Down the years, and especially in the modern era, top-flight clubs have routinely released promising academy players for the cruellest of reasons. It’s because the youngsters in question are too small.
Talent never comes into their thinking, nor the player’s work ethic or dedication to improvement. Nature has decreed that the individual is destined to always wear shirts that look too baggy on him and so onto the scrapheap he goes.
Naturally, such a hardline approach has come back to bite the clubs on occasion, with famous instances galore.
Premier League's Shortest Players:
- Shaun Wright-Phillips - 5ft 6
- Daniel Podence - 5ft 5
- Aaron Lennon - 5ft 5
- Ethan Nwaneri - 5ft 5
- Jody Morris - 5ft 5
- Billy Gilmour - 5ft 5
- Alan Wright - 5ft 4
- Ryan Fraser - 5ft 4
- Tariq Lamptey - 5ft 4
- Bernard - 5ft 3
Aged just nine, Harry Kane was shown the door at Arsenal for being too diminutive. He eventually grew to a strapping 6ft 2 and became a ruthless goal-machine for Spurs, England and Bayern Munich.
Franck Ribery is another who was prematurely judged on his height. At 16 years of age and already showing the attributes that would make him a French footballing legend, the winger was turfed out by Lille for his below-average stature. How they must have come to regret that decision.
The list goes on: Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix, Andy Robertson, all of whom suffered knockbacks when younger due to their size.
These examples however all have one thing in common. They grew. But what about the players who didn’t, those who remained at eye-level to Peter Crouch’s knees?
Here is a list of the ten smallest players to ever appear in the Premier League. They overcame prejudice to make the grade and deserve an enormous amount of respect for that. They certainly deserve better than that cheap Crouch joke.
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Strictly speaking, there has been a handful of top-flight stars a couple of millimetres shorter than the former Manchester City and Chelsea winger. Wright-Phillips though simply has to be on this list.
That’s because when we think of diminutive footballers who is one of the first that springs to mind? Well, exactly.
We picture him slaloming down the right, his shirt bellowing in motion like a tent on a washing line in a strong breeze.
Back in his pomp City were not the annual favourites in the Premier League betting they are today. But the Maine Road faithful had little ‘Shauny-Wright-Wright-Wright’ to give them hope and he was adored for that.
Daniel Podence
The Portuguese winger’s future is presently undetermined having burned his bridges at Wolves before going on to impress at Olympiacos on a season-long loan. All things considered, we are unlikely to see him trouble a Premier League full-back again.
Which is a shame because Podence was always a joy to watch, his low centre of gravity, nimble footwork and darting speed from a standing start meaning he could conjure up a cross from the tightest of spots.
With 12 goal involvements from 17 starts for the Greek side he’s going to be hot property this summer.
Aaron Lennon
Retiring in 2022, the former Spurs, Everton and Burnley flyer had similar attributes to Podence, but additionally was direct.
Not for Lennon was the temptation to indulge in unnecessary trickery, not when he had such explosive pace to rely on to beat his man.
Across just shy of two decades at the top it became a very familiar sight, the 21-cap England international sizing an opponent up, then knocking the ball past him for a foot-race where there was only going to be one winner.
Ethan Nwaneri
Nwaneri was still on schoolboy terms at Arsenal when he was thrown on against West Ham last season for the last 13 minutes.
Aged just 15 years and 181 days it made him the youngest ever player to appear in the English top-flight.
According to Mikel Arteta post-match, he was convinced by the youngster’s team-mates on the bench to hand him such an early debut. Being 6-0 up at the time was also probably a factor.
Jody Morris
Morris is the first non-winger to be name-checked here and furthermore was a midfielder who was often in the midst of the action.
He was combative and full of energy; a player charged with keeping his side ticking over while also ensuring no liberties were taken by the opposition.
The born-and-bred Londoner grew up a close friend of John Terry and together the pair broke into the Chelsea set-up.
Though his friend obviously went on to have the more illustrious career, Morris made 124 appearances for the Blues and was briefly made captain.
Billy Gilmour
Like Morris, Gilmour started out at Stamford Bridge, but with fierce competition for starting roles in the middle of the park the Scot found himself loaned out to Norwich.
There he struggled to make an impact and for a while it looked like this cultured schemer might slip down the divisions, that was until Brighton swooped in 2022, offering up £9m.
A string of instrumental displays since for the Seagulls has made that fee an absolute steal.
Alan Wright
Nicknamed the ‘Mighty Atom’, Wright galloped down the left for any number of clubs but he will always be chiefly associated with Aston Villa, turning out for the Villans with distinction on 260 occasions.
Given England’s dearth of quality left-backs when he was in his prime, and given that he was voted into the PFA Team of the Year in 1996, it amazes that he was never furnished with an England cap.
Ryan Fraser
A pocket dynamo of a left winger who has seemingly been around for much longer than his 30 years would suggest, Fraser enjoyed a renaissance of sorts last term in helping Southampton return to the Premier League.
Prior to that the Scot was going nowhere at Newcastle, forever on the periphery.
What’s the betting a deal is struck this summer, taking the skilful wide-man back to the south coast permanently.
Tariq Lamptey
Huge things were expected of the tiny right-back when he first broke onto the scene at Brighton, his dribbling and attacking intent that of a winger, his defensive attributes bolstered by tenacity.
Alas, injuries have curtailed his progress, the Chelsea academy star succumbing to a serious knee problem that ruled him out for nearly a full year.
Returning to action at the start of 2024, the hype may be gone now but the talent remains.
Bernard
The high-point of the Brazilian’s three-year stint at Goodison Park came against Spurs in the FA Cup, Bernard scoring an extra-time winner to complete a ridiculous 5-4 thriller.
That aside, he struggled to make his mark on Merseyside despite being a regular for the Selecao just a few years earlier.
At times, the tricky winger played on the left with Theo Walcott on the right. For spectators it must have felt like they were watching the game from very far away.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
