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Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, plenty of world class strikers from all over the globe have set foot on these shores. The likes of Sergio Aguero, Thiery Henry, Fernando Torres, Ruud van Nistelrooy are just a few who have scored a bucket load of goals in the Premier League. But amongst all the strikers that found success in the EPL, one name explicitly stands out: Alan Shearer.
Shearer, a highly prolific goalscorer with immaculate strength and heading ability was a beast in the opposing penalty area. Capable of scoring tap-ins as well as long rangers, the Geordie legend ended up with an astonishing 260 goals in 441 appearances, a record that still stands intact.
Many great strikers have come and gone, but nobody has come close to matching Shearer's extraordinary feat. The next best scorer, Wayne Rooney, is 52 short of the mark and having left the Premier League for the MLS this summer, the record will remain intact for many more years to come.
This speaks volume about Shearer's fitness levels, finishing ability and a remarkable consistency, to chalk out so many goals on a yearly basis. The great man played Premier League football for 14 years before finally retiring at the end of the 2005-06 season.
Amongst the current crop of strikers, only Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku stand a chance to catch Shearer, that too if they maintain their current form and fitness levels for the next 7-8 years. Like Kane and Lukaku, many other Premier League greats were expected to beat the 260 mark but could not do so due to a variety of reasons like injuries, transfer away from the Premier League, loss of form etc. Here is the list of 4 such players who fell short of Shearer's record:
#4 Michael Owen
Michael Owen burst onto the scene in 1997 as a young 17-year-old, pacy striker with an incredible eye for goal. By the time he retired in 2013, he managed to score 150 premier league goals in 326 appearances for four different clubs.
His most successful years were spent at Liverpool where he netted 118 league goals in 216 games. During his eight-year spell at Anfield, Owen's goals to appearance ratio stood at 0.54 with was just short of Shearer's 0.59 and he was just 25.
Then came his ill-fated move to Real Madrid which lasted for a mere one season after which he returned to England with Newcastle at the start of the 2005-06 season, which incidentally was Shearer's last. After returning, he was never the same player again as injuries started to take a toll on the 26-year old.
The two-time Premier League golden boot winner managed just 26 goals in his four years at Tyneside. The succession of injuries throughout Owen's career badly affected his electric pace and as a result, his goal-scoring got affected. If not for these injuries, Owen would surely have come close or even could have surpassed Shearer's goal scoring exploits.
#3 Thierry Henry
At one point of time, former French international and Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry was perhaps the most complete striker in English football. Capable of scoring outrageous goals as well as setting up a bucket load for his teammates, Henry and Arsenal revolutionised how football was being played.
Cutting in from the left-hand side channel, Henry scored 175 goals in 258 appearances spread over eight trophy-laden seasons. Henry, a four-time Premier League golden boot winner, also contributed heavily in assists (74). Also, he is the only player with 150+ goals, to have better goals to appearance ratio (0.68) than the great Shearer (0.59).
His pace, technical ability and composure allowed him to glide past defenders, and he was especially lethal in one-on-one situations. The failure to win the Champions League with Arsenal meant that Henry joined Spanish giants Barcelona in 2007, aged 29. His decision in terms of silverware was immediately vindicated as he lifted the Champions League in 2009 but his goal-scoring suffered as he went from being the main man at Arsenal to being part of a more collective team.
When Henry left North London he was still at the peak of his goal-scoring prowess and was just 86 goals behind the 260 mark. Had Henry stayed at Arsenal for three to four seasons more, he would most probably have surpassed Shearer's magical mark.
#2 Wayne Rooney
Former England and Manchester United legend, Wayne Rooney shot to prominence as a teenage sensation for his boyhood club Everton at the tender age of 16. After a successful Euro 2004 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson snapped up the talented youngster for a record transfer fee of £ 25.6 million.
He donned the red and white of Manchester United for next 13 seasons, scoring a total of 253 goals and becoming the all-time leading scorer for the red devils. Out of the 253 strikes, 183 of them came in the Premier League. By the time he left English football for America, the man from Merseyside had scored 208 goals in the league including his Everton strikes.
But unlike Shearer, who played as a classic centre-forward, Rooney was deployed in a more conservative role of the second striker or on the wings in order to accommodate more illustrious players like Ronaldo and Tevez. He even played as a central midfielder in the latter part of his career.
A truly selfless team player, Rooney also racked up 103 premier league assists, third highest in the league only behind Ryan Giggs and Cesc Fàbregas. Consistent tinkering with his position as well as loss of form in his last couple of seasons at club compromised his chances of overtaking Shearer in the EPL goals tally.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
No goalscoring list can truly be ever complete without mentioning machine himself: Cristiano Ronaldo. A once in a generation footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Manchester in 2003 as a skinny kid who dazzled the crowd with his skills and by the time he left in 2009, the kid had transformed into a goalscoring phenomenon.
A five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo enjoyed tremendous success not only in Spain but also in England. When Sir Alex Ferguson snapped him up from Sporting CP for a record transfer fee of £12.24 million, many eyebrows were raised. But in the following six years, the transfer fee looked like a bargain as he smashed a league-record 31-goals in the 2007-08 season.
Just when people thought he could be the one to break Shearer's record, Real Madrid came calling. Overall, Ronaldo spent six years in England, winning three Premier League titles and scoring 84 goals in 196 league appearances.
Ronaldo was just 24 when Los Blancos came calling, meaning his peak years would be spent battling out with Lionel Messi rather than catching Shearer's record. Ronaldo, who started out as a traditional winger soon moved into a more central role as the years passed by as he was able to use his tremendous speed and acceleration, combined with the technical skills to dribble past defenders and find the back of the net.
After moving to Spain, the Portuguese smashed in an astonishing 311 league goals in 292 appearances, a tally that would have seen him beat Shearer's record comfortably.
