Premier League Feuds: The 10 Biggest Feuds in Premiership History

Ed Wyman@@edwymanX.com LogoCorrespondent ISeptember 27, 2011

Premier League Feuds: The 10 Biggest Feuds in Premiership History

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    The Premier League has helped to take football to new heights: Audiences are bigger than ever, salaries have followed suit and the football is of as high a quality as it has ever been.

    Humans being humans means that all this pressure, combined with our natural disposition not to like certain people, has led to the Premiership seeing a few fair feuds since its inception 19 years ago.

    Some of the feuds date back to before the Premier League's founding, some have intensified during its lifetime and some have been conceived while the Premiership has gone on around those involved.

    Whatever the origin, here are 10 of the all-time biggest Premier League feuds—in no particular order.

Bendtner vs. Adebayor

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    It all started with a pair of shoes.

    While the two strikers were at Arsenal, there was a rule that nobody was allowed into the dressing room whilst wearing trainers.

    Scandalously, Nicklas Bendtner wore his trainers into the dressing room every day. Emmanuel Adebayor didn't like this and cornered the Dane one day to ask him to stop.

    To cut a long story short, Bendtner didn't stop and Adebayor head-butted his teammate in a League Cup match after the Danish striker gave Adebayor the finger. 

Joey Barton vs. Karl Henry

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    Joey Barton doesn't always play well with others. This is a tendency that has been apparent throughout the midfielder's career.

    His current sparring partner is Karl Henry—who Barton felt was out to hurt him in a game against Newcastle last season and put in a nasty tackle at the end of Wolves' match with QPR earlier this season. 

    Barton took to Twitter and provided his followers with some choice words on "Kelvin Henry," describing him as a "Sunday League footballer."

    QPR's captain is a far cry from the man who spent time in jail for assault just a few years ago. Now sharing with his fans his views on philosophy, the fire that causes Barton to get himself in trouble is evidently still there. If he can control it and use it to his advantage, Barton could be entering the most successful period of his career.

    If he cannot, Karl Henry could be in real trouble.

Kieron Dyer vs. Lee Bowyer

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    During a Premier League match against Aston Villa, Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer got into a fight shortly after going 3-0 down. While it's not unusual for players to get angry in such situations, it is pretty unusual for them to come to blows—especially when they are on the same team.

    Lee Bowyer seemed to be doing most of the punching, and he was duly fined £200,000, banned for four matches and forced to issue an apology along with Dyer, who was banned for three matches.

    The pair seem to have made up, and Bowyer even helped persuade Dyer to leave Newcastle and join West Ham. Nonetheless, fighting it out on television in front of millions of people is bound to lead some uncomfortable moments in the dressing room. 

Andy Cole vs. Teddy Sheringham

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    Teddy Sheringham snubbed Andy Cole when he was substituted in favour of the latter during an England match—Cole's debut—and matters only got worse when the pair later joined forces at Manchester United.

    Sheringham accused Cole of being responsible for a goal that United conceded, which could not have gone down well with Cole. Last year, Andy Cole stated in his column in The Independent that he has never spoken a word to Sheringham, a fact that makes the animosity between the two of them all the more impressive. 

    Somehow, despite all of this, they managed to form a very successful partnership—although the introduction of Dwight Yorke for the 1998-9 season suggested that their personal problems were still a problem for Sir Alex Ferguson.

Kevin Keegan vs. Sir Alex Ferguson

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    Kevin Keegan and Sir Alex Ferguson went up against each other in the 1995-6 Premier League season as they fought it out to take their respective teams to the league title.

    Ferguson had spent much of the season doing what he does best—getting under people's skin. He finally had his man when Keegan exploded during an interview with Sky Sports.

    We will never know whether or not the rant proved to be the difference between the two sides, but we do know that, within a year, Keegan had left Newcastle and is yet to experience the same degree of managerial success as he did while at Newcastle.

Manchester City vs. Manchester United

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    This is a feud that is very much on the rise.

    There was a time when the people of Manchester would watch City one week and United the next. Sir Matt Busby spent the majority of his playing career at City and the Munich air disaster was mourned on both sides of the city.

    Now, however, it is far more common for the two to take pot shots at each other. "The noisy neighbours" has quickly become the accepted way to refer to City, and they now appear to be firm rivals—on and off the pitch.

    Recently, City's controversial new arrival, Owen Hargreaves, has taken a shot at United's medical team, while there was a great deal of tension over Carlos Tevez's move across the city.

    Happily, however, City will be laying a wreath at the site of the Munich air crash when they visit Germany this week, a move that has received praise from all quarters, including the red side of Manchester.

Manchester United vs. Liverpool

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    Manchester United vs. Liverpool is one of football's all-time great rivalries, with the two clubs having, at various points in their histories, battled it out for top honours. The rivalry still burns strong, despite Liverpool's lack of success in recent times; United's surpassing of Liverpool's 18 league titles has caused a great deal of celebration.

    In the Premier League area, the rivalry was at its height during Rafa Benitez's tenure on Merseyside, with the infamous Rafa facts rant being a particular low point. 

    Gabriel Heinze's attempt to transfer to Liverpool when trying to move away from Old Trafford caused controversy as United refused to allow a deal to happen. Since 1964, no player has transferred between the two clubs—a testament to the strength of feeling that exists.

    Michael Owen playing for United seems to have made him a hat figure on both sides of the divide. A recent Twitter message in the aftermath of United's 3-0 win against Leeds read: "Good 1-0 win tonight, your goals don't count," while Owen noted that fans stayed behind to boo him as he left the dressing room.

    This hatred is ingrained in fans from an early age. It was there before Sir Alex was manager of United, and it will remain long after he leaves. 

Roy Keane vs. Alfie Haaland

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    In 1997, Roy Keane fouled Alfie Haaland, a Norwegian playing for Leeds. The foul did serious damage to the ligaments in Keane's knees.

    Keane claims that Haaland stood over him and told him not to fake an injury, or something along those lines.

    Keane must have a great memory, because, four years later, the Irishman hit Haaland with a truly ferocious tackle while nowhere near the ball.

    In his autobiography, Keane said of the incident: "I'd waited long enough. I f****** hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***."

    The tackle ended Haaland's career; he never managed a full 90 minutes again. Keane has always been seen as a tough player, but not being able to let go of an injury that you caused yourself after four years is really something else.

John Terry vs. Wayne Bridge

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    John Terry's alleged affair (it still hasn't been proven) with Bridge's former partner, Vanessa Perroncel—regardless of whether or not it happened—ignited a feud between John Terry and Wayne Bridge that will, in all likelihood, never be resolved.

    The Chelsea vs. Manchester City match that occurred whilst all of this was in the headlines was probably the most anticipated event of the season. Millions wanted to see if Bridge and Terry would shake hands. It was all looking pretty good as Wayne Bridge walked down the line of Chelsea players, but, as many hoped, John Terry was left hanging.

    Manchester City players wore "Team Bridge" shirts under their football shirts, Terry lost the England captaincy for a while, and Wayne Bridge's career has taken a significant downturn.

    This is about as personal as it gets when it comes to a feud. The allegations that the tabloids threw around meant that, whereas most of these incidents are conducted with some degree of privacy, the three people involved saw all of their worst nightmares aired in public. 

Arsene Wenger vs. Sir Alex Ferguson

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    The two longest-serving Premiership managers are bound to have had their disagreements, especially when, for long periods of the Premier League's history, they have been tussling for the top honours.

    They didn't get off to the best of starts: Ferguson suggested that Wenger would do better to stick to Japanese football and it hasn't improved all that much since then.

    The rivalry that exists between Manchester United and Arsenal is largely based on the rivalry between these two men. Without them, it is doubtful that Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira would have ever had their historic, and violent, confrontations.

    In recent times, the feud seems to have calmed down somewhat. Ferguson recently backed Wenger against the myriad of critics who have put him under intense pressure in recent times—which does not stop the odd snide remark emerging from each side.

    You can be sure that if Arsenal once again pose a threat as they did earlier in the millennium, Sir Alex and Wenger will be back at each others throats.

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