Best Goal Return In 100 Appearances

Teams have always looked for a new attacking signing to have an immediate and telling impact when it came to the opposition goal, so which 21 players managed just that in their first 100 Premier League appearances?

Many of the names featured in this list – legwork by Talksport – are extremely familiar and it’s no surprise to see names like Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and both Manchester’s referenced given the strikers they have had on their books since the inception of the new Premier League back in 1992.

For the younger fan seeing Leeds United, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland feature might come as a shock though – but again we are back to extremely familiar names – Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and so on.

The list is however dominated by players who have long since hung up their boots and whilst you have commentators like Shearer, Michael Owen and Thierry Henry, we have some coaches and managers in the list like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Teddy Sheringham and Kevin Phillips and I believe Ruud van Nistelrooy is also now youth coaching.

We even have an actor – Eric Cantona or a Karate expert depending on who you support!

Players still plying their trade though are in short supply as unless I’ve missed anyone who has unhung their boots we only have four on the list – Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero, Fernando Torres and Harry Kane.

What that says about the quality of strikers in the past compared to the modern day game is entirely down to you but there’s always a sense of nostalgia in things like this for me and whether you believe it’s quality, or better defences or whatever – those four earned their wages in their first 100 Premier League appearances and two of them continue to do so for their respective clubs in the top flight today.

Including assists and goals created also gives a rounder perspective on their worth for their side in reality as whilst goalscorers are judged on goals scored, their importance is often is goals created as well and some more than others stand out on that front for their overall impact on a team.

The prevalence of one club men also stands out with only a handful representing two or more clubs in their first 100 Premier League appearances, but obviously plenty of others who make their way into this table as one club men didn’t remain one club men throughout their careers either.

In any event, make your own mind up.