When anyone describes the Premier League, adjectives such as fast-paced, physical and unrelenting are often thrown around quite a bit. The imagery conjured up is that of players who are always buzzing around, running their lungs out at break-neck speeds. However, for every such player, there are also those who seem to be lumbering lazily around the pitch.
Opta has recently released data concerning the top speeds that players have clocked during a Premier League game and here, we have a compilation of 10 of the slowest. Goalkeepers are of course, excluded and the players mentioned have played three or more league games.
#10 Andy King
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Top Speed: 29.7 km/h
Age: 27
Club: Leicester City
When N’Golo Kante left Leicester City this summer, questions were asked if their longest serving player, Andy King, could fill the void left in midfield. A rare breed of one-club men, he doesn’t boast the dynamism or athleticism of Kante but has always been an unheralded player.
King may not have played a major part in Leicester’s title winning season, but was always a consistent performer. He still puts in a shift when asked, for both Leicester and the Wales national team, even though he may not be the quickest.
#9 Craig Gardner
Top Speed: 29.62 km/h
Age: 29
Club: West Bromwich Albion
A former Sunderland and Aston Villa player, Gardner now plays as a central midfielder for West Brom. Specialised in taking penalties, he’s always dependable in whipping in ferocious crosses or scoring from free-kicks.
Gardner started the first two league games before dropping to the bench. Never the quickest on the pitch, what he lacks in pace, he makes up for with his tenacious tackling on the pitch, winning second balls in midfield and always being dependable in possession.
#8 Hal Robson-Kanu
Top Speed: 29.49 km/h
Age: 27
Club: West Bromwich Albion
Played primarily as a winger for Reading, he left them on a free this summer. After putting in some phenomenal performances for Wales in the European Championships, he was linked with the likes of last year’s Champions League finalists, Atletico Madrid and also with big money moves to China.
Robson-Kanu ended up signing for Tony Pulis’s West Brom and though not always the speediest, he’s excellent at holding up the ball and bringing his teammates into play. Of course, everyone will remember that goal against Belgium in the quarter-finals when he Cruyff turned two defenders, leaving them dead in their tracks before calmly slotting the ball home.
#7 Gareth Barry
Top Speed: 29.4 km/h
Age: 35
Club: Everton
Gareth Barry Made his debut in May 1998 and will probably go down as one of the greats, having played in over 20 of the Premier League seasons. He has won numerous accolades in his long career including two Premier League titles. The former Aston Villa and Manchester City man now plies his trade in the blue half of Merseyside at Everton.
The Englishman has made over 600 Premier League appearances, and is third on the all-time appearances list, behind only Frank Lampard and Ryan Giggs and the highest among the current crop of players. Given his age and the physical demands of being a midfielder in the league, it can be understood why he doesn’t always clock the highest speeds.
#6 Lucas Leiva
Top Speed: 29.37 km/h
Age: 29
Club: Liverpool
Maybe expected to be on this list, Lucas will have completed 10 seasons with Liverpool at the end of the season. The ever dependable Brazilian hardly ever disappoints when called upon; take a look at his defensive stats you’ll know why Klopp still trusts him and why speed isn’t a necessary requisite in the game.
Lucas was one of the best defensive midfielders in the league before a nasty knee injury at Chelsea left him lacking that yard of pace. He now makes up for it by being excellent at reading the game and exemplary positioning skills, knowing where to be and when to be there. A leader, both on the pitch and off it, this might be one of the reasons why Jürgen Klopp blocked his move to Galatasaray this summer.
#5 Olivier Giroud
Top Speed: 29.19 km/h
Age: 30
Club: Arsenal
Another who most expected to be on the list, Giroud is often criticised for lacking pace and slowing down attacks. However, you get the feeling most of what is written about him is hyperbole. The Frenchman has always scored goals at a decent rate and has a strike-rate of almost one in every two games. He’s not as bad as most make him out to be, with Didier Deschamps often trusting him to lead the line for the France national team.
When fit, he offers a focal point to the attack and a different dimension to the team. With both Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez in form, he can still be a plan ‘B’ off the bench, to help break down teams with a more compact defensive structure.
#4 Shaun Maloney
Top Speed: 28.87 km/h
Age: 33
Club: Hull City
Maloney transferred to Hull City after 8 months at Chicago Fire. Given that he plays as either an attacking midfielder or winger for both club and country, he’s expected to have that turn of speed to run past and beat players.
The midfielder played a role in Hull City’s promotion to the top flight and scored in the opening day win over Swansea. His last appearance was the ignominious 6-1 defeat to Bournemouth. Given that he is to turn 34 this coming January, it can be seen as to why he isn’t always the fastest player on the pitch anymore.
#3 Cesc Fabregas
Top Speed: 28.73 km/h
Age: 29
Club: Chelsea
Probably a surprise inclusion in this list to some, Fabregas was phenomenal in Chelsea’s 2014-15 title winning season, assisting 18 goals, only 2 short to Thierry Henry’s record of 20 for a Premier League season. Since then, he seems to have regressed, with Chelsea’s midfield often exploited when he’s deployed in the pivot.
When he played last season, teams often found it easy to bypass him in midfield with Fabregas lacking the pace and physicality to track back fast enough, leaving Matic with too much to do. However, he still definitely has a part to play, scoring 2 goals in the 2-4 win against Leicester in the EFL Cup and helping Chelsea up their tempo when he does come on as a substitute.
#2 Peter Crouch
Top Speed: 28.58 km/h
Age: 35
Club: Stoke City
A footballing journeyman, Crouch has plied his trade at numerous clubs such as Tottenham (twice), Portsmouth (twice), Liverpool, Southampton and quite a few more. Always a dependable striker, he’s been known for being very good at holding up the ball and having it stick to him than his speed. He also shows remarkable technique for one so lanky, showing that what one lacks for in speed, they can definitely make up for in other aspects.
Signed for a then club record fee of £10 million, he was one of the reasons why Tony Pulis’s infamous ‘route one football’ was so successful at Stoke. Never one to set the world alight, fans will always remember that incredible volley against Manchester City that earned him the Goal of the Season award. Crouch has scored a decent 47 goals in 176 appearances for Stoke, but none this season.
#1 Charlie Adam
Top Speed: 26.72 km/h
Age: 30
Club: Stoke City
And to top the list of slowest Premier League players this season is Stoke City’s Charlie Adam. A player who has built his reputation on dead-ball delivery and precise long-range strikes rather than sheer athleticism, the former Liverpool and Blackpool midfielder will probably be remembered best for an astounding 65 yard goal in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea; a goal that he described as a “once in a lifetime goal”.
Charlie Adam is officially the slowest player in the Premier League this season, not an award one hopes is pinned against their name.
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