Football: That was the season that was
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Quick On The Draw
The 11 Premiership players with the most opening goals
11: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
10: Dwight Yorke
Gianfranco Zola
9: Nicolas Anelka
Alan Shearer
8: Julian Joachim
Hamilton Ricard
7: Dennis Bergkamp
Deon Burton
Jason Euell
Marcus Gayle
Sure Shots
The 11 most effective players in the Premiership, based on minutes on pitch per goal scored
42mins: Jordi Cruyff (Manchester United)
67: Kevin Campbell (Everton)
69: Jonathan Hunt (Derby)
70: Vladimir Kinder (Middlesbrough)
72: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Man Utd )
84: Steve Basham (Southampton)
90: Philip Scott (Sheff Wed)
103: Kanu (Arsenal)
117: Chris Armstrong (Spurs)
123: Mark Bright (Charlton)
129: Lee Briscoe (Sheff Wed)
Red Mist
The two most frequently red-carded Premiership teams
8: Blackburn Rovers
7: Arsenal
Premiership Team Of The Season
Based on appearances in Team of the Week over the course of the season
3-4-1-2
David Seaman (Arsenal)
Tony Adams (Arsenal)
Jaap Stam (Manchester Utd)
Sol Campbell (Tottenham)
David Beckham (Man Utd)
Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal)
Roy Keane (Man Utd)
Neil Lennon (Leicester)
David Ginola (Tottenham)
Dwight Yorke (Man Utd)
Nicholas Anelka (Arsenal)
Manager of the season: Alex Ferguson - can sit at the shoulders of Busby and Shankly.
Performance of the season: Manchester United's victory over Juventus in Turin.
Newcomer of the season: David O'Leary - a sparkling managerial debut.
League Within A League
How the Premiership's top four fared against each other
9 Sept: Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0
20 Sept: Arsenal 3 Man Utd 0
25 Oct: Leeds 0 Chelsea 0
29 Nov: Man Utd 3 Leeds 2
16 Dec: Man Utd 1 Chelsea 1
20 Dec: Arsenal 3 Leeds 1
29 Dec: Chelsea 1 Man Utd 1
31 Jan: Arsenal 1 Chelsea 0
17 Feb: Man Utd 1 Arsenal 1
25 Apr: Leeds 1 Man Utd 1
5 May: Chelsea 1 Leeds 0
11 May: Leeds 1 Arsenal 0
Trebles All Round
12 Premiership hat-tricks
Clive Mendonca v Soton, 22 Aug
Michael Owen v N'castle, 30 Aug
Owen (4) v Forest, 24 Oct.
Dion Dublin v Soton, 14 Nov.
Robbie Fowler v Villa, 21 Nov
Chris Armstrong v Everton, 28 Dec
Darren Huckerby v Nottingham Forest, 9 Jan
Robbie Fowler v Soton, 16 Jan
Dwight Yorke v Leic'ter, 16 Jan
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (4) v Nottm Forest, 6 Feb
Nicolas Anelka v Leicester City, 20 Feb
Kevin Campbell v West Ham, 8 May
KEY NUMBERS
6 - the longest sequence of Premiership clean sheets, defended by Arsenal
7 - the longest Premiership winning streak, achieved by Leeds United
8 - the longest Premiership losing run, by Charlton
19 - the longest run without a Premiership win, endured by Nottingham Forest
21 - the longest Premiership unbeaten run, set by Chelsea
pounds 33.2m - Blackburn Rovers outlay in transfer market
45 - the total of red and yellow cards shown by David Elleray, the most lenient Premiership referee (despite Alex Ferguson's opinion).
53 - the number of yellow and red cards picked up by Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday players, the lowest Premiership card counts
99 - Everton's red and yellow total, highest in Premiership
112 - total red and yellow cards issued by Uriah Rennie, the Premiership's busiest
referee at 4.77 per match.
Kite Flyers
Impending transfer deals, as predicted by the Sunday newspapers
16 Aug: Alen Boksic: Lazio-Man Utd: pounds 10m (The People)
30 Aug: Darren Anderton: Tottenham-Leeds: pounds 10m (News of the World)
13 Sept: Alan Shearer: Newcastle-Internazionale: pounds 20m (Mail on Sunday)
20 Sept: Alan Shearer: Newcastle-Chelsea: Dennis Wise + Dan Petrescu + Tore Andre Flo (Sunday Mirror)
11 Oct: Alan Shearer: Newcastle-Lazio: pounds 10m + Alen Boksic (The People)
13 Dec: Rio Ferdinand: West Ham-Man Utd: pounds 14m (The People)
17 Jan: Juninho: Atletico Madrid-Aston Villa: pounds 12m (Mail on Sunday)
24 Jan: Juninho: Atletico Madrid-Aston Villa: pounds 18m (News of the World)
24 Jan: Rio Ferdinand: West Ham-Man Utd: pounds 12m + Teddy Sheringham (People)
28 Feb: Chris Sutton: Blackburn-Chelsea: pounds 10m (News of the World)
28 Feb: Sol Campbell: Tottenham-Lazio: pounds 15m (People)
Guns For Hire?
The 10 top scorers outside the Premiership
32 Lee Hughes (West Bromwich )
29 Jamie Cureton (Bristol Rovers)
26 Stuart Barlow (Wigan)
Marcus Stewart (Huddersfield)
25 Marco Gabbiadini (Darlington)
Geoff Horsfield (Fulham)
Lee Mills (Bradford)
Lloyd Owusu (Brentford)
Kevin Phillips (Sunderland)
Mark Stein (Bournemouth)
Goal Feasts
The eight highest-scoring Premiership matches
6 Feb: Nottingham Forest 1 Manchester United 8
16 Jan: Liverpool 7 Southampton 1
Leicester City 2 Manchester United 6
9 Sept: West Ham 3 Wimbledon 4
21 Sept: Blackburn Rovers 3 Chelsea 4
3 Apr: Derby County 3 Newcastle United 4
24 Apr: Middlesbrough 1 Arsenal 6
8 May: Aston Villa 3 Charlton Athletic 4
Premiership Goal Of The Season
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments