Ben Brereton Diaz and the longest runs with out successful a Premier League fit

It’s early days, however you worry Southampton may poised a couple of unfavourable data this season.

Nearest seven video games, they’re winless, with just a level to their title and simply 4 objectives scored.

A minimum of the membership has the shatter afterglow of good fortune from successful promotion ultimate season, despite the fact that there may be one member in their crew who doesn’t also have that — and, rather, has inside of his points of interest probably the most extra useless person data round.

Step ahead Ben Brereton Diaz, who has performed 20 Premier League video games in his occupation thus far — six for Southampton, 14 for Sheffield United ultimate season — with out successful any. That’s the listing for probably the most video games performed via any person who hasn’t ever received a Premier League recreation, forward of Marvin Sordell on 17, and Emanuel Villa on 16.

Not like that duo, he nonetheless has a probability of celebrating his first victory. Then again, the Chile global could also be in peril of surroundings the listing for probably the most video games performed via a person ahead of being fascinated with a Premier League win (see desk underneath).

This, confidently, isn’t designed to denigrate or mock Brereton Diaz. He has simply been terrible plethora to play games for a few suffering aspects. You might want to argue he has been a part of the ones suffering aspects, so bears a minimum of probably the most duty for the failure to win. However with six objectives in 14 video games for Sheffield United, he ended the season as their joint-top scorer in spite of most effective becoming a member of in January, moment he has regularly seemed like Southampton’s most deadly attacker this time period.

His groups haven’t received any video games, however it’s no longer essentially his fault.

You might want to even argue that Brereton Diaz is sort of being punished for being just right. In the event you’re a dreadful participant in a dreadful crew, you most likely aren’t going to stick in that crew. However for those who’re a worthy participant in a dreadful crew, you’ll be in the market each and every future, your win-loss listing on the excuse of the disorder round you.

In spite of everything, the listing of avid gamers who’ve taken a protracted year to get their first win isn’t precisely stuffed with whole duds.

Jerk Gareth Bale, who gave the impression in 24 video games for Tottenham ahead of he claimed his first Premier League victory. His was once a quite other case, as it wasn’t right down to him becoming a member of a suffering crew, however extra an unusual quirk of his first two seasons at Tottenham; a mixture of twist of fate, unpriviledged method and damage conspiring to secure him out of the video games Spurs received in that year.

Bale joined Spurs from Southampton in 2007 and, moment he needed to wait a protracted year for his first Premier League good fortune, he did win in his fourth look for his or her first crew once they beat Anorthosis Famagusta 6-1 within the UEFA Cup.

Having gave the impression sporadically in please see months, his season was once led to December via an ankle damage. He returned at the beginning of please see season, when Spurs infamously took simply two issues from their first 8 video games, however neglected their first victory of the season as a result of he have been despatched off within the earlier fit. From there, he was once out and in of the crew, variously injured or out of favour, however his presence at all times coincided with attracts or defeats and the crew received plethora of instances in his absence.

However his winless Premier League run turned into a operating comic story, probably the most early soccer social media memes nearest Opta noticed the terrible statistic. Finally, it spanned 1,607 mins over the ones 24 video games, lasting 762 days and taking in 3 Spurs managers.

He ultimately needful the streak on somewhat of a technicality: he got here on within the ultimate levels of Tottenham’s victory over Burnley in September 2009, once they have been already 4-0 up and ultimately received 5-0. And that was once a planned advance via after Spurs supervisor Harry Redknapp, to shake the unfavourable statistical millstone. Redknapp told talkSPORT in 2019: “I stuck him on against Burnley… with six minutes to go. I thought, ‘He can’t mess this up!’”

He didn’t. And over please see years, he went directly to win rankings of video games mainly on his personal so, via the year he left for Actual Madrid in 2013, he was once considerably in credit score.

“It was a bit annoying that people went on about that statistic but it didn’t affect me at all,” Bale told The Guardian in 2010 nearest issues had grew to become round. “It was just one of those things that freakily happened. I knew as soon as I got my chance to play we’d win a few games and it’d be done.”

Bale needed to wait 24 video games to style victory with Tottenham within the Premier League (Clive Rose/Getty Pictures)

The stream terrible listing holder is Scottish ahead Oliver Burke, who took an excruciating 25 video games to style Premier League victory for the primary year.

Burke performed his first Premier League recreation for West Brom in August 2017 nearest becoming a member of from RB Leipzig, however accidents ensured he most effective performed in 15 fits, none of which West Brom received. And in his defence, they didn’t win many with out him, both: this was once the season wherein they have been relegated, went thru 4 managers and persisted an ill-fated mid-season commute to Barcelona the place a gaggle of avid gamers stole a taxi from out of doors a McDonald’s.

As for Burke, he reappeared within the Premier League a few years next, signing for Sheffield United on the finish of the summer time 2020 switch window. Once more, he wasn’t a familiar, so needed to wait till the January of that season ahead of contributing to a win, which got here towards Newcastle.

The Blades have been additionally relegated, so Burke has most effective performed in two Premier League seasons, either one of that have ended within the shed. Penniless Oliver. He’s lately with Werder Bremen nearest a few injury-hit loans at Millwall and Birmingham Town.

Rob Earnshaw is any other title within the summit 10 who can’t be completely blamed for no longer gathering a victory for a protracted year. It took 18 video games ahead of he received one for West Brom in 2004-05, however he did rattle up 11 objectives that season, was once the Baggies’ summit scorer and, with regards to mins in line with objective, he was once 2d most effective to Thierry Henry in the entire category that season.

“The context of that season and that team was lots of new players,” Earnshaw tells The Athletic. “It was a team that wasn’t really expected to be in the Premier League. We were trying to figure each other out: I had about five different strike partners in that season. You’re always trying to get those relationships, so that’s perhaps why it took so long (to get a win).”

Earnshaw in a unprecedented life of pleasure for West Brom within the autumn of 2004 (Nick Potts – PA Pictures/PA Pictures by means of Getty Pictures)

That reducing and converting of the crew’s ahead sequence was once additionally a reason Earnshaw neglected their uncommon victories. West Brom were given their first 3 issues of their 8th league recreation, a 2-1 win over Bolton in October, however Earnshaw was once an fresh exchange. Which itself items a curious predicament: while you haven’t received a recreation but your self, how do you are feeling when your crew wins with out you contributing?

“It’s a very strange thing, a very weird dynamic,” he says. “No 1, you’re always super happy when you win. I was always the first one to celebrate and congratulate my team-mates. But there’s always a weird feeling of disappointment. The No 1 thing is, that little kid in you just wants to play football and win games.”

Jan Aage Fjortoft is any other terrible title at the listing, having taken 20 video games to earn his first first victory with Swindon in 1993-94. Swindon most effective received two video games within the first part of that season, and Fjortoft neglected either one of them. However, in contrast to Earnshaw, he wasn’t a sufferer of squad rotation or damage: he neglected the ones video games as a result of he wasn’t scoring objectives.

Nearest shifting to Swindon for a club-record price from Speedy Vienna following their promotion to the Premier League, Fjortoft didn’t in finding the online in any respect ahead of the flip of the pace.

“You start thinking, ‘Maybe the way I play doesn’t fit here — maybe I have to change’,” he tells The Athletic. “That’s the worst phase, because then you’re going nowhere. You’re building up to that moment, hopefully, when you get that first goal. But then you realise you just have to do what you do, because that’s good enough.

“It was a very testing time, and the thing that saved me was I was scoring goals for Norway, though that made it even more complicated in my head. Eventually, I wasn’t in the team as much, which is normal: Swindon had paid a lot of money for me to score goals.

“I was more annoyed that I didn’t break the code. I had played against these players before for Norway. We’d won against England. Why couldn’t I break this thing called the Premier League?”

Fjortoft celebrates scoring a objective for Swindon towards Manchester United (Andy Heading/EMPICS by means of Getty Pictures)

Issues reached a nadir when Fjortoft — nonetheless winless and goalless — performed a hold recreation towards Wycombe Wanderers on Christmas Eve wherein he was once “out of 22 players… the worst on the pitch”. With the 1994 Global Cup looming and his spot within the Norway crew beneath warning, he organized a mortgage again to his former membership Lillestrom.

However after Keith Scott, who have been taking part in up entrance for Swindon rather of Fjortoft, was once cup-tied for a recreation towards Ipswich within the FA Cup. Fjortoft performed, scored and stored his playground for the league recreation towards Tottenham a couple of days next. In that recreation he in the end fasten his first league objective, and primary win within the English summit gliding, nearest 20 unsuccessful makes an attempt, as they beat Spurs 2-1.

“It was fantastic,” he says. “There was a lot of relief for myself, but we beat Tottenham, and we were allowed to dream. Could we make it? Could we get enough points to stay up?”

Fjortoft had a sensational 2d part to the season: having failed to attain in any respect in his first 20 video games, he controlled 11 in his after 16, despite the fact that it wasn’t plethora to save lots of Swindon from relegation, widely right down to them conceding a whopping 100 objectives.

In the long run, it could be massively unfair to regard Brereton Diaz or any of the avid gamers discussed right here as figures of a laugh. No longer least as a result of, via even making it to the Premier League, they’re already within the summit one in line with cent of the summit one in line with cent.

“When you get a chance to play in the Premier League, the playing is the actual achievement,” provides Earnshaw. “That’s the dream. You’re playing against the very best.”

(Supremacy photograph: Alex Dodd – CameraSport by means of Getty Pictures)