Kevin Nolan was booked for a 72nd time on Monday night during West Ham United’s 2-1 win at Queens Park Rangers. Remarkably, he is not in the top 10 most cautioned players in England’s top flight. Here are the top five:
99 bookings, Lee Bowyer
The English midfielder has had a controversial career both on and off the field, but his ability to gain the ire of the officials has been consistent at Leeds United, West Ham, Newcastle United and Birmingham City.
99 bookings, Kevin Davies
A dying breed in the modern game, the old fashioned English centre-forward who is not afraid to mix it physically with central defenders. His name was taken down a great deal by many a referee while with Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and his current club, Bolton Wanderers.
93 bookings, Paul Scholes
Acclaimed for his goal-scoring, passing and ability to time runs into the box to perfection from midfield, tackling appears to be the one weakness in the Englishman’s game judging by the number of times he has been cautioned during his long career at Manchester United.
87 bookings, Robbie Savage
The now retired midfielder had a knack for winding up opponents, but his own conduct made him a regular in many a referee’s notebook during games for Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers and Derby County.
87 bookings, George Boateng
The Dutch midfielder was a popular player at all four of his English clubs – Coventry City, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Hull City – but his good work in the centre of the park did come at the cost of a significant number of yellow cards.
