Five Games In and Some Players Are Already Halfway to a Ban

Matt Crooks has three yellow cards in three appearances. Under the Premier League yellow cards rule, two more before Hull finish their 19th league match would bring a one-match ban. That makes him the sharpest suspension concern in the division right now. Six players are tied on three bookings, but the other five needed five appearances to get there.

The next matches give that risk a name. Hull host Everton on Sunday 11 October and visit Fulham on Saturday 17 October. If Crooks gets booked in both, he misses Brentford at home on Sunday 25 October. The league puts that game at 2pm and says fixtures can still change. 

A 2pm Sunday kick-off already makes a mess of the day for travelling supporters. Hull could also arrive without the midfielder who has picked up their quickest three yellows. That part would be self-inflicted.

I wouldn't bench Crooks now just to protect him. There are too many league games left before the cut-off for that to work. If he gets his fourth against Everton, though, Fulham becomes a real decision rather than another name on the fixture list. Hull can change his job in midfield, ask him to stay out of cheap arguments or leave him out. Doing nothing would be a decision too.

Yellow cards Premier League top ten after five games

The Most Cards leaderboard combines yellows, reds, appearances and a card score.

Crooks stands apart because he reached three in two fewer appearances. Everyone else on that number has had a slower start, although none of them can relax with most of the first half of the season still to play.

Calvert-Lewin is the one that catches my eye as I didn't expect to be checking his ban count after five games. Janelt appearing here feels far less surprising, but the rule doesn't care whether a booking fits a player's reputation. Five is five.

The players on two have more room. They also have little reason to ignore it. A couple of untidy afternoons can turn a background number into a team-sheet problem, and managers need to know the opponent that follows before the fifth card arrives.

Hull have the biggest team problem

Hull lead ESPN's discipline table with 17 yellows from five games. Bournemouth have 14 and Nottingham Forest 13. Liverpool, Newcastle and Brighton each have 12.

Seventeen in five is poor discipline. Calling Hull a dirty side after five matches would still be lazy. The useful question is what those cards do to selection, and Crooks gives Hull a warning they can't ignore.

Hull need to cut the needless cards now. Necessary tackles still have to be made. Complaints after the whistle and fouls in places where the opponent isn't going anywhere can go. A booking taken to stop a clear break can save a goal. A booking picked up after the decision has gone adds risk and nothing else. 

Bournemouth would worry me next. Their total leaves little margin. Forest's number matters too, although their foul count tells a slightly different story.

Fouls don't tell the same story as cards

The Bad Boys board ranks players and teams by total fouls. The Premier League's club foul table has Nottingham Forest first on 75, Brentford second on 72 and Tottenham third on 66.

Compare that with the yellow-card order. Hull lead for yellows but don't appear in the foul top three. Forest lead for fouls and sit behind Hull and Bournemouth for yellows. The two orders are measuring different things.

That makes sense to anyone who has spent a Saturday muttering at a referee. A clumsy nudge near the corner flag and a shirt pull that stops a break both count as one foul. I expect the second one to bring a card. Counting them as equal tells us how often a side fouls, but not how costly those fouls are.

I'd take Forest's problem over Hull's at this stage. Hull's total is the one that worries me because it turns into a team-sheet problem. A high foul count can be ugly to watch. A suspension takes a player off the team sheet.

How the five-card rule works

The Premier League rule is simple. Five bookings in a club's first 19 league matches bring a one-match ban in the same competition. Ten yellows up to and including the 32nd league match bring a two-match ban. Premier League yellows don't carry into the EFL Cup or FA Cup.

The deadline belongs to each club's 19th match. It isn't one date shared by the whole division. A player who gets through that fixture on four yellows has cleared the first threshold, although the later ten-card rule still waits.

I wouldn't hide Crooks from matches now. I would act as soon as the fourth card arrives. If Hull treat that moment as routine, the fifth booking will pick the team for them.