The Fastest Red Card in Premier League History

One long 11 seconds for a certain Sheffield United player in 2007…

Since the Premier League began in 1992, hundreds of records have been established, set and then broken. Manchester United will always be the first team to win the Premier League. They also hold the records for being the first team to win the Premier League twice, win back-to-back Premier Leagues and to do so on multiple occasions (7 times), be the only team to win the Premier League on three consecutive occasions and to do so more than once (1999-2001, 2007-2009), and be the the first team to do the Premier League/FA Cup Double (in 1994). Arsenal are the only team to win the Premier League without losing a single match. Gareth Barry holds the record for most Premier League appearances with 653. Ryan Giggs has the assist record with 162. Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 260. Petr Cech holds the record for most clean sheets with 202.

On the other side, with records to be proud of there are those unwanted Premier League records. For example, the 2007-08 Derby County side holds the record for fewest points in a Premier League season with 11 (2007-08) along with the fewest wins (1), the most losses (29) and the earliest relegation in Premier League history (29th March) amongst a raft of others. Richard Dunne holds the record for the most own goals in Premier League history with 10. Dunne also shares the record for most Premier League red cards with Duncan Ferguson and Patrick Vieira with 8. On the subject of red cards, there is an even more unenviable, unwanted Premier League record which one player achieved during the 2006/07 season.

The date was 20th January 2007. The location: the Madejski Stadium. The match: Reading vs Sheffield United. Both teams were new to the Premier League, having both achieved promotion from the Championship the previous year. Reading had been promoted as champions, accumulating a record 106 points to clinch the Championship title by 16 points. Finishing in 2nd place behind Reading was Sheffield United, who finished with 90 points, 9 ahead of eventual playoff winners Watford in 3rd. If one place and 16 points had separated the two teams the previous May, the difference between the two teams eight months later was even starker. Seven Premier League places separated the two sides going into the 20th January match-up. The visitors Sheffield United had found life difficult since returning to the Premier League for the first time since 1994. Under manager Neil Warnock, the Blades had won 6, drawn 6 and lost 11 of their previous 23 matches, residing in 16th place on 24 points and going into matchday 24 looking nervously over the shoulder down towards the relegation zone.

Reading had no such worries and following a successful summer transfer window, were performing excellently in their first Premier League season under manager Steve Coppell, having never appeared in English football’s top division before this season. The Royals came into the game with a record of 9 wins, 4 draws and 10 losses from 23 matches to find themselves in 9th place with 31 points, 7 points better off than the Blades. Both sides had come into the game having drawn their previous matches with Portsmouth and Everton respectively. Sheffield United had the slightly better form, with 2 wins in their last 6 matches compared to Reading’s 1. Reading would however, still have the advantage going into this match-up, having beaten Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramall Lane back in September.

The match was a scrappy encounter with most of the play occurring in the middle of the park, as Sheffield United’s midfield managed to stifle Reading going forward. The first shot on target wouldn’t even occur until the 38th minute. Reading would finally break the deadlock a minute before half-time when an attempted clearance by Blades defender John Lucketti would rebound off Reading skipper Steve Sidwell into the path of young 19-year-old striker Shane Long, who would finish from close range for his first Premier League goal. The Royals would double their lead six minutes after half-time when left-back Ulises De La Cruz, a summer signing from Aston Villa, continued his forward run into the 18-yard box to collect Stephen Hunt’s pass and fire home for his first Premier League goal since September 2002. The hosts were in the ascendancy, but the game would soon break down in a big way, which is where our unwanted Premier League record occurs.

On 53 minutes, Neil Warnock decides to take off starting left-back Derek Geary and replace him with experienced winger Keith Gillespie from the substitutes bench. Gillespie possesses 8 seasons worth of Premier League experience, having made his debut for Manchester United during the 1994-1995 season. He has since played for Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers, making a total of 202 Premier League appearances prior to this season. Gillespie is in his second season at Bramall Lane, having joined the club the previous summer. Since joining from Leicester in the summer of 2005, Gillespie has made 54 appearances for Sheffield United in all competitions, the majority of which have come in the league and has become a key player within the squad and will remain one as the club battles not only to come back in this match with 37 minutes left to play but also their quest to retain their Premier League survival for another season.

53 minutes gone, the ball has gone out for a throw-in and it is time to make the change, off comes Derek Geary and on comes Keith Gillespie. Gillespie runs onto the field, finds his place to receive the throw-in and his first act is… to elbow Reading’s Stephen Hunt in the face. To re-iterate, Keith Gillespie ran onto the field after being substituted on, marked himself up against Stephen Hunt to receive a throw-in, backed into Stephen Hunt and while doing so, raised his arm and elbow into Stephen Hunt’s face, with Hunt subsequently falling to the turf. This incident is immediately spotted by a linesman and after consulting with said linesman, referee Mark Halsey shows Keith Gillespie the red card. Gillespie in his act of madness against Stephen Hunt has unwittingly set a new Premier League record for the fastest red card in Premier League history. He had only been on the field for 11 seconds after replacing Derek Geary. Technically as the ball was out for a throw-in and was therefore not live on the field of play, it has been argued that Gillespie had been sent off after being on the field for zero seconds of play. Either way, it is a ridiculous record to be set and a clear moment of madness. Gillespie makes things worse for himself by throwing a punch at Stephen Hunt before being restrained off the field by teammate Phil Jagielka. Gillespie’s actions even affect the coaches on the sidelines as Reading coach Wally Downes pushes Blades manager Neil Warnock, starting a touchline melee, resulting in both men also being sent off for the remainder of the match.

After the explosion of violence was over, a football match did finally break out once again and it was the 11-man Royals who prevailed. In the 77th minute, Steve Sidwell’s shot was blocked by Sheffield defender Rob Kozluk only to fall into the path of Stephen Hunt, who assured Reading’s victory by making the scoreline 3-0. Sheffield United would eventually find a consolation goal when Christian Nade scored in the 90th minute, but Sheffield United’s remaining chances of winning had already disappeared thanks to one winger from Northern Ireland.

The win over Sheffield United would be the first in a four-match winning streak for Reading, as they would pick up subsequent victories over Wigan, Manchester City and Aston Villa to rise to 6th in the Premier League in the second week of February with 43 points after 27 matches. Sheffield United would offer up inconsistent results in their next four matches. The team bounced back from the Reading loss with a 2-0 victory over Fulham at Bramall Lane before losing 2-1 to Blackburn Rovers four day later. The Blades would once again bounce back from this loss with a surprise 2-1 victory over Tottenham, with the win once again taking place at Bramall Lane. These results would move Sheffield United up to 15th place at the end of 10th February with 30 points after 27 matches.

The day after the match, Keith Gillespie would shock Sheffield United by handing in a transfer request. However, this request would be refused and Gillespie would actually sign a two-year contract extension later in the season. He would not make another appearance for Sheffield United until a substitute appearance in 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on St Patrick’s Day 2007. He would play in 8 further matches for the team that season, starting 7 as Sheffield eventually suffered relegation back to the Championship after a 2-1 defeat to Wigan on the final day of the Premier League season. GIllespie would remain at Sheffield United until 2009, when he would leave for League Two Bradford City before finishing out his career in his native Northern Ireland. Despite his career successes with Newcastle, Blackburn and Sheffield United, one incident and 12 seconds of madness have left an indelible mark on Keith Gillespie’s career and an unwanted Premier League record to his name.