute in a game: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 4
When Manchester United took on Nottingham Forest in the 1998/99 season, what transpired will be remembered for more than just the fact that the match was played on the anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
Although the scores were level within seven minutes at 1-1, the Red Devils went on to win 1-8! Paul Scholes, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke were tearing Nottingham Forest apart in the first half as well as in the second. And Solskjaer didn’t actually come on until the 72nd minute of the game.
The Norwegian forward scored his first goal in the 80th minute, a simple tap in from two yards out. His second came in the 88th minute when he rounded the keeper to score, after his first shot was blocked. He scored his hat-trick moments later when Paul Scholes fed him with a no-look pass. His fourth came in injury-time, again scoring with another poacher’s goal.
After the game, Solskjaer admitted that he thought he’d never get a chance to play with United leading 4-1 at the time, but Sir Alex Ferguson put him on anyway.
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#3 Most points in a season: Chelsea - 95
The 2004/05 season was a closely fought contest for most of the season, with Arsenal (the defending champions), Manchester United and Chelsea brushing aside their opponents with ease.
But Arsenal lost steam after the loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford (the game that ended their unbeaten run). Manchester United looked rejuvenated at this stage and started racking up the points before they too fell by the wayside, allowing the Gunners to leapfrog them.
But it was ‘The Special One’ Jose Mourinho who led Chelsea to their first ever Premier League title, almost emulating their London rivals by going an entire season unbeaten. Their final record was P38 W29 D8 L1 – 95 points in total with a Goal Difference of +57!
Frank Lampard was the club’s top scorer with 13 goals followed by Eidur Gudjohnsen with 12. Chelsea had also won the League Cup after defeating Liverpool that season.
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#4 Most Premier League goals: Alan Shearer - 260
“Shearerrrr!”
How many times have we heard the commentators scream his name while Alan Shearer wheels away in celebration with one arm raised in the air?
Between 1992 and 2006, a total of 441 appearances for Blackburn Rovers (1992 to 1996) and Newcastle United (1996 to 2006), Shearer scored a massive 260 goals!
Shearer led the Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1994/95, scoring a joint EPL record 34 goals in the season. And in 1996, he made a then world record transfer to his hometown club Newcastle United for a fee of £15 million. The striker made a name for himself at the club and would go on to play for the Magpies for a decade, scoring goals and shattering records in the process. He had scored 206 goals in all competitions in just 395 appearances for Newcastle by the time he retired in 2006.
Shearer’s record is sure to stand the test of time, with Wayne Rooney being the only possible contender to break the record at the moment. The 28-year-old Manchester United striker is currently on 173 goals with ideally another five to six years of Premier League football left in him. The next best among the active players? Frank Lampard with 171 goals and Robin van Persie with 132 goals!
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#5 Longest range goal from open play: Tim Howard 93 metres
Yes, we’ve all seen goalkeepers score goals – penalties, free kicks, last gasp headers from corner kicks etc. But how often do you see a goalkeeper score form his own box? And in the biggest league in the world? Surely not!
That’s exactly what Tim Howard did when Everton took on Bolton Wanderers on a very windy night at Goodison Park. Before he became a hero at the 2014 World Cup, he was known for holding the record for the longest range goal from open play in the Premier League – 93 metres!
It looked like a harmless clearance by the American goalkeeper, but the wind picked it up and Bolton’s keeper Adam Bogdan misjudged it completely – reeling backward as the first bounce took it up and way over his outstretched arm.
As the players ran to Howard to celebrate, he kept to the goalkeeper’s code of not celebrating when scoring against your counterpart. Respect!
Paul Robinson has also scored a similar goal from just outside his own box, but from a free kick that missed everybody and went over Ben Foster’s head and into the goal.
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#6 Most clubs a player has scored for: Craig Bellamy - 7
Craig Bellamy has been a mainstay in the Premier League for years.
The Welsh forward started his senior career in the lower divisions with Norwich City, but didn’t play in the Premier League until 2000 with Coventry City.
He would then go on to play for Newcastle (2001–2005), Blackburn Rovers (2005–2006), Liverpool (twice between 2006–2007 and 2011–2012), West Ham United (2007–2009), Manchester City (2009–2011) and Cardiff City (twice during 2010–2011 on loan and 2012–2014).
He retired with the Welsh club having scored a total of 81 goals in 294 appearances for seven different clubs.
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#7 Fastest Premier League hat-trick: Robbie Fowler - 4 minutes 33 seconds
Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler once scored a hat-trick in less than five minutes. Let that sink in while you try and figure out how bad the defence must have been. But, wait; it wasn’t against some mid-table or relegation-threatened team – it was Arsenal!
In an Anfield classic on 28 August, 1994, Fowler scored three goals in 273 seconds to give the Reds a 3-0 lead. He got the better of stalwarts like Martin Keown and David Seaman as the Kop raised the roof off Anfield.
Who better to describe the action but Martin Tyler and Andy Gray?
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#8 Most Premier League appearances: Ryan Giggs - 632
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This man needs no introduction. Until the 2013/14 season, Ryan Giggs held a number of records. One of which was the most appearances in the Premier League ever – 632 games!
The Welsh player has been a part of the Premier League ever since its inception in 1992 until he retired in May 2014 at the age of 40, which speaks volumes about his fitness and dedication to the game!
He not only holds the record for most appearance in the EPL, he also holds the following records:
- Most Premier League medals – 13
- Most Premier League appearances at one club – 632 (he has only played for Manchester United in the Premier League)
- Most seasons appeared in: 22 (1992/93 to 2013/14)
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#9 Most consecutive home games without a loss: Chelsea - 86
It all started on 21 February, 2004 when Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea lost 1-2 at Stamford Bridge to London rivals Arsenal. They won their next home game on 20 March, 2004 against Fulham.
They didn’t lose a home game until Liverpool visited the Bridge on 26, October 2008. Chelsea lost to Liverpool thanks to a solitary goal from Xabi Alonso, whose strike was deflected into the net.
The run lasted a total of 86 games! A run which saw many managers run the Blues – Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari.
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#10 Fastest goal by a substitute: Nicklas Bendtner - 1.8 seconds
Who would have thought that Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner would find a place in history?
The striker, who was famous more for his off-field antics than his on-field heroics, holds the record for the fastest goal by a substitute – 1.8 seconds! And who better to score against than North London derby rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
To top it off, it was also his first goal for Arsenal in the Premier League. Way to announce your arrival, Nick!
The goal itself was top class. Having just come on to the pitch for Emmanuel Eboue when Arsenal got a corner kick, he soared above the Tottenham defence to head home a Cesc Fabregas corner when the referee signaled for the restart.
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#11 Fewest wins in a season: Derby County - 1 win
Derby County had a wretched season in 2007/08. And that would be an understatement!
Having secured promotion to the EPL in the previous season, their fans might have had a faint glimmer of hope. But that dream came crashing down as soon as the season got underway. The club failed to impress and won all three points in a grand total of just one game – a 1-0 win over Newcastle with Kenny Miller scoring on his debut. It was a result that temporarily lifted them off the bottom of the Premier League table.
But their final record read P38 W1 D8 L29. They had scored only 20 goals in 38 games, conceding a whopping 89 goals in the process. They were relegated after just one season in the top flight. They were also the first team to be relegated as early as March – with two months of the season still left to be played!
It’s hard to see any team go an entire season without a win to break this record, so the most Derby can pray for is to possibly share this record with another unfortunate club.
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