starscream
23-07-2005, 01:02 PM
10. Dion Dublin
Never the daintiest of strikers but possessing the happy knack of hitting the back of the net off just about any part of his body, Dublin was a late developer who overcame the obstacle of getting injured and being superseded by Eric Cantona at Old Trafford to become one of the Premiership's most prolific hit men.
Coventry City retained their Premiership status for seasons on end through the goals of the shiny-headed one. And once he was sold to Aston Villa in 1998, after being joint leading league scorer for the Sky Blues, it was probably only a matter of time before Highfield Road was no longer a top division ground. His first season at Villa Park saw him finish high in the charts again as Villa finished sixth and led the league until January.
At 8th in the all-time Premiership scoring list, the keen saxophonist with an appendage once described by Sir Alex Ferguson as 'magnificent' fits into the unspectacular but hugely effective demographic.
9. Wayne Rooney
Possessing the talent and time to top the table in another ten years time, the possible development of Rooney as a player is almost far beyond that of a mere striker. His natural ability suggests he could play any outfield position but it is his shooting boots that win him the on-field headlines.
Announcing his arrival with a 30-yard thunderbolt that ended a long Arsenal unbeaten run in the autumn of 2002, he showed that Everton clearly had a star in their midst. However, in his two seasons as a Goodison first-teamer he was far from prolific and seemed to show his best form for his country, for whom he is the youngest ever scorer.
Then came the £28m move to Manchester United, a hat-trick on debut and 17 strikes in a season which should have ended with an FA Cup winners' medal. But, at just 19, he fell sway to the lottery of the penalty shoot-out. His performance that day and for much of last season suggest he is due many honours to replace it. And failing that, plenty of spectacular goals.
8. Andy Cole
Now operating as something of a journeyman, 'Andrew' is a much-maligned character accused, somewhat harshly, of missing the target too regularly. Second in the all-time Premiership scoring charts rather counters those arguments.
Perhaps the naysayers believe that Cole has never matched the plundering he performed in a Newcastle shirt but few could argue that his approach play and holding up of the ball developed at Manchester United. And he was always a great partner. Only Cantona, of his various accomplices, failed to gel with him. Even Teddy Sheringham, with whom he never wished to exchange a word, complemented him.
Cole may live to regret leaving Manchester to seek an England place for World Cup 2002 - he ended up missing out on an Asian summer but he has served his other clubs gainfully, winning the Worthington Cup for Blackburn in 2002 and helping them to a UEFA Cup place in 2003. Fulham still got 13 goals out of him last year in a struggling side. Back to Manchester it is...
7. Matthew Le Tissier
Personal fitness and good looks are not necessarily key to inclusion in this list. But sheer excitement, ability and the eye for the spectacular certainly are.
Southampton's retention of their Premiership status during the 1990s was largely due to the goals of the man from Guernsey. While the likes of Jason Dodd, Francis Benali and Jim Magilton plugged away manfully at the Dell it was left to 'Le God' to provide the inspiration.
His 101st and last Premiership goal for Southampton could not have come on a more fitting occasion. The Dell's last ever game in May 2001 with Arsenal the visitors. Who should step up with a last-minute thunderbolt? None other than the prodigal son.
6. Ian Wright
Loud, brash and a truly awful television presenter and pundit, Wrighty would win few popularity contests outside of an Islington constituency. Yet his goalscoring was unerring for Arsenal in the pre-Wenger days, and in the Frenchman's first season and a half in charge at Highbury.
Wright never quite made it as an England player and missed out on France '98 through the injury that sadly ended his time at Arsenal before he set off on a nomadic tour of lesser lights. He finished up with a Premiership winners' medal, though by then Anelka had supplanted him. He could satisfy himself with having become all-time Arsenal goalscorer, a record soon to be beaten by Thierry Henry but nevertheless hugely impressive.
In a dour era before Arsenal became the total football practitioners they are now, Wright was the shining light.
5. Les Ferdinand
If ever a player was unlucky to miss out on a Premiership title it was 'Sir Les' in 1995-6, whose goals looked set to fire Kevin Keegan's Newcastle to silverware. Ferdinand was a one-man strike force, living off the bullets supplied by Ginola and Gillespie but also capable of creating goals with lung-busting solo runs.
After such a great season he was unfortunate to be overshadowed the next by the £15m arrival of Alan Shearer and to lose his number 9 shirt. And when he was subsequently sold to Spurs after a highly productive season together, the Toon missed him instantly as Shearer fell prey to serious injury.
His England career was also one of underachievement, though he rarely let his country down. The presence of the likes of Shearer, Sheringham, Wright and Fowler prevented him getting the run his club form deserved.
4. Robbie Fowler
Now just past his 30th birthday, it is difficult to align the ponderous Manchester City striker of today with the sharp-shooting, razor sharp 'God' of Liverpool yore.
But, of this entire list, he is the one who had the talent to shine above all others. From his entry into the Liverpool team as a 17-year-old he plundered goal upon goal from every place inside 25 yards of goal and had rocketed towards 100 goals by the summer of 1997. Sadly, it was soon after that his career hit the injury, and alleged commitment, problems that would stymie a goal production line.
Knee and ankle injuries halted his progress and restricted his mobility. Despite that, Gerard Houllier's sale of him won the Frenchman few new admirers on Merseyside. The leaving of Liverpool for Leeds signalled the decline of a true talent, whom we will sadly never see achieve his true potential.
3. Teddy Sheringham
Back into the Premiership for the eldest of our list still playing the game, Sheringham is a unique talent among English strikers. More circumspect, less energetic than his contemporaries, his vision is the difference.
It's been long said that he hasn't had to make up for losing his pace, since he never possessed any. And he's been a fine foil for almost all his strike partners, with his England partnership with Alan Shearer especially cherished. Perhaps best associated with London clubs, it took an Alex Ferguson gamble and a trip up North to make him a trophy winner. And he will forever remain in Old Trafford lore for the goals at Wembley and the Nou Camp that pushed United on to that famous treble.
Since then he's been considered over the hill every season but managed to continue finding gainful employment and the back of the net. West Ham can thank him for their renewed status as a Premiership club. And can celebrate his 40th birthday in April.
2. Michael Owen
At just 25, it seems as though this Chester native has been part of our lives forever. And perhaps his career will be forever overshadowed, just like that of John Barnes, by an amazing goal in an England shirt. Though his strike record, at nearly 1-in-2, cannot be ignored.
Liverpool soon forgot the travails of Robbie Fowler when a 17-year-old Owen burst on the scene in the 1997-8 season, top scored in the Premiership and became England's youngest ever player in February of that year. He then dominated France 98 with that fabled goal against Argentina and returned as Britain's most famous teenager.
Some would say he perhaps should have stopped there but that would be to ignore his FA Cup Final performance in 2001, his European Footballer of the Year award of the same year and his continuing ability to produce for England on the big occasion. And though he may have erred in quitting Liverpool for the Real Madrid bench and thus missed out on a Champions League medal, his strike rate when actually playing for Real has been highly creditable too.
1. Alan Shearer
One medal to his name, a reputation for being rather less than gregarious and a tendency to see off managers and other players through his frosty nature cannot hide Shearer's true worth as the best English striker of the last ten years.
He just likes scoring goals. And that right arm has been raised hundreds of times since Soccernet began. Perhaps only Robbie Fowler has possessed his ability from long range, but the scouser never sustained it. In the air there remains no-one better. In short, no English player has come close to his mastery of the striking art.
Maybe injuries and time have slowed him down. A horrific injury at Goodison Park in the summer of 1997 may have removed his pace but he's never stopped scoring. Even as he enters his last season as a professional before going on to punditry/fence-creosoting/boss at Newcastle, there is no striker in the English game who would be as heavily backed to put away a goalscoring chance.
Never the daintiest of strikers but possessing the happy knack of hitting the back of the net off just about any part of his body, Dublin was a late developer who overcame the obstacle of getting injured and being superseded by Eric Cantona at Old Trafford to become one of the Premiership's most prolific hit men.
Coventry City retained their Premiership status for seasons on end through the goals of the shiny-headed one. And once he was sold to Aston Villa in 1998, after being joint leading league scorer for the Sky Blues, it was probably only a matter of time before Highfield Road was no longer a top division ground. His first season at Villa Park saw him finish high in the charts again as Villa finished sixth and led the league until January.
At 8th in the all-time Premiership scoring list, the keen saxophonist with an appendage once described by Sir Alex Ferguson as 'magnificent' fits into the unspectacular but hugely effective demographic.
9. Wayne Rooney
Possessing the talent and time to top the table in another ten years time, the possible development of Rooney as a player is almost far beyond that of a mere striker. His natural ability suggests he could play any outfield position but it is his shooting boots that win him the on-field headlines.
Announcing his arrival with a 30-yard thunderbolt that ended a long Arsenal unbeaten run in the autumn of 2002, he showed that Everton clearly had a star in their midst. However, in his two seasons as a Goodison first-teamer he was far from prolific and seemed to show his best form for his country, for whom he is the youngest ever scorer.
Then came the £28m move to Manchester United, a hat-trick on debut and 17 strikes in a season which should have ended with an FA Cup winners' medal. But, at just 19, he fell sway to the lottery of the penalty shoot-out. His performance that day and for much of last season suggest he is due many honours to replace it. And failing that, plenty of spectacular goals.
8. Andy Cole
Now operating as something of a journeyman, 'Andrew' is a much-maligned character accused, somewhat harshly, of missing the target too regularly. Second in the all-time Premiership scoring charts rather counters those arguments.
Perhaps the naysayers believe that Cole has never matched the plundering he performed in a Newcastle shirt but few could argue that his approach play and holding up of the ball developed at Manchester United. And he was always a great partner. Only Cantona, of his various accomplices, failed to gel with him. Even Teddy Sheringham, with whom he never wished to exchange a word, complemented him.
Cole may live to regret leaving Manchester to seek an England place for World Cup 2002 - he ended up missing out on an Asian summer but he has served his other clubs gainfully, winning the Worthington Cup for Blackburn in 2002 and helping them to a UEFA Cup place in 2003. Fulham still got 13 goals out of him last year in a struggling side. Back to Manchester it is...
7. Matthew Le Tissier
Personal fitness and good looks are not necessarily key to inclusion in this list. But sheer excitement, ability and the eye for the spectacular certainly are.
Southampton's retention of their Premiership status during the 1990s was largely due to the goals of the man from Guernsey. While the likes of Jason Dodd, Francis Benali and Jim Magilton plugged away manfully at the Dell it was left to 'Le God' to provide the inspiration.
His 101st and last Premiership goal for Southampton could not have come on a more fitting occasion. The Dell's last ever game in May 2001 with Arsenal the visitors. Who should step up with a last-minute thunderbolt? None other than the prodigal son.
6. Ian Wright
Loud, brash and a truly awful television presenter and pundit, Wrighty would win few popularity contests outside of an Islington constituency. Yet his goalscoring was unerring for Arsenal in the pre-Wenger days, and in the Frenchman's first season and a half in charge at Highbury.
Wright never quite made it as an England player and missed out on France '98 through the injury that sadly ended his time at Arsenal before he set off on a nomadic tour of lesser lights. He finished up with a Premiership winners' medal, though by then Anelka had supplanted him. He could satisfy himself with having become all-time Arsenal goalscorer, a record soon to be beaten by Thierry Henry but nevertheless hugely impressive.
In a dour era before Arsenal became the total football practitioners they are now, Wright was the shining light.
5. Les Ferdinand
If ever a player was unlucky to miss out on a Premiership title it was 'Sir Les' in 1995-6, whose goals looked set to fire Kevin Keegan's Newcastle to silverware. Ferdinand was a one-man strike force, living off the bullets supplied by Ginola and Gillespie but also capable of creating goals with lung-busting solo runs.
After such a great season he was unfortunate to be overshadowed the next by the £15m arrival of Alan Shearer and to lose his number 9 shirt. And when he was subsequently sold to Spurs after a highly productive season together, the Toon missed him instantly as Shearer fell prey to serious injury.
His England career was also one of underachievement, though he rarely let his country down. The presence of the likes of Shearer, Sheringham, Wright and Fowler prevented him getting the run his club form deserved.
4. Robbie Fowler
Now just past his 30th birthday, it is difficult to align the ponderous Manchester City striker of today with the sharp-shooting, razor sharp 'God' of Liverpool yore.
But, of this entire list, he is the one who had the talent to shine above all others. From his entry into the Liverpool team as a 17-year-old he plundered goal upon goal from every place inside 25 yards of goal and had rocketed towards 100 goals by the summer of 1997. Sadly, it was soon after that his career hit the injury, and alleged commitment, problems that would stymie a goal production line.
Knee and ankle injuries halted his progress and restricted his mobility. Despite that, Gerard Houllier's sale of him won the Frenchman few new admirers on Merseyside. The leaving of Liverpool for Leeds signalled the decline of a true talent, whom we will sadly never see achieve his true potential.
3. Teddy Sheringham
Back into the Premiership for the eldest of our list still playing the game, Sheringham is a unique talent among English strikers. More circumspect, less energetic than his contemporaries, his vision is the difference.
It's been long said that he hasn't had to make up for losing his pace, since he never possessed any. And he's been a fine foil for almost all his strike partners, with his England partnership with Alan Shearer especially cherished. Perhaps best associated with London clubs, it took an Alex Ferguson gamble and a trip up North to make him a trophy winner. And he will forever remain in Old Trafford lore for the goals at Wembley and the Nou Camp that pushed United on to that famous treble.
Since then he's been considered over the hill every season but managed to continue finding gainful employment and the back of the net. West Ham can thank him for their renewed status as a Premiership club. And can celebrate his 40th birthday in April.
2. Michael Owen
At just 25, it seems as though this Chester native has been part of our lives forever. And perhaps his career will be forever overshadowed, just like that of John Barnes, by an amazing goal in an England shirt. Though his strike record, at nearly 1-in-2, cannot be ignored.
Liverpool soon forgot the travails of Robbie Fowler when a 17-year-old Owen burst on the scene in the 1997-8 season, top scored in the Premiership and became England's youngest ever player in February of that year. He then dominated France 98 with that fabled goal against Argentina and returned as Britain's most famous teenager.
Some would say he perhaps should have stopped there but that would be to ignore his FA Cup Final performance in 2001, his European Footballer of the Year award of the same year and his continuing ability to produce for England on the big occasion. And though he may have erred in quitting Liverpool for the Real Madrid bench and thus missed out on a Champions League medal, his strike rate when actually playing for Real has been highly creditable too.
1. Alan Shearer
One medal to his name, a reputation for being rather less than gregarious and a tendency to see off managers and other players through his frosty nature cannot hide Shearer's true worth as the best English striker of the last ten years.
He just likes scoring goals. And that right arm has been raised hundreds of times since Soccernet began. Perhaps only Robbie Fowler has possessed his ability from long range, but the scouser never sustained it. In the air there remains no-one better. In short, no English player has come close to his mastery of the striking art.
Maybe injuries and time have slowed him down. A horrific injury at Goodison Park in the summer of 1997 may have removed his pace but he's never stopped scoring. Even as he enters his last season as a professional before going on to punditry/fence-creosoting/boss at Newcastle, there is no striker in the English game who would be as heavily backed to put away a goalscoring chance.