In continuation of our historical retrospective, premierleague.com riffles through the annals of the Barclays Premier League and finds significant events that took place on this day.
28 Feb 2005: A half-time message to the Norwich City fans from joint-majority shareholder Delia Smith was not enough to inspire the Canaries to victory against Manchester City, as they won 3-2 in an entertaining match at Carrow Road. Read more here
27 Feb 2011: A superb individual display from Scott Parker helped West Ham United move off the bottom of the Barclays Premier League table with a 3-1 win over . Read more here.
26 Feb 2012: Arsenal came from two goals down to seal a thrilling 5-2 victory over North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium. To read more, click here.
25 Feb 2001: Dwight Yorke made the most of a rare start to hit a first-half hat-trick past Arsenal as Manchester United, the leaders of the Barclays Premier League, marched towards the title with a 6-1 hammering of their nearest rivals at Old Trafford. To read more, click here
24 Feb 1998: Brian Little was relieved of his duties as Aston Villa manager after a successful four-year spell at Villa Park. A 2-1 defeat to Wimbledon on 21 February 1998, with Jason Euell and Carl Leaburn scoring for the Dons, spelled the end of Little's tenure as Aston Villa as manager, with the club lying in 15th place after 27 matches. To read more, click here.
23 Feb 2008: Portsmouth moved up to seventh in the Barclays Premier League after Jermain Defoe's second-half penalty was enough to secure victory against Sunderland at Fratton Park. Defoe fired home from the spot after Phil Bardsley fouled Nico Kranjcar in the penalty area to give manager Harry Redknapp the perfect result in his 100th match in charge of the club. To read more, click here.
22 Feb 2011: Blackpool manager Ian Holloway praised his side's "tremendous achievement" as they secured a famous 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. The Seasiders were under great pressure for long periods of the match against Harry Redknapp's team but goals from Charlie Adam, DJ Campbell and Brett Ormerod gave the hosts victory at Bloomfield Road. To read more, click here.
21 Feb 2004: Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel scored an injury-time goal but it was not enough for his side as a dramatic Claus Jensen strike ensured Charlton Athletic won 3-2. American international Friedel looked to have snatched a late draw for the visitors with his only ever goal in the top flight, after he came up for a corner in the dying moments of the match to unleash a left-foot strike. But Addicks playmaker Jensen went straight up the other end to score a winner for Alan Curbishley's side. To read more, click here.
20 Feb 1999: Nicolas Anelka scored a first-half hat-trick as Arsenal routed Leicester City 5-0 at Highbury. Arsene Wenger's Gunners blitzed the Foxes in the opening exchanges of the match, and a quick-fire double from 20-year-old forward Anelka put the hosts in command after 27 minutes. Ray Parlour made it three on 42 minutes and Anelka completed his treble just before the break. To read more, click here.
19 Feb 1994: Coventry striker Mick Quinn scored the landmark 2000th goal in the Barclays Premier League as the Sky Blues defeated Manchester City 4-0 at Highfield Road. The powerful former Newcastle United forward registered his side's second goal, after David Rennie had opened the scoring for the hosts. Peter Ndlovu added a third before John Williams rounded off an impressive win. To read more, click here.
18 Feb 2009: Manchester United moved seven points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League after an impressive 3-0 victory over Fulham. Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov put Sir Alex Ferguson’s men in command, before Wayne Rooney came off the bench to score with his first touch to wrap up the points. Rooney had been side-lined with injury, but he and Cristiano Ronaldo proved to be catalysts for United’s title charge. The Red Devils went on to equal Liverpool’s top flight title haul of 18 by four points. Despite the defeat, Roy Hodgson’s Fulham finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League, a competition in which they would go all the way to the final after a remarkable run in the following season. To read more, click here.
17 Feb 1999: Everton routed Middlesbrough 5-0 to open up a four point gap above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone. Marco Materazzi, who went on to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy whilst playing for Serie A giants Inter Milan, was among the scorers in a victory that helped the Toffees avoid relegation by seven points. Nick Barmby scored a double and Olivier Dacourt also got in on the act against a mid-table Middlesbrough side. Boro finished ninth in the 1998/99 campaign, with Hamilton Richard scoring 15 goals in an impressive debut season in the Premier League. To read more, click here.
16 Feb 2009: Guus Hiddink began a very successful stint as temporary manager of Chelsea, after being appointed as the London club’s boss until the end of the 2008/09 season. The Dutchman, who led Holland and South Korea to FIFA World Cup semi-finals in a glittering career on the international stage, helped Chelsea finish just four points behind Manchester United in the title race, as well as winning the FA Cup and narrowly losing out in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Barcelona. Hiddink’s impressive 85% win ratio during his 13-match tenure is the highest of any Barclays Premier League manager who has overseen more than ten matches. To read more, click here.
15 February 2006: Two goals from Craig Bellamy ensured Blackburn Rovers beat Sunderland 2-0 to move up to seventh in the Barclays Premier League table. The former Newcastle United striker gave Rovers the lead after converting Morten Gamst Pedersen’s deflected cross, before making the match safe in the second half from Sergio Peter’s delivery. To read more, click here.
14 February 1994: A hat-trick from Matt Le Tissier gave lowly Southampton a surprise 4-2 victory over Liverpool at The Dell. To read more, click here.
13 February 2002: Bolton Wanderers signed French World Cup and Euro 2000 winner Youri Djorkaeff from Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern in one of the most notable transfers of the club's Premier League history. To read more click here.
12 February 2000: West Ham United recovered from losing their goalkeeper after only five minutes and from being 4-2 down with 25 minutes remaining to hand Bradford City a 5-4 defeat that hit their hopes of staying in the Barclays Premier League after promotion last season. To read more click here.
11 February 1995: When Aston Villa hosted Wimbledon during the 1994/95 season the pressure was on Tommy Johnson. The 25-year-old striker had yet to score for Villa after being signed a month earlier from Derby County by new manager Brian Little. Warren Barton gave the South London team the lead at Villa Park, but Villa equalised almost instantly as Alan Reeves put Dean Saunders’ shot into his own net and Johnson took over with a hat-trick in 16 first-half minutes, before the home team scored three more after the break. To read more click here
10 February 1996: After a much-protracted wrangling, Colombia striker Faustino Asprilla joined Newcastle United from Parma to boost the Tyneside team’s title hopes. According to Asprilla, who had been close to a transfer to Leeds United, his Barclays Premier League debut away to Middlesbrough for Kevin Keegan’s team was rushed. To read more click here.
9 February 2002: Having scored four times without conceding away to Leeds United six days earlier, Liverpool went two better on their trip to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town. Two-up at half-time through Abel Xavier, who had just signed from Everton, and Emile Heskey, Phil Thompson’s team ran riot in the second half scoring four more, including two from Michael Owen and another from Heskey to give cheer to Gerard Houllier, their manager, who was recovering from heart surgery. For more on this match click here
8 February 1998: Stephen Hughes scored twice to steer Arsenal to a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Highbury. The result meant that Arsene Wenger’s team remained in fifth but closed the gap on Chelsea to one point, with Manchester United a further five points ahead. This match was the sixth in an 18-match unbeaten run, including a ten-match winning streak, that propelled Arsenal up the table to become champions. The brace started a good week for Hughes, 21, as he signed a new five-year deal to stay at Highbury. In 2000 he joined Everton before moving to Charlton Athletic and then Coventry City. His connection with Arsenal remains as he works for the club’s media as a pundit.
7 February 1993: A blitz of four goals in five second-half minutes ensured Tottenham Hotspur made the record books during a 4-2 win over Southampton. Ian Branfoot's team had stunned the White Hart Lane faithful by going into the break in the lead courtesy of Iain Dowie’s goal, but Teddy Sheringham equalised for Spurs in the 55th minute. Five minutes later, the forward had his second goal, but by then it was Spurs’ fourth. Nick Barmby had put Doug Livermore’s side ahead and Darren Anderton added a third before Sheringham’s strike. Remarkably, six minutes later there was a fifth second-half goal, from Southampton defender Richard Hall, but his side were down to 10 men after Francis Benali’s red card and there was no way back for them.
6 February 1999: Manchester United’s Ole Gunner Solskjaer set a record as the substitute to have scored the most goals in the Barclays Premier League in the 8-1 victory over Nottingham Forest. The Norway forward came on for former Forest hero Roy Keane at the City Ground with 18 minutes of the match remaining and United 4-1 up. Eight minutes after his introduction Solskjaer got the first of a four-goal spell to leave Forest battered and bruised. The Norwegian’s effectiveness off the bench was demonstrated again later in the season with the winning goal in injury-time of the UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich. In total he scored 91 Barclays Premier League goals for United from 225 appearances, of which 60 were as a substitute. VIDEO: Cult hero Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
5 February 2011: A stunning left-foot volley from Cheick Tiote completed the finest comeback in Barclays Premier League history as Newcastle United recovered from 4-0 down at home to Arsenal to draw 4-4. Arsene Wenger’s side blew Newcastle away in the opening 26 minutes, with Theo Walcott and Johan Djourou giving them a quick two-goal lead before a Robin van Persie double seemingly put the game out of sight. Newcastle sensed a chance when Arsenal’s Abou Diaby was sent off five minutes into the second half but still were four behind with 22 minutes remaining. Joey Barton then scored from the penalty spot and, seven minutes later, Leon Best scored from close range. A second Barton penalty with seven minutes left made things interesting, before Tiote’s magnificent goal in the 87th minute sparked wild scenes of celebration at St. James’ Park. The draw allowed Manchester United to go four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the league, while Newcastle stayed in tenth position.
4 February 1999 Two days after his 30th birthday, Tim Sherwood joined Tottenham Hotspur after a successful seven-year spell with Blackburn Rovers. The midfielder made 234 appearances for Blackburn, and was instrumental in the club’s title-winning season in 1994/95. Sherwood made his Spurs debut two days after signing as an 87th-minute subsitute in the 0-0 home draw with Coventry City and became a regular at White Hart Lane for the next three-and-a-half seasons, amassing 91 Barclays Premier League appearances with 12 goals. Before retirement, he also enjoyed a spell at Portsmouth in the top flight. Sherwood is now on the coaching staff at Spurs, as head of football development.
3 February 2001 Derby County moved four points clear of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone after a surprise 1-0 win against a Sunderland side competing for UEFA Champions League qualification. A goal from Craig Burley just before the break was enough to seal the three points, and the victory proved to be a platform for the Rams avoiding relegation, as they finished eight points clear of the drop zone in 17th. Sunderland moved down to fourth after the defeat, and they ultimately missed out on European football by finishing seventh.
2 February 2004 Jermain Defoe joined Tottenham Hotspur from West Ham United. The 21-year-old striker had scored 18 Barclays Premier League goals for West Ham in the two seasons before to catch the eye of Tottenham’s caretaker manager David Pleat. Defoe scored on his debut against Portsmouth in a 4-3 victory and spent four seasons at White Hart Lane, scoring 43 goals in 139 Barclays Premier League matches before being sold to the South Coast team. He spent less than a year at Fratton Park before returning to White Hart Lane, where he has scored a further 46 goals in 113 Barclays Premier League matches.
1 February 2009: Shay Given joined Manchester City after 12 years and 461 appearances at Newcastle United. Signed by Mark Hughes, Given made 50 Barclays Premier League appearances for City before moving to Aston Villa in the summer of 2011. Now 36, Given has 440 Premier League appearances to his name since making his debut for Blackburn Rovers in the 1996/97 season.
